OT: TOPS Tracker

Brendan

Brendan

Joined
Feb 13, 2002
Messages
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Anyone seen the film "The Hunted" or tried one of the TOPS Tracker knives. They're made of carbon steel and look to be the perfect companion for an HI Khuk.

Tom Brown Tracker

??
 
I know Tom, and saw this knife some years ago. It's a great utility/survival knife. I don't remember what the steel was.

David
 
Wow. He must have more notoriety in the US than up here.

I read his books fifteen to twenty years ago when I was a little kid, and have just got them again now that they are in print again. Tom Brown was part of my childhood: some of the perspective I have today is due to him and his writing.

I saw that he has a school. Thought about going there this summer, but I wound up on walkabout in Arizona instead.

Phil
 
Okay, what's the big deal with this thing?

Anything beyond looking "bad" and appearing in a Hollywood movie?

What's it good for? Is it convex ground?

If flat-ground, or hollow ground, does it stick in wood when chopping?

Why on earth would one want a discontinuous, recessed edge like this? Looks very annoying to sharpen as well.

Are the few saw teeth actually functional? Does it saw any better than than a SAK saw? Or an inexpensive folding pruning saw?

I see that it's made of 1095 which I understand to be a good carbon steel suitable for choppers. What does this thing offer over a BAS, and a SAK with saw besides the black paint job Which will partially inhibit rust and a handle material which would better tolerate being pounded by say, rocks (which I can't imagine anyone wanting to do anway)?

The BAS or any decent-sized recurve will be fine as a draw knife and offer a contiguous slicing edge as well. Is a 1/4" thick saw 2 1/2 inches long that has all of about 10 teeth going to be an effective tool? And one is supposed the grip this same saw when used as a draw-knife?

I'm sure that one could "survive" with it if one had the skills and knowledge. First choice of tool/tools ? Sorry, I don't see it. And at $300 bux? No thanks.

Someone tell me what I'm missing.
 
I'm with Firkin and always have been. The Tracker is a damned good example of the complete waste of a piece of good steel!!!!:barf: :rolleyes:
There's nothing it can do that any well designed knife couldn't do. I'm even thinkin that I would prefer a serrated edge to that thing and I hate serrated edges.:barf: :rolleyes:
 
Yvsa,

Glad to see that I'm not the only one that don't "get it"--and I don't think I will either.

In fairness the the custom version offered by DRBeck appears to have a functional saw with more reasonably sized teeth that appear to be real, ponty, alternating saw teeth. Of course this totally precludes gripping the spine there during draw-knife use.;)

The companion blade pictured with the "tracker" does look nice though. Of course if one is going to carry more than one tool, the "special" features of the "tracker" (IMO "special" like some genetically disadvantaged children) seem even more pointless.

Call me old-fashioned, I guess--as in function over fashion.
 
Any 15"AK or even a BAS would serve me better that that design in the field. IMHO that is.;)
 
I like the shovel shape of the knife, but not the band-cutter style edge by the guard, or the serrations. I could live with it, if the edge was a contiguous belly.
Especially if you're going to back this up with a small skinner, you could get a 16-18" HI khukuri of many styles AND a Swamp Rat Bandicoot (or a Kumar Karda for that matter) for under $300.
And for the shovel shape seems better executed here:

70.jpg
 
I'm not an advocate of the knife, nor am I against it. It's an expensive utility knife. It works well w/ the skills Tom teaches.
You can chop with it, and build stuff. For utility purposes, I don't know if a standard bowie can do the same things, (although I'm sure it can in skilled hands).

Any good knife is a luxury in a survival setting. As for my own preferences, of course I like khukuries. Other than that, gimme a Randall or even a standard issue kabar any day.
 
The tracker knife is little more than an exaggerated version of the Puma White Hunter.

Here are some similar knives

469306knifeevolution.jpg


Left to right:
Spanish Special Forces Knife (c. 1950s), Elk Hunter (1960s), Puma (1970s), Siegle (2003)

n2s
 
Originally posted by quietone
It works well w/ the skills Tom teaches.
You can chop with it, and build stuff.
Click to expand...

I can see where the knife might excell under certain circumstances in the hands of a well trained person myelf. I just don't think it's needed if a person knows how to sharpen a knife.
The double edged knife used to be quite popular because one edge could be used for rough purposes and was sharpened so while the other edge was used for more intricate uses and it was also sharpened for that purpose.



For utility purposes, I don't know if a standard bowie can do the same things, (although I'm sure it can in skilled hands).
Click to expand...

It can if a person knows how to maintain the knife. Actually a long Bowie blade can be sharpened into two profiled edges much the same as the tracker without the strange offset.
And it can be used as an excellent drawknife. The straight back Bowie without the clip lends itself to this application better.

