ok time for a tom brown tracker review.

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elvenbladesmith07

Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
663
i thought we should start a review of the knife as a survival knife, and not as a comparison between it and the WSK, cause we all know who wins that one. ;)
i found them new on ebay. very cheap and in good condition, and i thought i might pick one up. id like to know how well it works in the field, without being compared to a wsk. for instance compare the tracker with a becker, or a cold steel bushman. thanks for the help guys!
 
I have used the TOPS model and think the blade shape is very gimmicky. I much prefer a larger traditional bowie style blade as I find it more utilitarian.

My opinion.

Skam
 
Skam - gimmicky blade, gimmicky man. I really distrust hype.
 
I'd hardly call the Tracker knife (Dave's Original, the TOPS version just does not perform very well) a gimmick considering over 15 years of R&D by both Tom Brown and Dave Beck. Gimmicks come and go, the Tracker has been around for quite some time and works well if you know how to use it. If you can use the Tracker well you can use any knife well, I guess the reverse isn't true.

Ric
 
Elvenbladesmith07,

If you want a Tracker knife that works get a Beck original Tracker or the newer Beck WSK, even one from Roger Linger. I have used an original Tracker, the WSK and a TOPS. The only one I have not used is one of Rogers but from the photos I've seen he has the design right compared to the Beck WSK. The TOPS Tracker just isn't the same, the grinds are steeper making it harder to chop, cut or use the draw knife. The quarter round isn't really a quarter, maybe an eighth or sixteenth round which really defeats the purpose of having that rounded edge. The saw seems to fill up with matter rather fast and isn't self cleaning like the Beck versions and the 3 position handle is very uncomfortable and doesn't really allow good manipulation of the blade. It also seems to slip quite easy in the hand when chopping or other hard tasks.
Now, can you find other tools that will do the jobs the Tracker is designed to handle? Yes. You can carry a camp knife, a hatchet, a wood rasp, a draw knife, a skinning knife, an ulu and a saw if you like and all these tools will do their intended jobs better then the Tracker knife. Or, you could carry a Tracker, practice your skills and make this one tools take the place of you entire backpack. It's up to you, but the less you are able to carry and still get the job done makes things much easier and more enjoyable when playing in the woods. Don't you think?

Ric
 
RicBrannon said:
Elvenbladesmith07,

Now, can you find other tools that will do the jobs the Tracker is designed to handle? Yes. You can carry a camp knife, a hatchet, a wood rasp, a draw knife, a skinning knife, an ulu and a saw if you like and all these tools will do their intended jobs better then the Tracker knife.
Ric
Click to expand...

Or I can carry a decent qualiity larger bowie style blade and it will do everything the tracker can no problem. Seeing as I do 95% chopping when in the bush teaching survival the tracker I used (the TOPS) is the same basic blade shape as the customs I fail to see how this can be called a chopping blade. It isn't.

As for R&D, hundreds if not thousands of years of basic blade shape design has proven the bowie blade shape.

Neat looking blade and has its uses no doubt.

Still gimmicky in my opinion sorry.

Skam
 
RicBrannon said:
The TOPS Tracker just isn't the same, the grinds are steeper making it harder to chop, cut or use the draw knife. The quarter round isn't really a quarter, maybe an eighth or sixteenth round which really defeats the purpose of having that rounded edge. The saw seems to fill up with matter rather fast and isn't self cleaning like the Beck versions and the 3 position handle is very uncomfortable and doesn't really allow good manipulation of the blade. It also seems to slip quite easy in the hand when chopping or other hard tasks.
Click to expand...
Interesting details. I assumed it was just an over thick grind issue, their grips are in general problematic but here since they were working from an existing design I assumed it would be similar.

You can carry a camp knife, a hatchet, a wood rasp, a draw knife, a skinning knife, an ulu and a saw if you like and all these tools will do their intended jobs better then the Tracker knife.
Click to expand...
Yes, and you can also substitute a simple knife like this :

http://www.bgoodeknives.com/images/purpleheart.jpg

for the same scope of work. The much higher grind would also greatly enhance chopping and cutting ability. You can also find quality production versions of this basic design for far less than a Tracker. Becker and Swamp Rat both have decent verstions of this type of knife.

While the addition of the dropped top edge on the Tracker essentially gives you a small hook which has some benefits, such as in hooking through light vegetation, or doing zipper cuts on some materials like a small hawksbill, it also has its disadvantages which are rarely if ever mentioned.

It is a large weak point in regards to impacts/torques, it splits the blade preventing long slices, it greatly increases difficulty in sharpening, it lowers chopping versatility in selection of edge impact locations is limited and the top section of edge is actually at the wrong angle for most chopping tools as others have noted.

