Update, nearly three years later.
It looks like this picture was taken October 1, 2014:
(L-R) Buck, Puma and Cold Steel Trail Master in 0-1 (still with shipping grease on it!).
Can't say anything at all about the Buck or the Puma, other than they both seemed like good, sturdy, well-made knives with nice sheaths as well. Both were given away, the Buck to my older friend and the Puma as a wedding present.
Funny story, it was a glorious outdoor wedding on a mountaintop where we all rode horses (except the older folks who came up on side-by-sides) with a sizable audience . . .
. . . and my dog ran up and peed on the bride's dress. There were gasps of shock and horror.
I've never been so embarrassed.
So, kinda-sorta as an apology for trying my best to ruin the wedding, I gave the groom, who is a "knife guy," the Puma. He appreciated it and had already spotted it a ways off, asking me if it was a Puma. So, the knife does get some recognition!
Anyway, neither of those knives were for me. No sir. There is only one knife I need on horseback, and it's even replaced my much-beloved Tramontina 18" Bush Machete machete. Here's a thread I started from 2006 about how much I use a machete on horseback: http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/machete-for-an-equestrian-trailblazer.420611/
I need to update that one too. I wonder how many threads get nine-year updates.
I'm talking about the Trail Master. That knife is a beast.
At first, I thought it was too large for most tasks but too small to act as a good machete. But, after spending three years with it, I've so far decided that it's the best blade I've ever had.
October 1, 2014:
And, May 15, 2017:
It's never been sharpened. Nope. Not even just touched-up a little on the ol' belt sander. No need. It'll cut through branches and logs as well as willowy grass.
One might think that I don't use it as much as some people would have over the course of three years.
Ha. Haha. Hahaha.
Cleared some brush off a trail on a solo ride today. This is common, once-a-week type stuff.
Solo ride, scouting ahead for a small party tomorrow. I was about a half pint and nine beers down and it was hot as hell, and I am no longer in the same shape I was five and ten years ago, not by a long shot, but this was no chore.
Sorry for the crappy iPhone photography. I didn't think I'd be posting any of these pictures or anything. However, I need to make a knife purchase, so here I am. Figured I'd update my last thread with a review of the Trail Master.
As much as I love the handle and the sheath, I'd like something better looking. While extremely durable and functional, the plastic and rubber isn't very "country." Honestly, a leather sheath and wooden handle would be a down grade, but I'd do so for appearance. That's all subjective; objectively, the modern materials are better in every metric.
It's quite a hunk of steel, let me tell you. Like I say, when I first got it, I thought it was silly-big. While not real heavy—and it is very well balanced—it just didn't seem wieldy due to its size alone. You're not going to sit in the rocking chair on the porch and whittle sticks with with this monster, nor are you going to want to skin a buck with it. However, you could do those things if you only had this knife.
That's kinda it's thing. If you can only bring one knife, this is it. One might say, "Why the hell would I only carry one knife?! I carry three at all times!" Well, I did too . . . But, over the course of the last three years . . . I just kinda stopped. This one knife did everything so it gradually replaced all the others. On the trail—of course I don't carry this thing strapped to my leg around town. I'm not talking about EDC or whatever, just bushcraft.
Before this knife, I carried a "small" fixed blade, an 18" machete, and a folder in my pocket. Small, medium and large. Temporarily, I replaced the machete with the Trail Master because I got drunk and left it stuck in a log somewhere. Well, it did a serviceable job compared to the Tramontina, so I didn't hurry to replace it right away. After several trails, I started strapping the Trail Master to my belt rather than my saddle and leaving the fixed blade at home. Last, I stopped bringing a machete. Now, I carry a pocket knife out of habit, but the Trail Master does everything, and it does it well.
It looks like this picture was taken October 1, 2014:
(L-R) Buck, Puma and Cold Steel Trail Master in 0-1 (still with shipping grease on it!).
Can't say anything at all about the Buck or the Puma, other than they both seemed like good, sturdy, well-made knives with nice sheaths as well. Both were given away, the Buck to my older friend and the Puma as a wedding present.
Funny story, it was a glorious outdoor wedding on a mountaintop where we all rode horses (except the older folks who came up on side-by-sides) with a sizable audience . . .
. . . and my dog ran up and peed on the bride's dress. There were gasps of shock and horror.
I've never been so embarrassed.
So, kinda-sorta as an apology for trying my best to ruin the wedding, I gave the groom, who is a "knife guy," the Puma. He appreciated it and had already spotted it a ways off, asking me if it was a Puma. So, the knife does get some recognition!
Anyway, neither of those knives were for me. No sir. There is only one knife I need on horseback, and it's even replaced my much-beloved Tramontina 18" Bush Machete machete. Here's a thread I started from 2006 about how much I use a machete on horseback: http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/machete-for-an-equestrian-trailblazer.420611/
I need to update that one too. I wonder how many threads get nine-year updates.
I'm talking about the Trail Master. That knife is a beast.
At first, I thought it was too large for most tasks but too small to act as a good machete. But, after spending three years with it, I've so far decided that it's the best blade I've ever had.
October 1, 2014:
And, May 15, 2017:
It's never been sharpened. Nope. Not even just touched-up a little on the ol' belt sander. No need. It'll cut through branches and logs as well as willowy grass.
One might think that I don't use it as much as some people would have over the course of three years.
Ha. Haha. Hahaha.
Cleared some brush off a trail on a solo ride today. This is common, once-a-week type stuff.
Solo ride, scouting ahead for a small party tomorrow. I was about a half pint and nine beers down and it was hot as hell, and I am no longer in the same shape I was five and ten years ago, not by a long shot, but this was no chore.
Sorry for the crappy iPhone photography. I didn't think I'd be posting any of these pictures or anything. However, I need to make a knife purchase, so here I am. Figured I'd update my last thread with a review of the Trail Master.
As much as I love the handle and the sheath, I'd like something better looking. While extremely durable and functional, the plastic and rubber isn't very "country." Honestly, a leather sheath and wooden handle would be a down grade, but I'd do so for appearance. That's all subjective; objectively, the modern materials are better in every metric.
It's quite a hunk of steel, let me tell you. Like I say, when I first got it, I thought it was silly-big. While not real heavy—and it is very well balanced—it just didn't seem wieldy due to its size alone. You're not going to sit in the rocking chair on the porch and whittle sticks with with this monster, nor are you going to want to skin a buck with it. However, you could do those things if you only had this knife.
That's kinda it's thing. If you can only bring one knife, this is it. One might say, "Why the hell would I only carry one knife?! I carry three at all times!" Well, I did too . . . But, over the course of the last three years . . . I just kinda stopped. This one knife did everything so it gradually replaced all the others. On the trail—of course I don't carry this thing strapped to my leg around town. I'm not talking about EDC or whatever, just bushcraft.
Before this knife, I carried a "small" fixed blade, an 18" machete, and a folder in my pocket. Small, medium and large. Temporarily, I replaced the machete with the Trail Master because I got drunk and left it stuck in a log somewhere. Well, it did a serviceable job compared to the Tramontina, so I didn't hurry to replace it right away. After several trails, I started strapping the Trail Master to my belt rather than my saddle and leaving the fixed blade at home. Last, I stopped bringing a machete. Now, I carry a pocket knife out of habit, but the Trail Master does everything, and it does it well.