How useful would this be in the wilderness?

Well my opinion my be a little biased. Sorry about the price boys, that is nothing I have control over. Tops has been great in all of my dealings with them and that detail (the cost) is theirs to handle.
We do not suggest that you use it as a spear but more as a gig rather on fish, frogs or small game. I would never tell you to throw your knife away. Even when using it as a gig, you should have a cord running the length of the shaft from the lanyard hole on the Harpoon back to you wrist. That will assure that if your lashing comes undone you won't loose your knife.
So far, it has been given comments in Swat magazine, Tactical Knives, and Doug Ritter's web site. Of course I would like it written up in all magazines.
During my testing of the production prototypes, I did lash it to a oversized shaft and kill every tree in my backyard without damaging it. I was throwing at about 15 yards and the Harpoon held up well.
During my own personal use, I've skinned out and processed three deer so far. But like any other design, some will like it and some won't. To those who have gotten one, thanks guys. I hope you're pleased. I would love to hear of what uses it has been put to.
 
Useful?? Give one man a hammer,chisel and block of granite and he makes a statue, give same to another man and he makes a pile of gravel... It is very similar in function to the CS Bird and Trout and I do not go into the woods without one or two B&T in my pouch. I look forward to trying this knife. I have cleaned and dressed MUCHO game with a B&T.
Bill
 
Thanks for chiming in here Terrill! Can you give us some more particulars on the Harpoon? Weight, stock thickness, length, material?

It has been my experience that price is usually a function of the number of machining operations required on a blade, especially when there are little or no other components involved. And of course the designer has to make a few cents per unit. And then there are marketing costs, sometimes including a design patent and trademark. Not too difficult to drop five to ten grand on those. Of course the manufacturer has to make a profit after all that, and the dealer, jobber/distributor too if there is one inbetween the maker and seller. I can't fault the price given the current selling prices for, say, the Becker knives, or really any other U.S. made knives. Sure, the Chinese could punch them out and export them here for 1/5th the price, and they'd retail for 1/2 of what Tops is selling them for, but really, is that what we want?

I can plainly see that the Harpoon is a special purpose knife, as Terrill has stated. Still, I can see a use for it in my woods running. And readily understand why some others may not.

Codger
 
runningboar said:
How about just carrying an old bear razorhead, zwickey, grizzly or the glue on broadhead of your choice. Good quality steel and with a little careful dremel work and filing you could make a very servicable harpoon, I would drill a hole and attach a large swivel for line attachment. You could also very easily attach an improvised handle and use it for a knife. Best of all you could buy it for a few dollars, and carry two or three. Chris
Click to expand...

While the broadheads you mentioned are considerably lighter in structure than the harpoon I am sure they would work as a fish spear . I do not even think a barb would have to be cut into the head itself . Often the barbs on bowfishing arrowheads are not much more than a V of stiff wire directly behind or encorporated into the ferrule .

If a zwickey had a small retention hole drilled into the ferrule from one side to the other then a stiff wire could be inserted through the ferrule and through the shaft of the light spear . It would have to be considered light duty .

I have a couple of broadhead knives and they would definitely do in a pinch .
 
You guys that have them, what, specifically, do you use it for?

$80 is too high for an item that seems to only excel at being tied to a stick that could cause it to get lost or break the first time you used it.

Why not use your "real" knife to sharpen that same stick for the same use? If lost or broken, whittle out another one.

.
 
The original concept of the Harpoon was to be as a pairing to a larger knife. Such as one with a 5" or larger blade. The Harpoon would give you a small blade to handle the chores that the big blade would be a little oversized to do. Of course the use as a food gathering tool is obivious. Even I will say that if I was going to have just one knife in the woods, this would not be it. The whole idea of having "THE ONE KNIFE" is more fiction than reality. Maybe you could get by, but then, why would you want to limit yourself?
The overall is 8". The blade is 2 1/2" and the thickness is 3/16. By my postal meter it is 2 1/2 ounces with cord wrap but no sheath.
 
David E said:
You guys that have them, what, specifically, do you use it for?

$80 is too high for an item that seems to only excel at being tied to a stick that could cause it to get lost or break the first time you used it.

Why not use your "real" knife to sharpen that same stick for the same use? If lost or broken, whittle out another one.

.
Click to expand...

David,

As I said above, this is a real knife. Normal situation, not the only one I would carry. while deer hunting last weekend, I counted the number of knives I carried while walking about, 7 was the count, 4 were used. Could I have gotten by with 1, easily, but I wouldn't have liked it as much.

I didn't get anything, but came across a man waiting for his daughter to get back from his truck with his gear. He told me that he doesn't typically carry a knife while walking about. I loaned him one I had made and wanted to see how it performed on game. He gutted his deer and said his daughter had one down just a bit away. We offered to give him a hand dragging it up so he could get it gutted also. When we got there, the deer was still moving around, and the knife I loaned him was on the haunch of the other deer. Used my leatherman wave to quickly cut the throat. After all of this, used my slipjoint for cutting up some venison salami and cheese for lunch. Finally, used a tiny knife I carry on my belt for opening some packages.

Could I have done all of this with 1 knife. Pretty easy, but having a backup is nice when you realize you left one somewhere (camp, car, etc). Cleaned 2 deer last year with the slipjoint because I didn't feel like opening my pack.

On to the harpoon. This knife feels and behaves differently than it looks in pictures. I carry it as a backup piece of steel. Think of it as a small bird and trout with a full size handle (even for my big hands). With the cord wrap it fits the hand nicely, and it weighs nothing. This gets to it's main purpose, one stays in my camelbak at all times. When mountain bike riding, I may be in 10 miles approaching evening. I want my pack to be light, so I usually have this as my fixed blade, and a USMC lineman's knife, in my camelbak. If something goes bad (I have seen the rear cassettes (gears) on a bike explode) and I have to spend the night, this is the blade I count on to do that. I also keep first aid and basic PSK in the pak, this is the knife that would help with those tasks also.

Anyway, think of it as a "real knife" that happens to have other uses if needed. It is well enough built that I could get the branches I need to make an expediated shelter, start a fire, etc and have a much more comfortable night in the woods than most.

I have rambled enough, but remember to pick one up if you see it at a show, you really have to handle this blade to appreciate it.

--Carl
 
recdently I've been using a very short (3 inch) fishing knife from Mora. IS a great knife but too short for good cutting ie; if uctting meat I'd like a longer knife, 4 inches or more. These harpoons look great but only for a limited range of applications. A general purpose knife should probably be 4 inches long or more (conserve energy and get a cleaner cut). I think this post highlights the fact that there is not one knife that is great for a wide variety of tasks and it is good practice to carry different knives for different uses. This is an obvious point I know, but I think it is important for newbies to understand that each knife shape is designed for a different purpose, ie; wood chopping, skinning, fishing etc. I think a good general purpose knife does most things adequately but would not exceed at any one activity, so bear that in mind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top