Difference in TOPS BOB Knives

G

gdawg55

Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
34
I have an older TOPS BOB in 1095 with the black coating and tan Micarta scales (bought back in 2012-2013ish). I also purchased a BOB in 154CM with black/grey Micarta scales and noticed the blade stock is thicker than my 1095. I measure the 1095 at 0.19 and the 154CM at 0.20 with a micrometer. It's certainly noticeable with you look at them side-by-side. Has anyone else noticed this that have both knives? Has the BOB gotten thicker over the years? Thinking about getting a tumbled finish 1095 and wondering if it's going to be thicker than my current 1095 knife?

I had heard that the Micarta scales are thicker than the G10 scales, but hadn't heard about the 154CM blade being thicker as well. I bring this up as I've ordered a leather sheath for the 154CM so if they use a 1095 for the mold it's going to be a little snug. No big deal with leather, but it would definitely affect kydex. The 1095 is loose in the 154CM kydex TOPS sheath.

Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this between the two different BOB steels.
 
My go to online vendor lists both versions as having the same thickness: 5 mm. Could either of yours have a production error?
 
Lodd said:
My go to online vendor lists both versions as having the same thickness: 5 mm. Could either of yours have a production error?
Click to expand...

Not sure. I reached out to TOPS just to inquire, but haven't gotten a response back yet. I'm not too concerned about it, just wondering if my knife is an anomaly or if the 154cm happens to be a bit thicker than the 1095 version. The TOPS website does list them the same, but it wouldn't be the first time a website is inaccurate.
 
Lodd said:
My go to online vendor lists both versions as having the same thickness: 5 mm. Could either of yours have a production error?
Click to expand...

0.19" is 4.83mm, and 0.2" is 5.08mm, so both are within reasonable rounding range of 5mm. If anything, I'd expect the coated 1095 to be slightly thicker, but I'm not sure whether 1/4mm is enough to say it's a "production error" rather than just normal variance (obviously, that could change in other contexts, because a 0.25mm gap on something that should be flush is clearly not within spec).
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
0.19" is 4.83mm, and 0.2" is 5.08mm, so both are within reasonable rounding range of 5mm. If anything, I'd expect the coated 1095 to be slightly thicker, but I'm not sure whether 1/4mm is enough to say it's a "production error" rather than just normal variance (obviously, that could change in other contexts, because a 0.25mm gap on something that should be flush is clearly not within spec).
Click to expand...

Yes, very well could be manufacturing variance. Like you, I thought the 1095 with the coating would be a little thicker than a tumbled finish blade, but not in this case. The 154cm blade is definitely thicker. Wonder if they added a touch of steel to help the 154cm with toughness? I'm surprised how much difference there is to the eye between 4.83mm and 5.08mm.

I guess I'd rather have a little more steel than a little less steel for this particular knife as it's made for heavy duty usage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top