Ryan:
Super job with your review of the WH. You did a fine job translating your actual experiences with your knife into words so a reader could easily relate to the task at hand. I found your comment about handle length most interesting, along with your rationale on the benefits of a guardless variant. I personally own three WH's and every time I put a grip on one there is a little voice in the back of my head that says..."I wish this handle was about 1/4" longer". I wear a size XL glove so I would need another quarter inch to have the handle fill my hand. Since Chris is a good listener we can only hope that he'll take these comments to heart.
Looking forward to reading more as your experience with the knife continues to evolve.
Peter
Thanks so much Peter. It's been a blast doing it, and I am happy to hear you share some of the some responses to the WH as I do.
I love the review and insight, Ryan. And I definitely don't mind some overlap in testing. A different POV on the same type of work/tests is only going to be more helpful to someone deciding what they want their next purchase to be.
Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
Daniel, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing how are opinions agree and vary on the same blade! It'll be fun going forward. Thanks for checking out my review!
Great review of the Warthog Ryan! That's a handsome example of a stellar model by Chris! I remember when that one popped up for sale, I panicked for half a second because the stripe looked orange -my favorite handle combo- I thought i was going to have to borrow from my emergency fund to try and buy it.
The Warthog reviews, and having one in loan from Jerry, has really made me want to get one back in my collection. My old black canvas Commando WH is now with Varga I believe. Looking forward to your future installments. :thumbup:
Orion! Thanks so much for checking this out. OD/orange is one of my favorite combos as well. In fact, that's probably one thing that would have made this model even better for me. I'm a big fan of colors that pop. I'm glad you are enjoying the Warthog jerry loaned you, it's a great EDC knife, even if it's not your final choice. I've been meaning to comment on your big 3-1/2 thread, just haven't gotten around to it. I should show you my favorite EDC options. I think we have the same hand size and incredibly similar tastes. I EDC a 3/32 Hiking buddy with natural/evergreen burlap that looks a lot like the one you said was your favorite.
Great review Ryan! Your photos and write-up of how you put the Warthog through its paces are all top notch. I especially liked your descriptions of how the knife felt when you used it for various tasks. Chris makes amazing knives with features like thin tapered CM 154, gorgeous hammered flats, and wonderful handle contours and a supple grippy finish. I am glad that you found a model that straddles your sweet spot for size and uses.
I can't disagree with any of your conclusions. I too like the idea of thinner steel with a thicker handle, especially on 4" and up blades. On an ED size knife, I can understand why makers are inclined to not go too thick in the interest of weight savings and concealment. The 3.450" blade of the Warthog makes it kind of a jack of all trades size like you aptly described. Without getting into minute detail at this time, I have also determined that the handle length is a tad short of ideal for my hand. The scaled up Razorback model is a much better fit for my hand even though the difference in handle length is only about .290" on my samples. It does not take much to make a noticeable difference.
Thanks again for doing this thorough review. I look forward to Parts 2 & 3.
Phil
Phil, as always, I appreciate your responses and support in our hobby of knife usage science, as I think of it. I can't wait to collaborate with you more on future observations, as well as hear your reactions to parts 2/3 which are in progress from a photo editing stand point. I couldn't agree more that it only takes a tiny little bit to get a noticeable difference.
Ryan,
What a stellar review! Congratulations on your first Osprey!
I enjoyed reading your review and from a user's perspective allowed me to gain valuable insight if I had not already been familiar with the blade. Thank you for taking the time out to compile and compose the material necessary to post such an enriching review, the time spent is not lost on me. It is much appreciated!
I was happy to hear you enjoy the atmosphere surrounding my brand and Forum, and welcome your contribution.
I too appreciate and would like to thank everyone for there contribution to the Forum and helping you (Hawk) this knife!
As I stated before I was impressed with your review, the layout and flow made it easy to read and digest, as a maker I draw some different conclusions when reading a review and reviews are extremely helpful in this light.
I was excited to read that you liked many aspects I incorporate into my knives, it is reaffirming when you guys notice the extra effort I put in.
