“I very much enjoyed working with the TrailBlade. I highly recommend it. Sharp, durable, balanced, and fits like a glove.” ~Mike Lowe
We’re thrilled to announce our first celebrity review by Mike Lowe. According to his Youtube channel, “Mike Lowe served as survival instructor for the U.S. Air Force during the Reagan Years (1980-88). In 1988 he launched Wilderness Way Adventures, a faith-based survival school. Recently, he was a participant on History Channel’s hit TV series Alone S2.”
If you’ve been following us recently on Facebook or Twitter, you already know that we completed a build-up of our third prototype and shipped it to Mike about a week ago. Mike has now spent time testing the TrailBlade Machete and today released his video review to us. You can watch it here on our Youtube channel.
Before heading into the great outdoors, Mike called me to discuss the Palawan design and better understand its unique attributes and the mindset of the people that created it. Here’s some of our Q & A.
Q: How should I hold it? Should the handle be so smooth?
A: Just hold it naturally, and let it slide naturally in your hand. This feels very foreign to the American mindset of tightly gripping a handle, but the large butt of the handle will catch in your hand naturally. Try it! You’ll like it. The Palawan people spend days with a knife in hand, so they’ve designed their handle to reduce fatigue and skin abrasion. Who likes blisters?
Q: Should I worry about hitting rocks?
A: This is S35VN, it’s tough. In testing, we hit rocks while chopping other things, and the blade never took more damage than a few strokes of the diamond file on my Leatherman Wave Multitool would fix.
Q: Can I baton with a hatchet or maul? You should never do this, but can the TrailBlade Machete take it? Steel-on-steel?
A: I haven’t tried it, but it should be fine. You’re welcome to give it a try. (I don’t think Mike has tried this yet, but I’m very curious to see his results if he does.)
Q: Can it chop through nails like seen in demos of Damascus steel?
A: Go for it! I haven’t tried, but in testing, Timothy chopped into one of the fence posts on the farm. The fence post was wood against a highway guardrail I-beam. His chop went right through the wood and left a nice little notch in the steel. We couldn’t find any indication of the abuse on the TrailBlade Machete.
Thanks to, Mike, for taking the time to review the TrailBlade and offer his kind words! Don’t forget to check out Mike’s youtube channel.
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