O1 Cold Steel Trailmaster

Gary W. Graley

Gary W. Graley

“Imagination is more important than knowledge"
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Mar 2, 1999
Messages
27,443
Checking to see if someone can measure the thickness at the edge bevel on one of the O1 Trailmasters, I'm in the market for a larger fixed blade but don't want one with too thick of an edge.

Thanks in advance!
G2
 
I have this knife. I know that it is 5/16" thick at the spine. No measurement is given for the edge bevel and I have no tool to take such a measurement. Cold Steel has a toll free number, maybe they can be of some service. 800 255-4716.
 
I don't know about the O1 Trailmasters, but the San Mai I briefly had came with a beautiful full convex...maybe .030 1/8" back from the edge.

~Chip
 
:) Can't help with a specific measurement but it's a great all around Bowie . I've chopped thru hardwood tree trunks 4 to 5" thick with no problem . But I don't think it's the thinnest , most slicey of large knives . Natchez Bowie might be a better meat chopper/ slicer but I wouldn't use mine to chop wood . ;)
 
Thanks guys, I’ll have to give it some thought, I had the original one years ago but wasn’t sure how the new one is
G2
 
I've had an 01, and it was thinner than the San Mai behind the edge. I don't have measurements, can just say that it didn't seem overly thick to me.
 
Thanks guys, I think I'll put a want to buy for one of those Trailmasters and see if someone has one in good condition that is willing to part with it.
G2
 
My O1 Recon Scout had a somewhat obtuse geometry behind the bevel, which I both expected and hoped for. They left just enough meat on the bone that I felt comfortable thinning it out by way of convexing the secondary bevel. I feel satisfied that it is still plenty strong for me to have a lot of fun with it. Good luck with your search and thanks for all you contribute to the forum!
 
My friend out west had a O1 Trailmaster sent my way, thanks Raj very kind of you !!! This is a beasty of a knife and while the edge is fairly thick, it does start from a 5/16" spine! I took the blade to my Ken Onion Worksharp with the blade grinder attachment to set a better convex edge and then used a spyderco ceramic to set a micro bevel, resulting it a keen and good chopper that has a pretty strong point! The swedge was very keen to the touch, more than I was comfortable with while using, so I knocked that edge down a little for safety sake and the edges along the spine were also pretty crisp so those I rounded off a little as well.

And yep the sheath was chock full of heavy grease as was the blade coated in a very thick coating, which preserved the carbon steel on it's trip from that island, took a while to clean off and then to clean out the sheath. Might be better to coat the blade, have it in a heavy cardboard sleeve, than to fill up the sheath, but that adds to the package, but can't be that much more to do that.

Trailmaster by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


Trailmaster by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Trailmaster by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Trailmaster by GaryWGraley, on Flickr
All in all a very solid knife, handle is quite grippy, no play as on the very old Trailmasters they were a bit looser but this one is very snug!

We had a tree to fell yesterday, used her in trimming off some of the smaller branches as we were cutting the tree up to take back to our storage area, worked great, gloves probably would have been a good idea but did not have at the time.
Kept it's edge well, as you would hope it would.
G2
 
Congratulations on the new Trail Master. I've read about somebody leaving their kraton handle knife in the car on a hot day which caused the handle to feel lose afterwards. I've never experienced this personally since it doesn't get very hot where I live and I don't leave knives in the vehicle.
 
Very nice. I have a Carbon V trailmaster which is my favorite fixed blade, but I have been eyeing the O1 version lately. Love the satin blade with the brass guard. And that is some serious goop on that blade!
 
Man with no name said:
Congratulations on the new Trail Master. I've read about somebody leaving their kraton handle knife in the car on a hot day which caused the handle to feel lose afterwards. I've never experienced this personally since it doesn't get very hot where I live and I don't leave knives in the vehicle.
Click to expand...

Would be interesting to know the compound used, some formulations melt at 400 Celsius.
 
That's good to know, it seems tighter fitting than the older style for sure.

And while the edge is ok, I would have liked to have seen it have a little thinner edge, this one measures about .047" at the edge bevel shoulders so it is a bit thick, but, going through some branches today it seemed to chop ok, just could have been better. Taking that wide blade down thinner would take a long time by hand, but if it comes to that, I'll address that then.

G2
 
Man with no name said:
Kraton and whatever adhesive is used to hold it on the tang. From what I understood it seemed that it was more the adhesive than the handle material that was affected by the higher temperature.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraton_(polymer)
Click to expand...

Short sighted or being cheap? High temperature adhesives are readily available and it doesn't get that hot in a car compared to a good high temp. adhesive threshold. I always wondered how they got the Kraton bonded to the tang.
 
Made a swivel belt loop for my sheath, added a front mantle piece for decoration, kind of a pain but it dresses it up a little. The belt loop allows the sheath to swivel so when you go to sit down you can swing it up and out of the way, not dangling loose, but under more control. The retention of the sheath, at least right now, negates having the strap around the handle, that can always be added on later if it is needed.

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

Untitled by GaryWGraley, on Flickr


And for now I'm leaving the bevel as is from the Ken Onion worksharp, at some point I may want to try and grind down the sides to get to a thinner edge, but, that would take a LOT of time and of course, effort on my part :)
G2
 
Wow, I like what you did with the sheath. I usually remove the factory belt attatchment too, then just slide the sheath under my belt. There's enough thickness at the top to hold it in place. When there isn't I will put a large black zip tie around the section just below the guard to create a peg of sorts. I've thought about using a small piece of leather to attatch a brass peg or post then screw it on to the sheath using the slots provided. Your work is an inspiration.
 
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