Tom Brown's Tracker

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Yvan

Joined
Jan 25, 2005
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Can someone tell me if that knive is really worth all that money...is it really that good a knive???
 
I think he means the "do-it-all" fixed blade :) The WH folder is called the 'Quest' I believe. There are TOPS, Dave Beck, and now R Linger who make Tracker fixed blade knife. I think Beck is selling off his last on Ebay now and done with it. There are a lot of threads talking about the differences between the TOPS version and the Dave Beck one and some more recent threads about Linger's model that he just finished not to long ago for a forum member.
 
Yvan said:
Can someone tell me if that knive is really worth all that money...is it really that good a knive???
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You're talking about the "Hunted" knife, right? Tom Brown seems to know his stuff about tracking, but I kinda question the knife design. Ok wait: I totally question the knife design. I also read a review awhile back, I think it was in Tactical Knives, but I'm not sure, and they were trying hard to be friendly to the knife - which means they didn't like it much...

I mean, first its got this big curved front edge that's like if a skinner and an axe had a baby together. It doesn't look quite right for skinning and its at the wrong angle for chopping. Then it has this "chopping" section closer to the handle, that might make a good splitter for small pieces of wood - but because of the abrupt grind change, you are limited in what you are chopping. Then it has this short section of saw on the back, and how often is that practical? Also having the effect of messing up your baton as you try and split that size-limited piece of wood!

I think a design like the Ontario RAT-7 or TAK is far more practical as a do all woods knife. Good grip shape, strong knife with a flat grind, flat on the back of the blade.

But you probably can't throw it all the way through a 4 inch tree, then yank it out and leave a knife shaped hole! I saw Del Toro do that with a Tracker! ;)
 
Just my opinion, mind you, but I think the Tracker knife in the movie "The Hunted" is one of the ugliest knives ever.
 
Never seen a proffesional woodsman, soldier or guide carry one. In the reviews I've read, here and in magazines, no proffessional, other than Brown, carried one. It's a novelty item.
 
If I'm gonna spend that much on a knife, I would just go ahead and get a custom piece, a well made Kukri can serve the same purpose, you've got a hatchet/knife/spatula all in one.
 
I've been going back and forth on the Tracker. I agree about the Kukri, I've seen Nepali guys rip through bamboo and still fine cut all with a Kukri that is at least a third of their height. I like the Trace Rinaldi Warhawk (aka Tops DART), it's an interesting kukri inspired design.
I was able to get my hands on a Tracker at a show and thought it was really front-heavy. I didn't like the feel very much. It felt like it wanted to leap out of my hand.

But...I recently read the manual and it kinda makes more sense. Maybe I just want to like the knife. People think it's ugly but I think it has an interesting look because it's so f-ed up, kinda like a mutt dog that always is there for ya.

What I was really wondering is, has anyone has taken it through an unbiased real life trial? Does anyone know of an articles that do that? Forget all the blah-blah controversies, does the knife perform?
 
Extreme Ratio makes a nasty Kukri, and I like CSs. I like the Custom trackers as there sawbacks are much more affective, the TOPS is not and is more like a wire cutter but isnt really a saw. Its more than a novelty item as it can be used and I think it can be used to good affect. But would I carry it over my SFNO or Steelheart....heck no. Its just not as affective as it would seem, I have played with....used to great extent in my own testing, but never bought one of these. Like its been said, get a good knife in a more practical design.
 
Get yourself a Ka-Bar Impact Warthog; same 1095 high carbon steel (mine came RAZOR sharp out of the box), same full tang strength (although a few inches shorter, a little over 8 in overall, as compared to 11" or 12" on the Brown knife), similar design, but without the sawteeth on the top, which are useless anyhow IMO, similar sheath, same scale material (Micarta), and best of all, you can get the Warthog on E-bay for under $50.00. This is one awesome "survival tool/hunting/skinning/weapon" for the price. Hell, buy 2, an extra one for the car!!!! The TB knife is about $250 or so, and although it appears to be a nice knife, it also appears over priced, over hyped and faddish. I think the Ka-Bar is a far better deal. Ka-Bar has been around a LONG time and backs up their product. Ask the USMC...
 
