A Litle Something New From TOPS Knives- A New Bushcrafter With A Different Look

[Mistwalker]

I've heard many times that people don't like coatings on carbon steel blades, so I thought I show a little something different from TOPS Knives, The Dragonfly bushcraft knife designed by Caleb Musgrave




The specs from TOPS' website

O/A Length: 9 ¾”
Blade Length: 4 1/2”
Thickness: 1/8”
Steel: 1095 High Carbon Steel
Handle: Black Canvas Micarta
Blade color: Beed Blast Finish
Sheath: Ballistic Nylon
Designer: Caleb Musgrave


The sheath is one of the common designs by TOPS, a flap cover nylon sheath with hard liner. The flap is removable for a more traditional style sheath









The fit and finish are the usual high quality.










It is a full size knife









It came with a nice sharp edge, nothing new there either.



































What you may notice as being new for TOPS, is the un-coated Hi-carbon 1095 steel blade.









One thing I really like about it is the higher-than-normal scandi grind. One of my complaints with a lot of scandi grinds is that they don't work all that well with food prep and making thin slices. This hybrid grind doesn't have that issue and thin slices of cheese and summer sausage for snacks were easily done. I can slice cheddar cheese thin enough to see through.














All in all I think Caleb's design works very well. Definitely one of my favorite production bushcraft knives to date, especially in this price range.


.

 

[Seilu]

Looks impressive :thumbup:

 

[jdm61]

Couple of questions.
1. why are you calling it a "scandi" grind when it is ground on both sides. Looks more like a short saber grind to me.
2. Does the grind appear to be uneven on the left side of the blade or is that some kind of optional illusion caused by the shape?
3. Why would the put a bead blasted "finish" on a blade and them grind the bevels, leaving what appears to be a fairly coarse machine finish?
4. What is the street price for this knife?

 

[CapitalizedLiving]

Killer, KILLER photos.

 

[HWF]

Most excellent Mist. Thank you for that.

 

[1Hiker2]

Excellent pics of the knife at task. I wish more knife makers would offer their blades uncoated, when they do they always sell out. Excellent choice in cheddar !!

 

[Mistwalker]

Looks impressive :thumbup:

Yep, not bad at all for a production "bushcraft" knife.

Couple of questions.

1. why are you calling it a "scandi" grind when it is ground on both sides. Looks more like a short saber grind to me.

Actually I referred to it as a "higher-than-normal scandi grind, and a "hybrid grind". The height and secondary bevel make it technically not a true scandi grind. If to you the grind translates into a short saber grind, that works for me too. High scandi/short saber equals pretty well the same difference to me. Every scandi grind I have ever seen has been ground on both sides. To my knowledge single grinds are usually refer to as chisel grinds, or single bevels.


2. Does the grind appear to be uneven on the left side of the blade or is that some kind of optional illusion caused by the shape?

I thinks it's mostly illusion caused by the shape of the blade and angle of shot, the grind appears to be pretty well even from one side of the blade to the other, with some slight variation as is present in all grinds that are done by hand.

3. Why would the put a bead blasted "finish" on a blade and them grind the bevels, leaving what appears to be a fairly coarse machine finish?

As for the bead blast/not bead blasted thing, for that you'll have to ask the guys at TOPS. It is one of the early pieces of a new design, picked up at the Blade Show, and the bevels are done by hand so maybe them just working out the grind.

4. What is the street price for this knife?

Looking at the intro price on their website, I'd guess in the $120-ish range

Killer, KILLER photos.

Thanks man, glad you liked them!

Most excellent Mist. Thank you for that.

Thanks H. It doesn't have the same ergos of the customs you and I both have no, but it doesn't have the same high price tag either TOPS does make well made, damed tough knives with an awesome heat treat though, and always great fit and finish. I'm never afraid to work my TOPS Knives hard in the woods. Not a bad choice at all for someone who wants to work a knife hard in the bush and who isn't ready to spend the money on a custom made well enough to work that hard.