I designed this blade to fill the gap between a true EDC role and an all out bushcrafting knife. Sometimes our activities straddle both worlds quite frequently and having a knife suited for this purpose made sense to me.
In response to your observations on handle length.
For more handle length to alleviate fatigue I would recommend a Razorback that has essentially a larger version or your current Warthog handle with and Apache blade, By adding length to the handle IMO would lean the knife farther out of the EDC friendly range. There are other blades I offer in the general size range with longer handles, The Trail Hand, Mamushi.
More Bushcrafting working friendly knives would be the Apache, Razorback, Hunter but these three add considerable volume to your carry package over the previous two mentioned.
I look forward to your second and possibly third installment of the Warthog review and I assure you I will come back to this as a reference like I do wit previously posted reviews. Thank you for adding your contribution to the Review thread.
Chris. thank you very much for writing out this detailed response to my review. It means a lot to me. In fact, the fact that you are the maker of tools I can rely on so heavily when I'm out in the woods is part of the reason I am/will be a supporter of yours as long as I can be. Not only do I value your initiative in constantly striving for improvement and perfection, I also value your strong work ethic and your eagerness to work WITH your customers/supporters to represent your brand.
In regards to your response about this knife, the comment about filling the gap between a true EDC and an all out bushcrafting knife hit home with me in a powerful way. It's funny, but this is one of those intangible values I mentioned in the sentence above that really makes the difference for me. By interacting with you on this level, and a first name basis, I now have a better understanding of my knife (a product/tool) that you created, in a way that I didn't have an appreciation for until I read this response from you. I had been trying to pin point exactly where this knife fit in for me, and in one brief stroke, you nailed it. After all, you did design it, so I'm not too shocked! The coolest part about it is, before you replied this way, it had fallen into exactly that role for me.
My main form of income is in a restaurant where I use the warthog like a paring knife and utility blade. Cutting lemons, limes, opening boxes and packages, maybe very light prying or brushing.
Another portion of my free time is as a volunteer naturalist where I act as a hiking guide in local conservation areas. I haven't been doing this long, but it's a big part of my life and having a knife the size of the warthog is just right. I can use it to prepare light meals and lunches when out in the field. I can use it in front of people and it won't scare them. I doubt I'll be using it to chop or anything heavier, so it's a perfect trail buddy.
The final way in which I have been using the hog (all of this will be covered in part 2) is in my camping/bushcrafting endeavors. A huge personal goal of mine is to study and master a number of outdoor skills. Because of my scheduling, etc, I end up transitioning between the jobs and work I mentioned earlier and may suddenly end up traveling or on a camping trip. So far since acquiring the warthog, I've done three camping trips that were in this transition like state. The best part about all of that is that the warthog performed beautifully. It does fine work at camp as a kitchen blade and for fire prep. I plan on doing much, much more, but you get the idea.
Anyways, my point of all this is that I hope I didn't express any disappointment in the knife. The true understanding of how it was designed will help me in maximizing how I use the knife and how it serves me day to day. This is part of the enjoyment of it for me too, by waxing in and out of it's intended uses and seeing how it works.
Your comment about adding considerable volume to a knife size also weighs in heavily for me. Part of how I choose my most used knives are how well they transition from cross-platform needs, so I tend to gravitate towards the jack of all trades ones. I think the knives that are must-try for me from your line going forward are the trail hand and mamushi. Both of which I believe can fulfill many tasks in the way the warthog does, and still have a lean EDC feel.
Sorry for the long-winded and late replies, but again, I appreciate it and can't wait to spill my guts on the adventures with the warthog soon to come.
I have no idea why I never noticed this thread, but it looks like I have some thoughtful, well written contributions to go work through.
Love that Warthog Ryan! One of my favorite handles is a blasted green micarta on thicker natural canvas liners.
I agree danny, the blasted green micarta is amazing.
Oh, and I'm glad you noticed this thread. Every review from you that I have read has been nothing short of inspiring, so I expect you'll have some good material for us in the future.
