The Guardless Warthog - A demonstration of Utility and Style - A Review
Good afternoon everybody.
I wanted to do a thorough review now that I have had some time to play with my new warthog and my first OKT from Chris. First off, much thanks to Chris for always first making such great knives for all of us, and secondly, for having such a fun atmosphere for all of us to contribute to. I had some help from a few friends in sharking this knife, and wanted to thank them as well.
Some of the specs on this knife are my ideal. This is a damn good knife, all which will be revealed in short time.
My aim is to make this review two to three parts. This will break it up into more easily digestible sections, as well as allow more time to add additional observations and experience as I carry the knife and really put it through its paces. This first introductory section will cover my first few weeks with the knife. It will also include some basic measurements and specifications of the knife, as well as initial impressions, intended uses, and other thoughts that don't require an extended set of observations. I will still try to add as much empirical data as I can, especially to try and help others if they want to decide to purchase a knife like this one.
Part 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifications
OKT Warthog (No Guard)
Steel: CPM 154 - 3/32 Blade stock, Tapered tang, hammered flats
Grind: Flat Grind with convex secondary bevel
Materials: OD Green Canvas Micarta over Natural w/ Ruby Red accent liner (Sandblasted)
Natural Pins
Overall length: ~7.310"
Blade length: ~3.450"
Cutting edge length:~ 3.125"
Blade Height: ~1.375"
Handle length: ~4.250"
Weight: 3.20 oz
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I wear a large size glove. Here are some shots of the knife in hand and showcasing some of its dimensions:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a taper! I really like how thin this blade stock gets. The balance on this blade is incredible. The balance point is right in front of the second set of pins, and can sit freely balanced on one finger. This makes it for comfortable to hold and use.
When unpacking this beauty, my initial reactions were nothing short of incredible. The fit and finish on the knife is superb.. about as flawless as you can get. Chris' sandblasted finish makes for an incredible texture. I'm now a lifelong fan. It's just smooth enough, while simultaneously having a great grip. The contours of the knife during various grips were also part of this jaw dropping first impression. The knife molds to your hand, as everyone around here can attest to. The indentations and the curvatures are smooth and well thought out - something you can't help but admire the second you handle the knife.
The hammered flats were the next big thing I noticed. In my uses so far, they seem to be both resilient to show damage and beautiful. I really enjoy this texturing over any other finish I've yet to see.
So far my uses and intended uses for the knife include light kitchen duty both at home and at camp, EDC/utility in pocket, bushcraft work and fire starting, hiking companion, fishing, and potentially hunting later this year.
For many, this might be a bit small and thin for some of the uses I've listed. In my experience, 3/32" is the sweet spot for these tasks in terms of blade thickness. I want to be able to slice and do draw cuts effectively, maybe even chopping on small vegetables effectively. In regards to blade length and handle size, most of my tasks don't require heavy chopping or batoning pieces thicker than wrist thickness because I usually have an axe with me.
My reasoning for selecting the guardless variant of this knife are twofold. First, I like the amount of effective cutting edge that is gained by this design strategy. I like it a lot more for sharpening, as well as really having the ability to use my whole blade. With the placement of the pointer finger in the groove and design of this knife, I have no fear or experience slipping forward past the guard at all.
The second reason I wanted the guardless variant was to aid in food preparation and squeeze a little bit more blade height out of the design.
With those reasons in mind, and after several weeks of use, the guardless warthog has succeeded in both those rationales.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To draw on more specific experiences and observations, I decided to do some backyard bushcraft tasks. I hope Daniel (SPOwnson) from the review above me doesn't mind that my review and tests look a lot like his. I realized after doing them that we asked a lot of the same tasks of our nearly identical warthogs. In a way, I think this is a good thing because it shows a side by side comparison with the same knife from two different users in two different parts of the country. There is definitely value in that. Also, I believe it demonstrates we may have very similar taste and usage in our knife selection, so we can see if we have the same reactions and thoughts.
Continuing on, I started by working some wood.
I chose three pieces from this region.
The first piece, on the left, is western red cedar. It grows abundantly here in riparian areas. It is also referred to as The Tree of Life in this region for it's unlimited number of uses, including cordage, clothing, cooking, shelter, canoeing, to name a few. It is a very soft wood that burns easily.
The second is Oregon Big Leaf Maple. This species is also very common here, often covered in ferns, moss, and lichen due to the make up of its bark and water content. It is not as hard as sugar maples you find in Canada or the East coast, but it is much harder than cedar and the third piece of wood in my sample. Notice the bark has been removed in this piece.
The third and final piece on the right is black cottonwood. From what I have heard, the cottonwoods got their name because of how soft their wood is. These are very common across the country, but here, they specialize in wetland habitats.
I wanted to make some notches and feathersticks with each type of wood. In a way, I got to compare and contrast the woods and the warthog at the same time:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Feathersticks
^Cedar Featherstick
^Bigleaf Maple Featherstick
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Notching
^Bigleaf Maple Stake Notch
^Cottonwood Stake Notch
For some reason, the photos from the cottonwood featherstick, as well as the cedar notches are just not showing up from my file transfer. I'll see if I can add them later.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reactions
In line with expectations, the black cottonwood was the easiest to carve, followed by the western red cedar, and finally, the big leaf maple.
The warthog did well working all three. The edge retention is very good, even after doing some food prep tests earlier with the knife and carrying it quite frequently. A quick stropping session also brings back the bite very quickly on the CPM 154.
The thickness of the handle on this model, while very comfortable for EDC and weight, was a bit thin for my handsize doing these tasks. Especially extended wood carving and featherstick making. I'd say that there is a tradeoff there though, which I'll address later.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
In this set of photos, I'm demonstrating using the knife to split/baton small pieces of cedar, as well as prepare a small fire.
The knife batons very well, despite it's size, and is perfect for a small fire on a fishing trip or day hike.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is in in-sheath shot of the knife and how I've been carrying it.
The sheath is by Jason at Diomedes and has a pocket clip for inside pants carry. It's been quite comfortable and very convienent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 1 Conclusions
This warthog has been nothing short of stellar.
It is a great jack of all trades knife. It can do all of the tasks I wanted it to, and I can still carry it every day in my pocket to work, in a backpack, or in a duffel bag. It's a compact size but not too compact that you can't cook with it. It's a lot like a versatile, strong paring knife with a lot more nuance!
This knife fits into my favorite scheme of blade shapes and sizes, and it's exceeded my already high expectations and hopes regarding Chris and OKT.
Of course, a good review wouldn't be complete without some things I may change about the knife if I could.
First, if I could, I'd add just a touch more handle thickness to reduce hand fatigue during extended usage, but not compromise the easy carry by going full on woodlore coke bottle thickness.
Second, I'd like to see a tad more length on the handle to accommodate my specific hand size and shape. Even something as small as 1/8" might create a small fraction of length so my hand would be almost coddled by the entire handle, instead of being at the end of it.
Clearly, these changes are small things that don't prevent me from loving this knife. Since writing this review, I have taken the knife on numerous trips and gotten a lot more experiences with it. All of which I'd like to share in Part 2, alongside more adventure photos.
*The tradeoff I mentioned above in regards to the handle thickness - I recognize that thin steels generally amount to thinner handles. Usually, people who are looking for a blade with thin steel plan on having a light duty, edc option. For me, even in my larger blades, I like 3/32, especially in kitchen work, and therefore want slightly thicker handles to increase comfort without compromising slicing/cutting ability.
I hope this first installment was helpful in anyone considering a warthog, OKT, or just some of us in the group who enjoy reading analysis of our favorite tools. Thanks again everybody, and stay tuned
-Ryan