Excellent pics of the knife at task. I wish more knife makers would offer their blades uncoated, when they do they always sell out. Excellent choice in cheddar !!

I think maybe it has gone back and forth so much it can be hard to gauge what the buying public really wants. Uncoated knives have a tendency to either rust in storage or be coated in oil to avoid the rust. Either way a lot of people will complain about it, so more companies have gone to stainless blades or coated hi-carbon blades for outdoor use knives made for the masses. It is impossible to please everyone. The best they can hope to do is please the majority, and feedback is needed for that. I think more people are quicker to get on the net and voice a negative opinion to their "friends" and strangers in cyberspace than to sit down and write to the company and voice an opinion. It's as if they think all companies have some employees whose job is to glean feedback from the forums, and do nothing but surf them all day. In reality it takes weeks if not months for the information to trickle back to the company this way because most of the people who work there don't spend a lot of time perusing forums...

 

[untamed]

Thanks once a again Mist for an excellent review.

Other than the no-coating, I like the downward "thumb slope" design feature in the handle's front, transitioning to the blade. This seems to especially function well for a dedicated "wood(bush)craft" knife.

.

 

[martineden]

Hello Brian! A nice review mate, as usual!

Question: do you like the scandi edge, or would you like more a differente blade grind (full-flat i.e.) ?

 

[PB Wilson]

Looks well thought out. I like the light colored liners.

 

[caine]

Looks great thanks. Awesome pics

 

[taldesta]

The TOPS Firefly first came to my attention in this thread here on BF
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-the-Bushcraft-knife-to-beat-all-others/page4

I am fairly new here but have paid much attention in learning what knife tool would suit my needs. The Dragonfly looked very good.

In seeking a quality blade, absolutely first in place I had been haunting the fixed blades for sale sub-forum ... and had set up a paypal account for the purpose of buying from a member.

The message of selling to Canada was clear. That's well understood by me. The ultimate difficulty was finding the one I would buy from a willing seller, and having to wade through a lot of complimentary posts to find it, finally, sold. I cannot describe the disappointment. A 'SOLD' in the thread name would not stop me from looking at the work, but it would head off deep disappointment, for me at least.

I have tried to buy the dragonfly locally at the site of the designer. They are a hop and a step east of me. No response to 2 emails, no response to two phone calls.

I researched similarly blade lengths and styles on TOPS. Bought a Cochise ... once in hand, is not my knife of choice. Still want a dragonfly. Still looking at the price of the Cochise plus $64.47 UPS fee. I had researched long and hard re design and cost. 2 questions. Would not a US knifemaker be pleased to take my money? Why can I not get a reply from the designer website as to where I can order the dragonfly 4.5 if not on his site.

 

[jdm61]

I did not say that it looked uneven from left to right, but that the grind looked uneven on the left side bevel. I was wondering how that could possible happen on a Berger CNC grinding machine. You answered my question. As for the scandi grind, my understanding is that such a grind is only on one side of the blade. This knife is ground on both sides, ergo a shallow saber grind. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[taldesta]

BTW ... TOPS Tibo is looking very interesting to me and is likely next on my list.

and, Mistwalker, thanks for file compression, otherwise I would not have been able to view the volume of Dragonfly pics above .... or been able to post any reply on page one.

 

[Gary W. Graley]

Looks like a nice offering there.

G2

 

[TwinStick]

Another most excellent review with pics to match !!! Great job Mist.

 

[hienho]

Yup. Very nice and thorough review. Thank you, Mist, for taking the time to include all those awesome pics. Very helpful.

 

[LG&M]

Another fine review, Thanks.
I am glad TOPs is going more to the bushcraft / woodsman design then the "Tactical"

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks once a again Mist for an excellent review.

Other than the no-coating, I like the downward "thumb slope" design feature in the handle's front, transitioning to the blade. This seems to especially function well for a dedicated "wood(bush)craft" knife.

Yep, it feels pretty good in a pinch grip. The handle contours aren't heavily featured, but the handle is pretty comfortable in various holds, and has good control-ability.

