Custom meets Production: The Trailmistress!

Colin Jason

Colin Jason

Joined
Nov 10, 2002
Messages
267
Greetings again all,

I was the proud recipient of this lovely vision early this afternoon, after it had returned from a brief stay with one of our talented forum members, and knifemaker, Robert Hankins.

tm_handle_01.jpg


Robert and I have been discussing a great many things over the last while, of course focused around knives, and this little project was the result of a little something that I asked if he could do. My fairly old, and moderately abused Cold Steel Trailmaster had put up with a number of years with of use from yours truly, and unfortunately, that evil kraton handle...well...kratered. :D

I mentioned the knife's condition to Robert, and wondered if he would be interested in giving a rehandle on this trusty unit a try. Of course, I also asked for a bit of refinishing work on the blade, as prior sharpening had left part of the blade polished, which didn't go with the natural satin finish it was born with.

Needless to say, after some great conversations, and some really beautiful work by Robert, my newTrailmistress was born! Was this an intresting melding of production and custom? You decide!

tm_handle_02.jpg


tm_handle_03.jpg


I just wanted to give some kudos to a great custom knife maker, and a great guy all around. Thanks for bringing an old warhorse back to life Robert! :D

I'm sure any of you who read over this, who may want something like this done to an older, or much-loved knife, will be just as pleased as I am, if you contact Robert about doing it. I'm now looking at my bone-stock Cold Steel Recon Scout and thinking; ' This would look pretty cool with a nice ironwood handle... '

Will the madness ever end? I hope not!! :D
 
Beautiful work. Hmmmm . . . I've got an old Recon Tanto in dire need of the love. E-mail is already sent Hankin's way. :D
 
Hey Burchtree,

You won't be disappointed with his work, believe me. I also noticed you hail from Springfield. If you ever want to see this knife in person, let me know, as I'm 20mins away in Buffalo. :D
 
I think the result is pretty terrific - and it's great that Robert would take the time to customize this knife for you - cudos to him!

Cheers,

Roger
 
Wow!:D You really have a beauty there. That Scagel-type handle is gorgeous. Are you really gonna use it now?
 
If you don't mind, could you tell me about how much it cost to have that done? That's great that there is another knife freak only 20 minutes away.
 
Hey again,

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm sure Robert will really enjoy reading this thread when he pulls himself away from the shop for a long enough period of time.

knifenerd: Of course I'm going to use it! I use all of the knives I own. I simply don't believe in the 'admire it' mentality. A knife was made for using, just like a car was meant for driving! Rest assured, it's most likely going to see some use this weekend, and I'll update this thread with some futher pics if I do so. I just hope the weather improves a bit. :D

Burchtree: In regards to costs and all that, I'll send you an e-mail regarding what was involved. There were more factors involved here than meet the eye. As far as being a knife freak, I've actually just gotten back into it after a few years lost in computer-land. It's certainly good to be back! :D You'd be surprised to know that there are some good very local knife makers here as well. I've actually got a knife on order from one right now to boot!

Trust me when I say that I did a bit of research regarding the whole rehandling process with these knives, before I asked Robert to partake this one. In fact, here's a shot he sent me, of the knife with its handle removed:

tm_stripped.jpg


It just amazes me even more, when I look back at that shot, and then at the wonderful knife in front of me. :D
 
Just a quick update to let you know that you have mail!

:D

...man, I really need to get my sheath freshened up for this thing...

:p
 
Excellent Job Robert did for you Andrew, assuming that it's a carbon V trailie, it should perform really well (as well as looking good & being a bit more user friendly in the handle department):D
 
I have a CS Trailmaster in stag and mine don't look anything like that. Nice work!
I wanted a CS Big Bear to go with it so I asked Jake Evans to change the handle on one.

Looks like this.
 
Thanks again for the compliments guys! :D

Rest assured, everyone who has actually seen and handled the knife thinks it feels just great. Most commented that the balance of the knife is very nice, and feels very quick in the hand.

Colin, the knife is the Carbon V model, and it's at least 10 years old, if not older. I really don't even remember how long ago I bought it. I had been trying to buy one of the stag-handled models at that time, but they were so hard to get! I think I did one better with this one, don't you?

The weather is supposed to be getting better this weekend. If it does, rest assured that you're going to see some pictures of me putting this reborn blade to use. Gently of course! ;)
 
Thanks for the kind words.
It's a nice change of pace every now and then. Working on production knives takes just as long as working on customs so not too may Makers take them on. But its a fun way to renew a favorite blade and make some Mods where possible:D
 
As luck would have it, the weather actually got warm enough to entice me out of the house this weekend. So, while I spent some time marking trees on our property, I decided to take out the Trailmistress, and see how it handled:

trailmistress_01.jpg


This is the first shot, while the blade was still in its pristine shape.

Next, a quick shot while taking a break putting up some markers. I had done a fair bit of tree trimming with it up to this point, and mostly on some pretty hard wood. One thing about that Carbon V steel, it does seem to hold its edge pretty well.

trailmistress_02.jpg


You'll notice the gloves resting on the tree in that last shot, as well as in the following one. While the new stag handle feels great in the hand, if you're doing any serious chopping, a pair of gloves are highly recommended. I found that under impact, the knife would twist slightly in my grip. Gloves solved this problem admiraly.

trailmistress_03.jpg


In the above shot, as well as the next, I decided to give a quick chopping test to see how hard it would be to sever this main limb. Overall, about 25 chops to get through it. Not too bad by my count. Of course, the edge was still pretty dang sharp, and cut into some thorn-bushes with ease.

I also spent a bit of time with my all-time favorite survival knife, the Robert Parrish Survivor. I was demonstrating how well the sawback on it worked, to a friend who had come along that afternoon. Both knives are pictured for posterity, on the stump the Trailmistress had created:

trailmistress_04.jpg


All in all, I'm very pleased with how the knife feels and works. Robert Hankins put on hell of an edge on it, and I never even had to touch it up that afternoon. Of course, it needed some TLC when I got home, to clean off the 'marks' of the days work. Again, I encourage anyone thinking of having something like this done to go ahead and do it! You'll be very happy with the results.

Thanks again Robert! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top