I just recieved my Tracker in the mail yesterday and I will say this: It is a workhorse. I think that a 1/4" blade is to big for me, perhaps not for others, but definately for me; 3/16" is much more appropriate I think. It is a full tang at 1/4" the whole way through, and for chopping I think the handle could have been a bit thinner than what it is. The knife is almost cumbersome in smaller hands (I wear a large size glove for reference) due to the weight and thickness. I do agree with much of what I have read about the quarter rounder, its not quite as deep of a circumfrance (Spl?) as I would like. The saw is actually a bit offset, but it will clog without a doubt as the saw blades are entirely too wide. The design is utilitarian as well as novel, depending on your uses for it...I enjoy the Cold Steel SRK as well, and its about half the weight and capable of nearly as much at a 1/5 of the price. I do like the kydex sheath with the clips and it was comfortable for the five minutes I've had it on for so far.
Im not entirely sure anyone needs this much knife, but is a fun one capable of taking a bit of punishment. The fit and finish of the knife is pretty good, it could of came a hair sharper, however one wouldnt want a knife for the woods to be to sharp as to roll the edge. I like the knife, and I would have paid a penny more for it as I bought mine for $211.00. I still feel a bit raw about dropping that kind of money on a working knife, as I dont have the kind of cash to spend on knives I like...it was a bit of an impulse buy on a "mall ninja" item that I wanted and will use diligently. I hope this helps anyone who stumbles upon it.
 
I've been on the fence about the WSK style knives. From what I've read, Tom Brown Jr. is a fraud and made up most of the legend behind what he claims is his past. Plenty of wilderness survival experts have come foraward and debunked his claims. That's not to say he's not great at what he does as nobody has disputed his skills but I think he gets too much credit. Seeing as he's not really the Elvis of survival experts, I've had my doubts about his $300 knife. I'll probably pick one up at some point to see for myself but I have my doubts. If it really is the greatest surviv
 
Can someone tell me if that knive is really worth all that money...
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No. That kind of money is better spent on a Busse or a CRK.
is it really that good a knive???
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I think if it really was the greatest survival knife of all time, more wilderness survival experts would be praising it. From what I can tell, Moras are way more popular among the survival guys and they cost under $20
 
silenthunterstudios said:
If I'm gonna spend that much on a knife, I would just go ahead and get a custom piece, a well made Kukri can serve the same purpose, you've got a hatchet/knife/spatula all in one.
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My wife has one of the Tracker 2's which is the slightly smaller version. It's a well made knife but when she took it out into the woods and was trying it out she said

"After trying this out it is OBVIOUS to me that Tom Brown has never handled a khukuri"

I think a 15" Baby Ganga Ram from Himalayan Imports is about half or less the price and will do everything the tracker would better.
 
Now, now--let's not be TOO hard on the Tracker.

After all, who needs to blow $200 on one? As seen in the movies, you can quietly make one by pounding scrap steel with a rock at a do-it-yourself forge that you've clandestinely constructed out in the open on the outskirts of some city while being pursued by hundreds of government spooks!

Galoshz: You ask about the Ka-bar cutlass, and the Kershaw Outcast. The Outcast is made of D2 steel, which (just ask Cliff Stamp) probably makes it unreliable at resisting snapping or chipping if you chop with it (which is the idea). It's also likely to be unusually hard to sharpen without specialized tools. The Ka-bar cutlass seems more promising, as it's made of tough carbon steel; also, you're not going to have to shell out so much cash for it that you can't afford to use it, maybe lose it, and replace it. In fact, if I spent $200 on a knife, I'd hesitate even to lean on it to test it and see whether that particular blade would break.

One really good (and, I think, underrated) knife in the same general category is Ka-bar's large "heavy Bowie" (Model 1277). I think people see "heavy" in the name and expect it to be much weightier than it actually is, but it seems significantly lighter than such other Bowies as the 10"-blade Solingen knives and Ontario's Marine Raider. The Ka-bar 1277 is a good chopper, but the flat grind makes it a good slicer, as well. You can reliably find them on eBay for about $45, give or take. They seem to take a significant amount of punishment without much trouble. It's got a straighter blade than the cutlass, which means it'll be easier to use on many general camp/outdoor tasks than the bulge-bladed cutlass.
 
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