Opinion on Tom Brown Tracker...

M

manimal

Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
15
Im interested in purchasing the Tom Brown Tracker from Tops..... Any input would be greatly appreciated...
 
So far I only know one guy who fell for it AND still claims he likes it.
I'm pretty sure he's lying.
You will have no trouble finding one second hand.
 
Thick edges,heavy and the sheath is kinda crappy.with the edges ground down it cuts way better.I have one and have used it for a while.It's a "good" do it all knife but not a great do it all knife.The Red Scorpion Six Predator is another great knife of that design.IMHO it's better designed than the tracker.
 
I agree, it's fancy looking, but is really nothing fancy. The edges are supposed to be over-diversified, working very well at just about any bush-related cutting job you can think of. I've been in wilderness situations when my life depended on my knife, and the Tracker held up fine; it did everything I needed it to, quite well, and I felt rather badass with that mean-looking blade on my waist.
But you know what? There is nothing, NOTHING, that I couldn't have also left up to my Chris Reeve Aviator, or my ka-bar. On top of that, those two knives had a certain dignified, classical look to them, while the Tracker has a very raw and savage appearance.
The Tracker is a good knife, although savagesicslayer makes a good point about the grind. (Another advantage of conventional fixed knives; the grind is thinner, giving better slicing power, but also usually higher, meaning a longer service life) As a field tool, it'll do what you need it to, probably, thouh beyond the field it's superfluous and I wouldn't carry it. You'll probably be happy with it; just remember it's nothing special; it only looks that way.
Also, a better sheath is pretty much a must; IMHO the sheath made by hedgehog leatherworks is the only way to go.
 
savagesicslayer said:
The Red Scorpion Six Predator is another great knife of that design.IMHO it's better designed than the tracker.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding?
After visiting the redscorpionsix website, I wouldn't by their knife even if it was the only knife on earth.

The pictures are ridiculous and the "testing" videos with David Arola are hilarious. (a must-see though, especially the second one)

I never thought you could promote your knife (that is: your version of it) in a sillier way than Dark Ops, but they did it.

They also copied that idiotic claim about the upswept head of the blade being perfect for chopping. (makes me wonder if they ever even USED it?)
No part of this 'knife' is even suitable for serious chopping.

But the worst thing is: they charge 250 for a piece of 440c, two slabs of micarta, some bolts and all the design flaws you could wish for.
And then when they advertise it, they treat potential customers like morons.

Missin Hobo is spot on: "it's nothing special; it only looks that way"
 
If you are looking for a effective bush knife take a look at kukris(HI, Cold Steel), parangs or golocks(Bark River). All of those were developed and used since centuries by real bushmen ... ;)
 
I bought the Tracker 2 3-weeks ago have used it to chop make a shelter,
walking stick,etc. Any knife can cut and make shelters,bows walking sticks,etc.
The Tracker 2 is not a replacement for a hatchet or ulu or even a 4 1/2"
drop point every ones favorite survival knife;).but it does well if you need something
that can loosely fit the role of small hatchet,skinning knife,
general utility knife.situation:while hunting snow storm moves in you
need to make shelter fast your hunting light due to the altitude you whip
out your Tracker 2 and make a shelter,hacking limbs,cutting boughs for the walls
you easily start a fire,you then baton the tracker 2 thru 4" limbs for
a more sustainable fire.you whip out your harmonica while you wait out the
storm.;) Okay as make believe as that seems take some realistic points from it.I have
no problem beating the crap out of my Tracker 2 and not
even think about it.look on web sites theres all kind of pics where d2,s30v
and all these super steels failed,not just the steel but the knives themselves
due to design flaws or crappy quality control show me were on any site the Tracker 2 failed or broke.;)

Tyrantblade
 
I haven't used one but I've fondled it and at least three other TOPS knives in my favorite knife-fondling depot. It seems that all of the TOPS knives are spine-heavy. I mean that they start the primary grind waaay down on the blade...about halfway down the height of the blade starts the primary grind. You can see it in the pictures but it's even more noticeable in-hand. THis makes for a very thick sharpened edge.

That Tracker feels good in the hand. It's heavy and feels like it would be a good chopper. I never was enamored by this "knife", but I think I would buy one or a Scorpion Six if they brought the cost down to what I think is reasonable for their quality ($120 maximum ought to do it). It would be a good alternative to a hatchet for the backpack, but I'd settle for the Bravo-1 and a smaller blade for all other tasks.

