Trestle Pines Grand Portage

TsarBomba said:
Awesome, thank you! I can't really do much with the Northwoods but that single-blade Queen is perfect for comparison's sake. I have bone, walnut and Winterbottom delrin workhorses and the are all pretty much identical in thickness.
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Sorry I was trying to use the Northwoods since it's just a re-covered version of Queen's barlow. Glad the delrin version was helpful.
 
Cannonball970 said:
Sorry I was trying to use the Northwoods since it's just a re-covered version of Queen's barlow. Glad the delrin version was helpful.
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Ah. No worries, it was more than helpful as-is. For some reason I thought it was the Madison, which I believe was built on one of the curvy GEC frames (though I might be completely off on that). It's excellent seeing the relative thicknesses of the various handles on the #69 frames (including the GP) because I can get a much more accurate understanding of how it'll feel in hand.

(I've already been doing some CE at the pictures. It seems boxelder is still available. That's going to be hard to turn down... :eek:)
 
The flat head screwdriver tip on the cap lifter is angled awkwardly toward the backspring. So because of the angle, applying pressure to tighten a screw will collapse the cap lifter / driver closed. I think you can see it in this photo. I will probably end up grinding it flat or angled in the other direction.

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jrawk said:
The flat head screwdriver tip on the cap lifter is angled awkwardly toward the backspring. So because of the angle, applying pressure to tighten a screw will collapse the cap lifter / driver closed. I think you can see it in this photo. I will probably end up grinding it flat or angled in the other direction.
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Huh. I would never have caught that in a photo! Your hands-on feedback about this knife is greatly appreciated. :)
 
Interesting pic jrawk, can any other GP owners check theirs and chime in if this is inherent in the design?
 
They're just punched out so my GUESS is that they're all the same. Hopefully, folks that own the knives can chime in. BUT it would seriously just take a few seconds to grind it at a better angle. For me, that would be a non issue.

How's the spring on the screwdriver? Is it very strong?

With knives that are assembled with peened pins, a screwdriver is really only good for light duty. Any heavy twisting could loosen up the pinned construction. The same is true for an awl/punch since it's also used by applying torque.
 
Mine's got it too. I wouldn't use it (or any knife) for any heavy duty unscrewin' but it would definitely work in a pinch. I need the phillips on my keychain SAK way more than a flat head.

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Jake, I get it only takes a minute but in all honesty, that is exactly what we are paying the maker for. No ifs ands or buts about it. Poor quality in my mind. As in most things in life, the finer details are what make or break things for me
 
rockgolfer, I think it's worth discussing on a discussion forum. That's why we're here. For me it's not an issue but for you it is. Neither of us is right or wrong.

For me, it's in the same category as sharpening the blade. But sharpening the blade to my liking would take longer. On Swiss army knives, I'll often square up the screwdrivers since they the edges are polished off. I'm used to tinkering with knives so that they work best for me.

If the spring is so loosy goosy that it doesn't hold no matter what then that would be a bigger problem for me. That's why I asked about the spring.

This type of implement is a full time job for companies like Victorinox/Wenger. Some of their designs actually depress and lock in place to secure the driver. And they use rivets instead of peened pins. This Trestle Pines knife and most from other traditional knife makers are very old school.
 
supratentorial said:
rockgolfer, I think it's worth discussing on a discussion forum. That's why we're here. For me it's not an issue but for you it is. Neither of us is right or wrong.
For me, it's in the same category as sharpening the blade. But sharpening the blade to my liking would take longer. On Swiss army knives, I'll often square up the screwdrivers since they the edges are polished off. I'm used to tinkering with knives so that they work best for me.
If the spring is so loosy goosy that it doesn't hold no matter what then that would be a bigger problem for me. That's why I asked about the spring.
This type of implement is a full time job for companies like Victorinox/Wenger. Some of their designs actually depress and lock in place to secure the driver. And they use rivets instead of peened pins. This Trestle Pines knife and most from other traditional knife makers are very old school.
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The primary concern here is not that it's easy to file or grind down the driver end, it's that the dimensions change slightly. The thickness may no longer be uniform (think what would happen if you cross-sectioned a blade at an offset angle), so now you're stuck with what is essentially a trapezoidal driver surface that requires grinding down the sides as well. Now you're getting into some serious material removal and mistakes can be made. Plus I'm pretty sure any warranty would be voided at that point.

