Tom Brown Tracker

I've said this before but I'll repeat it:D:thumbup:

My wife had read all the Tom Brown Books and so I got her one.

She took it out to the woods one day and tried to use it to chop some stuff.

She looked at me and said:

It's obvious to me that Tom Brown has never tried a khukuri
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I think as Spooky said the main weakness is the steep V grind factory edge is has piss poor penetration compared to a think convex grind khukuri.
 
hollowdweller makes a point that helps me clarify mine-

the overall profile isn't that bad. but draw cutting with a convex grind isn't that hard and a blade profile like that is begging for a full convex grind.
 
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I could ramble on for hours about this knife but I'll try and keep it short.

The main failing in my opinion with the knife is it's stock thickness and thick grind. Horndog vastly improved the one he sent me by giving it a great convexed edge but ideally it should still be outta 3/16" stock instead of 1/4"....hell the blades only around 6" long !
The handle is great and the overall shape of the knife would work well in thinner stock.
I would definitely try and make one if you are able but I would make it more akin to the one fashioned outta the old leaf spring or whatever it was in the film !
Obviously you aren't going to put a saw back on one that you make and this is a good thing because it is very limited in it's ability. At a push it will notch wood but you will be there all day trying to use it as a saw !
TOPS went the right route when they made the Tracker 2 outta 3/16" but then they went and made the whole knife shorter....WTH ??? This took away from the chopping ability and functional capability of the original.
The knife ain't as bad as most people say but I would still not recommend someone to spend that amount of cash on one, for the money there are many better options.
 
It's a Jack of all trades knife. Not my style at all, but I have seen people who love them. There was actually a review I read somewhere that compared it to the $15 Paratraxx version which performed better out of the box.

As for the movie thing, regardless of the advertising centered around the Tracker, it wasn't in The Hunted. The knife used in the movie was a Beck WSK, which by all accounts is a superior knife (though your looking at a lot of cash for one now).
 
There is going to be a version 3 comming out that sits in between tbt1 and tbt2 its the middle weight of the group
 
I actually like the handle dimensions so much that I used them for this design that I entered into R.Laconico's and M.Wohlwend's recent contest...

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Owned one. Sold it.

Has a terrible edge geometry that you need to reprofile to have work. The square-toothed saw is for notching, but I found it useless as you don't really need a saw for notching. It got in the way when I wanted to use it for draw purposes. The gut hook needs to be more pronounced to work. The rounded hatchet part works well for carving out coal-burned bowls, but the saw is in the way of grip. Not so well for chopping. The sweet spot is a bit muttled. It is heavy as hell! Clunky to use. There are two models out that are smaller in size.
Red Scorpion Six makes a nice WSK in high carbon now that holds up pretty well, and is much sharper and thinner, with better saw, and costs less.

Way too much money for this hunk of steel. I'm not a Tom Brown hater, I studied under him, volunteered and helped teach under him for a few years. The knife, after hundreds of students buying them, is usually returned or sold for a smaller size knife or model.... Few want to put so much money into something and then the time to rework it.

The reworked ones, though, can perform pretty well....
The WSK, IMO is an idea that still needs work, but also crams way too much in for efficient use....
the new Trackers, T2, and T3 can be bought from the Tracker School store as well if you can't find them...

The Beck Tracker is a work of art. Gun-Blued, selectively tempered, and runs for a couple thousand bucks.... To drool over...
 
Very interesting guys. Thanks again for the info. At some point I'm sure I'll try the design or at least something similar as you suggested koyote, and thanks again for the tips man; I was thinking a differential quench as I've heard the Khukuris are done in nepal. From what I'm hearing there are a few advocates for this blade out there, but the majority seems to be that this design seems to be trying to be doing to many things at once and failing to excell or outperform simpler dedicated designs at anything. This is what I wanted to know.
 
koyote said:
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One of the things that people forget is that Tom Brown teaches what ends up being a highly individual path. I don't think he'll ever admit it, but the preliminary tracker design is a jumping off place for the individual tracker to start from.
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i applaud your wisdom and grace in the matter, brother.

well stated.

........

it's easy for one to become a pariah when a designer tries something completely new or simply innovative, ...and even if that design is full of utility and weapons prowess, a lot of times it has to be trained on, to fully appreciate.

i wonder how many cavemen looked at bronze implements and said to themselves "i don't understand why i would need a knife like that when they are laying all around me inside of stones."


not everyone succeeds, but the glory goes to those who in trying, failed, and got up again to try again. it's the mark of a true American.


i like a hawk and a long thin knife as a team better for the weight, but i hold great respect for this design concept.


vec
 
hahahaha .... ran out of popcorn and fell off my chair

this saga is like a good curry burning twice :rolleyes:
 
I have a TOPS tracker, and the secondary (shaving) edge has a microbevel (right at the edge) that doesn't even remotely meet up with the plane of the overall bevel.

The knife works a bit better than when I got it, since I've been slowly but surely sharpening those edges. Still, for the $230 that was paid for it, it should have been able to shave hair out of the box. Over all though, the TOPS Tracker is just a small hatchet with a few extra capabilities.

I made my own version, and if you think TOPS version is ugly, check this out. But being thinner stock it cuts a lot better. (but I do need to get a proper handle on it...) :eek:
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Clint Hollingsworth
The Wandering Ones webcomic
http://www.wanderingones.com
 
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tonym said:
I really hope this doesn't turn into a pissing match..

For what its worth; I have seen the tracker knife used in the outdoors with great success. The person using it was far from a mall ninja, or follower of any kind. I don't think the knife does any task better than a dedicated knife, but it will handle all tasks put forth.
That said, I think the knife is butt ugly, and definitely not something I would own. However, if in a survival situation I would be happy to have any knife including the tracker.

Who wants Tracker porn?





The tracker is ugly enough by itself, but putting it next to the NWA makes it look even worse :D

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Man...I am SOOO glad I didnt mail out your package today!:D That is one sexy knife right there...I dont care who you are:p
 
gunknifenut said:
Man...I am SOOO glad I didnt mail out your package today!:D That is one sexy knife right there...I dont care who you are:p
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LMAO:D, You are obviously talking about the NWA :p


I mailed yours today, look for the white envelope with about 30 stamps on it :eek:
 
koyote said:
One of the things that people forget is that Tom Brown teaches what ends up being a highly individual path. I don't think he'll ever admit it, but the preliminary tracker design is a jumping off place for the individual tracker to start from.
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So does this mean you think the Tracker knife is a piece of Coyote Teaching?

I have handled the Tracker knife several times, including while I was at my standard class at Tracker School. I have cut water bottles with one, and the only thing I flat out don't like is the handle is to thick. Some day I will make one for myself with a 3/16" thick blade and no saw teath, but I like choppers.

Best advice I have for anyone wanting one is to hold it before you buy it.
 
The one I handled, did a LOT of things ok-decent, but NOTHING good or better. I do not like it, with the edge it comes with, but if it is convexed, I suppose it would work a little better.
 
For what I do in the woods it would be next to worthless.

I have heard people mention the "Gut hook" I do not see a gut hook on this knife, can someone explain? Chris
 
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