Tops alaskan harpoon

[TwinStick]

This is a long awaited purchase for me. I have had my eye on this knife for quite some time. It's features just screamed usefullness & function to me. So-here we go.

There it is, all shiny & new. I gotta say up front, that this is probably one of those ones you either love it or hate it right off the bat. Blade is 1/4" thick, 1095 goodness,
12" overall length, blade edge is 5 1/2" if measured in a straight line, 5 3/4" if measured around the curve. There is straight jimping for grip on the handle spine & a different type on the blade for your thumb.

There are 3-count em- 3 seperate choils & hand positions on this knife. Each one is distinct. I LOVE that feature. Chopping is one position (farthest from the blade). Putting pressure on the blade with a little more control is another (middle position). And choking up for close in fine work is the last (furthest forward with thumb up against the curve yet still on the jimping).

NOTE: THESE BOW DRILL DIVOTS ARE NOT FACTORY. THEY SHOULD BE, BUT THEY ARE NOT.
Here, you can see the mods i already made to the handle. I used a new 1/2" drill bit, in a drill press with depth stop, to make the bow drill divots you see here. I put one on each side. They are not quite 1/2" across, because i did not want to go all the way through the handles to the liners &/or metal. I think they came out pretty good. Look factory to me.

SHEATH
Well, I gotta say that the sheath IMHO is a FAIL. Features are good, extra pocket is good, molly compatible is good, seems plenty HD enough, knife will insert from either direction for left or right handers, it has four eyelets to provide lash points or additional tie downs in the handle area, it has velcro double retention straps---BUT EVEN WHEN THEY ARE BOTH ENGAGED AS TIGHT AS I CAN GET THEM-THE KNIFE WILL STILL COME OUT AS SEEN IN THE PIC. What you see there is the result of only 2 VERY light shakes. FAIL. That is what happens when a sheath is made to fit many different knives. Too bad. No big deal to me, but it would certainly be if you don't plan on a custom sheath.

It was sharp out of the box, but i sharpened it more. It shaved paper & hair very well before i started outside with it. I batoned the one piece you see. It is black walnut that has been out side for a while & was hard as a rock. I used the 2x4 as my baton. I also batoned it across the grain & straight through the wood. Made a few curls with it. Nothing too extensive.

After i was done, it still shaved paper well. I really like this knife. Not too big yet big enough. The 1/4" thickness means you can pound on it pretty good with no worries. Sheath is adequate. Maybe i am being too hard in my eval on it IDK ? What I DO KNOW is if you reach for your knife & it is not where it's supposed to be, your SOL. I am sure something could be done with some elastic cord through the holes. But i like my outdoor hard use knives to be able to be deployed with one hand & not have to unvelcro or unsnap anything. Many retention straps have been cut removing the knife. Custom sheaths ROCK !!!


AND--- in the Holiday Spirit, here is one more---but be carefull or----YOU'LL POKE YOUR EYE OUT !!!! LOL Hope you enjoyed my review. Certainly not as good as others but hope you liked it & can decide if this one is for you. I am glad i bought it.

 

[Mistwalker]

Thanks for the review and the other views of that knife. I've always thought the extra forward weight would let it chop pretty well for the blade length. On some of my TOPS sheaths I have to make sure the lower flap actually wraps down around the top edge of the handle to get it tighter. The retention straps can be a little stiff to start with. That may not apply in this case but just thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[TwinStick]

It does chop well for it's size. It drills well also-forgot to put that in the review. I was rushed for time. I have since found that if you angle the retension straps it holds much better but then there is less velcro surface actually working. I'll take another pic to show what i mean & post it. Thanks for reading.

I could not shake the knife out when i arranged the retention straps like this---so i ammend my previous sheath fail---to adequate. It works well like this. But really, for an expensive knife, how much more would a better retention strap cost ???

 

[J.Davey]

Great review, TwinStick! I've always liked the looks of that knife, but had never heard anything about it in actual use.:thumbup:

 

[pitdog]

Thanks for this review buddy. I don't really like the real thick survival type knives anymore but for some reason the Alaskan Harpoon still holds huge appeal to me !
It is one knife that I keep coming back to on the TOPS website and you very rarely see them on the forums.

Please keep us updated with pics to keep me drooling !:thumbup:

 

[chiral.grolim]

Thank you for the review of this interesting-looking knife. A couple of quick points...

... There are 3-count em- 3 seperate choils & hand positions on this knife...

As a point on bladed-tool terminology, there are indeed three grooves but only the groove ahead of the ricasso at the base of the blade is a "choil" though it certainly doubles as a finger-groove, but the other two are finger-grooves cut into the tang, certainly not "choils".

