Need help choosing TOPS knife

[VOODOO CHILD]

Hi all. I'm hoping to get the advice from some of the experts here. I will be enlisting into the Canadian army as an infantry soldier in the near future. I've already taken delivery of a large FB (thanks to George and Carol Tichbourne), but I am also looking for a mid-size FB fit for heavy duty use. I am going to go with TOPS because I was really impressed with a TOPS blade I used to own. Mr. Fuller is a real nice guy too. I've narrowed it down to 3 choices:

Black Wolf III

The Black Wolf III has the blade angled forward which I like on self defense knives because of it's slashing/chopping ability.

Steel Eagle model 107D

The Steel Eagle seems to be very versatile because of it's ability to be used as a saw.

Smoke Jumper

The Smoke Jumper looks excellent for prying.

All knives seem to have something going for it, but unfortunately I'm not made of money so I must choose only one.

All feedback is appreciated.

 

[Logan1]

Personally, I would stay away from the Black Wolf 3. Unless he makes them without the long hole in the blade. I would not want to batton on the spine for fear of it possibly breaking.

I think it is a toss up between the Steel Eagle 107 and the Smoke Jumper. I held the Smoke Jumper at a gunshow, it is stout. I want one. I askd Mr. Fuller about the design. He said it was designed with prying in mind, fireman needing to pry open doors and what not.

I would probably go with the 107E over the 107D. Just more weight to the blade without the sawteeth. I have a 111 and have used the saw a bit. You can get through wood alot quicker chopping. Although, I believe Brian Jones mentioned the point to the saw is to be quite in the feild as chopping would produce alot more noise.

I am sure whatever choice you make will be a good one. Hard to go wrong with a Tops blade. Here is my daily carry. Use it alot at work and never fails me. Tops Outpost Command.

 

[psy-ops]

it looks great has the wieght to chop, can easily be udes for SD. compact size great sheath


I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[Fehrman]

Originally posted by Logan1
Personally, I would stay away from the Black Wolf 3. Unless he makes them without the long hole in the blade.

Just a FYI... the Black Wolf 3 does NOT have a slot along the spine. Thats just a grind mark... a sort of "blood groove". I don't know its exact purpose but its just a shallow grind mark, not a through hole.

I would recommend the 107E, nice knife. I avoid saw teeth because I baton/split wood alot.

Good Luck,
Eric Fehrman

 

[Logan1]

Originally posted by Fehrman
Just a FYI... the Black Wolf 3 does NOT have a slot along the spine. Thats just a grind mark... a sort of "blood groove". I don't know its exact purpose but its just a shallow grind mark, not a through hole.

Thanks for the info. It looked like a slot to me. I know Mr. fuller changed the design of this blade a bit. He had the old style on close out about a year or two ago at a reno gunshow. Really good price. I didn't pick one up

 

[thatmguy]

Looks like a slot to me too.

 

[Fehrman]

I saw a knife at a show that I would have sworn was the Black Wolf (without a slot)...

Either I'm wrong (not unheard of) or this knife comes in different versions.

I'd just call Mike and ask.

Good Luck,
Eric Fehrman

 

[VOODOO CHILD]

Thanks for all the responses. Just to let everyone know, whether or not the Black Wolf III has a slot along the spine doesn't really matter as it's been discontinued . I just found that out yesterday.