Is this a useful knife design?

S

Starquestman

Joined
Nov 2, 2016
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6
OK - I've been seeing this design everywhere lately. It has that secondary grind in front of the finger guard - what's that for? Does anybody use it for a specific purpose? Besides aesthetics, I cannot think of any function that would not be better accommodated by a conventional single grind.
- just got the photo online, nor mine.
- the cat is mine though. She's just here to listen!
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If all knives had to be just "useful" we would all be carrying SAKs and that would be it.

Aesthetics matter enormously in peoples' knives purchases whether they like to admit it or not, Starquestman. Its part of a knife's "function."

Do I think that knife is silly? Yes. No doubt I might find design elements on knives you own silly, and vice versa. And no doubt the owners of that knife as well as all owners of any "Tracker" ground blades would have reasons to explain why that element on that knife is useful.
 
A friend of mine truly loves the tracker design. He's owned about 10 of them and still has 4 in about every size available. Uses them religiously while in the woods and since he lives in the woods, that is quite often. I'll try to explain why he likes the design and as far as I can remember it's because he can choke back on the handle and really swing it almost like an axe, or choke up and use the first bevel after the finger guard as a sharper whittling edge. It doesn't matter how many times I use a thinly ground 4" camp knife to chop the same size branches down with little effort. He just truly loves that design since he was a kid and first saved for one. People just like different things I suppose lol. I should add he likes the TOPS Tracker variants, not something like this. I think this design got popular from Counter Strike.
 
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I find the tracker design aesthetically very interesting, but until I use one in the woods I'm slightly dubious of its overall functionality. Some people really swear by them though, and I can see how it could be certainly be a useful tool. I would say though, the one in the original post will certainly be less usable than tom brown design tracker.
 
It probably makes the owner happy, that's the only real use two of my knives have.
 
James w said:
Are you saying saks are the only useful knife?
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Yes. That is what I am saying. No knives are useful other than SAKs. :rolleyes:

What I am saying is that if knives were just objects of pure utility we could all get by with SAKs. Better?

But none of us do, so knives to us are more than objects of pure utility, or, one could argue, one of the the things knives "do" for us, part of their "use" or function is to look cool to us. To make us feel good.

Would I take that XTreme MTech or whatever into the woods? No.

Do I know what that grind is supposed to do? What its purpose is? I think it is to look cool to somebody. That's what it "does."
 
This knife pattern is becoming common because it has been featured in several video games, particularly Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

The design was around before it was featured in video games and it seems the video game modellers saw it somewhere and copied it into their games.

As for the usefulness of the design; it is not particularly practical or well thought out for any specific use. I think its biggest feature is probably just looking unique. That is probably part of the reason it was chosen in the first place.
 
Lapedog said:
This knife pattern is becoming common because it has been featured in several video games, particularly Counter Strike: Global Offensive.
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Its hardly "becoming" common, it has been common and well known for quite a while, has it not? Heck, The Hunted came out in 2003.
 
marcinek said:
Precisely! That's the same reason people have screennames like "Starquestman" instead of "Bob from Vermont." :D
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Darn.. I wish I had a cool screen name like "Bob from Vermont"..

I actually dig the Tom Brown Tracker look. All because of that movie The Hunted. It may not be the first blade I'd buy, maybe not even the tenth, but I'd own one. I'm sure that type of blade has it's list of pros and cons like any other knife out there. That's just the nature of knives.
 
marcinek said:
What I am saying is that if knives were just objects of pure utility we could all get by with SAKs. Better?
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I gotta disagree on this one - a general purpose survival knife, a machete made for hacking branches, a meat cleaver, a kitchen knife for chopping vegetables, a cardboard box cutter - all of these knives are radically different shapes, but all the shapes are formed by the function of the knife.

And as far as the comfort of having an aesthetically pleasing shape, well, I'm all about good looks! But I don't believe looks should compromise function. Because somebody's pleasure in their knife will end abruptly when they discover it is not functional for their needs.

All I want to know is if this particular shape has a specific function, or if it does not. My purpose is certainly not to criticize it (I understand aesthetics!), but to know what shapes I should be making my own knives in.

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Starquestman said:
... a general purpose survival knife, a machete made for hacking branches, a meat cleaver, a kitchen knife for chopping vegetables, a cardboard box cutter - all of these knives are radically different shapes, but all the shapes are formed by the function of the knife..
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What is the function of a "general purpose survival knife"? And wouldn't that MTech knife, modeled after a Tom Brown Tracker "general purpose survival knife", also be a "general purpose survival knife"?

If the function of that is clear, then one would think the function of that MTech is also.
 
I don't find it useful (full disclosure, though, I don't own one) but the idea behind it is a one tool option. The grind closer to the guard can be thinner to allow for finer carving tasks and the forward grind can be more obtuse to stand up to chopping and abuse. It's far from a knife I would choose, but I know there are folks who not only like it, but use it very competently in the outdoors. For an example of a similar idea that I find much more practical take a look at the Skrama.
 
Lapedog said:
This knife pattern is becoming common because it has been featured in several video games, particularly Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

The design was around before it was featured in video games and it seems the video game modellers saw it somewhere and copied it into their games.

As for the usefulness of the design; it is not particularly practical or well thought out for any specific use. I think its biggest feature is probably just looking unique. That is probably part of the reason it was chosen in the first place.
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The Spartans in Halo 4 use this knife also.
 
jc57 said:
These Victorinox shills are getting pretty bold!
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Nobody ever seems to ask what things on a Vic SAK "do." :D Except for that wacky hook doodad. And that's for your brown paper packages wrapped up in string.
 
marcinek said:
Its hardly "becoming" common, it has been common and well known for quite a while, has it not? Heck, The Hunted came out in 2003.
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I should have specified I meant that particular MTech tracker pattern has become more popular. The original tracker design has been around for a long long time yeah!
 
marcinek said:
Yes. That is what I am saying. No knives are useful other than SAKs. :rolleyes:

What I am saying is that if knives were just objects of pure utility we could all get by with SAKs. Better?

But none of us do, so knives to us are more than objects of pure utility, or, one could argue, one of the the things knives "do" for us, part of their "use" or function is to look cool to us. To make us feel good.

Would I take that XTreme MTech or whatever into the woods? No.

Do I know what that grind is supposed to do? What its purpose is? I think it is to look cool to somebody. That's what it "does."
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Good luck just getting by with an sak in the woods :rolleyes:
 
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