... the sheath ... has velcro double retention straps---BUT EVEN WHEN THEY ARE BOTH ENGAGED AS TIGHT AS I CAN GET THEM-THE KNIFE WILL STILL COME OUT AS SEEN IN THE PIC. ...That is what happens when a sheath is made to fit many different knives...

Is this sheath MOLLE compatible for horizontal or upside-down carry?? That style of retention strap, seen on many military combat knife-sheaths as well as hunting knife sheaths, is not designed for such carry (reference standard Kabar USMC leather sheath, as well as many others).
This may not be common knowledge, but the purpose of sheath straps near the mid-section and pommel of the handle on such knives is to retain the handle close to the body, i.e. to prevent the handle from poking out and jabbing things or getting stuck amidst webbing/straps/ties, seats, foliage, etc. while the knife hangs at your side, similar in purpose to a leg-tie.
Knives with sheaths designed for parachuting or mounting in a manner other than blade-down vertical are equipped with retention mechanisms than trap the blade in the sheath, usually either at the guard (reference Randall Sheath) or via a flap which covers the pommel like a hood (reference Fallkniven F1 leather sheath).
Do you think that the lower strap is intended to trap the guard on a knife featuring one? If so, then it is certainly odd that they would supply the same sheath with a knife lacking such a guard... Have you tried placing that strap across the middle finger-groove?
The recent advent of thermo-form plastic brought us the snap-in kydex retention mechanisms, which is what I guess you were hoping for with this knife... Out of curiousity, have you attempted to thermo-form the sheath insert to provide you the retention you desire? Custom kydex inserts are commonly employed with cordura sheaths like the SpecOps Combat Master.

Alright, that's what I've got. Thank you for taking the time and effort to post the review, esp. with pictures! :thumbup:

 

[TwinStick]

AHhhh, yeah, Ok, whatever ! I am just a simple man with a knack for wanting things that are HD & making things more HD. Yes, the sheath IS molle compatible. IMHO, ANYTHING that is supposed to be a survival knife or MOLLE compatible or designed for hard use, & cost as much as this does, should at least have a sheath that will retain the knife well---even if upside down. Hell, even some my way less expensive Ontario knives do this well. You can invert it & shake till the cows come home & it wont come out. Sorry i don't know all the technical lingo about knives & sheaths. But i know what works & what don't. I will certainly end up with a custom sheath for this fine knife. It will be Kydex. It will be a snap in click fit with NO retention straps/snaps. NO, i was not expecting that from the factory. Everyone likes different things in a sheath. But i think we can all agree that if you reach for your knife & it is NOT THERE, it has failed miserably at it's job of retention. IMHO, the sheath still sucks. Sorry.

I guess we will agree to disagree. Thats what i've got. Thanks for looking.

 

[chiral.grolim]

...Yes, the sheath IS molle compatible. IMHO, ANYTHING that is supposed to be a survival knife or MOLLE compatible or designed for hard use, & cost as much as this does, should at least have a sheath that will retain the knife well---even if upside down. ... I will certainly end up with a custom sheath for this fine knife. It will be Kydex. It will be a snap in click fit with NO retention straps/snaps. NO, i was not expecting that from the factory. Everyone likes different things in a sheath. But i think we can all agree that if you reach for your knife & it is NOT THERE, it has failed miserably at it's job of retention. IMHO, the sheath still sucks. Sorry.

Oh, I hear ya, man. For a knife of that price, I'd expect better as well. All ESEE offerings come with sheaths with excellent retention, as do many others in the price range. Sheaths with the level of retention seen in this one with this knife aren't usually able to be mounted any way but drop-style from the belt (again, reference the KaBar USMC). There is no way that a MOLLE-style sheath should have retention like that, I agree with you. I noticed in a review of another TOPS knife, their "USMC Combat Knife", that the same sheath is employed... well. The retention straps prevent the guard (and thus the knife) from sliding free of the sheath, so it can be mounted however (including upside-down). Why TOPS would use this same sheath with another knife that it clearly was not designed/intended for is beyond me! I wonder if they have rectified this or are still supplying the knife with a unsuitable sheath... :thumbdn:

I brought up the kydex-insert idea as a way to still utilize the canvas body of the TOPS sheath. The insert on the SpecOps sheaths is bolted in and can thus be easily swapped out for a custom kydex snap-fit insert. Canvas sheaths lacking the retention bolt probably wouldn't be suited for a snap-fit insert as the insert would probably hold better to the knife than the sheath! (i.e. when you draw the knife, the whole insert would come out instead) But you could always install your own bolt... anyway, it was just a thought for how to salvage the mounting advantages of the canvas sheath. Good luck with your custom decision, and thank you again for posting the review! (esp as a warning to others regarding the sheath)

 

[cramsey3006]

That's one of the few TOPS knives that seems to actually be useful as a knife, vs being eye candy. I like it, but I'd like it more if it was 5/32 or 3/16 thick.