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Trestle Pine Grand Portage .

As some of you may know I had a problem with my Trestle Pine Superior the other week . Well I received this knife from Greg as a replacement , as of course there are no Superiors left to replace it with .

My photographic skills leave a little to be desired and one of the pins appears to be a little bit peculiar . This is not apparent in real life though and as with my previous Trestle pine everything appears to be well put together . After washing out any grit from the knife and giving it a very good lubing it does open smoothly.

For me it is a very good size at around 3.5 inches I like a smallish knife that just sits in the pocket waiting for any of the little jobs that need doing . Anything serious or heavy duty I am sure we all have other grown up knives for .

I like the bottle opener due to the fact that I like to open beer bottles but have no interest in the screw driver . The blade I do like as I find a Wharncliffe to be great for my everyday uses . That match striker long pull is really well done , I have another knife or two with the same type of nail nick but none that are as cleanly done . I don't know if it is a difficult thing to get right but on this knife it is sharply defined and strange as it may seem looking at it gives me more pleasure than I would have expected . I guess when these little things aren't done cleanly it does detract from the pleasure of ownership and that is the case with one other knife I own .

I have read somewhere else criticism of the knife for being a "non traditional Barlow" for want of a better term . As I didn't grow up with Barlow's ,as most folks in the States appear to have done , this is not a problem for me . I like the brass bolsters ..cos I like brass bolsters and I like the somewhat faded stamp on them because it is different and ....well I just rather like it .

As I have mentioned somewhere else I seem to be developing a taste for functional understated knives and this one fits the bill . Another criticism I have heard is that the half stops are too weak ? The half stops work in the fact that they stop the blade halfway shut or open isn't that what they are supposed to do . I have a couple of knives ,well about three actually, with such strong half stops that they resemble mouse traps and I fear for my fingers when closing them . Maybe just my age and rheumatics I guess .

As for the rest of the knife it's good , no gaps that I can see and it's reasonably sharp , nice thin blade which I really like for an everyday knife . Best of all it's stainless , this is a damp country and I do hate rust , but even "bester" it is CPM154 and I am looking forward to putting an edge on it .

All in all it will go in the pocket until I can get another Superior and do a great job I am sure , thanks Greg !!

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on July 7, 2016 at 9:07

Forgot to mention that it's Maple , very old maple , but then you knew that .

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Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on July 7, 2016 at 11:29

Sure makes me anxious for the club knives...

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on July 7, 2016 at 11:31

If they come out as nice as this one JJ I think we will all be very happy .

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Hibar on July 7, 2016 at 14:21

Love that one John. I kept going back and forth trying to decide between the maple and the ash ... but as we all know, you can't dilly dally too long or the disappear while you are looking for the "add to cart" button!!! Missed out on quite a few doing that.

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on July 7, 2016 at 14:38

Dennis Hibar said:

Love that one John. I kept going back and forth trying to decide between the maple and the ash ... but as we all know, you can't dilly dally too long or the disappear while you are looking for the "add to cart" button!!! Missed out on quite a few doing that.

You are right Dennis it's surprising how quickly some knives go , I am not too worried though cos my wish list is so long there is always something left to drool over .

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on July 8, 2016 at 2:19

I am with you on the functional nature of the Trestle Pine range Leo , for me this is the biggest selling point . Also not only is it a good story about the old wood but the stabilising process puts a very tough finish on the wood , at least that was the case with the Oak , the Maple I have not owned long enough to check .

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Permalink Reply by John Bamford on July 8, 2016 at 6:05

I have just sharpened the GP and that CPM154 takes a very good edge , but diamond stones are very helpful . Edge Pro fine and super fine diamond and then stropped on Dovo red paste and that is plenty sharp enough for my needs . I think when the club knives arrive everyone is going to be happy with the performance of this steel .