Tom Brown Tracker Knife

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lumberjacker

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Is the Tom Brown Tracker Knife a useful outdoorsman tool or an over rated movie prop?...... I am thinking about purchasing one and would like to know if it is an all around field knife that can be used for cutting, chopping and other fieldcraft tasks?
 
Well I used to own one and it wasn't for me. It was the TOPS-knives version. It was too much of a compromise for me. It didn't chop well, it didn't cut well, batoning was awkward, the saw is ok for it's purpose to do knotches, the handle didn't fit my hand. But I do know that there are those who like it a lot.

If you want to see it perform I think you can find something on Youtube, a guy out in the snow making a bow or something.

My two cents...
 
It's crap. You're better off with any number of non-gimmicky, less-expensive tools. A good knife comes to mind.

PS: My opinion is not meant in any way to discredit TOPS Knives, which are very well-made tools. ...Particularly if you have enormous hands.
 
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You will likely get extremely opposite views of the Tracker-style knives.

People either love them or hate them so it'll still fall on yourself to decide if you like it or not.

I fall in the (jack of all trades, master of none) opinion myself.
 
Although it's certainly a high-dollar blade, the Tracker is a well-thought out design for camping or "survival". Think about it.
- If it doesn;t chop well, remember that it is not designed to rival a Granfors Bruks axe;
- If it doesn;t cut well, remember that it may need a little "edge" work;
- If it doesn;t fit our hand, remember that it wasn;t designed for my hand, or even yours;
Sometimes we need to tweak thinks to make them suitable for our individual preferences.

There are a couple of other "Tracker" style survival knives out there and even the original designer is sometimes in dispute. The others (Red Scorpion Six comes to mind - redscorpionsix.com) are pretty high-dollar too.

If you like it and can afford it, get it. Then, don;t be afraid to mod it to fit you. It will be, after all, your knife. :thumbup:
 
I haven't used one, but it looks like a gimmick to me. I see no real value in this design. All knife designs require some compromise of ability, but the TBT compounds these design compromises by trying to do too much. In the end it doesn't look suitable for anything. Agreed, you'd be better off with a SAK and a machete. My $0.02. I'd like to hear from someone who actually has used the knife though.
 
A friend took one on a backwoods trip and both of us felt it didn't perform well at all. As others have said, it's high on the *appearance* of functionality but low on actual functionality. I'd never take one out again.

Since you're looking at a TB Tracker, I assume you're going someplace where you'll need it. So I'll offer some unsolicited backwoods recommendations.

If you're looking for a real working backwoods solution, you're likely going to want to carry a combo. Smallish knife for 90% of your chores, and some tool for chopping.

So, you might consider any of these approaches which will handle anything you might encounter:

1) a puukko/leuku combo -- the Nordic countries have not changed this basic combo design for centuries and it just works. Light too. If you think you'll do medium/heavy chopping chores, you could add a GB axe or (my preference) a Wetterlings light hunting axe.

2) a puukko/kukri combo (no axe required then) -- I use this one myself a lot of the time. Downside? A wee bit heavier than a puukko/leuku. However, both are proven designs for centuries by people who use them daily. Never let me down.

3) The current favs amongst British bushcraft fans: small bushcraft knife ----- a puukko, Bark River Northstar, Woodlore (cough, cough $$$$) -- and a high quality folding saw (the Kershaw is cheap and highly recommended, a rebranded Swedish saw). Some Bushcrafters go nuts for small axes too, but the saw covers most of that ground and, batoned, the knife can split firewood just fine. The British bushcraft meme is delivering interesting ideas.

4) Go all Nessmuk: small axe, high quality small folder, mid-sized Nessmuk style knife. It's old school but it works really well.

5) Spend less than $60 and get yourself the Old Hickory set of: Skinning knife, Butcher Knife and, optionally for if you expect really wild events, a Sticker. Top off with an Opinal folder. Modify handles for fun. No joking here -- this combo (except the opinal) is EXACTLY like what the original mountain men and pioneers took into the wilds. There's a lot of history here and it works though it's low on tacticool sex appeal. You *might* want an ax too, but the Old Hickory Butcher knife is a beast when you want to chop light things.

Any of the options above give you more real-world options than the TB Tracker. A combo is the way to go.

My 12.5 cents :)
 
Get yourself this combo (GB Mini & Vic Farmer) for a lot less money and a LOT more quality. It'll do everything better than the Tracker, plus a lot more. :thumbup:

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Jeff
 
I don't care for them. IMHO there are better and cheaper ways to go.
 
let me just sum it up for you, a useless heavy POS. Its pretty funny though if u look at the picture of the knife on TOPS website of tom using it in the field lol hes hacking a twig ROFL something you could do with any SAK.
 
I second The Gransfors Bruk ax. They literally come from the factory shaving sharp. Not trying to be silly but that really is super cool. I own a hunters ax and it is bar none one of the most useful outdoor tools I have ever had the pleasure of owning. They are stupid tough.
 
I have never tried the Tom Brown Tracker, so I can't speak for or against it. I do however own a GB Small Forest Axe and it is one of the best hundred bucks I have ever spent.
 
Some people do seem to get a lot of mileage out of the tracker
Linky 1
Linky 2
Remember to pay attention to what the guy says or it does not make much sense.

On the other hand a combo of pretty much anything will beat a single item.
 
Comment to StretchNM who I believe commented on my comment :)

Quote: "Although it's certainly a high-dollar blade, the Tracker is a well-thought out design for camping or "survival". Think about it.
- If it doesn;t chop well, remember that it is not designed to rival a Granfors Bruks axe;
- If it doesn;t cut well, remember that it may need a little "edge" work;
- If it doesn;t fit our hand, remember that it wasn;t designed for my hand, or even yours;
Sometimes we need to tweak thinks to make them suitable for our individual preferences."

Yeah it can be fun to modify a knife. But there are knives the same size as the Tracker that are really good chopping-knives, good cutters and I believe will fit many different hands including mine and probably yours, like a Busse Ash-1. And I don't need to modify it... well that was really the point I wanted to make, but I wasn't to clear about it... cheers!!
 
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I just watched the youtube clip where the guy makes a bow with the Tracker knife. Look at how many blows he uses to cut that tree! 80 blows!!! And look at that tree, it's not a big tree... let me have a go at that tree with my Busse Ash or Black Jack Quick.... I rest my case : )
 
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