Even their Rhino and Cochise blades have a very low primary grind. What's odd about TOPS is that: they have some very interesting designs; they are, after all, knifemakers; their quality seems good - What's with these huge chunks of steel that are ground so low on the blade? I wonder, am I missing something or are they? If it's them, are they not paying attention and learning from history as to what makes knives the proper tool to use things need to be cut? Don't their sales tell them something? Or...are they selling lots of knives that go unnoticed here in this forum?
 
I think they intend to let people grind the knife as they see fit.I thinned mine down to a great chopping blade.It is on par now with my predator.
though I think where they went wrong with these knives was when they started with the "do all" nonsense.saying a knife is a better chopper than an ax is like saying an orange makes a better apple than an apple does.They are 2 completely different tools.Both have they're uses.
 
I see what you're saying, but I'm not talking about them having a thick edge...I'm talking about the primary grind. One in a couple ofthousand knife owners has the tools, experience, time, and desire to mess with a knife's primary grind. Nearly all of us can re-bevel an edge or at least sharpen it.

If that was TOPS' intention, they might just sell a rectangular piece of steel bar stock with some scales pinned on it. In other words, "Give us $250 and we'll mail to you a chunk of steel. Grind as you please"

Again, I'm not dissapointed in their edge. The ones I handled seemed relatively sharp...no, very sharp..... like an axe. Starts out at 0 degrees and, within 3/8" the blade is nearly 1/4" thick! I'm not a knifemaker, I want a finished product. The TOPS knives, to me anyway, kindly feel like the grinder got tired and just gave up, then passed the knife on down to the guy who grinds the edges, and he did his job.
 
Yeah I hear that.I had to remove the entire primary grind and flat ground the blade to get the edge as sharp as i wanted.
 
Mine was shaving sharp on all edges right out of the USPS box.

I may eventually regrind it as I was skeptical as well but it continues to prove itself as a competent "do all" big knife as-is.

I built a few snares, chopped camp wood, even cleaned (obviously you won't be doing any filleting with this knife...) a few smallish brook trout with it so far. I've used it to gut and skin a whitetail (sold the hide unscraped, sorry).

I live in northern NH and work in the woods. In the "Scout" carry position it is almost unnoticeable (honestly).

I was very skeptical as I said and I have enjoyed putting it through it's paces. I think $299 is too much but I paid just over $200 shipped to my door.
 
But I went to TB's Standard Tracker School Class last September and loved every minute of it. There I purchased a TB Tracker 2, and learned to appreciate the design from a user standpoint rather than my former armchair standpoint.

Somebody hit it when they said it's a "good" all-around knife. For finer jobs, my small Sebenza was the shining star, but for shaping my bowdrill kit, making trap points, etc., the T2 was more than adequate. Using the saw at a diagonal creates a nice notch. The grind is reminiscent to me of a scandi-grind to the extreme, where there's a lot of flat surface that tapers abruptly. Even still, one thing I will say for the T2's 1095 carbon steel is that with my DMT diamond stone on the upper edge, and my DMT diamond rod on the rounded inner corner and carving edge, my T2 is one of the sharper knives I own, and it was surprising to me that this is the case.

The Tracker reminds me somewhat of the Sebenza, in that a lot of folks who don't own one are adamantly against it, though I've also seen plenty of folks who do own it say that they're not completely in love either, in all fairness.

Either way, the T2 certainly does what I need it to do, but my small Seb has always been my trusty backup for finer work and for primary carry when the T2 would be horribly out of place.

To each their own! :)

Professor.
 
I also agree that the tracker is a ok all round knife. It's does many things just not exceptionally well at any one task.
 
I like mine. Is it the last knife I'll ever need to buy? No, of course not. But it does what it's supposed to do and does it well...
 
Tops would be my last pick. They have to be reprofiled to make em cutters. I handled and used it at the Tracker school from another student. There was an instructor, female who appeared oriental who was offering reprofiling for a couple of bucks. I also bought a red scorpion with the custom leather sheath that has magnets. The red scorpion has somewhat better edges. Gave that one to my brother as a gift.

The only WSK i have and can wholeheartedly recommmend is my Mark Terrell WSK. Nasty sharp and D2. FWIW my best cutter/user at Toms school was my Busse Badger Attack. Makes a fire board and spindle quick! Busses are built for wilderness and survival ;-)
 
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