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What do you knifelovers think about my custom tracker knife?
- Thread starter pirajja
- Start date
You want an honest opinion ? It looks interesting for sure , but totally unsuited for 90% of knife related tasks. That knife looks it's only purpose would be for wrecking things. The angles are far to obtuse to do any real slicing , the 'saw teeth' look like they would not work at all , the hook thing halfway in the middle ?? whats that for ?
As a weapon , or a curio it looks like it fits the bill , as a real use knife ? One is better off with a Fallkniven , or Becker , The Bushmaster by Dan Koster, etc .. Even a Mora would outcut that knife.
Tostig
As a weapon , or a curio it looks like it fits the bill , as a real use knife ? One is better off with a Fallkniven , or Becker , The Bushmaster by Dan Koster, etc .. Even a Mora would outcut that knife.
Tostig
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2010
- Messages
- 10,844
Congrats! but it's not for me.
I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself because I might be causing some butthurt.
I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself because I might be causing some butthurt.
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Welcome to bladeforums! My honest opinion (you asked for it)...for a trip into the wilderness, it is horrible. Have you ever actually used a knife in the wilderness? That thing is exactly all the things you don't find on a wilderness knife.
Tanto? Sawback? That bizzarre grind (what is that hook dookickey...is that supposed to be a guthook?)
It's a cool knife from a "stabby," videogame/fantasy point of view and it will appeal to people on that basis. But as an outdoors knife? Completely utterly wrong.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2011
- Messages
- 873
I'm gonna have to agree here. I think it looks cool but I think it's pretty useless as a backpacking survival knife or heck pretty useless for any task excpt maybe destroying things. It looks extremely heavy to.
t1mpani
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
- Messages
- 5,535
It looks well made from a construction/grinds and fit/finish point of view. It is definitely striking but let me tell you a few things about this particular knife and the Tracker design in general:
For a start, Americanized tanto shapes like this are cool looking, but a straight edge can't perform with a curved edge in any use but shaving. In a stab? Well, it's perfectly suitable for that, but that saw and hook are going to hang up in there, so you better only be fighting one guy/bear/zombie.
On the WSK overall: the interrupted edge really isn't very satisfactory in use. With a great deal of practice, you can learn to put the center of percussion out past the hook, and the wider flats being farther out on the blade DO shift the balance forward and give it chopping power, but for anything other than chopping the hook/transition between the two grinds really does get hugely in the way. Also, even with a really well designed saw, on a 3/16" or 1/4" spine thickness, it can't ever be used for anything other than notching, even if there was a set to the teeth, which I've just about never seen on a fixed blade knife. There's a reason true hand saw blades are less than 1/16" thick. When the bite is as thick as this saw is, you just are not strong enough (not even close) to pull that much wood out with each pull. Even if you go for very shallow cuts, you'll come to a stop once the teeth bottom out and you have the sides of that blade up against the sides of your cut channel.
I'm not just theorizing here, I was actually fascinated enough by the original Tracker/WSK pattern that I spent the money to try out the big ones---Beck, Linger, Horan, and even the Koster (I say "even" because it's not quite the traditional WSK design)---and, while I love them for being beautifully executed examples of an interesting idea, the truth is that the idea isn't very sound. CAN it work? Of course. However, a very well made bushcraft knife, ultralight saw and small hatchet would represent about the same amount of weight, can be had for about $200 combined, and will just flatten the WSK in actual use. As far as a fighting knife goes, I'd much rather have something that weighed a LOT less and could move much faster. I really and truly am not a nay-sayer who was out to discredit this pattern from the get-go. I've spent a lot of time out and about with them, and while they're semi-adequate as an overall knife, my knife knut habits have shown me far simpler tools that are far better. I'm holding onto my WSKs, just as a kind of fascinating blip in custom knife history, but they've been cleaned/polished up and are safe queens now.
I want to say again---just from a pure aesthetic satisfaction point of view---that I think this particular knife is very pleasing. In use, though, my suggestion would be to use it only when alone---kind of like a scooter. It can be fun, but if your friends are with you, they'll make fun of you.
Edit to add---does the tang actually rise above the handle scales in the middle of that hump in the handle? That might be a tad uncomfortable when chopping.
For a start, Americanized tanto shapes like this are cool looking, but a straight edge can't perform with a curved edge in any use but shaving. In a stab? Well, it's perfectly suitable for that, but that saw and hook are going to hang up in there, so you better only be fighting one guy/bear/zombie.
On the WSK overall: the interrupted edge really isn't very satisfactory in use. With a great deal of practice, you can learn to put the center of percussion out past the hook, and the wider flats being farther out on the blade DO shift the balance forward and give it chopping power, but for anything other than chopping the hook/transition between the two grinds really does get hugely in the way. Also, even with a really well designed saw, on a 3/16" or 1/4" spine thickness, it can't ever be used for anything other than notching, even if there was a set to the teeth, which I've just about never seen on a fixed blade knife. There's a reason true hand saw blades are less than 1/16" thick. When the bite is as thick as this saw is, you just are not strong enough (not even close) to pull that much wood out with each pull. Even if you go for very shallow cuts, you'll come to a stop once the teeth bottom out and you have the sides of that blade up against the sides of your cut channel.
