Trestle Pines Grand Portage

[TsarBomba]

You guys are a hoot. You take a good thing, a new player in the world of knives with a different twist, and criticize it to death. Much of the criticism is still the same old Queen bashing, just with a slightly different twist.

 

[TsarBomba]

The cap lifter is 420HC not 154CM.

Ah, you're absolutely right, thank you for the correction. And I now remember noticing like three separate times on the site that it was only the blade made of CPM-154. This makes things a little more manageable with hand tools.

Still, if that stuff's anything like the Buck 420HC, I'll be filing and sanding for quite some time. :grumpy:

 

[rockgolfer]

letting my issue with the screwdriver grind angle stop you from buying a Grand Portage is crazy! lol

On the flip side, I think it's crazy you would willingly buy a tool, designed to do a job, at a premium price point that is of lesser quality then a dedicated tool costing 1/10th the price. But to each their own. It's not a deal breaker to you and if I wanted the steel it may not be a deal breaker to me. What it does show me is another example of how Queen can't fix their quality up to snuff with the price point they try to command. Dressing up something in fancy covers don't hide the imperfections in workmanship.

@Brownshoe, queen is not a new company by any means and neither are their workmanship issues. I will agree with a lot of your points but differ in the end.

I think some may be assuming that my pointing out bad work makes me a hater of their brand or whatever, couldn't be farther from the truth. I open every thread is this forum looking to buy a new knife and I certainly don't want one company to have a monopoly on the market. A company/person will never get better if what they put out is not critiqued. If Queen wants us to stop nit picking, give us a product that doesn't need it. I am a consumer that wants to spend my money on their product, when it's worthy of my hard earned buck over another, I will buy one.

When did we start defending and accepting mediocre work? I really don't get why you guys are standing up and defending it? Can you honestly say it's a perfectly made tool in the function department on all aspects? Non of what I have talked about has anything to do with the sharpness of the knife or fit and finish, simply the function of what it was designed to do.

It would look great in a display case for sure but I don't have any display cases for my knives, they all take turns working and doing what they where designed to do.

These people that own these companies want to make money offrom of us. It's nothing personal, I am trying to help them accomplish that goal. If they want to know what they need to do to improve their market share, the pages in these forums are filled with the info. We couldn't make it any easier as to what we want, are looking for or expect. I certainly don't feel bad for them if they can't read the writing on the wall. Business is business and feelings are feelings. Some feelings get hurt over business and others take the negative feedback and use it to improve. It's always a choice.

 

[TsarBomba]

On the flip side, I think it's crazy you would willingly buy a tool, designed to do a job, at a premium price point that is of lesser quality then a dedicated tool costing 1/10th the price. But to each their own. It's not a deal breaker to you and if I wanted the steel it may not be a deal breaker to me. What it does show me is another example of how Queen can't fix their quality up to snuff with the price point they try to command. Dressing up something in fancy covers don't hide the imperfections in workmanship.

Let's avoid making yet another Queen-bashing thread. I think the point I brought up earlier is valid: this is a Trestle Pines product and they should have taken it upon themselves to do final QC unless the opportunity was somehow denied to them (a scenario I see as exceedingly unlikely considering the price point and very limited numbers of this run).

 

[Dr-Mabuse]

My gosh this thread has become tedious. I've come here looking for actual user experiences and photos to help me determine whether I want to upgrade from my Imperial caplifter jack to the GP and instead there's this. If you don't own a GP, I doubt anyone really cares to read your opinion of it. If someone who actually owns one is still bothering to look at this thread, can you please let me know more about your experiences in actually using it? I do use my caplifter as screwdriver very often and so I'm eager to see how well they work.

 

[TsarBomba]

I'm really unclear on what's changed in the last week or so that has caused people to become so uptight and wannabe-moddish about threads (many of which predate their own involvement) here on the porch. As far as I'm aware, there are no restrictions on who may post to any thread, whether or not they own the knife or knives under discussion. Furthermore, the OP started this thread with a preview photo before the knife was even available for sale. Clearly there was never any intent to restrict this thread's participants and subject matter to "current owners and their impressions".

The people who do own the knife have already posted evidence of what is either a design or manufacturing flaw which might give some pause for thought on a knife that is well over $100 retail. Impressions have already been given by owners and non-owners. If any reader does not like the direction a thread is going in, he or she has two options: Seek the counsel of the mods (hopefully only in situations where the belief that content should be disallowed is warranted) or stop reading the thread.