Hello Brian! A nice review mate, as usual!

Question: do you like the scandi edge, or would you like more a differente blade grind (full-flat i.e.) ?

I like this edge better than a normal scandi edge for sure. Personally I like higher saber grinds better than full flat grinds in most cases.

Looks well thought out. I like the light colored liners.

It definitely handles like it was well thought out for its intended role.

Looks great thanks. Awesome pics

Thanks man, glad you liked them.

The TOPS Firefly first came to my attention in this thread here on BF
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-the-Bushcraft-knife-to-beat-all-others/page4

I am fairly new here but have paid much attention in learning what knife tool would suit my needs. The Dragonfly looked very good.

In seeking a quality blade, absolutely first in place I had been haunting the fixed blades for sale sub-forum ... and had set up a paypal account for the purpose of buying from a member.

The message of selling to Canada was clear. That's well understood by me. The ultimate difficulty was finding the one I would buy from a willing seller, and having to wade through a lot of complimentary posts to find it, finally, sold. I cannot describe the disappointment. A 'SOLD' in the thread name would not stop me from looking at the work, but it would head off deep disappointment, for me at least.

I have tried to buy the dragonfly locally at the site of the designer. They are a hop and a step east of me. No response to 2 emails, no response to two phone calls.

I researched similarly blade lengths and styles on TOPS. Bought a Cochise ... once in hand, is not my knife of choice. Still want a dragonfly. Still looking at the price of the Cochise plus $64.47 UPS fee. I had researched long and hard re design and cost. 2 questions. Would not a US knifemaker be pleased to take my money? Why can I not get a reply from the designer website as to where I can order the dragonfly 4.5 if not on his site.

The only thing I can think of is to keep trying to get in touch with Caleb Musgrave, he may be out in the field with a class right now.

BTW ... TOPS Tibo is looking very interesting to me and is likely next on my list.

and, Mistwalker, thanks for file compression, otherwise I would not have been able to view the volume of Dragonfly pics above .... or been able to post any reply on page one.

Cool, I hope you like the Tibo. I like how it turned out, but can't seem to hold on to one as I keep passing them on to friends who get attached to them lol.

Looks like a nice offering there.

And Joe, Scandi grind typically means that the grind has a Zero bevel grind, they are ground on both sides but that wide grind is the edge bevel, just really really big so you do not have a secondary bevel that a lot of knives would have.

As they mentioned before a single side grind would be a chiseledged ground blade, although those don't always have a zero bevel, a chisel edge is one of the sharpest you'll find as there isn't any resistance on the other half of the blade, just the one bevel side so it cuts, push cuts especially, easier.

G2

Sums it up pretty nicely.

Another most excellent review with pics to match !!! Great job Mist.

Thanks man, glad you liked the post!

Yup. Very nice and thorough review. Thank you, Mist, for taking the time to include all those awesome pics. Very helpful.

Thanks man, and glad you liked the pics.

Another fine review, Thanks.
I am glad TOPs is going more to the bushcraft / woodsman design then the "Tactical"

Thanks man. Well, they do a lot of tactical, and several hunting knives, I was glad to see them venture into bushcraft as well

 

[Jeremy L]

Great pics! I have a few Tops knives that I really like--a Steel Eagle 107C, Fieldcraft/B.O.B. Knife & a Mini-Scandi Knife--but I do really wish that Tops would both learn to do a true Scandi grind and offer it as an option on all/more of their outdoor knives! As has been noted previously in this thread, what Tops is calling a Scandi grind isn't. Their pseudo-Scandi may slice better, but it loses the two most important attributes of the Scandi grind (most important to me at least): durability & ease of maintenance in the field! A Scandi grind makes for a strong blade & a durable edge. As for sharpening, with all of the great equipment available today it's easy to sharpen a knife at home, but one of the reasons I prefer a Scandi grind on my outdoor knives is because the large bevel makes it very easy to hand sharpen in the field with just a stone. Despite years of trying I've just never gotten good at sharpening a knife freehand on a stone...unless it has a Scandi grind.