I feel like some of their knives are more than worth the price. The higher end fixed blades are not.
For the price of a Trailmaster in San Mai, you are into Busse, or custom price range.
I had a San Mai trailmaster for about 10 years. I always contemplated re-handling it. I am not a huge fan of the handle material. It got soft and would squirm and twist on he handle. It also absorbed fluid from the hand, and would become a bit slick when the oils and sweat would exude from the handle. More importantly, and annoying, with hard chops, due to the softness of the handle material, it was nearly impossible to keep the blade edge straight in a hard chop, it would turn and twist, blowing the cut. I did like the knife and got a lot of use out of it. Enough that I was considering paying some one to customize the handle for me. A stacked leather (Ala Falkniven's option). A micarta or G10 option would be even better, from a rough user standpoint.
I won't ever buy one with a stub tang and welded cable/nut arrangement. Ever.
I have about 20 products from them, running the gambit of stuff (blow guns, throwing knives, hawks, pole axe, bad axe, special forces etc etc etc).
They are pretty tough to beat for a lot of the stuff they sell.
Some of their folder designs have been complete crap. A few tweaks and it is top notch, but, instead of fixing the issue, they just sell the junk.
The Black Rhino is one of those crappy designs. It is a great handle and blade combo. The lock is strong until the spring they use creeps forward and hits the edge of the knife, denting it every time it is closed. The spring, as it works forward also makes the lock up start to play and move. I bought two. One I had engraved for my father's retirement. There are any number of fixes for this. The spring could be anchored so it does not work loose. The locking bar can be made with a tiny rise or bump in the design (which is what they do on most of their Triad Locks). They replaced mine with another completely flawed, worthless one. Within one day, the locking spring had moved forward 1/2 an inch and caused the same problem. I called their customer service, and was told "tough, we don't make parts or spares." I tried two different epoxy fixes, to no avail. I tried a tiny groove (with a needle file) to stop the forward movement of the spring. No go, and the lock up is not solid anymore.
The Triad lock on their other knives is literally the best thing on the market! I have another one (the recon 1) and it is just pure genius. Literally, they let a 2 dollar part ruin an awesome knife.
Another example would be the pocket bushman. The original lock had a design flaw. Instead of fixing it, they sold all the flawed ones, and then when the publicity got negative enough, they fixed it. I have one of the new ones, and it is great.
They make a lot of items that are really unique to them. They are not afraid to make designs that might not sell, but are super cool.
Pole axe, spears, super heavy duty blow guns, all great.
I can't say how sad I am that I missed the Swiss Halberd when they were on closeout! Who else would make one, and at that price point!
They do a pretty good job on edges, and on the profiles. They make knives that are shaving sharp out of the box, and most are great geometry for actual use (cutting and slicing).
They are not the strongest knives in the world. Lets just get that out there. They are not the sharpest knives in the world.
