Trestle Pine Knives – Gunflint

The concept for Trestle Pine Knives arose from Greg Holmes’s love to the vast and remote wilderness of northeastern Minnesota. After more than forty years of fishing, hunting and camping in this scenic area, he came up with the idea of a knife brand that is deeply rooted in the region’s nature and history.

The late 19th century saw a booming growth in the timber industry in northeastern Minnesota. Lumber companies used railroad technology to build networks of temporary trackage into the woods. The tracks were laid on wooden ties, and gullies and canyons were bridged by massive trestles made of pine wood. You can still find remnants of these long-abandoned rail lines and even a few old decaying train trestles that once spanned the waterways. These remnants inspired the brand name.

The name of the knife model refers to the Gunflint Trail, originally a foot path for travelers from inland lakes to Lake Superior. Eventually widened into a roadway, the Gunflint Trail today provides access to many of the entry points in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Introduced in 2017, the Gunflint is the latest but hopefully not the last model that was added to the Trestle Pine series of folding knives. Unfortunately, Queen Cutlery, the manufacturer that so far had made the knives for Greg Holmes, went out of business in January 2018. At present, the future of the Trestle Pine Knives brand is undetermined.

The Gunflint is a slipjoint with a half stop. It features the still popular gunstock knife pattern which has been around since the early 1900s. The knife handle is shaped to resemble a gunstock. The same knife pattern is used for Trestle Pine’s two-piece model Topper which comes with a clip point blade and a cap lifter/screwdriver tool.

Brass has always been an important material in the manufacturing of traditional pocket knives. The liners, bolsters and pins of the Gunflint are made of brass, the handle scales feature old-growth oak. Old-growth wood is wood from trees that belonged to forests that grew up over hundreds of years. Because of this slow growth rate, the growth rings on the trees were packed very tightly together which makes the wood more stable and durable. The wood Greg Holmes uses comes from sunken logs that were recovered from lakes and rivers in Canada and in the northern United States.

Unlike other traditional pocket knives, the Gunflint is a folder with a blade made of powder steel instead of more conventional steels such as 440C or carbon steel. CPM 154 is a stainless steel with excellent corrosion resistance and edge retention. The blade has a Wharncliffe profile with a perfectly straight cutting edge. It opens with a long pull nail nick.

The Gunflint is a useful and elegant everyday companion in your pocket, perfect for the outdoorsman and gentleman alike.