The only aspect of the Tracker design to me that actually stands out as positive is the longer than average handle which I like on blades for reach and balance versatility. Some aspects like the saw are very gimmicky because that offers little actual functionality that you can't achieve with an efficient edge profile and actually reduces performance by lowering durability and grip versatility.

-Cliff
 
yeah well the only reason im thinking about just buying a tracker, is because my last 3 efforts to make one have failed. usually i screw it up with saw teeth, of the half round bevel. im thinking about trying again with a piece of A2 instead of 0-1.
 
i see what you mean by a bad angle on the hatchet area of the blade, thats why on my own model it looks the same as the WSK, but the knife turns edgeward much more at the ricasso than the WSK, and its variations. thus putting the middle of hatchet blade at the point of impact when held in the longest handle position. believe me i studied pictures, and did scale drawing for a couple months before i got a blueprint that looks good and works theoretically.
 
Can you put up a drawing of your modifications? If you are doing one, if you change the primary grind to a full flat not only will it cut and chop better, the saw will work much nicer as well.

-Cliff
 
ya know i really need to get a digital camera, so i can show off my gear and designs. but the way things are going right now, im gunna put a scandi grind on the hatchet area and a hallow grind for the drawshave. the scandi grind is gunna be about 1" wide so itll chop as good as any hatchet. steel is 1/4 inch a2. and im thinking just a afsk style serrations on the back of the blade, so that i dont waste another perfectly good knife while trying to cut rediculously difficult saw teeth. of coare im going to improve on the design for my saw, but it will be that basic shape.
 
elvenbladesmith07 said:
...about 1" wide so itll chop as good as any hatchet.
Click to expand...
A one inch wide grind on 1/4" thick steel is a very thick profile, wood cutting hatchets are much thinner, except the pure softwood ones which are thick to prevent wedging.

A GB Wildlife for example is 1/4" thick in the cheeks which are about 1 3/4" back from the edge. On top of the grind you also have the heft and length disadvantage compared to a hatchet.

Good wood cutting bowies have 2" wide grinds on 1/4" steel.

-Cliff
 
.....so is it a good outdoor knife or not?????I have one in order that I got a sweet deal on.I do a lot of hiking and think this knife will be a great asset in the bush.It doesn't matter if there's a learning curve ,if it can do what I demand of it I'll be happy.
 
savagesicslayer said:
.....so is it a good outdoor knife or not?????I have one in order that I got a sweet deal on.I do a lot of hiking and think this knife will be a great asset in the bush.It doesn't matter if there's a learning curve ,if it can do what I demand of it I'll be happy.
Click to expand...


Sounds like you had your mind made up before the question.

I am getting flashbacks to the $10 Rambo knife craze.

At the end of the day any blade is beter than no blade and hell its only money. If you don't like it sell it and get a different blade.

Skam
 
I can't see the knife being that bad as a wilderness/survival knife.
Right now I use a kabar and I was looking to upgrade to something with a lille more functionallity.
 
There is a decent demand for them now so it should not be hard to sell it, which is one of the good things about buying knives in the middle of a fad.

-Cliff
 
savagesicslayer said:
I can't see the knife being that bad as a wilderness/survival knife.
Right now I use a kabar and I was looking to upgrade to something with a lille more functionallity.
Click to expand...


Its not about being "that bad". Can the WSK chop and do stuff? Sure.

In my opinion there are better blade styles out there with more bush utility and for less money.

Example, for the same money you can get a good Busse blade with much better steel etc......

Buy it and compare it with other quality bush blades and make your own descision.

Skam
 
skammer said:
Or I can carry a decent qualiity larger bowie style blade and it will do everything the tracker can no problem. Seeing as I do 95% chopping when in the bush teaching survival the tracker I used (the TOPS) is the same basic blade shape as the customs I fail to see how this can be called a chopping blade. It isn't.

As for R&D, hundreds if not thousands of years of basic blade shape design has proven the bowie blade shape.

Neat looking blade and has its uses no doubt.

Still gimmicky in my opinion sorry.

Skam
Click to expand...

Skam,

I'm not saying that the basic blade shape isn't a proven design or that it has no/less merit then the Tracker/WSK. What I'm saying is that the Tracker/WSK is meant for a specific function and it performs that function very well, for some it would seem. For myself, I find it easier and faster then a basic straight bladed knife for a lot of chores. I don't do any chopping really so that isn't a concern for me but I do like that big curve for scraping hides and the saw works very well for notching and such. To each his own I guess. The only thing I don't like about the Tracker/WSK is it seems a little too big.

Ric
 
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