Tracker Dan Bloodshark Article

[Nate805]

I would agree with that. I have several factory and custom small EDC blades that fall in the same design and size nitch as the Bloodshark, all obtained for $125 or less. The Sayoc Tactical Group did have some Bloodsharks made by Strider Knives so those were in the higher price range also. I also read else where that the Bloodshark is a proprietary design to the STG and not Tracker Dan and he is no longer making these knives.

One must truly ask themselves how do these guys get away with stuff like this? I don't want to offend anybody but this seems to be another case of another maker trying to rip people off by over-pricing a knife with sticking "special ops/navy seal" on it and having fanboys for such things departed from their money. I don't want to get into the other things I've seen like a certain maker pricing his tomahawks made out of simple 5160( not forged like HI or Kukri house Btw) and pricing them at more then half a grand.

[acab70]

One must truly ask themselves how do these guys get away with stuff like this? I don't want to offend anybody but this seems to be another case of another maker trying to rip people off by over-pricing a knife with sticking "special ops/navy seal" on it and having fanboys for such things departed from their money. I don't want to get into the other things I've seen like a certain maker pricing his tomahawks made out of simple 5160( not forged like HI or Kukri house Btw) and pricing them at more then half a grand.

+1

[Jim D.]

Dan charges for his time. That's all. He grinds, heat treats, and wraps everything by himself, by hand. The sheaths require a lot of time to manufacture the clip for, and take another hour or so more to just form, rivet, shape sand and fit. As tight as Dan cord wraps them, it takes a lot of time for him to do.

If you don't think they're worth it, that's fine... But no one is making out like a bandit.

[Colt6731]

So Jim, is Dan even making these knives anymore? They seem hard to get. I know he is a SEAL and all but seems that there is some controvery on the delivery of his product.

[Jim D.]

Colt, he sure is. He has some long lead times, for sure. I am helping him out with the kydex side, and we will soon have a new order entry and management side that will help speed things up to.

He is shipping blades every week, just has a lot of orders to catch up on from when he was OCONUS and such.

[Gollnick]

Generally speaking, the more "extras" I see on a knife, "blood" groves, odd blade profiles, miracle grinds, serrations, etc. which are all sold as making the knife more "tactical", the more I know that the knife is a fraud.

The knife in question here is largely devoid of that foolery. Form follows function nicely.

Many Filipino-style trained people prefer no pronounced "guard" or hilt.

The only addition I might dare to suggest would be a small sharpening choil at the base of the edge as it makes sharpening much easier.

I absolutely LOVE the availability of a stainless-steel trainer that so closely matches the knife.

[Colt6731]

Colt, he sure is. He has some long lead times, for sure. I am helping him out with the kydex side, and we will soon have a new order entry and management side that will help speed things up to.

He is shipping blades every week, just has a lot of orders to catch up on from when he was OCONUS and such.

So to clarify, is Dan making the knives or are you? And what are the lead times at this time?

[Jim D.]

So to clarify, is Dan making the knives or are you? And what are the lead times at this time?

Colt, Dan does all of the knives. He's showed me how to grind, but I'm no where near capable of what he is. He just showed me as a favor and I've made some pieces for my own use. There really is an art to it, and it's one that I'm an amateur at.

I am currently making most of Dan's sheaths to his spec, but Dan fits the blades to them individually, and final finishes them before they ship to customers. This gives him the final review to assure that they meet his expectations. I'm mostly doing this kydex work for him so he has more time to spend on getting his blades out the door.

His lead times for current orders are hard to guess. He frequently disappears for a week or two at a time for a contracting gig, or to teach a class, so it's hard to say he can produce X blades in Y time. There are guys who've been waiting about 1 year now on orders... something neither of us are happy with. This is because he was downrange for an extended period of time recently, and had to move when he got back. That took him out of making blades for about 6 months or whatever it was. As for orders placed today, I would be guessing that 6 months would be an approximate lead time... but again, it's a part time gig for him and with him wearing so many other hats, neither of us can really promise any fixed delivery timeline. It's something we want to improve upon, but aren't willing to sacrifice quality to do so (one of the reasons why I'm doing what I can on sheaths for him, now).

Hope this answers your questions...

[sh00ter01]

The only addition I might dare to suggest would be a small sharpening choil at the base of the edge as it makes sharpening much easier.

The design is choil-less for a reason; with its application being mostly point driven, a choil is just a potential snag point. From the original post:

[INDENT]“No choil, that way you’re not going to get hung up on anything. Even back when I was working on a farm, cutting hay bail strings… any kind of a choil would just stop you dead in your tracks. Any kind of emergency, say you have to cut loose from your parachute… if you have a choil, you’re not getting through that as fast as you want. Any kind of emergency situation, it can hang up on a seat belt. Any kind of fighting situation, it can hang up on clothing, on a bone…and it can strip it right out of your hand.”

