tom brown ?

[Rick Marchand]

I think Tom Brown's knife sums up the man:

"The genesis of the Tracker Knife began during an interview between Tom Brown Jr. and a journalist over twenty years ago. In the course of the interview, the reporter asked Tom which knife he considered to be the best for survival. Tom thought about it for a minute and responded that the perfect survival knife did not yet exist. "Why not?" the interviewer asked. "Because I have not yet designed it," replied Tom."

now, that's ego...

Wow..... you really nailed that one :jerkit:

 

[midnite-penguin]

Say what you guys want - I watched 'The Hunted', purchased a TB tracker knife and its the ONLY thing I need in the woods.

You guys are just hating on him and the knife because you have inferior knives and skills.

 

[NB16]

Say u want about the man the big picture is that even if he is telling tall tales..(which he is)..He has inspired a lot of people to get back outside and give people an appreciation for the outdoors...just my two cents

 

[Rick Marchand]

Say u want about the man the big picture is that even if he is telling tall tales..(which he is)..He has inspired a lot of people to get back outside and give people an appreciation for the outdoors...just my two cents

OMG....... FINALLY!!!...... someone who has proof of Tom Brown's lies.......... oh goody.... please share!

ps... the OMG stands for "oh my grandfather".

 

[akennedy73]

Wow..... you really nailed that one :jerkit:

hmm, i guess so...

but for what it's worth, real teachers i've known in my life walk through this world with a lot more humility than what TBJ apparently exhibits - YMMV

i've never met him, never read one of his books - i'm sure opinions on his skills are correct in that he's very knowledgeable

i just personally don't want to associate with people who need to be so strongly defended about something as simple as teaching wilderness skills - if he's alright, why the controversy? i've taken courses with trackers who roll their eyes when TBJ's name comes up - I'm not saying a body's gotta please everybody in this world, but TBJ sure doesn't walk lightly

my opinion's not worth anything because I don't know the man and don't know anything particular about what he teaches - and the OP's own judgment will serve him better than mine. but personally I do judge a man by the knife he carries - and if a man makes a comment like TBJ, well then, I'll judge him by his decision to graciously bequeath the world the "perfect survival knife"

 

[Elen]

Fair enough..... I should have explained myself better.... To take these words literally is a mistake. It is a broad statement... There will always be extreme situations that you cannot be prepared for. I don't think anyone could survive the example you laid out, Elen. We have to be realistic and my statement hinted otherwise... for that I am sorry.

Where I live the temperature will only drop to about -17C.... Where I train(Northern Ontario), temperatures can drop to -45C. I regularly train in -15C to -35C during the winter and can tell you as a witness and from personal experience that these things are humanly possible.

Being dropped of in the Siberian permafrost area without proper clothing is an EXTREME situation...... Antarctica?..... out of the question.

You are bombarded with broad statements everyday..... "Seatbelts will save your life in a car accident".... "Smoking will shorten your life"... "Blah-blah, laundry detergent will get out the toughest stains"... "Milk does a body good." (unless you are lactose intolerant) You should be smart enough to understand the limitations of these statements. It is far too easy to take someones words out of context.

Again, sorry for the misunderstanding.

Hey, no problem, and nothing to be sorry about :thumbup: I've always been sort of a fighting-against-the-windmills kind of guy, and sometimes cling to those broad statements a bit too much. Actually, that "smoking will shorten your life" is another one of my favourites - just because I know a lot of folks who lived a healthy, long life and smoked like a coal power plant!

In a lot of environments it's absolutely true that a skilled man can survive with minimal gear - in some environments, even without any gear, clothing included. In that sense, folks like Tom Brown are correct about the minimal gear survival. But then I like to remind folks of the really hostile places, too. Skill is the most important thing, but sometimes the most important thing isn't enough, and you need the gear, too. Of course, scenarios like getting dropped off in Siberia are highly unrealistic. Fortunately! But silly scenarios like that do work in proving that skills alone aren't always enough. One could say I'm a big proponent of skills over gear, and I sometimes make pretty broad statements about that topic myself. That's probably why I feel the need to pounce on it when someone else makes similar broad statements.

But as a bottomline, I definitely support the idea of learning to make do without the help of modern or even primitive equipment. Having those skills makes everything easier even when you do have all the equipment you could ever hope to have. :thumbup: In that sense I agree with Brown.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Say what you guys want - I watched 'The Hunted', purchased a TB tracker knife and its the ONLY thing I need in the woods.

