Tell me Tops Knives made in America, Highcarbon Steel, good or bad ?

Z

zeroed4x

Joined
Jun 29, 2013
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I don't see hardly any postings regarding Tops Knives, do you all hate them or what ?
I see they are made in the USA, they are not over priced, they are high carbon steel, whats the story on these ?
 
The Tom Brown Tracker and the Buck collaboration are highly regarded. Don't know much about the rest of the line.
 
I only have 1. The Alaskan Harpoon. Love it. Won't get rid of it. Sheath could be better but no biggie to me.

Tops knives: VERY good blades. The story is this: most people are turned off by all of their crazy designs. Many people find most of the designs useless. Kinda-mall-ninja-ish if you will. Many think they are also overpriced. Just sift through their many designs & find one that works for you. I have no issues with mine. I have even batoned it from the extended tang into a tree trunk & stood on it to reach something. I am 210 lbs. They are a quality made product. I love mine. :D





Yes, it DOES tear up & break baton sticks pretty quick !!!
 
I just bought a TOPs black heat and I have to say the knife is amazing. Pretty much perfect grinds and handles t is screaming quality. Wish it came with a more tactical sheath though
 
Great knives from great people, but some of their designs turn some people off.
 
imo, two factors which defies popularity would be high carbon steel and high price.
but highly priced by those who get it?
 
Their prices vary. I've seen a few that I liked and thought that their pricing was reasonable.

As for the OP's question about the steel- most of their models are 1095 steel which is a good basic steel for a hard use knife. 1095 is easy to sharpen and can take a good edge, but its main characteristic is that it is relatively tough when compared to common stainless steels.
 
I haven't gotten a chance to handle their newer stuff in person, but back when they first came out my impressions were consistently high quality, solid construction, but goofy designs and edges that were WAY too thick for a cutting tool. I've heard that the edge thickness issue has been greatly improved and they have way more "practical" designs now in addition to the overdesigned tactical stuff.
 
In an earlier thread about Tops Knives, someone referred to the goofiness of their model names. Indeed many of the names indicate strenuous, embarrassing attempts to associate the knives with recent wars, elite military units, and specialty LEOs (e.g., "Baghdad Bullet," Baghdad Box Cutter," "Iraq Jac Joint Aggravation Control," "Covert Anti-Terrorism," "Taliban Take Down," "Delta Unit 3," "SEAL Heat," "Zero Dark 30," "Cockpit Commander," "Sky Marshall," "SWAT," "Felony Stop"). No way in hell I'm going to buy a knife with any of that poseur pandering inscribed on the blade. The Tops website descriptions of some of these knives are even worse (e.g., "FORWARD OF FRIENDLY LINES AND DEEP IN THE MOUNTAIN PASSES WHERE THE TALIBAN ARE LAID IN DEEP, THAT IS WHERE YOU'LL FIND THE LIKES OF MEN CARRYING THE 'DELTA UNIT 3'" [all caps in website description]).

I do agree that Tops has some appealing designs and that thankfully not all of their knives have names like those listed above.

Cheers,
Isaeus
 
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I have 3 of their steel eagle 111's (both tanto and hunter point) and they are solid choppers. I'd bet my life on them.
 
I have a Wolf Pup and aKey D I like them both a lot I use them as a backup when I don't want to use the folder that I'm carrying for something that might damage it.They are very tough and can be very sharp with little work.Just keep oil on them!
 
Isaeus said:
"Baghdad Bullet," Baghdad Box Cutter," "Iraq Jac Joint Aggravation Control," "Covert Anti-Terrorism," "Taliban Take Down," "Delta Unit 3," "SEAL Heat," "Zero Dark 30," "Cockpit Commander," "Sky Marshall," "SWAT," "Felony Stop"). No way in hell I'm going to buy a knife with any of that poseur pandering inscribed on the blade. The Tops website descriptions of some of these knives are even worse (e.g., "FORWARD OF FRIENDLY LINES AND DEEP IN THE MOUNTAIN PASSES WHERE THE TALIBAN ARE LAID IN DEEP, THAT IS WHERE YOU'LL FIND THE LIKES OF MEN CARRYING THE 'DELTA UNIT 3'
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I just wish someone at TOPS and a few other tactical knife companies would recognize that in this overlitigious age carrying a self-defense knife called the equivalent of "Maim Your Opponent 3" is quite possibly grounds for a lawsuit by said aggressor, not to mention the possibility of some idiot DA deciding it indicated criminal intent on the part of the knife owner to harm the attacker and filing charges. It's all too easy to portray an honest citizen as a cop- or commando-wannabe.

