Osprey Knives Review: K2 Raptor & Warthog Field Tested

Osprey’s sportsman’s duo give hunters an edge.

Osprey Knife and Tool is known for extremely clean execution of knife designs and the use of very thin stainless steel stock. Chris Linton, the owner and an Army combat veteran, names many of his blades, including the two featured in this review, after military machines. We were sent a couple of his blades, the K2 Raptor and Warthog, to put to the test and see how they perform in the field.

Osprey Knives Specs

Initial Impression Of Osprey Knives

Most initial impressions of knives start with the knives outside of the box they’re shipped in. When we received these two knives on our doorstep, we wondered before we even opened the box if anything was missing, as the box felt empty. Osprey Knife and Tool knives are incredibly light in the hand, and even with the sheaths, we thought our package was plundered at some point in the delivery. The featherweight is attributed to the finely tapered tangs and thin stock used. The Hawaiian Koa handle scales on both the K2 Raptor and Warthog are absolutely stunning and warm to the touch.

The Koa wood used in this set, like other pieces of this presentation-grade Hawaiian hardwood, has a near holographic attribute when examined under sunlight. The blades feature a textured finish on the flats that break up the transition from the ground bevel to the rounded spines. Both knives were sent hair-popping sharp, and each came supplied with a JouFuu leather sheath that’s optional. Osprey Knife and Tool only sells blades, leaving the sheath decision to the user. The K2 Raptor and Warthog are comfortable in hand while gripped with four fingers and also choked up and pinched between the fingertips. Each of the knives felt incredible to manipulate in the hand, but we wondered how they might work carving fish and game.

Osprey Knives Designs

Both of the knives are made of CPM 154 steel. According to Osprey Knife and Tool’s Linton, “I like using CPM 154 because it is a high-carbon steel that has 1.05 percent carbon, excellent stain and corrosion resistance, and offers the user a super steel that can be maintained with even just a strop.”

The Hawaiian Koa handles are both beautiful and functional. “Koa” in Hawaiian translates to “warrior” and is fitting for knives made by an American warrior. Once reserved for royalty, this wood has a rich history. Osprey Knife and Tool frequently sandwiches liners between the steel tang and hardwood handles, and for this set, natural Micarta is used.

Linton says the smaller of the two, the Warthog, was designed “to be a good all-around general-purpose knife that is compact enough for everyday carry, but large enough for use in the field.” The other blade, the K2 Raptor, was designed to serve as a game-processing knife, from small to large game, as well as for skinning and boning.

“My goal is to make a knife that appears as one,” says Linton. “Your eyes flow over it without pause; you can’t imagine it any other way, or the handle and the blade flow as one not as two distinct features. I feel the texturing helps the eye transition from the organic handle to the inorganic steel without a clash.” In use, they feel like a natural extension of your hand and make the transition from empty hand to bladed hand comfortable and instinctual between grip changes.

Osprey Knives Game Processing

We needed to find a place to challenge the steel’s edge-holding capability. We found a Russian boar processing facility at Tioga Ranch in Pennsylvania. The professional butchers here normally use dedicated butchering knives to process animals, and we asked them to give the K2 Raptor and Warthog a spin on five 200-plus-pound hogs harvested that morning.

The guys at Tioga Ranch used the two Osprey knives to fully skin hogs from head to toe. As the men worked, we asked what they thought of the blades. They commented how well the knives stayed sharp enough to cut through the thick layer of fat between muscle and hide as well as how well they cut through the hide, hair, and ground-in dirt when necessary. Of particular interest was the grip the butchers could get on the blood and fat-covered handles. They were skeptical at first, considering the nicely finished handles, but the built-in self-guards proved them wrong. After the Tioga test, they were brought back up to sharp with a little work on a Spyderco Sharpmaker. The thinner stock results in less material to remove from the edge.

Osprey Knives Fish & Food Prep

The Osprey Knife and Tool duo feature Hawaiian Koa wood handles. With impeccable timing, we had a part business/part pleasure trip planned to Maui, and both of these knives tagged along. During the course of the week we were there, this knife processed a lot of store-bought fresh fish. They had to because, the fish unfortunately didn’t want to cooperate, despite our best efforts to cast and present soft jelly tube lures.

We used the K2 Raptor to prepare a tropical ceviche. This citric-acid cooked dish requires the fish to be sliced very thinly. While not designed as a fillet knife, the K2 Raptor easily skinned the fish, working in and around the bones. The Warthog sliced effortlessly through fish, fruits, and peppers used in the dish. Outside the kitchen, the Warthog carried unobtrusively and was handy for all manner of cutting tasks. We left the knives dirty, and at the end of the week in the salt-air environment, they showed no signs of rust or wear.

Does Osprey Have An Edge?

The K2 Raptor and Warthog from Osprey Knife and Tool make an excellent combination and a dream set for the hunter or fisherman. They’re an heirloom set worthy of passing down from generation to generation. Both look as incredible polished up as they do with little bits of animal and drops of blood on them. Even though these knives came to me to the test as a pairing, either knife on its own is capable of fish and game processing. Purchasing a matched set like this might be out of the budget for some, but one knife could be well within reason. Considering the level of finish and the materials used, the K2 Raptor or Warthog are excellent values that should increase in value with time.

Sheaths by Joufuu

Each of the knives provided for this article were supplied with sheaths made by Bud at JouFuu Leather. Bud, like Linton, is a U.S. military veteran, and the two support each other’s work as expected between brothers in arms. According to Bud, “I told Chris [from Osprey Knife and Tool] once, while we might have not shared the same battlefields, we’re still a band of brothers. We both take pride in our military service and our crafts are handmade/bespoke.”

Bud’s service included four years active and four years in the reserves as military police (airborne). He served in Operation Just Cause (Panama) in 1989-1990. Since leaving military service, he continued his chosen career as a police officer and currently works full-time as a K9 handler/trainer in a suburban area of Atlanta. If you’re wondering what the JouFuu logo is, it’s his K9 partner.

JouFuu leather sheaths pair perfectly with Osprey Knife and Tool blades. The sheaths are hand-stitched with high-quality leather imported from Belgium and are all finished by hand with oil dye and Neatsfoot oil. JouFuu sheaths come in a wide range of configurations, including the Bush Scout rig provided with the knives for this review.
joufuu.com