It's a little disconcerting how many posters have tried to actively squelch conversation on traditionals-related subjects recently for reasons I can only assume are selfish or petulant. I hope this trend reverses course forthwith.

 

[jrawk]

On the flip side, I think it's crazy you would willingly buy a tool, designed to do a job, at a premium price point that is of lesser quality then a dedicated tool costing 1/10th the price.

youre supporting why i wouldnt let the screwdriver issue stop me from buying one. because if i needed a dependable screw driver i would never reach for any pocket knife first. id go get a screw driver. There are some brands that include a wire stripper on the cap lifter. Ive never used it for stripping wire. I go get the real tool that cost less. Darn i guess i shouldnt have paid for one.

But to each their own. It's not a deal breaker to you and if I wanted the steel it may not be a deal breaker to me. What it does show me is another example of how Queen can't fix their quality up to snuff with the price point they try to command. Dressing up something in fancy covers don't hide the imperfections in workmanship.

im not going to speak for a company that i know nothing about thier operations. its easy to say it can be done better at a better price. i doubt the Retail price wasnt set by queen.

I open every thread is this forum looking to buy a new knife and I certainly don't want one company to have a monopoly on the market.

When did we start defending and accepting mediocre work? I really don't get why you guys are standing up and defending it? Can you honestly say it's a perfectly made tool in the function department on all aspects?

i think maybe you might want to reread the thread again and absorb the reviews and constructive criticism.

But its funny how some are saying we are bashing the knife too much and some say we are being too easy on it.

once more, i think its a quality well built knife that has all the features im interested in done satisfactorily to my personal budget. nope its not perfect in every aspect. so your milage may vary.

 

[picturerock]

Judging by all the attention, sizzle and heat that this product has generated, the introduction of the Grand Portage is a success. Mine should be in my hand today. I'll post pictures and a review in a day or two.

 

[Dr-Mabuse]

Look I'm not trying to go on a power trip here. The fact is that the conversation that you and rockgolfer are having seems to be dominating the thread. Seriously, go look at it. It's mostly just you and him going back and forth for pages.

I just wanna know if the screwdriver works, the bottle opener pops and the blade grind is decent. My Imperial has a slight angle to the driver tip and has served me well. One person saying that it can close under pressure is not enough data to swing me yay or nay on this and I genuinely want to know what other people are experiencing. I feel like you and rockgolfer are smothering the thread and thereby discouraging people from posting their experiences. I'm not beholden to any brand and I truly don't care who made the knife. What I want to know is, how's it work? If it doesn't work, that's fine I just saved a buck thirty. If it does work reasonably well, I wanna get one before they sell out.

I come here for information and a pleasant experience. So I guess I am selfish.

 

[jrawk]

Judging by all the attention, sizzle and heat that this product has generated, the introduction of the Grand Portage is a success. Mine should be in my hand today. I'll post pictures and a review in a day or two.

Looking forward to your photos and your reaction

 

[jrawk]

I just wanna know if the screwdriver works, the bottle opener pops and the blade grind is decent.

Yes with a caveate.
Yes and it opens bottles very well.
Yes the grind is pretty good. A bit wide behind the edge, I measured 0.02 inch last night with my calipers. (compared to 0.015 on my GEC 25 sheepfoot; it was what I had there on my bench at the time to compare to).

I plan on putting a new bevel on it tonight along with modding the screw driver. Results will be well documented here as long as we all promise to play nice together.

 

[rockgolfer]

Whatever. I am done here. What a waste of time

 

[knarfeng]

Gents, please talk about the knives, not other posters.
That goes for folks on both sides.

 

[TsarBomba]

Yes with a caveate.
Yes and it opens bottles very well.
Yes the grind is pretty good. A bit wide behind the edge, I measured 0.02 inch last night with my calipers. (compared to 0.015 on my GEC 25 sheepfoot; it was what I had there on my bench at the time to compare to).
I plan on putting a new bevel on it tonight along with modding the screw driver. Results will be well documented here as long as we all promise to play nice together.

Is there any chance the odd angle of the caplifter's driver end has something to do with the efficiency of the opener itself? Maybe it was a design decision to facilitate opening your beer at the expense of unscrewing your flathead screws? Just idle speculation...

I will be keeping an eye out for picturerock's photos and review, as I am still on the fence regarding the GP and the current secondary market prices for, ah, "the competition" are actually higher than the retail for the more expensive tier of GPs on the dealer site which I could have sworn was a BF member but according to Frank's list is not.

