Scrap Yard, Ranger or SK5 Trailmaster

S

seth2915

Joined
Feb 13, 2007
Messages
97
I gave my Carbon V trailmaster to my cousin after he joined the Marines (after I put a decent convex edge on it), and I'm in the market for a big knife again.

I'm torn between the Scrap Yard Dog Father, the new SK5 Trailmaster and the Ranger RD9, but hte new Trailmaster is probably at the bottom of the ladder so far.

Does anybody have any suggestions or thoughts on value and performance between these three knives? And can anybody tell me how the SK5 Trailmaster performs compared to the Carbon V Trailmaster?

I would welcome suggestions for other knives if anybody has them; I'm not looking to spend more than about $150.
 
All very good choices. I had a Dog Father. Its a lot of knife and I liked it a lot but found it was really bigger than I needed. Huge really and what I was wanting was something like the 7.5" Recon Scout I had. I did something similar to you I guess because I gave my son the Recon Scout I had to take to Iraq with him. I got a Camp Tramp after that and a friend loved it and really wanted it so I of course accomadated him only to learn afterwards that it was harder to find and more expensive too.

I did eventually find another one though and just bought my brother one of the Scrap Yard Knives Yard Hooks. I want the Yard Guard for myself now. These are along the same lines and also quite nice. Not sure what the hook is all about on that Yard Hook model but its a very stout piece of work almost identical in size to the Camp Tramp.

STR
 
you'll be in good shape with either the dog father or the RD9. it might be a little bit more difficult to find a DF, and it will probably set you back a little bit more, but the respirene handles are very comfortable when chopping. the best thing you can do, really, is get one of each.
 
Scrapyards and Rangers are miles better value than the Cold Steel. You don't have to look any further than the warranties offered to see that. The Scrapyards are a "little" hard to get, however. If you're going to buy just one, I'd go for the Ranger RD9. Rangers are great heavy duty knives, and they're also available without wandering into the jungle of the secondary market.
 
STR said:
Not sure what the hook is all about on that Yard Hook model but its a very stout piece of work almost identical in size to the Camp Tramp.

STR
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The hook is a throw back to the old Mr. Mojo model from Busse's Ergo line. The knife was a fighter and the hook was designed as a blade catch, I assume for blocking and disarming. The Yard Hook is basically the SYKW version of the SWKW Mini Mojo line, which featured the same hook or blade catch.

Most just use it as a bottle opener.
 
I checked with the Scrap Yard folks, and they told me they could put me on a notification list for the next run of whatever they're out of at the moment.

The big draw for the Trailmaster (especially for the military) is the metal guard. My uncle took one of Camillus' Western Bowies to Panama, and it saved his life quite a few times. My cousin needed that and I don't generally get into knife fights, so I just want a bush knife. The other big draw was a spine at 5/16" thick, and Scrap yard is the closest I have found so far in the price range I want to spend.

I did check the RATK, but for its size, it was too thin to make me happy. I heard more than one story of big chinks of steel coming out off the edge when it was used to chop wood.
 
seth2915 said:
I did check the RATK, but for its size, it was too thin to make me happy. I heard more than one story of big chinks of steel coming out off the edge when it was used to chop wood.
Click to expand...

The warranty on both Ranger and Scrap Yard knives is pretty much unconditional and for life. If you want a good all around bush knife I'd recommend the Ranger RD-7 since its large enough to do well at chopping and versatile enough to use for slicing. It (and the RD-9) are also 1/4" thick at the spine.

The CS knife is good, but in my opinion the Scrap Yards or Rangers are light years ahead in terms of value for your dollar.
 
Another possibility--Fallknivven A1. Just got one, satin finish, convex edge, big (not quite 7" blade, but close) but very usable, less than your price limit....:thumbup:
(It doesn't, however, have a guard....)
 
I'm pretty sure Ranger would let you pick the blade thickness, grind, blade finish, handles and maybe even the steel for around your price limit, from what I've heard. Give them a call.
 
The Rangers are very good for the money. Unlike some others, I have also had good service from my RTAKs. As far as "thickness", those Western Bowies aren't that thick either, but they work. The Scrap Yard Dog Father is a chopping machine and darn near unbreakable if you can find one.
 
Yeah, the Western bowies weren't but about 1/8 of an inch thick. I don't know if it was the heat treatment Camillus did on them or the steel itself or the fact that those bowies didn't have the full flat grind, but they worked well for some reason. It finally broke (as he told me) when he threw it at an enemy, pinned him to an armored personnel carrier and about an inch of the tip broke off from the guy's weight.

They did a good job on those knives, but I always preferred a thicker spine (at least 1/4") on the big bowie blades, just because I'm paranoid enough to believe it will do some good.

Does anybody have experience with getting custom touches on the Rangers and the extra cost involved?
 
Your best bet is to call Justin. I have seen a few quotes, and they were very, very reasonable.
 
I have a custom RD 4 (before they were all the rage!!), and Justin made it for me at a VERY reasonable price!!
 
Both Scrapyard and Ranger are excellent knives with great garantee. Can't go wrong with either of them. It is more a matter of personal taste than quality difference.

What kind of handle do you want?
 
Full tang, micarta or the rubber stuff doesn't make too much of a difference to me, because if I have to, I can play with the handle aftermarket. Honestly, I'm just as happy with the Scrap Yard big stick tang as I am with a real full tang/micarta slabs. Either makes me happy.

BTW, does anybody know what SR77 steel is? Scrap yard uses it, and it is apparently something akin to S-7, but S-7 has a pretty low carbon content. Does anybody know how to get the chemical specs for SR77, or is it another Busse proprietary steel?
 
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