- Joined
- Oct 26, 2001
- Messages
- 1,438
Hey folks.
I just got my first TOPS knives in a long time and am pleased to say they are great. In the past I had a few and though they were okay, were not my favorites. I picked up the Stryker Defender tool, Ranger Heat and Taliban Take-down and love these. I'll start with the Takedown. For starters all of these knives have nice, thick handles, which is great since I have large hands. The Takedown has a very slim profile and about an inch at the base is serrated. It's the only one that didn't quite pop hair straight out of the box, but then it's not really supposed to. I picked it up as an impulse buy, looking for a small fb to take hiking and camping. It will work for that, but not as well as I'd hoped. The tanto Point and odd grind shape clearly show that it's designed as a stabber. I pitted it against a plastic cooler and it left one heck of a wide wound channel. It also went all the way through both the inner and outer walls with no trouble, unlike the USMC Ka-bar and Boker AF I tried at the same time. These were delivered to me at work, so on my lunch break I used the Takedown to peel and slice my daily apple. It worked, but it is almost 1/4" thick at the spine, so it wasn't ideal for the task. Overall though, a great, functional little blade, along the lines of a very robust chisel or sharpened pry bar.
The Ranger Heat is a great little knife. I ordered the extra serrations, which may have been my only mistake. It means I can't use the knife to baton wood with in a true wilderness situation. The knife does well at the apple peeling and cutting, and has an incredible edge. I also used it to quickly whittle a few sticks and it did that well too. It also has a great sheath. It wouldn't do well with prying tasks, as I feel like the blade would snap, but then it's a knife not a crowbar.
Lastly, the Stryker Defender Tool. I haven't had time to play with this one much yet, but it strikes me as a very well designed tool for its intended use. TOPS has taken their usual chainsaw style teeth and made them a lot more aggressive, at least it seems so to me. The serrations are great, and the blade was hair popping sharp. Again, it's thick so not much of a kitchen knife, but definately capable of handling basic wilderness tasks. The one thing I don't like about this is the handle. TOPS has chosen to make the Rocky Mt. Tread standard on this model, at least for now. I feel that it is less comfortable than their standard micarta, but to each their own. Overall, I think this is a lot of bang for the money.
Sorry for the long post. More to follow as I get to really beat on these. Also, if anyone is willing to put them up for me I do have a few good photos of these knives.
Lagarto
I just got my first TOPS knives in a long time and am pleased to say they are great. In the past I had a few and though they were okay, were not my favorites. I picked up the Stryker Defender tool, Ranger Heat and Taliban Take-down and love these. I'll start with the Takedown. For starters all of these knives have nice, thick handles, which is great since I have large hands. The Takedown has a very slim profile and about an inch at the base is serrated. It's the only one that didn't quite pop hair straight out of the box, but then it's not really supposed to. I picked it up as an impulse buy, looking for a small fb to take hiking and camping. It will work for that, but not as well as I'd hoped. The tanto Point and odd grind shape clearly show that it's designed as a stabber. I pitted it against a plastic cooler and it left one heck of a wide wound channel. It also went all the way through both the inner and outer walls with no trouble, unlike the USMC Ka-bar and Boker AF I tried at the same time. These were delivered to me at work, so on my lunch break I used the Takedown to peel and slice my daily apple. It worked, but it is almost 1/4" thick at the spine, so it wasn't ideal for the task. Overall though, a great, functional little blade, along the lines of a very robust chisel or sharpened pry bar.
The Ranger Heat is a great little knife. I ordered the extra serrations, which may have been my only mistake. It means I can't use the knife to baton wood with in a true wilderness situation. The knife does well at the apple peeling and cutting, and has an incredible edge. I also used it to quickly whittle a few sticks and it did that well too. It also has a great sheath. It wouldn't do well with prying tasks, as I feel like the blade would snap, but then it's a knife not a crowbar.
Lastly, the Stryker Defender Tool. I haven't had time to play with this one much yet, but it strikes me as a very well designed tool for its intended use. TOPS has taken their usual chainsaw style teeth and made them a lot more aggressive, at least it seems so to me. The serrations are great, and the blade was hair popping sharp. Again, it's thick so not much of a kitchen knife, but definately capable of handling basic wilderness tasks. The one thing I don't like about this is the handle. TOPS has chosen to make the Rocky Mt. Tread standard on this model, at least for now. I feel that it is less comfortable than their standard micarta, but to each their own. Overall, I think this is a lot of bang for the money.
Sorry for the long post. More to follow as I get to really beat on these. Also, if anyone is willing to put them up for me I do have a few good photos of these knives.
Lagarto
Not good for business.
