t1mpani
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
- Messages
- 5,515
Government 5.56mm at a stock-military (unaltered) rifles competition. Some may say that such use is unbecoming of a knife--I say that if I can't use a 3/16" blade for anything more rugged than I would a fillet knife, why am I carrying the weight and giving up the cutting performance?
Most people I've read/talked to who use TOPS knives say they're very tough, hard to break, and do an 'okay' job of cutting. This is design-based far more than steel-based, however. Most have narrow saber grinds which go from full thickness to cutting edge in less than half an inch (and TOPS are generally in the 3/16" to 1/4" thickness range), and so are pretty much splitting wedges. That doesn't mean they can't be got sharp--I can make a splitting wedge or a hammer claw sharp enough to shave, but their edge geometry is so extremely thick that they will not cut well, unless shaving arm hair is all they're ever called upon to do. Some of their designs (especially recently) are either increasing the height of the relief grinds or using thinner blade stock, which will improve the performance greatly.
I guarantee you can break anything in the world. That said, what you gain with the narrow saber grinds and lowered cutting ability is extreme strength, since so much of the knife is full-thickness. This doesn't speak to the steel really at all. A same 1/4" thick knife design in 420J2 is going to be incredibly strong, as it will be in D2, S30V, or anything else you want to name. And, with any of those steels in that design, the cutting performance is going to be low for exactly the same reason---the material you're cutting is having to be forced apart at such an extreme angle in order for the blade to pass through.
They're solid, tough, made with lots of attention to quality control, and totally worth it if you like them. A mint, vintage Lionel train set (original model) isn't worth $900 to me, but is to a collector of toy trains. From a materials and time-of-construction standpoint, TOPS knives' prices don't compare favorably at all with most production--and even some custom--knives of the same type, that will match or exceed their performance.
Most people I've read/talked to who use TOPS knives say they're very tough, hard to break, and do an 'okay' job of cutting. This is design-based far more than steel-based, however. Most have narrow saber grinds which go from full thickness to cutting edge in less than half an inch (and TOPS are generally in the 3/16" to 1/4" thickness range), and so are pretty much splitting wedges. That doesn't mean they can't be got sharp--I can make a splitting wedge or a hammer claw sharp enough to shave, but their edge geometry is so extremely thick that they will not cut well, unless shaving arm hair is all they're ever called upon to do. Some of their designs (especially recently) are either increasing the height of the relief grinds or using thinner blade stock, which will improve the performance greatly.
I guarantee you can break anything in the world. That said, what you gain with the narrow saber grinds and lowered cutting ability is extreme strength, since so much of the knife is full-thickness. This doesn't speak to the steel really at all. A same 1/4" thick knife design in 420J2 is going to be incredibly strong, as it will be in D2, S30V, or anything else you want to name. And, with any of those steels in that design, the cutting performance is going to be low for exactly the same reason---the material you're cutting is having to be forced apart at such an extreme angle in order for the blade to pass through.
They're solid, tough, made with lots of attention to quality control, and totally worth it if you like them. A mint, vintage Lionel train set (original model) isn't worth $900 to me, but is to a collector of toy trains. From a materials and time-of-construction standpoint, TOPS knives' prices don't compare favorably at all with most production--and even some custom--knives of the same type, that will match or exceed their performance.
