By Phil Spano
It seems like an unusual name for a knife, but if you think of it, the name Thomas, is a very strong name, and that is exactly what this knife is. I’m sure you remember your younger years, depending on your age, you have Thomas the Tank Engine, which was a small but mighty train. There was Tommy, the white and green Power Ranger. Everyone’s favorite cat Tom, from Tom and Gerry. What I’m getting at is the name Tom is synonymous with strong, highly motivated go-getters…Maybe that’s where the name comes from?
Turkey Run Knife Company hails from Central Pennsylvania and got its start in 2018. Owner Landon Mook, received an old KaBar from his father which was passed down from his father, pair that with a love of art, and Turkey Run Knives Co was born. Landon strives to create one-of-a-kind handcrafted tools that can be passed down like his KaBar, to future generations of knife users.
Turkey Run Makes a variety of different knives, like the Spur, Jake, and of course the Tom. The names all have something in common though, turkeys. Each model is named after turkeys in some way. It all ties in together!
Landon was nice enough to send me a Tom to test out and review. I have been carrying this thing for almost a month now and I guess you can say it’s my unofficial 1 knife 1 month August knife.
I’ve put this thing to work. Most of you know I do HVAC service/ installations and some sheet metal and pipe fitting work. The Tom has been a great tool to help get me through my day-to-day. As usual, I’ve cut anything and everything with The Tom. I have used it to bore out a concrete hole for a drain line, to cutting and stripping wires, and then cut zip ties off my ladder rack and back to opening up packages and plastic clamshell packs.
All of that has been a breeze. Landon sent this thing sharp AF! I have had no problem getting the 1095 HC to push through. Its 7” overall length makes it fit the hand very nicely and the 2.75” cutting edge makes cutting and carving a breeze. The handle on mine is an OD green micarta that can’t be removed and features a lanyard hole at the end. The micarta handle, which does come in a variety of colors is formed to fit the hands nicely and gives off no hot spots which makes using the Tom even easier. It sits in the pocket in a kydex sheath with a nice deep carry clip or you can clip it onto a pack and head out to the woods.
I haven’t come across any negatives with the knife other than the handle is a bit blocky but it doesn’t affect the usability of it. The 1095 HC is not a “super steel” but it is so durable that you can destroy the edge and bring it back to life quickly and easily. When boring that hole I messed up the edge and with about 10-15 mins on my Work Sharp field sharpener, it was back to slicing. That’s the beauty of 1095 HC, it’ll come back to life very quickly and it’s so easy to sharpen that you can use almost anything to sharpen it.
Turkey Run offers a variety of different styled knives so I’m sure there’s something that will fit into your daily lifestyle. Whether you’re looking for an EDC-sized fixed blade like the Tom or something a little more tacticool, you can check out the Spur. He offers every knife in various handle color options to fit into any style. He also does different types of “SHARP”ies, you know the Sharpie marker tube with a sharpened g10 rod in various colors so that you can have some kind of self-defense even when a metal detector is in your path.
Go check out what Turkey Run Knife Co has to offer and pick yourself up a Tom, at $150 you really can’t go wrong!
Check out my full video review on YouTube!
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