Are there any TOPS Knives fans in the house?

The hilariously-named "Apache Falcon" has always caught my eye, but I just don't think it would see any use.

I own the .230 machete, and it's basically a sharp, blade-shaped sledgehammer with micarta handle slabs. Love the damn thing.

 
I am a fan of the company and a fan of many of their designs. People criticize them for their names but I ignore the names. Some of their designs are over the top for me but I find some other designs to be interesting and practical.

I'm not interested in CRK knives but some people are and I don't belittle them for it, nor for some other brands.
 
I want to be....

Just too many wacky things about Tops to spend my hard earned money there.

I can't really figure them out.

Reading their site makes me think the owner of CRKT bought Strider and hired the guys from Guardian Tacticool....
 
JR88FAN said:
I want to be....

Just too many wacky things about Tops to spend my hard earned money there.

I can't really figure them out.

Reading their site makes me think the owner of CRKT bought Strider and hired the guys from Guardian Tacticool....
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Looks like an excellent skinner,some of their stuff is nice. Super duty comes to mind
 
bdmicarta said:
I am a fan of the company and a fan of many of their designs. People criticize them for their names but I ignore the names. Some of their designs are over the top for me but I find some other designs to be interesting and practical.

I'm not interested in CRK knives but some people are and I don't belittle them for it, nor for some other brands.
Click to expand...

I have long thought about getting one of their folders which look pretty darn rugged. I do think their names do hurt them a tad.
 
BITEME said:
Looks like an excellent skinner,some of their stuff is nice. Super duty comes to mind
Click to expand...

I had a Tom Brown Mini Tracker in Damascus.....

I really liked the knife.

But more of a show piece than a user, and it's sold.

F&F was OK.

Like I said, I am can't get my head around the philosophy and designs...
 
Tops never interested me until I saw the Tahoma Field knife. It actually looks like a well designed and functional knife. I'm not crazy about the price though, $176 is a little steep for a field knife. For the money I'd rather get an Emerson folder that I'd be able to use daily.
 
Funny thing about TOPS...I have more of their knives bookmarked for future consideration than any other brand out there. Yet...

the only one I've purchased so far is the Buck/TOPS 680 CSAR-T Liason fixed.​

I like it and carry it often as a necker or belt-rigged. Very light in weight and It came with a reasonably good kydex sheath too (first stock kydex sheath I didn't have to throw away and order custom). Tricky to sharpen quasi-tanto edge though and I para-wrapped the handle to feel better in-hand.

Next TOPS for me will probably be their CSAR folder. And the B.O.B. bush knife has to be a good one from all I hear.

I find their designs attractive. I'm just not going to buy every one I think looks good.
 
I've had a half dozen or so Tops knives over the last few years.

I really really liked the shape of the Iraq-JAC, but it was so thick with a moronically low saber ground so it didn't cut well at all.

Same deal with the Tom Brown Tracker (T1). The original Beck WSK is 3/16" thick ATS34 with perfect grinds. It weighs about a pound and cuts like a laser. For some reason, Tops used 1/4" thick high carbon steel with a horribly low grind reminiscent of a $10 WalMart axe so....it doesn't cut. Even if it did cut, the extra 1/16" on a foot long super wide knife makes it weigh almost 2 lbs.

I just got a Tracker T3, which uses the appropriate 3/16" ATS-34 with a higher saber grind so it cuts well and it weighs a pound less than the T1. Unfortunately the finger grooves didn't fit my hands so my wife claimed it.

I think that their machetes are great. They have the most useful nylon sheaths I've ever seen, and a micarta handled machete is always cool. I'll be picking one up this summer, er....today actually.

I'm not sure who decides how they grind their knives, but I'm guessing it's someone who likes to carry badass looking knives but doesn't cut very much with them. Aside from a few exceptions, Tops is great for taking an excellent design and ruining it with unusable thick grinds.

Edited to Add:

I really like their handle materials. They're one of the few companies (Tops, ESEE, etc.) who use micarta with liners for handle materials.

As for their sheaths - I'm glad they use kydex, but those steel clips are aweful. Why they don't just leave the rivets open for a TekLok like everyone else, I'm not sure.

I just really really really wish they'd redo most of their knives, with less grainy coating and better grinds, so that they cut better.

Also, I just ordered a .170 and .230 machete to try them out. The prices seem extremely low for a properly handled machete with a well thought out sheath.
 
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Yeah.

TOPS Lil' Roughneck, here with a couple friends for size comparison.



I wanted a fixed blade that was small enough to do the kind of precision work that regular EDC chores require,



But I wanted it to be something I wouldn't ever have to worry about breaking!



I've put it through a couple "regular" jobs, and it sharpens pencils like nobody business!

But the real point of carrying a "sharpened prybar" is.. so I have a sharpened prybar.

I wanted something that could cut, and serve as a leverage tool, against the unlikely, and harrowing, scenario, of having to self-extract (or rescue others) from a vehicle crash, or some other entrapment situation.

Knife, insurance policy, goofy/fun toy, what's not to like?
 
I'm not a huge fan, but I do own a Surv-Tac 7 and the Tops/Buck Csar-T collaboration folder. I also have my eyes on the Tops Blue Otter and Tops Ferret.
 
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