CS Trail Master fails miserably

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penetrator

Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
41
Howdy. I'm in the market for a large chopper and was searching around the net. I'm sure most of you know this thread:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328256

This did cast some doubts in my mind on whether this model would be suitable as a survival knife.

Then I found this:

[youtube]KmO0XSWhV04[/youtube]

Exact same failure mode as in the recon scout. Seems like a design flaw, since this happened with Carbon V and SK-5 blades. The sharp 90 degree angles where the blade meets the tang are perfect stress concentrators.

Obviously this doesn't happen in all the blades. Maybe the failed blades already had microscopic cracks in the corners from the heat treatment. Still, my trust in the Trail Master/Recon Scout is, how shall I put it, shattered. There are lots of knife videos around and these are the most horrific failures I have seen because they leave you with no knife.

What do you guys think?
 
I think I'll stick with a hatchet for that kind of thing maybe a full sized axe. The laugh of the person holding the camera was a little annoying too. :thumbdn:
 
RevDevil said:
I think I'll stick with a hatchet for that kind of thing maybe a full sized axe. The laugh of the person holding the camera was a little annoying too. :thumbdn:
Click to expand...

Like nails on a chalk board.
 
Good heavens. Did somebody resurrect Tiny Tim and get him to shoot that video? If you're worried about a Trailmaster failing that sort of use, there is no shortage of other knives on the market that could take that quite handily. An ESEE Junglas or a Becker BK-9 would be good alternatives.
 
I bet it would fail as a screwdriver too. A knife isn't an axe. I don't know why some seem to think it should be.
 
Stelth said:
I bet it would fail as a screwdriver too. A knife isn't an axe. I don't know why some seem to think it should be.
Click to expand...

I have always wondered that too. What part of 'The right tool for the right job' don't people understand? Around here we have a word for people that go into the woods unprepared, 'Dead'.
 
Well I have to agree with the other posters concerning the laugh!
I don't think a knife of the Trail Master's specs should break like that. But I also wouldn't use mine to baton such a big piece of wood.
The notion of the "survival knife" as the indestructible tool is widely accepted. I mean what does the 5/16" thickness do for you if you can't stress the knife?
So my viewpoint is somewhat balanced. Right tool for the job? OK, it's not the ideal tool but a big honking, high priced knife better hold up to whatever you dish out.
 
I can't understand why so many guys would go into the woods without an axe or even a little $20 Fiskars hatchet. It's a lot better than whaling away on the back of your knife with a caveman club. .
 
So you guys don't think large knives should be used for batoning or chopping? (I'm sure this particular trail master would also have failed from chopping alone, eventually. Or maybe from accidentally being dropped onto a hard surface). I understand this is somewhat of a controversial topic, but weren't these large knives designed for processing firewood, i.e. chopping down small trees and batoning? What else would you use them for in the woods?
 
penetrator, you are wise beyond your post count. ;) Welcome to BF.
 
I don't own a large chopper. IMO they are the today's version of the hollow handled survival knife fad...something people think they need but in practice don't. When I'm in the woods I do carry a knife but when I need to chop I have an axe and a machete.
 
there's an article on KSF on proper batonning technique. most every break is in the same place, and caused by user error. if you do it right, its not any more likely to break than an axe or hatchet.
 
I don't believe that. Aren't axes and hatchets made with a softer steel so they can better absorb the impact?
 
i'd post a link to the article, but i'm on my phone. basically, if you're pushing down on the handle as you hit the spine, there's a fulcrum effect, stressing the tang, eventually it can snap the knife. as long as your strikes are square, and you're not pushing down on the handle, batonning is fine.
 
I'd still like the steel issue addressed. I've never seen an axe shatter because someone was chopping with it.
 
After watching the video a few times I strongly believe that improper battoning technique caused that failure. He's smacking the blade all over the place. Quick, sharp strikes on the upper spine of the knife. Not to mention that the piece of wood he is trying to baton through is too wide in diameter for the Trailmaster. There wasn't enough contact area of the blade for him to properly baton through the log.

User fail as far as I'm concerned.
 
I have owned 4 Trail Masters (Still have 2) and used them all for chopping and Battoning and none of them ever broke on me.

I do agree the log is too wide for the knife also.
 
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