my tracker project; campknife from scratch

highorder

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hey guys!

having seen the movie "The Hunted" with Tommy Lee Jones playing a character based on Tom Brown http://www.trackerschool.com/ a friend of mine bought the Tops version of the Tracker knife featured in the film.

tracker.jpg


it cost him $250.00, and it is a beautiful piece of 1095. I decided to make my own, for as little as possible, in the spirit of Tom's own philosophy. so I set out on my quest for steel. I ended up with a chunk of 5160, an outstanding knife steel for heavy applications like this.
11.jpg


from there, I made afew design changes. I lengthened the point about .500", and changed the pommel a bit. I also added serrations for both the thumb and forefinger. I then made my pattern and transfered it to the steel. then I cut the stock to length, trued the stock, and ground the profile out.

22.jpg


then comes all the shaping and thinning. the blade has a distal taper, from .280" at the tip to .315" at the pommel.

33.jpg


next comes the blade grind. I chose a convex grind, similar to an axe, for the same reasons. now its time to spend some money. I bought some Micarta stocks and fiber spacers for the handle. all told, I sent about $12 to www.knifekits.com the handles are attached with flat head cap screws. that makes the handles servicable.

44.jpg


the marks you see in this pic are notes to myself. ie, items to take care of before the next step. the knife is now finished in Brownells matte black baking lacquer, mostly as an experiment before I coated the 1911 project I was working on concurrently. I'd say the coating looks nice, but doesn't hold up like powder coating...

555.jpg


the only thing I don't have a pic of is the leather sheath I made to hold it... perhaps later.

final thoughts:
this was the 12th knife I have made over the years, and the most unusual. the double grind was a bit challanging, but managable. I built it to replace a few edges I carry on backcountry trips, and it does that. it throws well, provided you have gloves on. (the saw is quite agressive) I have split wood with it, cleaned fish, cut kindling, notched sticks for deadfalls, dug holes, and to top it off, the deepest forward notch on the spine will break chain link fence! (tested on scrap only, I dont do the B&E)

its nice to have the tools available to turn a thought into a tool, be it a blade, light, or anything else you can think of! in the end, it cost me time, plus around $25.00 I hope you folks like my version of the tracker.
 
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justsomeguy

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Hi,

If you look at my past posts, you will find that I can be an ash hole to some people. I like your stuff. You are doing good work. Carry on. I am an old Vet. That is all.

I am not a particular fan of that knife, however, yours....I like.

Steve
 
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UWAK

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Great job and well executed. I really miss my time making knives as a hobby. Cheers!

Frids
 

highorder

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justsomeguy said:
Hi,

If you look at my past posts, you will find that I can be an ash hole to some people. I like your stuff. You are doing good work. Carry on. I am an old Vet. That is all.

I am not a particular fan of that knife, however, yours....I like.

Steve

young vet here. thanks for the kudos. what do you like better about mine?


as for steel cutting, I used a cutting torch for the profile, and the rest was ground out.

ALSO: I forgot to mention, that I heat treated it (of course!) quenching in warm, agitated peanut oil. it scores a 57 Rockwell C mid blade.
 
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kevinm

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That looks good (okay, brutal, but that has its appeal).

On the heat treating, if you run a torch along the spine (or if you want to keep the saw hard, along the center of the blade), you can get a spring temper on the center line and keep your edge hardness. Just look for the light blue oxidation where the torch runs and use something hot (I like oxy-acytaline). Make sure to quench again. You can get a good 5 point Rockwell gradient this way.

Kevin
 

highorder

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On the heat treating, if you run a torch along the spine (or if you want to keep the saw hard, along the center of the blade), you can get a spring temper on the center line and keep your edge hardness. Just look for the light blue oxidation where the torch runs and use something hot (I like oxy-acytaline). Make sure to quench again. You can get a good 5 point Rockwell gradient this way.

Kevin

a bit beyond you there, but thanks for the info! I triple quench from 1550f and triple temper at 450f to acheive toughness and strength. I have access to anything I could want, from machines to ovens, salt pots, you name it. It seems that if you soak 5160 for a few minutes it gets quite hard at anywhere from 1450f to well over 1600f with very little grain growth. I temper 5160 at 425f- 450f in molten salt and end up at around Rc57-58.
 
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leukos

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I haven't been that impressed with the performance of knives I own that have been treated by paul bos, he seems to have a good reputation though.
 

highorder

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the steel was acquired from my local RV/trailer shop. they have plenty of used and busted leaf springs. I had the steel composition verified down the hall (from my office) in the Materials Science dept.
 

jch79

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AWESOME work! Geez man, you can turn flashlights & make knives! You're the Tom Brown of CPF! :)
john
 

KSH92474

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i also don't like the original knife from TOPS but the one you made looks awesome! Great work!:sold:
 

highorder

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I have no idea where it started, but after I went to town with a cutting torch, it was moot. after I re-heat treated it, it came out at Rc57.

5160 is tough to work. it eats abrasive belts and wheels quickly. a full normalize/anneal would help, but I dont think its worth the grain growth. YMMV
 
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