You guys are just hating on him and the knife because you have inferior knives and skills.

A criticism of your favorite knife is not an attack on you.

I am happy that you love MR. Brown's knife. Really.

I knife is not the only thing I need in the woods.

I have my doubts about Mr. Brown and his perfect knife, but I save hatred for far more serious subjects.

I note that Mr. Brown's staff uses Moras. May I presume that Mr. Brown knows this? So a less than "perfect" knife may be used by apparently above average skilled folks.

I suspect you know very little about the skills of those who have strongly criticised Mr. Brown or his knife. One could start by reviewing all their posts for evidence of skill or lack thereof.

 

[JParanee]

Say what you guys want - I watched 'The Hunted', purchased a TB tracker knife and its the ONLY thing I need in the woods.

You guys are just hating on him and the knife because you have inferior knives and skills.

That was not a Tom Brown Tracker knife in the movie it was a Dave Beck WSK Like this

 

[Pyriel]

Note for the reader: When you decide to flame my post don’t bother, because I will not be goaded into it.

I have taken several of Tom’s classes and what always rings true to me is that the work is up to you (and by work I mean the learning). I have a degree in Chemical Engineering and to say that the instructors gave me the answers during school would be a complete fallacy. All of what I learned in school was based on how hard I was willing to work. The instructor would lay out a set of principles and it was my job as a student to apply them, understand them, and then apply those principles to situations I have not been exposed to.

As a student of the Tracker School, I have noticed that many people come to his class expecting him to give the answers. For example here is the track of animal xyz, then put your face in it and tell you everything it means. The reality is, as a teacher, you can only present the basic concepts and rely on the tenacity of the student to learn on their own. This methodology of teaching is at the core of the Tracker School (and fundamentally at the core of how my Engineering studies were developed).

If you expect to be given the answers or specific instructions, you will be extremely disappointed. If you expect to be exposed to a wide range of skills that provide you with the foundation to learn on your own you will be extremely pleased.

A good example of this would be how to build a debris shelter. If one were so inclined they could develop volumes on that subject alone, taking into account temperature, weather, material, landscape, etc. What Tom teaches are some general rules of thumb that can be applied to all situations, it is up to you to learn on your own how to alter that shelter based on the subtle nuances pertaining to various conditions.

The other half of the Tracker School equation is as some people put it, “the spiritual mumbo jumbo”, and yes there is a spiritual component to all that Tom teaches. If this is something that you do not believe to be appropriate, I would suggest that you speak with your money and not attend his classes. As many people have already stated there is a great variety of wilderness survival classes to attend. I do not see the need to attack a man based on his spirituality or spiritual beliefs. If that is your reason for not attending the Tracker School it is fully valid and should be respected by all. If you attend the Tracker School with the spiritual component as part of the reason, that should also be respected by all.

In summary, the Tracker School will expose you with a wide range of skills. It is up to you to take them to the woods and learn them.


Thanks for reading!

Aaron

 

[midnite-penguin]

A criticism of your favorite knife is not an attack on you.

I am happy that you love MR. Brown's knife. Really.

I knife is not the only thing I need in the woods.

I have my doubts about Mr. Brown and his perfect knife, but I save hatred for far more serious subjects.

I note that Mr. Brown's staff uses Moras. May I presume that Mr. Brown knows this? So a less than "perfect" knife may be used by apparently above average skilled folks.

I suspect you know very little about the skills of those who have strongly criticised Mr. Brown or his knife. One could start by reviewing all their posts for evidence of skill or lack thereof.

...And the award outstanding inability to interpret sarcasm in a post goes to....

:jerkit:

**If you read any of my posts you will notice I don't own a knife over 20 dollars and I'm a huge Mora fan, but you are probably a Browns fan so I understand it was a little over your head, =P )**

 

[Thomas Linton]

Oh. You were being sarcastic. Sorry. You are good at sarcastic. An outstanding interpersonal skill, it will take you far.

 

[CKE2]

This is by far the WORST WS&S thread I have ever read/witnessed(I admit, I have not been in here that long) I did not think these kinds of threads were in this area.
I feel bad for the original poster, he just asked a simple question.....

