In 2008, a long time employee of the Walt Disney corporation died. His name was Ollie Johnston. He first worked on an animated film in 1937. His last work appeared in an animated film in 1978. It was a career spanning 41 years. Johnston was part of a group of animators, the first hired in 1927, that came to define animation not just for Disney but the entire world. This group, affectionately known as the Nine Old Men, made some of the finest films of all time, including animated films that changed how people saw animation (Bambi, is, in my opinion one of the ten greatest films of all time). But it was not just their greatness that set them apart, it was how long they were great. From that first movie they all worked on, Snow White, in 1937 until the last movie that had animation by members of the group, 1978’s Fox and the Hound, the Nine Old Men made hit after hit after hit. Even more impressively, some of the young animators that learned at their feet included the great John Lasseter (his first animated film for Disney was released in 1981). Lasseter would then go on to found Pixar, which is the only other group that has a record of sustained greatness in films like the Nine Old Men. In many ways the Disney Empire, which stretches from the Seven Dwarves to a Galaxy Far, Far Away to the MCU is the product of visionaries like the Nine Old Men and the Core Four at Pixar (John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Joe Ranft). While being world class once is an achievement, it is sustained greatness that marks history.

TRM just might be in the middle of just such a streak. Their recent run is about as good as you will find from a production knife company. The Neutron, Atom, and Nerd are all home runs. They have changed how the market thinks of thin, slicey knives. Even Kershaw with its line up of gun themed and macho juice names (note: the Kershaw Macho Juice…it works) made something understated and slicey (the Bel Air). The Shadow was similarly good, but it was a complex knife to make and so it was phased out in favor of this simpler, more refined knife—the Bulldog. How cool is it that instead of making more glitzy, gilded knives, TRM is reducing complexity in favor of refinement? Does the Bulldog live well with its stablemates? Let’s check it out.

Here is the product page. The TRM Bulldog costs $225 with a $45 upcharge for 3D sculpted handles (this model is the contoured one and it is absolutely worth the money). Here is a written review. Here is a video review.

Finally, here is my review sample:

Quick Review Summary: Perhaps the best knife for most people in the TRM line up.

Design: 2

If you placed a TRM Shadow in a river and then set up a time lapse for like 1.4 million years (and you prevented rust) eventually you would arrive at the Bulldog. It is a simpler form but, in some ways, more refined. The grip here is spectacular and without studs or a flipper (and, of course, no exposed rear tang) there is nothing here to snag your pocket or finger. The knife’s blade is much thicker than you would expect from a TRM knife, but it suits the design, as there is a real commitment here to making this a brawny folder. But, and this is why I love this knife so much, despite that design profile, the Bulldog can outslice all but the most elite cutters. Its participation in the 2024 Cutting Olympics cemented the fact that despite a design focused on durability, the Bulldog is still worthy of true everyday carry. If this was your only knife for the rest of your life, you’d never search for a replacement.

Fit and Finish: 2

This is a bar lock design and like all bar lock designs there is a bit of tweaking between snappy development and solid lock up. Once set, the knife’s pivot stayed put. So beyond that, there was nothing to complain about. The stonewash was finished perfectly. The G10 is expertly sculpted. The backspacer was perfectly flush where it was supposed to be and grippy elsewhere. The blade is dead center. The clip has perfect tension. The opening hole is grabby enough to snag your thumb but not sharp enough to cut your thumb. Over and over again, the Bulldog evinces the touch of master crafts people and having been to TRM twice, I can tell you, this is not by accident.

Grip: 2

The TRM knives I have are excellent in the hand. The Nerd and the N2 just melt over my fingers. But they are thin knives even with their contoured handles. So, if you are wanting more of a “hand filling” experience in your knife, the Bulldog is the knife for you. This is the best grip on an TRM ever and probably the best folder on the market in terms of in-hand feel. It is just super great. They mastered grind and now TRM has turned their attention to grip.

Carry: 2

This is a bulkier knife than the N2 (or any other non-Shadow TRM for that matter), but it is not a bulky knife per se. It is more compact than the Para 3, for example, being significantly less wide in the pocket and roughly the same thickness. At 3.6 ounces, the Bulldog is basically everyone else’s average sized knife, despite being brawny in its build but still slicier in its grind.

