“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Thomas Edison
It takes a certain amount of ingenuity to take random ideas, gathered from scattered conversations and turn them into innovative, quality products. But for Trail Blazer, as long as there are ideas, there are possibilities. And, as long as you’re listening to your customers, there are ideas. You’d be amazed at how many dealers want to talk to you,” says Shawn. “So many of our product ideas come from there and we just start drawing, building and figuring things out.”
With Shawn joining the ranks, Curtis was able to go back to the drawing board. “When Dad saw that I was going to go full time with it,” Shawn explains, “he started inventing his second product.” The Xtend-A-Saw was successfully launched at the 1995 Shot Show in Las Vegas. It was followed piece-by-piece with an in- demand product list that includes some notable award winners. Among them, the Trail Blazer Sawvivor Saw, which won the 2005 Canadian Hardware and Building Materials Show award: Best New Product Seasonal, for its ability to ingeniously collapse from a sharp, strong and comfortable saw into a lightweight 3”x15” carry sheath. “It was a great revolution of the Buck Saw,” Shawn says, “that moved us into backpacking