Has anyone compared NMFBM vs. Tops Power Eagle?

[fugawee]

Were not here to bash another knife maker or company.
I will say that Ive had quite a few knives in the past and
my Busse Choppers will outperform every one of them.

Now,if your using your knife in an easy fashion,
you may not realize a blades full potential,
thus making a "comparison" not too valid.

As for just "chopping", well, I have many choppers that
all seem to chop fine,depending on how sharp they are.
My Bussekin knives seem to hold the edge very well.
I have a DogFather LE which I dont think I ever had to sharpen.
(one of my small Swamprats has never been sharpened in 3 years and is still like a razor!)
So,right now,I would grab one of my Busse knives if I were to head
out for a chop off. Probably my FFFBM Fatty. Razor sharp and bites hard!

Anyway,if your brother is happy with his knife,
more power to him and I certainly wouldnt want to rain on his parade.
Eventually he will turn to the dark side and join us

 

[hkman47]

Well said fugawee, already tempting him with a team gemini that he is really liking! The illness is starting to infect.

 

[rabidsurefire]

If you take this statement

Ill chop that thing in half with my NMFBM

And combine it with this one

Sounds like you are the guy who should be comparing them, since you have access to both blades......just saying. You could do a chop off or destruction test with them and post the results.

As far as my opinion on the tops knife you are asking about....mom taught me if I don't have anything nice to say, not to say anything at all.

You get: Take your Busse and use it to chop your brothers Power Eagle in half.


I'm just kidding of course or am I?

 

[1966c10]

.....

 

[PeterPHWS]

My first thoughts on seeing the Tops knife is that the handle looks like it has elastic through the grip holes ... presumably to enhance holding it ? Is that right ? Anyway ... the handle looks to me to be the main thing that would put me off trying that knife ... very uncomfortable if using the elastic around your hand or on the inside of the hand and to be honest even if you cut away the elastic/cord or whatever ... the grip still does'nt look a comfortable prospect...

Compare the knife to the smooth hand filling grip of the NMFBM and already the NMFBM is way ahead ... that's without going into the benefit's of Infi ... so there is'nt much more that can be said really ...

The NMFBM is a lot better :thumbup:

But I will say it is nice to see some comparison queries on here involving other knives and Busse's ... they don't often get done but are always a good read ... I think many can get put off by expecting a tirade of criticism ... however there are a few of us who do try other knives just to see how things work in comparison to Busse's ... I have owned and passed on a lot of knives in this quest ... but there are one or two exceptions where the blades do really well on chopping tests when compared with Busse's and those I end up keeping ... some come in at a price point which is very good value too ...

An example of a great blade for the money is this ...

It is a parang from Borneo and is cheap and locally made and needed a little edge work doing to it but once sharpened it turned in some great performances. The buffalo horn handle is an amazing design for long term comfort when chopping and this blade will keep pace with a NMFBM for chopping power until the edge holding let's it down ... and for around $60 it is amazing value for money too ...

The Carbon V (1095 steel ) Cold Steel khukri is another good performer ...

For it's weight it has great chopping power although the grip needs a lot of altering to be comfortable. I removed the checkering with a dremel sander to enable me to use mine comfortably ... but once altered it is a good choice for a light weight chopping blade which can be carried easily on a belt ...

So thanks for bringing in another maker to consider against a Busse and if you get the time do your own comparison chop off between the two and do a write up of it here !

 

[Tiger84]

Does anyone have any experience with both blades to compare these monsters?

Really would not even consider comparing the two. It is Mercedes verses Fiat
A better comparison to a FBM might be with a Fehrman "Extreme Judgement".

 

[Stubai]

Agreed on the CS kuk...it does perform well. I have some older 'thinner' carbon V kuks that are vicious cutters/choppers. Can't comment too much on the TOPS blade since I don't have one like that at the moment, but I do have a Browning 686 FDX knife that was made by Tops. It is a veritable BEAST.

The DFCG still gets top billing as one of the best choppers for the dough shelled out, and no, I would not worry about destroying the Busse in an effort to see which blade is 'tougher'. That would be a waste of hard earned cash. I suspect both are decent performers. My Basic 9 is still ticking after all these years...and has not missed a lick.

 

[Bowxpress]

Ill chop that thing in half with my NMFBM

If your gonna talk the talk, ya better walk the walk, just sayng

 

[RickJ]

I have two NMFBM and I am a prior owner of the Tops Power Eagle, here are my thoughts.

1. I sold the Tops and still have the NMFBM's.
2. The power eagle has a very tough Blade on it but the handle got to me just a bit, it was Ok but I think could be alot better.
3. The steel on the power eagle is very hard, I would like to see if a NMFBM could chop it in half, that would be cool.
4. I actually wanted to send the power eagle I had to Ankerson for a chop off, I kinda half ask if he ever thought about a comparison between the two, I think he was to busy or something at the time, any how I sold the Power Eagle.
5. I still have two of my favorite knives the Busse NMFBM, and bottom line will pick one of these over the Tops anyday.
6. The Tops is fairly cheap so would make a great chopper for someone on a budget.

 

[leatherman]

Nice review RickJ! Thank you.

 

[darkaether]

I figured the handle cord thing were for retention, like a cross between a lanyard and a d-guard with your fingers inside then

 

[Cobalt]

I was one of the first to own a tops anaconda got their proto from a vegas show when I traded my custom mike hankins folder for it and another knife directly to the tops guys. The knife was a descent but not on par with busse performance wise. Quality was good. 1095 steel is soso, and for a big knife I would have preferred 1084. Anyway this new one is made of 5160 steel which is softer and probably more durable for such a big knife, kinda like kukri's. Toughness wise, it will not be tougher than infi and it certainly will not hold an edge like infi. As long as it's price point reflects this, then I see no problem. But if it is similarly priced or within 100-200 of infi, I'd stick with infi.

 

[Cobalt]

ok, just looked at the price. I would say that is a good deal. $200 is a reasonable price for such a big blade made of 5160. not on par with busse, but for such a big blade that is a fair price.

 

[hkman47]

Thank you RICKJ & COBALT, great input, that is exactly what i was looking for, good, educated responses.

 

[komondor]

Actually the TOPS Power Eagle gets favorable reviews in other forums. I see no reason why it wouldn't be an excellent chopper, and may even out perform the NMFBM. The weight of a blade is only a single component of chopping prowess.

If I had a choice between the two, I would keep my NMFBM (LE). It's just a really awesome piece of work.