tom brown's Knife -- feedback

[Old Painless]

OK all, I know this has been kicked around lots, but humor me for a bit. I am new to this forum, and I typed in "Tracker" to see what all people are saying about Tom Brown's knife. Now I know it's expensive, but say I found one on ebay or something -- what are the real reasons why this wouldn't be a great all around survival knife? I am not into tactical or combat -- I am into adventure/outdoor survival type stuff. I read that it feels front heavy in the hand , but isn't that the idea for a knife that is supposed to be great for chopping and supposedly tomahawk-like throwing (not that I would throw it much)? Also I don't care about aesthetics that much and lastly, I can care less what movies it has been in or how much of it's "hype" is due to Del Toro fans or whatever. Forget the movies, let's give this knife a fair shake. If it is not a good all around survival knife why? and if any of you care to share why you think it IS a good one, please share as well.
Appreciate all responses. Thanx!

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I'm not a huge fan of the design.

I like a lighter knife- Admittedly, I've only handled the TOPS version, but it felt like a cinder block in my hand and on my hip. If I need to pack something that heavy I'd rather have a good camp axe or khukuri, coupled with my Swiss Army Knife.

I have no use for a sawback. I don't do stealth missions, If I need to cut something I'm gonna hack it quickly with the primary edge. If I'm doing trap triggers and such, I'd rather use my small sharp folder to cut the notches.

The Drawknife aspect doesn't impress me...If I need a drawknife I can do splendidly well with a Machete, a Leuku, or a Khuk. between the drawknife section and the chopping section, there's just too little blade there for me to do either job well.

I'm not gonna lash my primary knife to a stick to spear fish and stuff. There's still too much risk of losing it in a river or lake. I'd rather use the edge to carve a spearpoint and just fireharden it.

I'm not gonna throw my primary knife. I threw and lost enough knives in my youth to have learned better. I usually have a gun or other weapon with me. If not, a piece of Birch or Willow is a helluva lot more expendable to throw.

Khuks, Goloks,machetes, etc. are much nicer for clearing brush, and can do it with less physical exertion.

I just have no use for an arrow straightener. Maybe a diehard archer does, but I'm not...

Overall, I prefer tried and true knife designs that have proven themselves historically. The classical Golok, Leuku,machete, Khukuri, Hatchet, Tomahawk, Gaucho, etc. have proven themselves for a long time in history. They wouldn't be around today if they didn't work well.

Admittedly, I've never owned one, but...I didn't have to look at a Yugo much to figure out I had no interest in those either.

I'm not saying it's a bad design, Tom Brown clearly knows his stuff, and it works extremely well for him and his students. But...I'm not Tom Brown...I'm just small town whitetrash that happens to find time to stumble through the woods now and then.

Not a bad design- just a bad design for me.

Edited to add: Just for perspective of what I DO carry, it's usually my BK&T #5 Magnum Camp and a SAK Adventurer. They suit me well, and both are VERY tried and proven for me.

 

[Stephan]

I also have this knife and have a few opinions about it. Apparently Tom had a few different people before Tops manufacture this blade before hand and when Tops acquired it, people believe that they dropped the ball in it's design. I know Little about steels but am learning about it on this site. There are a lot of people here who can help in this department, I do know the carbon steel that is used in this knife is easier too sharpen and is considered a softer metal ( I think) but corrosion is an issue with this blade so oil care is a must. There are a few knockoffs on this knifes design which you can find here one being the Red Scorpion 6 which has some heated topics. Theses Tracker inspired blades attempt to correct the overly thick and fat design of the tops version and the quarter rounder section of the blade (where the under belly meets the "fillet" part of the blade) This created a sharper deeper dip in their blade which to me looks better and also helps in cutting and skinning hide. As far as to weather this blade hunting and survival effectiveness is relies on the person personal preference to how they hunt or use bladed tools. In my opinion I believe there is real practical uses for this knife and would help in a survival situation but again in any survival situation knowledge is the key, and the use of this knife dose depend on survival knowledge. The manual the knife comes with demostrates this and I believe that Tom created this knife to coexist along with his classes in which he teaches the survival techniques that can be pared with this knife. But most blades can help you in these situations. To me the biggest benifit of this knife is it's weight and knife/ax like properties that it combines. In hind sight I'd rather have the knife be more like the original versions that were custom ed built. I can't remember the name of the guy who version of this knife sells for over a grand, but it is pretty sweet and has a black onyx like handle. Hope this helps!

 

[GoodGuy]

I owned and used the TOPS version for a couple of months, but I could never warm up to it. It did a variety of things reasonably well (slicing, chopping, sawing, etc.), but I felt compromised while performing those things. I actually did appreciate its "draw knife" capabilities, though; and became rather proficient at using it as such.

It's sort of hard to explain, but it didn't "feel" right in my hand. In some respects, it felt unsafe when I used it for slicing and chopping. I didn't feel like I was in total control of it. It didn't "balance" well for me.

The black finish applied to the Tracker by TOPS seemed to protect the blade steel reasonably well, but it didn't seem all that durable (i.e., it scratched pretty easily). Cosmetics aside, I felt the need to use a good steel protectant to prevent oxidation.

The micarta handle didn't fit my hand. The placement of the "finger grooves" just didn't correspond with my fingers. I would encourage anyone thinking about purchasing one of these models to try to hold one first.

The sheath that comes with it from TOPS is functional but, again, I didn't really like the design. A leather pouch type sheath would be better. I think they're available, but pricey. I think TOPS would be better served to ditch the current sheath and ship the knife with the leather sheath to start with.

I traded the "Tracker" for TOPS version of the "Armagedon." I use the Armagedon for the same tasks, and I find it works better (even chopping) than the Tracker. I don't miss the Tracker.