 

[LeeCQC]

This thread is taking a turn that we normally try to avoid in W&SS. Let's either close it, or start playing nice, huh?

 

[tonym]

...And the award outstanding inability to interpret sarcasm in a post goes to....

:jerkit:

**If you read any of my posts you will notice I don't own a knife over 20 dollars and I'm a huge Mora fan, but you are probably a Browns fan so I understand it was a little over your head, =P )**

I don't know if you have been lurking here for awhile or not, but posts like this is not going to get you alot of respect in the W.& S.S. forum.:thumbdn:

If your going to try to be sarcastic, there are ways to do it. That post you made did not come out as a joke.

Edit: After some thought provoked by others, My statement about a high post count doesn't neccessarily mean a person is right or wrong. I have seen some great posts by guys with very low post counts and vise versa. Sorry if I offended anyone

 

[Bushman5]

This thread is taking a turn that we normally try to avoid in W&SS. Let's either close it, or start playing nice, huh?

amen! lets save the anger for the banker, credit card companies and other such institutions.

:thumbup:

 

[hollowdweller]

This is by far the WORST WS&S thread I have ever read/witnessed(I admit, I have not been in here that long) I did not think these kinds of threads were in this area.
I feel bad for the original poster, he just asked a simple question.....

If you have access to the search function seems as I remember several long drawn out threads on the same subject in the past in this forum.

I've read some of Tom Browns books and I thought they were OK.

However the whole thing about his personality? There is a saying that your guru should live 2 valleys over from you. (ie if you are exposed to their humanity then you have trouble accepting their teaching.) Probably true here.

I'm just glad the situation has come about that people who teach survival schools can now make some money because now no matter whether we think they are poseurs or what, it's a hell of a lot better job than cutting forests down, working at a chemical plant, or pushing paper in a cubicle.:thumbup:

 

[midnite-penguin]

I don't know if you have been lurking here for awhile or not, but posts like this is not going to get you alot of respect in the W.& S.S. forum.:thumbdn:

If your going to try to be sarcastic, there are ways to do it. That post you made did not come out as a joke.

I'm not a lurker - I don't spend as much time around a computer as some *12+ posts a day* but If you look through my posts, I'm not a troll.

I'm a very sarcastic person, I guess its hard to pick up through the internet sometimes. I'll add a 'rolls eyes' emoticon or something next time to help out. Most people around here do not make statements like "ALL I NEED IS MUH TOM BROWN KNIFE", so I figured the satire was obvious. But I digress. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings - I was trying to lighten up a thread-gone-wrong.

I'm all done, if you have a complaint then PM me so we don't waste anyone's time.

 

[tonym]

I'm not a lurker - I don't spend as much time around a computer as some *12+ posts a day?* but If you look through my posts, I'm not a troll.

I'm a very sarcastic person, I guess its hard to pick up through the internet sometimes. I'll add a 'rolls eyes' emoticon or something next time to help out. Most people around here do not make statements like "ALL I NEED IS MUH TOM BROWN KNIFE", so I figured the satire was obvious. But I digress. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings - I was trying to lighten up a thread-gone-wrong.

I'm all done, if you have a complaint then PM me so we don't waste anyone's time.

No complaint bro, and I am not calling you a troll. I don't think using a jerk it smiley was called for when quoting a guy like Thomas Linton who has over 7k posts. I also am a sarcastic sob, but I will throw a at the end of my post when I am joking.

No hard feelings.

 

[midnite-penguin]

Likewise. No blood no foul.

I honestly don't look at post counts and stuff on the fly, If you change your avatar you are basically a new member because that's the only thing I tend to recognize members by. (other than their face/gear if the post a lot of pictures).

 

[KiljoyKutlery]

If you have access to the search function seems as I remember several long drawn out threads on the same subject in the past in this forum.

I've read some of Tom Browns books and I thought they were OK.

However the whole thing about his personality? There is a saying that your guru should live 2 valleys over from you. (ie if you are exposed to their humanity then you have trouble accepting their teaching.) Probably true here.

I'm just glad the situation has come about that people who teach survival schools can now make some money because now no matter whether we think they are poseurs or what, it's a hell of a lot better job than cutting forests down, working at a chemical plant, or pushing paper in a cubicle.:thumbup:

I agree, and I love the GURU perspective...makes you think a bit.