It is a BS design from a BS movie and will go down in history as this decades version of the Rambo knife.
Skam
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Tom Brown Tracker knife
- Thread starter Hix
- Start date
It is a BS design from a BS movie and will go down in history as this decades version of the Rambo knife.
Skam
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- Jun 2, 2007
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It's funny but, in spite of my recent interest in these knives (see counterfeit thread), I don't really have an interest in using one. Day hikes get a 4-6" fixed blade (built up a few from production 440 blanks) but that stays at home if I'm overnighting, in favour of a modded machete. Either way, I've always got my Leatherman on my belt as well. Knifenuts everywhere are recoiling in disgust, I know!
Anything one is going to chop around here for fire or shelter is no bigger than your wrist, hence the machete. Its major use is clearing the blackberries and ferns from a site and collecting boughs for shelter and bedding. There's always lots of standing deadwood to burn, so selective gathering eliminates the need for splitting. A sharp machete makes all this easy. The edge is easy to maintain in the field and they're cheap enough that you're not afraid to use it.
It would take me longer to set up camp with one and that would mean less hiking time, which is why I'm out in the first place. If I were hunting, I'd take a skinner. Were I in the interior (boreal forest and semi-arid) I'd swap out the trusty machete for a small axe or a bow saw. I can't imagine getting one tool to try and do all that stuff well. I'm sure that for somebody, somewhere, this is an ideal design but I don't see it. So + another one.
While sitting in a lean to staring into the fire thinking about (among other things) the ideal design for various tools, this shape has never come up.....
Anything one is going to chop around here for fire or shelter is no bigger than your wrist, hence the machete. Its major use is clearing the blackberries and ferns from a site and collecting boughs for shelter and bedding. There's always lots of standing deadwood to burn, so selective gathering eliminates the need for splitting. A sharp machete makes all this easy. The edge is easy to maintain in the field and they're cheap enough that you're not afraid to use it.
It would take me longer to set up camp with one and that would mean less hiking time, which is why I'm out in the first place. If I were hunting, I'd take a skinner. Were I in the interior (boreal forest and semi-arid) I'd swap out the trusty machete for a small axe or a bow saw. I can't imagine getting one tool to try and do all that stuff well. I'm sure that for somebody, somewhere, this is an ideal design but I don't see it. So + another one.
While sitting in a lean to staring into the fire thinking about (among other things) the ideal design for various tools, this shape has never come up.....
People who think any problem can be solved by pumping dollars into it, and who believe more expensive is always better.
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- Jan 28, 2007
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Well, lucky for Tom Brown, there's always plenty of people matching that description!
but yep I've got a TB Tracker (made by Tops)...if in the field and you find yourself with nothing but a TB Tracker you be very happy but if you could plan ahead and have other options you'd be much better off.
The poster who said he'd rather have a kukri and a SAK is indeed someone who has spent time in the woods. I've got the CS Kukri LTC in a back model survival sheath-absolutely loving this mode of carry and the one handed SAK Ranger up front; this to me (YMMV of course) is a wonderful combination.
I've also got an ATAX. If you have to have a multi-chopper look at a ATAX well before you get sucked in by the Tracker...at least the ATAX feels good in the hand, well actually it feels great and in 'brass knuckle' mode the ATAX is supreme...a fist fight with the ATAX just isn't fair! The amount of gismos provided by the ATAX is light years ahead of the Tracker and with the hollow handles the ATAX provides a place for ferrocium rods, fish hooks, even tinder. I've also used the ATAX to carve with and it must be said that there are several ways to hold the ATAX that allow fine motor control-this being said by someone who has it and used it as such--I could never find a happy spot to hold the Tracker.
Now if I've go the kukri on my back, the SAW Ranger or the SAK Rucksack in my pocket and the ATAX on my hip then I've got almost everything covered. What I wish is that TOPs or Ron Hood would produce a handle that compliments the ATAX, turning it into an instant axe, carbon fiber would be the ticket--well that's the intent of the ATAX, a multi-chopper as I call 'em, but with you providing the field expedient handle--why spend time lashing one one when you should be able to pop or snap it on?
The poster who said he'd rather have a kukri and a SAK is indeed someone who has spent time in the woods. I've got the CS Kukri LTC in a back model survival sheath-absolutely loving this mode of carry and the one handed SAK Ranger up front; this to me (YMMV of course) is a wonderful combination.
I've also got an ATAX. If you have to have a multi-chopper look at a ATAX well before you get sucked in by the Tracker...at least the ATAX feels good in the hand, well actually it feels great and in 'brass knuckle' mode the ATAX is supreme...a fist fight with the ATAX just isn't fair! The amount of gismos provided by the ATAX is light years ahead of the Tracker and with the hollow handles the ATAX provides a place for ferrocium rods, fish hooks, even tinder. I've also used the ATAX to carve with and it must be said that there are several ways to hold the ATAX that allow fine motor control-this being said by someone who has it and used it as such--I could never find a happy spot to hold the Tracker.