I absolutely LOVE the availability of a stainless-steel trainer that so closely matches the knife.

This in my eyes is a big plus Too many manufacturers/makers that claim their blades as fighting knives/SD tools give you NOTHING in terms of a trainer. I've starting making my own because of this.


I personally wont be buying one, first and foremost cause a concealed fixed blade is illegal were I live/work/etc., and second cause the price is pretty high considering.

Jim, does Dan outsource for heat treat or is he doing it himself? Also, you might want to get Dan nailed down on some kind of warranty and publish it to the site. For the price, a lot of guys are going to want something bullet proof (in terms of the warranty).

-sh00ter

[Gollnick]

The design is choil-less for a reason; with its application being mostly point driven, a choil is just a potential snag point.

Yeah... but I still think that a 1/16-inch diameter choil at the base of the blade woukd make sharpening easier.

[sh00ter01]

Yeah... but I still think that a 1/16-inch diameter choil at the base of the blade woukd make sharpening easier.

Yeah it probably would, I was more just trying say that I understand his reasoning for no choil.

-sh00ter

[Jim D.]

Jim, does Dan outsource for heat treat or is he doing it himself? Also, you might want to get Dan nailed down on some kind of warranty and publish it to the site. For the price, a lot of guys are going to want something bullet proof (in terms of the warranty).

-sh00ter

Hey, Dan does it all himself... he even bought a new kiln or whatever you call them so he can even do his Tomahawks in house, too. He likes to do it in house so he has more control over the quality, and it reduces the time he's got to wait on someone else to do it and ship them back.

Dan doesn't try to describe the blade as an indestructible prying tool, like how many people envision using a Strider or something. It's a thin stock design designed for penetrating flesh... not for prying doors apart, or using as a step ladder. Considering how people beat knives with sledgehammers on youtube then demand replacements when they break... I don't blame anyone for not having a "bulletproof" warranty written down. The Bloodshark is meant to be a weapon, not a crowbar.

That said, I'll mention it to him and see if he wants to put something in writing to put folks minds at ease. Thanks for mentioning it.

Jim

[sh00ter01]

Hey, Dan does it all himself... he even bought a new kiln or whatever you call them so he can even do his Tomahawks in house, too. He likes to do it in house so he has more control over the quality, and it reduces the time he's got to wait on someone else to do it and ship them back.

Good to know.

Dan doesn't try to describe the blade as an indestructible prying tool, like how many people envision using a Strider or something. It's a thin stock design designed for penetrating flesh... not for prying doors apart, or using as a step ladder. Considering how people beat knives with sledgehammers on youtube then demand replacements when they break... I don't blame anyone for not having a "bulletproof" warranty written down. The Bloodshark is meant to be a weapon, not a crowbar.

That said, I'll mention it to him and see if he wants to put something in writing to put folks minds at ease. Thanks for mentioning it.

Jim

Oh I know people like to go overboard with their testing (gotten a little crazy if you ask me) and I know the Bloodshark is design with specific task in mind. When I said bullet proof I meant more along the lines of 'lifetime warranty, free of defects, blah blah blah', that kind of thing.

Obviously he shouldn't have to cover abuse. But, if I'm not mistaken, I've seen videos on YouTube of him throwing them and doing some light batoning with it (the Bloodshark design); if potential damage caused by these tasks aren't covered under warranty then he may want to look into taking down the vids (if people see it they will emulate it and expect it to be covered).

-sh00ter

Edit: Does Dan have any idea on pricing for the Boxbadger yet?

[jwaj]

Nice write up Jim. Nice to hear that your helping Dan with the sheaths I know he's been busy lately with other commitments. I think Dan nailed the design for it's application.

[Jim D.]

Good to know.



Oh I know people like to go overboard with their testing (gotten a little crazy if you ask me) and I know the Bloodshark is design with specific task in mind. When I said bullet proof I meant more along the lines of 'lifetime warranty, free of defects, blah blah blah', that kind of thing.

Obviously he shouldn't have to cover abuse. But, if I'm not mistaken, I've seen videos on YouTube of him throwing them and doing some light batoning with it (the Bloodshark design); if potential damage caused by these tasks aren't covered under warranty then he may want to look into taking down the vids (if people see it they will emulate it and expect it to be covered).

-sh00ter

Edit: Does Dan have any idea on pricing for the Boxbadger yet?

Hey, I don't think Dan has any video of him with the Bloodshark online, got a link? To my knowledge he never did anything like that...

Working on a written policy now, though.

Re: pricing, not yet. I'm trying to pin him down on that this week though.

Thanks,
Jim

[sh00ter01]

Hey, I don't think Dan has any video of him with the Bloodshark online, got a link? To my knowledge he never did anything like that...

Working on a written policy now, though.

Re: pricing, not yet. I'm trying to pin him down on that this week though.

Thanks,
Jim

I'll see if I can find them, I message you the links if I do.

Thanks for checking on the pricing.

-sh00ter