- Joined
- May 3, 2002
- Messages
- 6,192
I know that the Ka-Bar Warthog has been reviewed and discussed practically to death on this forum and I think I read all of them, but I wanted to say a few things about it because when I got mine today I was STILL surprised and shocked with a few things.
Usually, I read all the reviews and do all the research (like I did this time) about a knife before I buy one and, therefore, I'm not very surprised at all when I receive it. This time, even though I had a good feeling about the stuff I read, I was still not entirely prepared for what I experienced when I opened the box.
It's a pretty hefty knife (read: heavy). I compared it to my regular leather-stacked USMC Ka-Bar and it's a bit heavier. I don't have anything to really weigh them with but I'd estimate that the Warthog is 50% heavier than the regular USMC. You can take this however you like depending on what you're going to do with it, but I REALLY liked the weight, feel and balance of the thing.
Second, I totally love the handle material. For some reason, I thought it'd be hard plastic like Zytel which it isn't. It's Kraton which I should have known was more like rubber. I guess the smooth look of the handle in pictures threw me off.
I really shy away from rubber and plastic handles. I even don't really care for the Kraton handles of Cold Steel or Sog too much but they're OK. THIS knife has a Kraton handle but feels MUCH different than any Cold Steel or Sog handle I've felt. Perhaps it's because it's smooth and not checkered and doesn't move when you twist it. The knife sticks to your hand well and feels like a tire. BUT, it doesn't pick up dead skin flakes from your hand and dirt and hair, etc. It also doesn't "give" when pressed on like other rubber handles do. It's a very hard rubber. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to keep the few things I like about rubber handles and dispose of the things I don't like about rubber.
The sheath is totally ambidexterous. The knife can actually go in the sheath with the blade facing either way! So, you can place the same sheath on your left hip and still have the knife in there with the blade facing backward.
The bottom of the two snapping straps of the sheath is REALLY hard to release. On my USMC it was the same thing only it was the top strap. I'll probably carry this one with only the top strap closed just like I carry my USMC with only the bottom strap closed.
A couple problems:
The snap on the side of the Kydex sheath is a little rough on the inside and scratched the knife the first time I put it in the sheath. That burr must have bent out of the way because I've sheathed it and drawn it many times and I only have the one scratch on the knife. If you like scratchless knives you better check this before putting it in the sheath and clean it up first.
The last thing has been covered before. What the HECK is up with the guard? The back of the blade has a thumb ramp that you can't get to! The overall shape of the blade would make it GREAT for camp kitchen work except that the lower guard keeps the blade from touching down on a cutting board!
Well, guess what! I fixed that already!
I cut the top guard really close so I can utilize the thumb ramp. I cut the lower guard past the blade so that it's off the cutting board when the back of the blade is down. Now, my top guard is about .125" and my bottom guard is a little over .25". I can still index the knife by the difference in guards. I'm going to color the cutting/grinding area where I did my work with a paint marker or sharpie and scan the knife for this post tomorrow.
Gee. I guess that wasn't so short. Sorry.
It's a cool knife. It'll be a keeper!
Usually, I read all the reviews and do all the research (like I did this time) about a knife before I buy one and, therefore, I'm not very surprised at all when I receive it. This time, even though I had a good feeling about the stuff I read, I was still not entirely prepared for what I experienced when I opened the box.
It's a pretty hefty knife (read: heavy). I compared it to my regular leather-stacked USMC Ka-Bar and it's a bit heavier. I don't have anything to really weigh them with but I'd estimate that the Warthog is 50% heavier than the regular USMC. You can take this however you like depending on what you're going to do with it, but I REALLY liked the weight, feel and balance of the thing.
Second, I totally love the handle material. For some reason, I thought it'd be hard plastic like Zytel which it isn't. It's Kraton which I should have known was more like rubber. I guess the smooth look of the handle in pictures threw me off.
I really shy away from rubber and plastic handles. I even don't really care for the Kraton handles of Cold Steel or Sog too much but they're OK. THIS knife has a Kraton handle but feels MUCH different than any Cold Steel or Sog handle I've felt. Perhaps it's because it's smooth and not checkered and doesn't move when you twist it. The knife sticks to your hand well and feels like a tire. BUT, it doesn't pick up dead skin flakes from your hand and dirt and hair, etc. It also doesn't "give" when pressed on like other rubber handles do. It's a very hard rubber. I don't know how they did it, but they managed to keep the few things I like about rubber handles and dispose of the things I don't like about rubber.
The sheath is totally ambidexterous. The knife can actually go in the sheath with the blade facing either way! So, you can place the same sheath on your left hip and still have the knife in there with the blade facing backward.
The bottom of the two snapping straps of the sheath is REALLY hard to release. On my USMC it was the same thing only it was the top strap. I'll probably carry this one with only the top strap closed just like I carry my USMC with only the bottom strap closed.
A couple problems:
The snap on the side of the Kydex sheath is a little rough on the inside and scratched the knife the first time I put it in the sheath. That burr must have bent out of the way because I've sheathed it and drawn it many times and I only have the one scratch on the knife. If you like scratchless knives you better check this before putting it in the sheath and clean it up first.
The last thing has been covered before. What the HECK is up with the guard? The back of the blade has a thumb ramp that you can't get to! The overall shape of the blade would make it GREAT for camp kitchen work except that the lower guard keeps the blade from touching down on a cutting board!
Well, guess what! I fixed that already!
I cut the top guard really close so I can utilize the thumb ramp. I cut the lower guard past the blade so that it's off the cutting board when the back of the blade is down. Now, my top guard is about .125" and my bottom guard is a little over .25". I can still index the knife by the difference in guards. I'm going to color the cutting/grinding area where I did my work with a paint marker or sharpie and scan the knife for this post tomorrow.
Gee. I guess that wasn't so short. Sorry.
It's a cool knife. It'll be a keeper!