Now if I've go the kukri on my back, the SAW Ranger or the SAK Rucksack in my pocket and the ATAX on my hip then I've got almost everything covered. What I wish is that TOPs or Ron Hood would produce a handle that compliments the ATAX, turning it into an instant axe, carbon fiber would be the ticket--well that's the intent of the ATAX, a multi-chopper as I call 'em, but with you providing the field expedient handle--why spend time lashing one one when you should be able to pop or snap it on?
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- Mar 29, 2007
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AFAIK, the knife wasn't designed as a movie prop, but was designed by Tom to be "the ultimate survival knife" (for a tracker student.)
I work with 2 guys who have lots of dirt time in, who both shrug and say the knife is okay, but the point to being a tracker student is to learn to survive and thrive without needing any manufactured goods, even a knife. Both carry 3 inch lockback folders as survival knives, and they are both good. (one of these 2 dudes has a tracker knife, but I'll get to that)
I work with another guy who reads the books, and has done some real practical learning, he's in fact amazingly fast with a stick and board for fire making. Still, he's got some seriously impractical stuff going on, too.
He wants a tracker knife. He wants me to help him make it so he knows how to make knives (this is NOT the knife to learn on and it takes more than one to learn much about knifemaking) and he really thinks it will do everything well.
I'd say that the people with the dirt time may or may not use a tracker knife, but know they don't need one, so it's mostly what it is (a toolkit for one primary purpose), and the people without that dirt time think it's a magic wand.
So, the guy who has done every class tom has ever had and has been playing in the woods for a couple decades? He has a custom made tracker than he made on his mill and had tempered and finished by a knifemaker. Why did he make it? Because he wanted to add an arrow straightener and an arrow whittlin hole into that blade (and have useful saw teeth).
He knows exactly what the tracker knife really is and isn't shy about telling you- it's a bowmaking tool. period.
I work with 2 guys who have lots of dirt time in, who both shrug and say the knife is okay, but the point to being a tracker student is to learn to survive and thrive without needing any manufactured goods, even a knife. Both carry 3 inch lockback folders as survival knives, and they are both good. (one of these 2 dudes has a tracker knife, but I'll get to that)
I work with another guy who reads the books, and has done some real practical learning, he's in fact amazingly fast with a stick and board for fire making. Still, he's got some seriously impractical stuff going on, too.
He wants a tracker knife. He wants me to help him make it so he knows how to make knives (this is NOT the knife to learn on and it takes more than one to learn much about knifemaking) and he really thinks it will do everything well.
I'd say that the people with the dirt time may or may not use a tracker knife, but know they don't need one, so it's mostly what it is (a toolkit for one primary purpose), and the people without that dirt time think it's a magic wand.
So, the guy who has done every class tom has ever had and has been playing in the woods for a couple decades? He has a custom made tracker than he made on his mill and had tempered and finished by a knifemaker. Why did he make it? Because he wanted to add an arrow straightener and an arrow whittlin hole into that blade (and have useful saw teeth).
He knows exactly what the tracker knife really is and isn't shy about telling you- it's a bowmaking tool. period.
I got to play with mine over a weekend, and it was fun, but...
For carving, the rusty ol Kabar Hunting knife was better for pointing sticks and carving.
The Tracker was good for bash-'em tasks. Limbing trees, tearing bark off a dead cedar, splitting wood.
It's a lot to spend on a knife that my $20 Thirty year old Pier One import Khukri out performs in most tasks. Combined with a $26 SAK Rucksack, the Khukri will do a better job at just about all of it.
(And if you want cool, just wrap paracord all over it )
For carving, the rusty ol Kabar Hunting knife was better for pointing sticks and carving.
The Tracker was good for bash-'em tasks. Limbing trees, tearing bark off a dead cedar, splitting wood.
It's a lot to spend on a knife that my $20 Thirty year old Pier One import Khukri out performs in most tasks. Combined with a $26 SAK Rucksack, the Khukri will do a better job at just about all of it.
(And if you want cool, just wrap paracord all over it
)
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*shrug* there's knives I'd rather not try to use as a draw knife.
Look, it's fun to dis the thing, after all, it's tom brown and for some reason people love to hate him, his ideas and methods, and his school. Oh, and especially his knife design.
But he did put thought into it, and it is a hell of a lot better a bow making tool than a 3 inch schrade lockback.
Still and all, I don't know a tracker student with dirt time who carries one....
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- Mar 21, 2007
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Okay, I'll go ahead and ask. What is a tracker student and what is dirt time? I vaguely know who Tom Brown is, but from what I have read, here and on other forums, he seems like a kook. Anything I should know about him besides that?
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- Oct 14, 2007
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I'm not 100% sure but I would say a tracker student is someone who has attended Tom's tracking school. I would also assume that someone with dirt time is a person who has spent time in the woods practicing and learning outdoor survival.
