My New Knifes

[woodyz]

Well I broke down and bought a couple of replacement knives.

By knives I mean the fixed blade and folding knife I consider my go to or first choice knife.

Now I have several Becker’s and Gerber’s, etc. but none are what I always end up going to.

I have many Mora Champion or Bush Craft in each kit, cache, or vehicle., just because they get the job done for the most part while staying sharp and cheap enough I don’t mind if I lose or break one once in a while.

But my go to knives have always been a fixed blade I bought in 1985 for $50.00 (an outrageous price back then) from Finland or Norway or somewhere that isn’t even made any more but was/is a great little fixed blade knife. Stays sharp enough to shave with, good for gutting, skinning and cutting but solid enough to push right through a deer sternum and cut through the pelvic bone with a good smack from a limb, then still be able to skin it without doing anything to the blade. Once a year after hunting season I would touch it up with a Lansky and be done with it.

So why replace it? Well I am not sure, but it isn’t big enough to chop with and I seem to find myself chopping more than I used to.

So I got one of these:



A Tom Brown Tracker by Tops Knives.

They come in three sizes now, a big, medium and smaller (I wouldn’t call it small). I looked at them years ago and it was too big, then the second one was just a little smaller then I wanted, so when they came out with the medium I didn’t have an excuse any longer.

It’s really not a knife as much as it is a knife system to chop, cut, skin, saw or whatever. It feels big and meaty in my hand with good balance and a great grip and does everything it was hyped up to do.

I like it so far, I guess the jury will be out until I see if I go back to my old go to fixed blade and put this one up with all the others (but I doubt it) (I already gave my old go to, to my Grandson)(These will go to my Son)

Oh! I do not like the Sheath it came with so I will be attempting to make one while looking at other options on the market.

Oh! And my new folder.



Just kidding, this is a picture of it, I will cover it in another post soon.

[crashdive123]

Let us know how they work. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Tom Brown Tracker but must admit that they are cool looking. For the folder, that grind seems to be gaining popularity but I don't understand completely the benefit of it.

[insaneh]

I like em. I can see the utility use for the tracker without having to carry a hatchet and the folder looks durable enough.

[graf]

I would like to get a knife like Matt Graham has on Dual Survival, I like the blade design. Until then my BK2 does the trick nicely and for larger jobs my BK9 niether broke the bank.

[woodyz]

Jul 12, 2014 4:04:53 GMT -7 crashdive123 said:

Let us know how they work. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Tom Brown Tracker but must admit that they are cool looking. For the folder, that grind seems to be gaining popularity but I don't understand completely the benefit of it.

I like the multi-edge grind because it lets me cut/skin/stab/shave with one blade. Notice both fixed blade and folder have the same multi-edge grind. The picture of the folder wasn't exactly the knife I bought I will look for the exact one, but the multi-edge is the same.

Crashdive I love looking at the knives you make. They are a work of art for sure and I know those who have bought any and all of them have been very pleased.

To me, looking at the pictures of them in someones hand and the one I have seen in person, they "feel" too small. Just my personal preference.

I will miss my old fixed blades gut hook. The cut of the folder represents my preference for a cutting edge top and bottom for stabbing without going to a dagger shape. With the fixed blade my defense/offence use techniques all work with the blade up.

For fixed blades I liked the TBT because I like to feel the weight in my hand and the grip of the middle size fits my hand like it isn't there.

As I said my kit/cache knives are mostly under $40 and mostly one style or the other Mora.

[woodyz]

Jul 12, 2014 4:04:53 GMT -7 crashdive123 said:

Let us know how they work. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Tom Brown Tracker but must admit that they are cool looking. For the folder, that grind seems to be gaining popularity but I don't understand completely the benefit of it.

Mr. Crashdive123 does that grind have a name?

[crashdive123]

Jul 21, 2014 16:57:13 GMT -7 woodyz said:

Jul 12, 2014 4:04:53 GMT -7 crashdive123 said:

Let us know how they work. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Tom Brown Tracker but must admit that they are cool looking. For the folder, that grind seems to be gaining popularity but I don't understand completely the benefit of it.

Mr. Crashdive123 does that grind have a name?

I'm not sure, but will do some research. I may have worded my comment incorrectly when I said grind because it could be hollow or flat grinds. The part that I don't understand fully the purpose of is the break in grinds leaving a thicker area of steel between the grinds. Sure, I get that it may add strength, but it appears (remember I haven't used it) that it would interfere with it's slicing ability.

[crashdive123]

Jul 22, 2014 4:46:02 GMT -7 crashdive123 said:

Jul 21, 2014 16:57:13 GMT -7 woodyz said:

Mr. Crashdive123 does that grind have a name?

I'm not sure, but will do some research. I may have worded my comment incorrectly when I said grind because it could be hollow or flat grinds. The part that I don't understand fully the purpose of is the break in grinds leaving a thicker area of steel between the grinds. Sure, I get that it may add strength, but it appears (remember I haven't used it) that it would interfere with it's slicing ability.

Z-Man - after looking through various places including knife forums it seems that the jury is still out on these compound grind, or multiple grind knives. Admittedly, they look pretty neat but as with any knife performance will be the key. With the tip being slightly thicker the theory is that it will add tip strength. There were questions about the slicing ability of the knives. With the riser that is created between grinds how will that affect overall strength? Again, a lot of comments but I did not see a lot of practical experience with them.

Bottom line is that if it works for you and you like it - then its a great knife. I'm anxious to see how you like them. Hope they work out well for you.