Alrighty, here's the new & improved Tracker! Thanks go to Siguy for all the alterations. He saved it, at least temporarily, from the chopping block.
The two changes, again, were a thinning and convexing of the edge, and removal of the second/distal finger groove.
Firstly, the finger groove. Early I noted that it was quite uncomfortable, as it forced my fingers to 'split' more than is normal for a firm grip. It also did not radically improve the control of a distal grip.
Upon removal, that issue is entirely resolved. It's pretty comfy to use now (as far as the handle goes) and allows me to use any grip I like without something prodding me. I'll also say that, despite the uncovered steel, it looks quite clean cut. I'd expected it to be a little more... contrived looking. But the micarta didn't change in finish/color drastically and the curves are smooth.
The edge is much, much better than it was before. A lot like Pitdog's, this one has a pretty high convex bevel added to it. The small secondary bevel on this is highly polished. Much to my surprise, the blade does literally shave now! I'm quite impressed at that. On wood, it'll actually make a respectable fuzzy now.
The chopping edge was also quite improved, and it gave a lot more bite to each stroke than it had before.
The Good:
-It'll actually slice wood now.
-It will bite when it chops, rather than smash.
-The handle is quite comfy, I've no complaints from that department.
The Bad:
-It still handles like a brick. It's very heavy and pretty darn awkward. Despite the improved ability to carve into wood, the nimbleness just isn't there.
-It still can't really chop. It just doesn't have the length to make the weight worthwhile, the sweetspot is still right in front of the 'gut hook'. Several inches of edge are wasted past that.
-I'm pretty sure it weighs more than a BK9 or light hatchet + mora.
The Ugly:
Thanks for checking out the
experiment!!!
