Alaskan Harpoon, how do YOU like using it?

B

bohemian1

Joined
Nov 29, 2010
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I am thinking of purchasing the Tops Alaskan Harpoon and would be interested in any comments about the usability of it in Camping/Survival situations. Does it take an edge well? Is the false top edge too narrow for batoning? etc. etc. Any input is appreciated, thanx :)
Also, does anyone know where to get one in Canada??:confused:
 
I've had one for 8 or 9 years now and love it.
I've used it on survival classes, general field and camp use and everything in between. Some of the new ones are a thicker grind but mine has thinned down well, takes and holds an edge well and has chopped, dug pitch wood, built more fires then I can remember, and helped with fish trap construction.
While it may have taken a back seat in recent years to other knives it still ranks as the one knife I'd take if I could only have one.
 
I've always liked the look of them, anyone have any pics of them being used ?
 
harpoon41 said:
I've had one for 8 or 9 years now and love it.
I've used it on survival classes, general field and camp use and everything in between. Some of the new ones are a thicker grind but mine has thinned down well, takes and holds an edge well and has chopped, dug pitch wood, built more fires then I can remember, and helped with fish trap construction.
While it may have taken a back seat in recent years to other knives it still ranks as the one knife I'd take if I could only have one.
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Thanks for the comments guys and thanks for the info harpoon.
Really like the look of it and the fact it has the double choil for choking up on it doing fine work. I figure I might be able to afford one by spring so that will be when I would be posting pictures
 
TheCarbideRat said:
cool, hope the absorbent handle gets grease on it.
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:confused:???

Micarta isn't really absorbent. Only the surface exposed layer of fibers can get anything in them and then it just takes soap and water under the tap to get them looking factory again. :thumbup:
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
:confused:???

Micarta isn't really absorbent. Only the surface exposed layer of fibers can get anything in them and then it just takes soap and water under the tap to get them looking factory again. :thumbup:
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Exactly.

My rc3 has been completely covered in gear and motor oil before and its fine, heck even when is was still dripping with the stuff the grip was still fine.

And the Alaskan Harpoon the OP is asking about also has Micarta handles.

I don't have that knife, but the design looks handy, lots of forward weight to aid in chopping, personally I don't get the double choil...
 
dunno guys, it was grease though not oil. i've cleaned alot of those at work
and there are some greases which DEFY removal, molybdenum disulfide [ouch!
that hurts to say] for 1.
 
that's odd.
If i am informed correctly, micarta is stabilized canvas, so it should already be saturated.

have you tried that orange oil stuff?
 
EricV said:
Exactly.

My rc3 has been completely covered in gear and motor oil before and its fine, heck even when is was still dripping with the stuff the grip was still fine.

And the Alaskan Harpoon the OP is asking about also has Micarta handles.

I don't have that knife, but the design looks handy, lots of forward weight to aid in chopping, personally I don't get the double choil...
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Same here,

That double choil is somewhat 'why?' when i see that.There is no logic to it, to me.

I like the Moccasin Ranger and the Lone Falcone I have a lot .
Beautiful made knives.
 
Hi folks,

I'm a happy owner of an Alaskan Harpoon. I use it for camping and hunting, I find it's a practical compromise among knife sizes. What some are calling the "double choil" - multiple finger grooves, really - may look odd to some but it's nice to be able to choke up for occasional fine work. Mine is a new one with a thicker grind, it needs more use and some very aggressive sharpening before it will cut as well as it chops.

I'm told by others its a nice survival/service knife, but my evidence for that is only anecdotal.

Sorry no photos yet, but stay tuned: some will come next month after I get my knife back from Martin Swinkels with a new custom sheath.
 
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TOPS and ESEE knives are made by the same people (Rowen Mfg.), out of the same materials, using the same processes, so it's a little silly to say that one is vastly superior to the other. The only difference between TOPS and ESEE is in design and marketing. If you like the design of the Alaskan Harpoon, by all means go for it. It's a quality product.
 
moonwilson said:
TOPS and ESEE knives are made by the same people (Rowen Mfg.), out of the same materials, using the same processes, so it's a little silly to say that one is vastly superior to the other. The only difference between TOPS and ESEE is in design and marketing. If you like the design of the Alaskan Harpoon, by all means go for it. It's a quality product.
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Isn't Rowen doing the heat treat and not the design of the blade?
Jeff Randall stated to me that they never designed a knife for Tops knives.

Only one time did Mike Fuller make one for RC/ESEE ,Laser Strike, and that one is no longer in production.

I think that ESEE knives are more functional in general anyway.More effective cutters..
 
moonwilson said:
TOPS and ESEE knives are made by the same people (Rowen Mfg.), out of the same materials, using the same processes, so it's a little silly to say that one is vastly superior to the other. The only difference between TOPS and ESEE is in design and marketing. If you like the design of the Alaskan Harpoon, by all means go for it. It's a quality product.
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Its come up multiple times in the ESEE forums that TOPS and Rowen are no longer working together, and also when they did they were not the exclusive manufacturer for TOPs. I'll search for some threads for you.

Editing in the threads as I find them, first one is pretty definitive but I was looking for one where Shon Rowen himself states it:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=800702&highlight=tops

Heres an old thread from when they were still doing work for TOPS, has a post from Shon, but not the more recent one I was thinking of.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=556481&highlight=tops
 
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TheCarbideRat said:
dunno guys, it was grease though not oil. i've cleaned alot of those at work
and there are some greases which DEFY removal, molybdenum disulfide [ouch!
that hurts to say] for 1.
Click to expand...

You could take some 180grit sandpaper to it. Once you sand through the topmost layer of canvas, you'll be down to epoxy and the next layer. I doubt seriously if it penetrated past that...it shouldn;t have.

I'm unfamiliar with both of those knives, Carbide. Is it a glossy finish? If so, progress through the grits until maybe 320 or so, then buff on a muslim wheel charged with compound. You can leave it that way or take a kleenex with some lighter fluid on it and wipe off all the compound.
 
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