Some pics of my early present to myself (and some commentary)

[ehhh]

Recently bought a Trail Master to replace one I returned because of a major flaw (a hairline crack where the ricasso meets the guard). The knife made such a good impression on me that I couldn't live without one. Got my new one in the mail the other day and polished the blade and brass a little with some Flitz (great stuff, really gets that brass nice and shiny again).
So without further ado, one of the nicest production bowies for the price (imo):

Old TM that I returned:

New TM:

Compared to my Recon Scout:

I did prefer the TM that I had to return due to the choil, but also because the grinds were nicer. The false edge was ground flatter and "sharper" and the blade on the new one is ground worse. It sort of tapers in right after the ricasso and then tapers back out to full thickness before tapering to the tip.

It's very slight. I can't find my ruler, but using a piece of paper to mark off the thicknesses, I'd estimate it tapers down to 7mm (full thickness is 8mm) in that little spot I circled. Shouldn't affect performance unless I'm doing some heavy prying, but it sure looked funny the first time I noticed it.

Gotta say in my overall experience, Cold Steel makes some well designed knives, but they have some serious quality control issues (serious as in a high frequency of issues, not big issues). Not one of my Cold Steel knives is without an easily noticed but minor flaw. Well actually that one I returned was flawless as far as looks go, but sadly it had a more serious problem (possibly not from the factory).

Another observation I made was that the area where the button in must let in or absorb moisture, because both Trail Masters I handled have a little rust patch right where the button on the sheath is. Both were leather sheaths and the button is covered on the inside by a little patch of cloth (presumably to prevent the metal button from scratching the knife).

All in all, great knife. Cuts (cardboard) great, nice weight, good balance (~1" in front of the guard), great looks and a reasonable price. Handle could be a little beefier though, as I have heard many people say. I'll have to take it out someday and chop with it.

 

[orthogonal1]

I read this and had to go look at my '80s vintage TrailMaster to see if it thins a bit. Can't measure any discernable thinning.

Doesn't matter, though, as mine has given years of service and I expect yours will too.

Great pictures, BTW.

 

[GIRLYmann]

Nice pictures!
Like me, you sure got great taste when it comes to picking out the best of CS's meanest pair of bowies. I luv 'em bear claws way to much to complain about the poor leather sheaths that came with mine.

 

[ehhh]

The thinning bothers me a little because it looks funny, but I'm sure the blade is still very strong. Heck it's still thicker than most other knives at that point (just a tad over 1/4" according to my ruler). I'll get over it eventually, like I do with most minor problems.

In my opinion, these two bowies are Cold Steel's finest knives. It's no wonder they've been around for so long. I love the beefy full flat ground blades on these.
The Carbon V touches up very quickly. A couple swipes on fine Sharpmaker stones left the edge feeling very sharp. It won't shave or push cut paper very well, but it glides right through cardboard. Does shaving/push cutting ability have to do more with edge angle or edge quality? The edge is about 40 degrees included, some spots are a little more, does it need to be lower to be able to shave and push cut printer paper? I can't feel any burr so I don't think it's that. Unless it's just too obtuse to do either of those things well, I'm stumped.

 

[GIRLYmann]

"In my opinion, these two bowies are Cold Steel's finest knives"
- ehhh

So good in fact, that it should come as no surprise when their primary contractor starts to come out with their own line of similarly hardwearing knives at less than half the price!

 

[ehhh]

Some differences I noticed between the 80's and 90's TMs:

The tip is thicker on the 80's one. On the 90's TM, the blade started to taper to the tip right where the false edge starts, so it reduces thickness from both the clip and an actual taper in the blade. It ended in a fairly fine tip.

On the 80's TM, the taper starts about an inch away from the tip. While it does get thinner from the clip, the actual taper doesn't start until much later. This one ends with a fairly beefy tip.
I don't really know which I prefer, but I thought it was interesting enough to note.

The brass guard on the 90's version was left kinda sharp around the edges and was quite uncomfortable to choke up on. So while it did have that choil, it was a pain to use. The 80's TM has a very short choil that doesn't really give you room to put your finger on, but the guard is nice and comfy without any sharp edges. Oops?

The grind lines in the blade of the 90's TM were also "sharper" and better defined. The grind lines on the 80's TM are all a little rounded. I personally think the defined grind lines look better.

Just some random thoughts I thought I'd share.