I used to have the TOPS version of the Tracker and it is a big & heavy knife. It will do a lot of things and does have a lot of thought in the design BUT in my opinion I wouldn't choose it for MY survival knife. In my opinion I can do the same things with a 7" fixed blade and leave the other pound of steel at home.
As for Tom being a kook I've never met the man so I won't speculate.
I used to have the TOPS version of the Tracker and it is a big & heavy knife. It will do a lot of things and does have a lot of thought in the design BUT in my opinion I wouldn't choose it for MY survival knife. In my opinion I can do the same things with a 7" fixed blade and leave the other pound of steel at home.
As for Tom being a kook I've never met the man so I won't speculate.
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I have handled a Tracker II knife, the smaller version, and like it much better than the large version. The full size Tracker felt awkward to me, no balance and could use some handle reshaping. The small version would make a good companion knife. Costs less too.
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- Mar 21, 2007
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Thanks. I had never heard of him until visiting this forum and then did a little research. The site I read where they called him a kook had a link to his wikipedia page where this was written.
"Adding to Brown's mystique is the fact that his tracking skills go beyond what other professional trackers think is possible; Brown claims, for instance, to be capable of detecting a person suffering from a cold based on their tracks, or to be able to tell from the tracks when a person has turned his head. Brown is not apt to show the tracking skills that he claims to possess and this has lead Professional trackers such as John McCarter to question Brown's abilities."
Like I said, I have no idea who the guy is or if the info on wikipedia and other sites is true or not. I was just wondering what people could tell me about him.
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I would say in my opinion those claims are BS, I don't see how that could be done. Maybe all the attention has gone to his head a bit and he has to come up with things like that to be ahead of the next guy.
I do know he is a hell of a tracker though, maybe a little eccentric but a good tracker none the less. I have a friend who has attended one of his classes and from learning through the class he was able to teach me a lot of things I didn't know and I believe I have a fair amount of dirt time myself.
I do know he is a hell of a tracker though, maybe a little eccentric but a good tracker none the less. I have a friend who has attended one of his classes and from learning through the class he was able to teach me a lot of things I didn't know and I believe I have a fair amount of dirt time myself.
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Tom Brown is a guy who- as the story goes- learned tracking and survival skills from an old medicine dude. As for tracking claims I can't say a lot but I can see where the head turning would be possible to track, his methods spend a lot of time and attention on details in tracks like weight shifts, pre turns, and above ground tracks (if I could reliably find snot on a leaf, I could probably tell you if some guy had a cold, too) Any cyclists here who know the look-down-go-down mantra?- the head turning thing makes sense in weight shift terms aty least. Though I am not anywhere near good enough to be able to do that. I still have trouble tracking frogs and beetles.
a lot of his practical exercises in his books focus on very well thought out methods of raising situational awareness, "labs" like a tracking box, and- this is what kills people- some very odd native american mysticism.
a tracker student is someone who has been to at least one of Tom's classes, both of the guys I'm working with on the current construction project (way way way the hell out in the boonies, long term camping 3-5 days a week since late august. I'm having a blast) have taken several classes and have some pretty realistic skills.
Some of Tom's students have gone on to teach SERE, specops, and LEO groups.
Dirt time is pretty much that- time spent in the dirt using and living the skills.
From my second hand experience, his books, and what I've learned form two of his middlin students, I'd have a hard time saying the dude is a kook. Hell, if I had the spare cash I'd go take at least one of his courses.
If you pick up one of his basic books and *do* the stuff, take notes, and come back to me and explain why and how it's all kook poop, I'll listen.
a lot of his practical exercises in his books focus on very well thought out methods of raising situational awareness, "labs" like a tracking box, and- this is what kills people- some very odd native american mysticism.
a tracker student is someone who has been to at least one of Tom's classes, both of the guys I'm working with on the current construction project (way way way the hell out in the boonies, long term camping 3-5 days a week since late august. I'm having a blast) have taken several classes and have some pretty realistic skills.
Some of Tom's students have gone on to teach SERE, specops, and LEO groups.
Dirt time is pretty much that- time spent in the dirt using and living the skills.
From my second hand experience, his books, and what I've learned form two of his middlin students, I'd have a hard time saying the dude is a kook. Hell, if I had the spare cash I'd go take at least one of his courses.
If you pick up one of his basic books and *do* the stuff, take notes, and come back to me and explain why and how it's all kook poop, I'll listen.
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Some of the best trackers I've ever read about are the Benoit family of Vermont. They have tracked and taken some of the biggest whitetail bucks in the state of Maine. This family are incredible trackers and hunters.
Scott
Scott
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- Apr 9, 2004
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Krause Publications puts out a book called Benoit Bucks. It must be a newer version of the one I have. My book is Big Bucks the Benoit Way.
Scott