My main dislike of the Tracker is that it appears very difficult to sharpen with standard sharpening tools. I feel quite a bit of skill would be needed to sharpen it.:(
 
My main dislike for the tracker are the front mounted sawteeth.

n2s
 
Well, I'll butt in again--

I agree with n2s that if a saw must be incorporated into a single blade knife (which I think is dubious), that placing it on the front of the spine is the worst place:

Precludes effective grasp for use as a draw knife, adversly affects piercing, and bad ergonomics for saw use. And I think calling the Tops version a saw is stretching things quite a bit.

I'll agree with the evolution from the Puma model--which I would say is related to the bolo in all it's variations. That is until the sharp break in edge profile shows up.

The discontiguous edge is something that as far as I see, provides absolutely no benefit except that some think it looks "kewl" and when well executed, as in the custom version displays the skill of the maker. OK for an art piece. When poorly executed possibly cheaper to produce than a finely curved profile. OK for a mass-produced wall-hanger or wish-knife.

In practical use, I think it would be a b*tch to sharpen, and additionally, actually limits the use of the tool for slicing and use as a draw-knife on larger objects. It is certainly possible to grind and maintain a convex profile on the belly and have a flat or even hollow grind near the handle without that annoying projection. In fact, many of my khuks seem to be ground just that way. Sharpening them appears much easier than the "tracker" edge would be.

One claimed use for the abrupt discontinuity in the edge is for use as a "gut hook". If one is really needed (which I doubt) a dedicated tool for this one slice would be pretty damn small. And I think that someone that is presumed to be able to survive with no tool other than a single knife could manage not to cut those nasty innards. If one is trying to gut a small trout with this thing, then I question whether they know what they are doing and properly equipped. Anyone who carries a folder of any kind in city or country is likely better equipped to handle small game than the bearer of this instrument. And having gutted a lot of fish, I think I could likely do better job with a broken bottle anyway.

One thread showed that someone had carved several trap triggers with it as a testament to the design. Who would not find a common slipjoint better suited for this task? Sorry, still no sale. If need be one could do the same with a sharp axe, or a sharp stone. So what? Why carry a single compromised tool when the addition a few ounces would make things so much easier? Even chimps make different tools from sticks to fish termites out of their nests according to what works instead of carrying around the same damn stick.

One tool fits all is only possibly justified when the accesibility of proper tools is terribly limited--Ironically the exact opposite of the market to which this high-priced item is directed.

Sorry, does not compute--but neither does "American Tanto".
 
Originally posted by firkin

Why carry a single compromised tool when the addition a few ounces would make things so much easier?
Click to expand...


Ok, I'll throw my 2 cents here.
If you look at it from an ultralight packing/SAR/Tracking point of view, it makes sense and compliments that type of travel perfectly. Yeah sure, you could carry multiple tools, but then again, dropping weight/extra gear to bounce around/get lost/break typically can be overrun by compromise.

It was a purpose built knife really for a VERY niche market.

TOPs is just trying to make a few bucks off the "oooh pretty i saw it in a movie" market.
 
Many people have hit upon the limitations of the knife, now let me touch upon the limitations of the movie. DON'T see it. I am a very forgiving movie watcher, and usually am able to come up with some redeeming quality that a movie has. This has none. Despite the pedigree of its performers, the performances were laughable. They looked as though they realized how bad the movie was and were just trying to get it over with.

The military 'tactics' at the beginning were written by somebody's twelve year old, and let me give you an example of the dialogue:

FBI Agent: "Why were you killing these people?"
Captured Killer: "Did you know 30 million chickens are killed every year?
FBI Agent(impressed): "No I didn't, but it's interesting..."
*embarassed pause*

That's right folks, PETA (or someone) got ahold of the script and threw this and other gems into the mix. My favorite was when our Tracker hero tracks down a wolf that was hurt in a trap, walks up to injured, bleeding wolf, pulls the trap wire from its leg, and then the wolf licks him in thanks. I still have scars on my hand from trying to pull a sticker out of my dog's foot.

The only part of the movie that was supposed to be done well was the authenticity of the knife fights. Well, all the moves were authentic. Only problem is, all of them were killing moves, and our combatants keep jumping up and shrugging them off. Reminded me of the Black Knight from Monty Python, but that was supposed to be goofy.

This was the first time I ever walked out of a theater and couldn't say, "Well, at least _______" Save your money, friends.
 
Originally posted by stripey357
I like the shovel shape of the knife, but not the band-cutter style edge by the guard, or the serrations. I could live with it, if the edge was a contiguous belly.
Especially if you're going to back this up with a small skinner, you could get a 16-18" HI khukuri of many styles AND a Swamp Rat Bandicoot (or a Kumar Karda for that matter) for under $300.
And for the shovel shape seems better executed here:

70.jpg
Click to expand...
And much better price for a piece of 1095! Those Ka-Bar knives are a pretty good deal for the money. They are well made and not loaded with "bells and whistles". The fact that the Tracker model is selling so well can be attributed largely to our infatuation with Hollywood.
 
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