EDIT: Whew. Looks like I didn't mention the name in my posts after all.

 

[rockgolfer]

im not going to speak for a company that i know nothing about thier operations. its easy to say it can be done better at a better price. i doubt the Retail price wasnt set by queen.

Exactly where did I say it could be done at a better price? I basically said they are asking to much for something that is not made correctly. I am also not speaking about their operations but their actions (reverse engineering). What I do know is that the screwdriver on that knife is not made correct and what I can certainly within reason speculate is that Queen either noticed it and said ahhh, it's good enough or they pay so little attention to the finer details that no one ever saw it. You all can interpret what you want and look at it any way you want but those facts don't change no matter what words you use.

I would also like to say that this hasn't gone back pages and even if it was 20 pages long, it's certainly relevant to the knife and information buyers may want. Just because some of you are ok with shilling out money for looks and not function doesn't mean we all feel that way and frankly you can ignore me if you don't want my opinion. This whole thing cracks me up. I find it actually comical what the good DR wrote. Have a good day gentlemen.

 

[jrawk]

Is there any chance the odd angle of the caplifter's driver end has something to do with the efficiency of the opener itself? Maybe it was a design decision to facilitate opening your beer at the expense of unscrewing your flathead screws? Just idle speculation...

nope.

 

[Relee1]

Exactly where did I say it could be done at a better price? I basically said they are asking to much for something that is not made correctly. I am also not speaking about their operations but their actions (reverse engineering). What I do know is that the screwdriver on that knife is not made correct.

I have one and you're right about the screwdriver...it doesn't work worth a darn, but like another poster has said, "I'm not going to use a screwdriver on a knife, when I can use a screwdriver designed for that purpose. The CPM 154 steel on the cutting blade is outstanding and apparently the cap lifter is a good one (I don't lift caps). The handles are terrific, and the F & F is fine. Overall I really like the knife as a user, and would recommend one to anyone who may be interested. The cost is pretty high, but so is the price on my Charlow #14 that is little more than a fingernail cleaner and a thread clipper. I love both knives. Each one has a place in my collection.

 

[rockgolfer]

I am glad it ticks all the boxes for you all, I really am. I actually love the blade shape, nail Nick, use of brass, tree stamp and the lovely wood it comes in. If it were a carbon steel I would consider buying one.

Two of you commented on not using the screw driver and Renee, you don't pop caps. It makes me wonder why they didn't make this as a single blade if the ones buying them don't use the tools?

I apologize if I ruffled anyone's feathers as that is never my intention. I just found the poor execution of the screw driver coupled with the price tag to be a topic I wanted more clarification on. We all certainly like what we like, buy what we want and use them how we see fit. If they make a single blade in D2, 01, M4, 52100, 1095 or the like I would be all over it.

I actually applaud jrawk for bringing the slanted tip to our attention, thank you. I know it's a small, easy fix for most but these little details just should not be missed IMHO. And especially at the price we are talking about with this knife.

"Bashing" has been brought up and I really don't see that going on from anyone, so it leads me to believe that comment was aimed at me. I honestly will walk away from this forum when the day comes we can't talk about the not so great workmanship by anyone/business. I do not feel I slandered anyone or any companies name nor was I harsh in my criticism. If we can't openly talk about the shortcoming of a design then why are we talking? All this place would be is a giant photo bucket of pics and that would be no fun at all, again, IMHO.

At the end of the day, this is a hobby and not life or death. If we didn't like to debate the finer points of these little beauties then we wouldn't be here. I would much rather buy a beer and debate in person where we can get the tone and gist of others comments but that just isn't realistic. Any of you ever do make it to the north part of California, drop me a line. We can swap stories and opinions in person and maybe leave the place friends :thumbup:

 

[d.r.h.]

After reading about the Grand Portage (pros and cons), decided to get one ... and, have to say, glad I did. Admittedly, I got it for the wood (got one in old growth ash), but thought the design was different enough that I would want to carry it. It arrived today and I am pleased. Wish it were about a quarter to a half inch shorter (like smaller knives). Half stop on the main blade is kind of sloppy (think this was mentioned in one of the posts here), but that is a non-issue for me. Centering is near perfect and the edge bevel is quite even (though I will be putting a better edge on it shortly). Here are some pics of the old growth ash:

 

[swaybacksteve]

Drh thanks for the quick review. That is one of the better grains on Ash that I have seen
I am sure it can pop open a bottle.
Still on the fence on getting one...luckily the knife budget is cruising low right now