I'm not just theorizing here, I was actually fascinated enough by the original Tracker/WSK pattern that I spent the money to try out the big ones---Beck, Linger, Horan, and even the Koster (I say "even" because it's not quite the traditional WSK design)---and, while I love them for being beautifully executed examples of an interesting idea, the truth is that the idea isn't very sound. CAN it work? Of course. However, a very well made bushcraft knife, ultralight saw and small hatchet would represent about the same amount of weight, can be had for about $200 combined, and will just flatten the WSK in actual use. As far as a fighting knife goes, I'd much rather have something that weighed a LOT less and could move much faster. I really and truly am not a nay-sayer who was out to discredit this pattern from the get-go. I've spent a lot of time out and about with them, and while they're semi-adequate as an overall knife, my knife knut habits have shown me far simpler tools that are far better. I'm holding onto my WSKs, just as a kind of fascinating blip in custom knife history, but they've been cleaned/polished up and are safe queens now.
I want to say again---just from a pure aesthetic satisfaction point of view---that I think this particular knife is very pleasing. In use, though, my suggestion would be to use it only when alone---kind of like a scooter. It can be fun, but if your friends are with you, they'll make fun of you.
Edit to add---does the tang actually rise above the handle scales in the middle of that hump in the handle? That might be a tad uncomfortable when chopping.
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- Joined
- Dec 21, 2008
- Messages
- 166
You're probably not going to find a lot of Tracker love on Bladeforums. Before I really had an idea about good knives, I bought one of the sawless models from the one of the dodgiest knife companies around. The price was WAY too high, the quality is WAY to low (the grind is completely off on one side, as in the blank must have been on a 20 degree angle when they put it through the grind process). But to be honest, I kind of like the design, I'll probably even get a decent quality custom made one day. I can see why most people don't like how they function, but IMHO once you get used to the specific nature of each section, a Tracker is actually pretty serviceable.
Your custom one, however, I don't quite get. The front section of the blade on a Tracker is meant for chopping, so the tanto tip (and it's lack of belly) make little sense to me. This also means the added leverage of he extended handle on a Tracker now becomes pointless. The only advantage of the tanto tip I can possibly think of is added strength, but the saw teeth are cut so deep that it totally negates that. The theory usually goes that the gut hook is positioned on the blade so that during regular use it is protected and stays sharp, but that one comes to such a fine point, I'm pretty sure I'd snap it off in my normal use of a woods knife.
I don't want to bag on something you're probably very excited about. Maybe if I heard an explanation of how it was supposed to function, I might like/understand it better.
Your custom one, however, I don't quite get. The front section of the blade on a Tracker is meant for chopping, so the tanto tip (and it's lack of belly) make little sense to me. This also means the added leverage of he extended handle on a Tracker now becomes pointless. The only advantage of the tanto tip I can possibly think of is added strength, but the saw teeth are cut so deep that it totally negates that. The theory usually goes that the gut hook is positioned on the blade so that during regular use it is protected and stays sharp, but that one comes to such a fine point, I'm pretty sure I'd snap it off in my normal use of a woods knife.
I don't want to bag on something you're probably very excited about. Maybe if I heard an explanation of how it was supposed to function, I might like/understand it better.
- Joined
- May 21, 2000
- Messages
- 6,311
Interesting, but essentially useless for its intended role.
Welcome to Blade Forums. Please come back after your camping trip and post a review of your new knife based on how it worked for you while camping. We are ready to learn something new.It would be nice to hear your opinion about it...very pleased with the design myself but don't know what everybody else thinks of it. I'm planning to use it when I go on weeklong trips into the wilderness.
PS Are those bevels chisel ground, or is it just an extremely thick blade?
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2002
- Messages
- 10,317
Welcome to BF!
I have to agree with everyone else that your knife would be a good "basher" knife, but not very useful for detail work outdoors. Getting by in the outdoors actually needs quite a bit of detail work that can best be done with a thin and curved blade. What I think of a wilderness knife will need to be able to carve wood, make notches, fine slice, scrape and drill.
I have to agree with everyone else that your knife would be a good "basher" knife, but not very useful for detail work outdoors. Getting by in the outdoors actually needs quite a bit of detail work that can best be done with a thin and curved blade. What I think of a wilderness knife will need to be able to carve wood, make notches, fine slice, scrape and drill.
So...I guess my new knife is, to thick, has a useless tanto tip, useless sawback and is in general just wrong...BUT, I love it! 
I just bought it for kicks and it will probably become a shelf queen but I will however take it for a fieldtest and see how it well it actually performs. I can come back with a short review when it's tested.
To be honest my favorite hunting/survivalknife is a Norwegian brand knife from brusletto called "fjord". It's the perfect allrounder for me. The wide, thin and short blade is perfect for skinning and the more controlled operations. I also have a one handed mini axe from Gerber for the heavier stuff.
I just bought it for kicks and it will probably become a shelf queen but I will however take it for a fieldtest and see how it well it actually performs. I can come back with a short review when it's tested.To be honest my favorite hunting/survivalknife is a Norwegian brand knife from brusletto called "fjord". It's the perfect allrounder for me. The wide, thin and short blade is perfect for skinning and the more controlled operations. I also have a one handed mini axe from Gerber for the heavier stuff.
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2011
- Messages
- 873
So...I guess my new knife is, to thick, has a useless tanto tip, useless sawback and is in general just wrong...BUT, I love it!
To be honest my favorite hunting/survivalknife is a Norwegian brand knife from brusletto called "fjord". It's the perfect allrounder for me. The wide, thin and short blade is perfect for skinning and the more controlled operations. I also have a one handed mini axe from Gerber for the heavier stuff.
I look forward to the review! Remember everyone likes lot's of pictures!