I've gotta say, this might be a dealbreaker if making it "right" takes as much work as I'm thinking it could. I really do have to see one up close and personal now. I am interested in the question about the spring tension, too. Being a Barlow, I'd hope the GP snaps like a gator in both directions like almost all of my regular #69s.
 
Maybe jrawk can give a measurement with the micrometer that he used previously but from his photo it looks like we are talking about a very small amount. Also these are definitely not hollow ground screwdrivers that are designed for an exact fit. They're just punched out from stock. They do have a taper but I'd be surprised if a small amount of grinding would affect the size much. I suppose, you could adjust that as well. We very likely are over thinking it.

Also, I would be shocked if Queen wouldn't honor a warranty if the very end of the screwdriver was ground flat by the user. You shouldn't return it to a dealer afterwards but I see no reason that it would affect warranty repair from Queen. You could email them an ask.
 
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Never said you were wrong in the least Jake. I believe the manufacturer is wrong for shipping such knives in the first place.

I don't buy a new knife just to get a sharp one because I can't sharpen the last one I used. Sharp is subjective and even purposeful for the job at hand sometimes. It's why I like 2 bladed knives, I keep the small secondary scary sharp and the main blade toothy to handle rougher tasks all day.

I owned a 2011 forum knife (not the manufacturer of this knife) and while I sold it because I just don't like the blade shape, the horrible cap lifter was always a disappointment. It doesn't matter that a lot of us can fix these things easily. To me, it's just plain laziness from the manufacturer. It's a tool and has a specific job, if said tool doesn't work right, why spend the money on it? Would you buy a hammer that needs the face squared so it doesn't slide off and hit your finger ever time you use it? Would you buy a screwdriver from a hardware store and expect it not to screw? I certainly wouldn't and those are less then $10 tools.

If you are ok with buying brand new tools that need to be worked on to use, well, more power to you. I enjoy tinkering as well just not as much as you I guess. We certainly do all care about one aspect or another more when it comes to knives. While this issue is less then that of a weak spring, it's still just as relevant to the working function of the knife.

Someone at this company I would bet is paid to check on these things. Said person failed at their job. Just my take on the subject.
 
Not a bad idea to hand a newbie a lopsided hammer :D

Glad your fingers survived well enough to type :thumbup: :)
 
rockgolfer said:
Not a bad idea to hand a newbie a lopsided hammer :D
Glad your fingers survived well enough to type :thumbup: :)
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That was a learning experience and a half, for sure.

Lesson 1: You can do this for the next 40 years of your life or you can go to college and get an education and maybe stand a chance of working inside in the air conditioning.
Lesson 2: See Lesson 1. :D

Knife content: My two latest wood-handled Barlow acquisitions, along for the ride today for moral support as I seriously ponder the prospect of getting a GP.

 
They should check that during the design phase. I'd be willing to bet that at this stage, the fix from any manufacturer would be to grind it flat. I doubt they'd make a new die.

After criticism that folks were too harsh on other aspects of the knives, I do find it surprising this is the deal breaker.

The original Portage had a major design flaw and I was the only one that spoke up about it. If the knife was sharpened you'd eventually have a blade that was exposed by the easy open notch. And eventually you'd need to grind the spine directly through the nail nick. That didn't seem to bother folks though. Now that does blow my mind. It's the worst design flaw that I've ever seen on a knife.
 
rockgolfer said:
...Would you buy a hammer that needs the face squared so it doesn't slide off and hit your finger ever time you use it? Would you buy a screwdriver from a hardware store and expect it not to screw? I certainly wouldn't and those are less then $10 tools.
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You'll have to explain that hammer to me. LOL! I think non edged tools are often an afterthought for many knife manufacturer's. That may not be the way it should be but it often seems to be the case. There are exceptions. For example, Victorinox does a much better job with saws than GEC.
 
That's horrible Jake. I never read the other thread and haven't really read through this one much, just browsing the pics and read the captions on the screw driver tip. I wouldn't buy this knife for several reasons that have nothing to do with the function but multiple things don't please my eye in the big picture. Some speak to us and some don't, sure I have a few that others feel the same way. I wasn't trying to start an argument but I did feel the need to respond to your post. I guess I took it as making excuses for the dealer (my interpretation of your words) and had an opposite opinion. The end of the day after cutting open boxes or helping with a little food preparation, I hope this guy can also help at beer 30 when then time comes. Really is a shame to keep reading of shortcomings like this from manufacturers. It's not easy being in any kind of luxury market business. Your fine details get critiqued and sooner or later either your customers grow tired of your flaws or you fix them, one or the other is bound to happen.
 
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