I have a Lansky sharpening system, you know, the stones attached to a rod which goes through a hole in the knife holder to maintain a proper angle. Does anyone have any experience with the Warthog system from South Africa and its advantages/disadvantages?

I don't have experience with the wart hog. But I do have a lansky...it was a big dissapointment.

the chef

The SA warthog system works, but you have to be able to hold the little warty bastard real still as you stroke your blade along those tusks.

I think the Lansky is at its best with shorter blades, but where it really shines is when it's in the hands of someone who would be dangerous on a grind wheel. It is truly idiotproof in that regard, and helps those who are sharpening challenged maintain a proper angle and end up with a sharp tool instead of a butter knife or a letter opener. I generally use a burnishing steel or, if the knife has been allowed to lose its edge, a felt wheel with green compound, but I have a good eye, a steady hand, and a lot of experience. For someone who only has to use it two or three times a year, the Lansky system is great and it does a fantastic job of keeping a lot of people from bothering me when I have other work to do.

I purchased a warthog sharpener a 2 years ago.I had been using a Razor Sharp system.It was a blade clamp system that uses a grind stone,hone stone and steel.I got good results on most blades including Buck 119,Gerber LMF, Spyderco Delica.I had shitty results on my Normark fillet knife and was considering getting a new Kershaw.The Warthog takes half the time to get the same results if not better. My normark has the best edge ever and needs very liitle work to keep it. I bought the steel attatchment and use it often.I would recommend a Warthog sharpener to anyone.

quote:

I had shitty results on my Normark fillet knife a

I had a hell of time getting my Normark sharp too. I finally got the diamond sticks for my spyderco sharpener. This reprofiled the blade quickly and it now takes a nice edge.

my name is john, i am the US importer for the V-Sharp and i understand that sometimes people do not understand this machine. you almost have to see it work to really understand what is going on. if you want to take the 20-30 minutes and count the number of strokes on your Lansky, go for it. if you want to get your knife sharp fast and have a consistent bevel on your blade, use the WARTHOG!! if anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to email or call.
Warthog Home Page or just call 877.719.0123
email is warthog.sharp@yahoo.com

I think the multi-sharp hunter model is the warthog product that would most interest the hunters on this forum, and that it what I would like to compare to a Lansky. Anyone have any experience with it?

I spoke to John over at Warthog and I bought a V Sharp. It showed up here today and looks pretty cool. I should be able to give some feed back by the end of the week.
I bought this for my fillet knives, kitchen knives and everyday use hunting knives. I should be able to give it a good work out this week.

I believe I gave the Warthog a good workout and the results are in.
It seems that no matter which knife I sharpened
the Warthog needs to put a new angle on it to sharpen it. In th case of the softer steels it works great and is an easy short process. In the case of the harder steels it takes some time and is accomplished by using a lot of strokes to create the new angle. Once the new angle was created it takes seconds to resharpen it to a razors edge.
Example: I sharpened Henkel and Dexter kitchen knives, angle set at 20 degrees. It took a new angle relatively easy as I found the steel soft.
I sharpened fillet knives with the angle set at 15 degrees. Once again the Dexter and other soft knives took the angle well and easily. I sharpened a Normark and a Mondial both Stainless Steel hard blades. The angle took some time to create but again once it was done it takes only a few passes to touch it up to a razors edge again.
The same with hunting knives angle set at 25 degrees the Shrade took and easy edge while the Buck took some time.
It seems the Warthog is a bit of a precision tool requiring some time tuning up and creating the new angles. Once this is done it takes seconds to touch up. It seems most of my knives need only touching up as they never really get that beat up. So the Warthog worked out well for me.