Trestle Pines Grand Portage

Nice photos! Very tempting... :)

d.r.h. said:
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:

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very nice D.
did you oil the ash handles at all or are they naturally that dark? it going to look amazing in three days.

Dont worry about the half stop. it seems to be smoothing out a lot. i did wash it with wd40 and then a dab of mineral oil.
 
jrawk said:
very nice D.
did you oil the ash handles at all or are they naturally that dark? it going to look amazing in three days.

Dont worry about the half stop. it seems to be smoothing out a lot. i did wash it with wd40 and then a dab of mineral oil.
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No oil on the covers. Depending on the direction of the light, they appear reddish brown to slightly greenish. Very nice and almost as nice as the old growth Swedish oak that adorns a Fallkniven TK3 I have. I will coat them with some RenWax after I rework the edge. Not at all concerned about the half stop. Just thought it was worth mentioning. Half stop on the cap opener is perfect.
 
rockgolfer said:
..."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...
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I used the term "Queen bashing" and rest easy, I certainly wasn't thinking of any single poster much less you. Please realize though, your comments were quite vitriolic, thus you should not be surprised or take offense if you engender passion in others that may not share your opinions.
 
rockgolfer said:
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?
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It could definitely serve as a way to refresh the regular Portage and answer some of the criticisms (plus maybe get away from that trailing-point blade that never really did sit right with me). Slap some boxelder burl on the Portage with a single Wharnie (or maybe a spear... :o) and put it up for people who don't want a caplifter or simply don't want to buy a beerlow with a quasi-functional SD tip.

jrawk said:
10 seconds on the 80 grit belt sander
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Nicely done, and glad it looks "right". I've been thinking of reaching out to Trestle Pine about this run and some other questions I had about their potential future endeavors, including just where their final QC is happening or if in fact they were even given the opportunity to do so before the knives went up for sale.

Now I just need to get a proper belt sander. :D
 
I got a email From the maker saying hes decided to change the bolster stamp to make the tree more defined. I think that's a great idea. Im thinking I might give this one a try after all. :D
 
its been a long time since i reprofiled CPM154. I forgot how long it took even on diamond stones. The original edge was about 25 degrees per side and it sliced paper out of box.

So i spent some time reprofing yesterday. Took almost an hour to get it to 40 degrees inclusive. But I also spent some time thinning out the pile side secondary bevel to 15 degrees because i did find a wave in the primary grind and wanted to knock the shoulder down a bit to make 20 easier. The wave isnt terrible but enough to make sharpening on a flat stone tedious. Then another 30 minutes down through the grits honing and another 20 stropping. But this is now a scalpel and should stay that way for a while.

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pile side
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t.willy said:
I got a email From the maker saying hes decided to change the bolster stamp to make the tree more defined. I think that's a great idea. Im thinking I might give this one a try after all. :D
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cool stuff

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I'll be interested to see how the new etched bolsters look. From the photo above they look good. Didn't think I would be, but I'm very happy with the old stamped ones....gives the brass an aged look.
 
Just got in my Grand Portage from Greg. I've got a Queen Barlow that is the base for the GP for comparison.

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First of all, the GP is nicer in person than in pictures. Mine has the same issues that have been mentioned before: a weak half stop on the main blade, a comically miss ground screwdriver tip on the cap lifter, and a few other very minor mismatching bits. Oddly, the Queen, which is basically the same frame, has an excellent half stop on the main blade - firm and solid.

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At first, when I saw photos of the pine tree stamp, I didn't like it. Now, I've come around 180 degrees, and I love it. I hear that they are going to laser etch the next round, so does that make this run more collectible? Reminds me of the "Appeal to God" pine tree flag of the American revolution. It's excellent!

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The blade and cap lifter on mine is solid - no wiggle or movement when deployed. There is the above slight imperfection from where the blade meets the spring. That is not evident on the Queen, there the match is exact, as it should be.

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The blades are well centered on my GP. Notice the curve on the cap lifter at the transition point, and the difference in the cuts on the swedges. Slight and hardly noticeable, but areas which could be improved by Queen.

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The GP came from the factory very sharp. Sharper than it's sister, the Queen. Overall, I'm liking this product. Improvement needs to be made in the main blade's half stop, but judging by the superlative stop on the Queen, so good in fact that every knife should have it done that way, GP can easily make that happen by busting nuts at the factory.

The comically off square cap lifter tip also needs to be fixed. That should be easy, and I'd like to listen in when Greg makes the call to the factory to berate them for letting that silliness get out the door.

All in all, I'd call this a fine product, with a few areas to improve. It's sharp, it's solid, and it's darned good looking. The tree stamp is just fantastic. A short visit to the grinder will fix the cap lifter tip. I might need to take a look at the next round, for a second example to buy. Whoever got that Afzalia wood GP is a lucky dog.
 
thats another box elder beauty. congrats!

yeah its a shame the stamp has gotten a bad reputation because it is perfect in person.
 
Is it still a traditional knife with a laser etch? Might have to move the discussion elsewhere if not.
 
I like a stamped bolster on a barlow. Some folks (including myself) thought the stamp could be deeper or clearer. I don't recall anyone preferring that they switch to a laser etch. Part of it was that the dealer photos were a bit blurry and the stamp was difficult to see.
 
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