Steel: 2

This version is steeled in 20CV which is one of my favorites, as it is part of the M390 family. Steel has gotten pretty boring recently, as everything has consolidated around four steels: D2 for cheap stuff, 14C28N for entry level stuff, and M390 or Magnacut for everything else. I am really interested in some of the ultra steels from Spyderco (like the REX 121 Sage 5).

Blade Shape: 2

A broad drop point blade shape makes for a great general utility knife shape and here there is nothing to vary from that format. The blade is pointy enough to pierce material (like woven bag for ice melt) but not sharp enough to be a ding magnet. Like much of the Bulldog, the blade shape is a perfect balancing act of design decisions all with top shelf execution.

Grind: 2

The Bulldog’s performance in the Cutting Olympics (video results here) was incredible. Over and over again, I pushed it and over and over again the Bulldog’s grind proved to be amazing. Only the very best cutters on the market surpassed the Bulldog and even when they did, it was not by much. Comparing this to the N2 was quite interesting. More on that below.

Deployment Method: 2

Thumb holes are still the best deployment method. They might lack the clacky fidget fun of a flipper, but in terms of simple effectiveness nothing beats the thumb hole. It adds functionality while reducing weight. It also makes for extra clean cutting as there is no thumb stud to get snagged when passing through material.

Retention Method: 2

While sculpted clips have come a long way and the best of them are equal to wire and bent clips, a simple bent clip is the epitome of great design—useful, easy to make, and incredibly effective. This clip is similar to the one on the Nerd and reminds me a bit of the clip on the Protech Malibu (which I finally got in for review—about time). Its great with perfect retention, few hot spots, and really discrete.

Lock: 2

Bar locks are incredibly fiddly. They can have super snug lock up or they can be snappy to open. There is a sweet spot and I have found it for me. The pivot, fortunately stays put. Here the lock up is very snug and quick enough to pop open but definitely not sloppy.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: High

There is enough here to play around with all day, between the bar locks and thumb hole.

Fett Effect: Very Low

Stonewashed blade and G10–this knife will not show wear until the 22nd century.

Value: High

This isn’t a cheap knife, but for what you get it is a little above par in value.

Overall Score: 20 of 20; PERFECT

You will not find a knife that is just superior to the Bulldog, its a great blade and probably one that is more broadly appealing than the enthusiast catnip that is either the N2 or the Atom. If the knives in your formative years were Hinderer XM-18s, ZT0562s, and Emerson A-10s, the additional bulk of the Bulldog will make you more comfortable. Its not a very long knife but it will hang with the toughest reasonably sized blades out there. I love the Bulldog. Its just excellent.

Competition

The main competition here is really the other knives in the TRM line up. I liked the Shadow and it will undoubtedly skyrocket on the secondary market, especially the blinged out version, but the Bulldog is a more refined knife with a more neutral handle. The Atom is longer, but not really designed as a harder use blade. Its the N2 that is the most similar knife to the Bulldog. And unlike pretty much every other knife on the market, the Bulldog actually makes a compelling case over the N2. Here is why.

The Bulldog is 95% the cutter that the the Neutron is, but it fills the hand more, has a lock that does not require fingers in the blade path, AND is stout enough to beat on. I am not sure which I like better, the N2 or the Bulldog. But they are different knives. Think of this as the Native 5 of the TRM line up while the Neutron is the Delica 4. I love the thinness of the N2 and it is an ideal knife in almost every way. But for more knife guys, people that want a stout knife that is never going to fail with reasonable use, the Bulldog is the knife in the TRM line up.

Another knife that reminds me of the Bulldog is the Benchmade Mini Grip. This knife has a more refined handle shape and better slicing performance. It also doesn’t have that hollow feel to it. If you opt for the OOP G10/20CV version with a thumb hole, it is closer to this knife, but I like the Bulldog better thanks to a truly superior grip. The Bulldog also reminds me of the Kershaw Bel Air, but again bests the competition thanks to almost no diminishment in cutting performance despite having a thicker blade.

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