Will the REAL Tom Brown Tracker please stand up?

Thanks for recounting the history of the tracker knife. Your account sounds sincere.
 
Thank you for the comment, Twindog. I'm having trouble getting my images to show. Are you seeing them on this post?
 
No images showing for me.

I read Brown's Books over and over again when I was growing up. I really learned a lot from them, and a lot of it has stuck with me over the years. The books are on my shelf at this moment. A few years ago I ran out of reading material for the Jon so I broke one of them out. The skills are solid, but the stories of his upbringing sound a little hokey to my older, wiser brain. I knew nothing of him except for what was in his books. After a little online research it turns out his background is highly questioned, so your story doesn't surprise me at all.
 
It wasn't my intent to turn this thread into a Tom Brown bashing fest, because I think his reputation is known well enough. But everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame, and my father was (and still is) a good and honest man. He was clearly forming a business alliance with Brown, which is proven by the letters that I still have (and luckily my father saved for so long), with my father bringing to the table his expertise as a designer and knifemaker in good faith. It's clear now that this intellectual property has value, based on the success of the Tracker knife. But my father was not included in those who shared in the profits and the fame. In fact, his very name was buried for 33 years until I came into my own and decided to do something about it. I have no desire to confront Brown about all of this, because I'm sure he would weave some spell of diversion and half-truths, and still never make things right with my father. But I have at least brought to light the facts about the beginnings of this knife. We'll see where things go from there.

P.S. I think I fixed the image problems on my post. Can everyone see all 3 now?
 
All three are showing for me. :thumbup:

So, doesn't this mean you/your father would be entitled to royalties as a result of sales of the Tops Tracker knife?...
 
Well, that's my opinion. Brown didn't make the design. He may have tweaked it a little, and justifies that as "his version", but that doesn't absolve him from responsibility to his one-time partner that he left in the dust. I believe my father IS entitled to some of the royalties. But it would take hiring a lawyer to go after him. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. But one way or another I will help my father get some justice in this. Maybe that's too much to hope for without playing hardball with Brown.
 
Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing it. I wouldn't mind a couple more pictures of the knife you made.
 
Are there any viewers here that can comment on the TOPS Tracker version--tell us the pros and cons of the knife? I understand that it's quite hefty. My father's design is made of 3/16" steel, and I believe TOPS uses 1/4", but I'm not completely sure. I have heard a few negative things about it from people who have put it to work and found it lacking. One thing I plan to do is set up some real-life stress tests for my prototype, to see how it performs. I will post the results here for those who are interested.

Here is a better close-up of my prototype:

uc
 
Wow, curious where this will go. Always wanted a tracker knife but never got one. I've read Browns books. If true, this would be sad.
 
in the right hands the Tracker is a very useful blade. One just has to do some searching on youtube to see practitioners show how it's used.
 
tiogatires said:
Wow, curious where this will go. Always wanted a tracker knife but never got one. I've read Browns books. If true, this would be sad.
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No kidding. What a nice person to credit for someone else's design...

panzertroop said:
in the right hands the Tracker is a very useful blade. One just has to do some searching on youtube to see practitioners show how it's used.
Click to expand...

I've always wanted one of these knives and had looked at the TOPS version in past. Watching the movie The Hunted made me want one even more.

I sincerely hope the Russon's can get some positive resolution out of this. :thumbup:
 
I can't see any of your images.

But I do have a friendly suggestion. If you're going to start making the original Robb Russon Tracker knife, why not upgrade the steel to 3V? D2 is good steel, but 3V is much tougher, and that seems to be what this knife needs. And 3V will hold an edge better than D2.
 
My TOPS Tracker gets tons of use.....as a paper weight.....door stop....etc. Seriously though, it sits in the same drawer as my Rambo III and my bat-arang. It tries to do too much and does none of them well.
 
I think the OP's point is wavering. Since I'm somewhat invested in Tom Browns work, I would be interested in hearing more about this knife deal, and if it is in fact true. Too many knives are copied without proper credit given these days. I enjoy new ideas and concepts. If this gentleman created the design, let him get his dues.
 
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