I know most buyers don't select a knife on the basis of its name, but a bit more moderation in this aspect of knife sales does not seem unreasonable.
 
SCWillson said:
I just wish someone at TOPS and a few other tactical knife companies would recognize that in this overlitigious age carrying a self-defense knife called the equivalent of "Maim Your Opponent 3" is quite possibly grounds for a lawsuit by said aggressor, not to mention the possibility of some idiot DA deciding it indicated criminal intent on the part of the knife owner to harm the attacker and filing charges. It's all too easy to portray an honest citizen as a cop- or commando-wannabe.

I know most buyers don't select a knife on the basis of its name, but a bit more moderation in this aspect of knife sales does not seem unreasonable.
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Until just now I had previously disregarded the goofy names but you are correct with what you've stated. You've made a very valid point. I have been looking at the hunting and bush craft style blades they offer and not so much the tactical stuff. The names of the tactical blades do remind you of the $10 mall knives you see and would be embarrassed to admit that you looked at one or bought one... lol

I'm o.k. with the fact that they are using 1095 carbon steel, I am pleased that they are made in the USA, I'm very selective with the style of knives that I purchase. These knives seem to be on par with many others that are out there, along the lines of maybe Becker etc. I'm not sure but your feedback is appreciated and welcome.

Thank you all for the input on this topic. Anyone else who has anything to add is encouraged to do so.
 
zeroed4x said:
Until just now I had previously disregarded the goofy names but you are correct with what you've stated. You've made a very valid point. I have been looking at the hunting and bush craft style blades they offer and not so much the tactical stuff. The names of the tactical blades do remind you of the $10 mall knives you see and would be embarrassed to admit that you looked at one or bought one... lol

I'm o.k. with the fact that they are using 1095 carbon steel, I am pleased that they are made in the USA, I'm very selective with the style of knives that I purchase. These knives seem to be on par with many others that are out there, along the lines of maybe Becker etc. I'm not sure but your feedback is appreciated and welcome.
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Well, I probably wouldn't buy a knife called the Creampuff or Gay Blade either. ;)

As for 1095 steel, I consider that a feature even though I am happy with my stainless blades. There is something to be said for the toughness and sharpenability of high carbon steels. Certainly nobody considers 1095 to be a detriment to the ESEE Izula line, and those knives seem to be the hottest thing in blades right now.

I've been impressed enough with what I've heard and read of TOPS quality here and in reviews that I just pulled the trigger on my first one, a TOPS Tibo neckknife. I should get it Tuesday or Wednesday.
 
I (and this is just MY OPINION) have not seen any of their designs that I would pick over another company.

I think they are total mall ninja, over priced, and have crappy sheaths.

Again just my opinion.
 
The thing with TOPS is, they are good quality, and considering what you get in the way of materials and F&F the prices are not unreasonable. The problem is you have to search through about 50 ridiculous designs to find one good one, when you could just go to a company that makes similar knives (ESEE) and just pick the size you want and you're done. I'm sure if TOPS reduced their catalog to say, 10 useful designs ranging from small to large like ESEE do, the money they saved not designing all those superfluous blades would translate into very good value blades. Not sure why they insist on having a catalog full of hundreds of useless designs.
 
They also market to mall ninjas. :D

Yes, lots of their designs are useless, but those useless ones may be their bread 'n' butter.
 
I am also on board with the stupid mall ninja name turnoff. I have been to their booth at SHOT and they are certainly nice enough and the founders did have some impressive resumes, but the designs and mall ninja wannabe names turned me off.

And this is kind of weird to bring up but..

I don't "baton" wood or see the need to (with many years of wilderness hiking and backpacking under my belt). Even if you DO sometimes use it to get to dry wood, I feel it is an OVERUSED term/theory/test for knives, and seems a lot more prevalent on the Internet than I've EVER seen it it in real life. THAT SAID, however, Adam Francis ("Eqipped to Endure") did a test with four knives once on his YouTube channel, and the TOPS was the ONLY one to suffer destructive damage, and IT WAS THE ONE "DESIGNED" FOR WINTER SURVIVAL!!! It warped about 40 degrees and remained. Even a thinner Benchmade made it thorugh okay, and it wasn't even considered a "survival" knife. He was "contacted" by TOPS (or maybe he contacted them-I don't recall) and they provided another sample (can you say "cherry"?) and ran the test again, and it did okay. However, that remains in my mind about the ruggedness, even if I don't baton myself.
 
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