At a recent Writer’s Hunt, I met David Reynerson, who runs Warthog Sharpeners in America. The hunt was put on by five major outdoor companies and each company brought one writer. We were hunting exotics on the Thumbtack Ranch down by Batesville, Texas.
Everyone was shooting a Savage Arms rifle; we used ZeroTech Optics, Federal ammo, and DiamondBlade Knives, and after animals started being brought back to camp, David quickly got voted to be the official knife sharpener. And he didn’t get to vote!
David had already been put in a good light when Charles Allan, the owner of Diamond Blade Knives, told me that he used Warthog sharpeners on his knives. If you’re not familiar with DiamondBlade Knives, they’re an elite hunting knife with a friction-forged edge, which makes for hard steel that holds an edge for an unbelievably extended period of time. But you need a good stone to sharpen them when they get dull, when Charles put in a good word on Warthog, that made me stand up and pay attention.
I have always used a flat stone to sharpen my knives and never got into pre-set stones/rods. My concern has always been that the pre-set angle may or may not fit the edge of my knife- it’d be a shot in the dark.
Warthog Sharpeners V-Sharp A4 Knife Sharpener
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Warthog Sharpeners V-Sharp A4 Knife Sharpener Aqua Sky |
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WARTHOG SHARPENERS V-Sharp A4 Knife Sharpener, Bronze |
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Warthog Sharpeners V-Sharp A4 Knife Sharpener Gunmetal Grey |
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Warthog Sharpeners V-Sharp A4 Knife Sharpener Red |
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The Warthog V-Sharp A4 alleviated those fears by offering four settings: 15, 20, 25, and 30 degrees.
That should be close enough angles to work on any of your knives. To change angles is simple. Pop the rod (hone) loose on the top end, and pull the rod out of the slot on the bottom end. Place the bottom end into the desired hole (angle), re-snap in the top of the rod and you’re good to go. It is that simple.
To sharpen your knife (After you have adjusted the stones to the proper angle), hold the blade straight up and down and run it through the sharpener. If the blade is super dull, they recommend running on the rods 30 times while using a sawing motion from the top of the rods and down.
The Warthog V-Sharp comes with a double-sided rod and 325-grit diamond hones, and the other side is finished steel. You can buy separately 600 grit, 1,000 grit and Ceramic hones.
Caring for Your Diamond Hones
Warthog recommends cleaning your knives before sharpening them to prevent fat from clogging up the hones. They also recommend regular cleaning of the hones by using a toothbrush and dishwashing soap.
The MSRP on the Warthog V-Sharp A4 knife sharpener is $99.99 and as is usual, we will close with the company specs. (In this article I interchangeably used the words rods or hones for what Warthog calls their hones, which is the sharpening rod).
V-Sharp A4 Features:
- Breakthrough 15-degree angle for high-end specialty knives.
- Patented V-Sharp system for precision angle adjustments.
- Comes with premium rubber base
- 4 Adjustable Angles 15-20- 25- 30.
- 325 Grit Natural Diamond Hones with finishing steels included.
- Metal Frame Construction.
- Durable Powder coat Finish.
- Additional 270, 325, 600, and 1000 grit, and ceramic hones available.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”