TOPS CUB (Compact Utility Blade)
From the TOPS site
Overall Length: 8”
Blade Length: 3 3/4”
Cutting Edge: 3 1/2”
Thickness: 1/8”
Steel: 1095 Carbon RC 56-58
Sheath: Ballistic Tan Nylon Sheath
Designed by: Reuben Bolieu
This knife lives up to its name of being a compact utility knife
I like this knife and I like it well enough to modify it to meet my needs
Handle
There is finger notch on the front of the handle, which automatically positions your hand in to place
A nice intuitive grip
The balance point of the knife is just behind this notch, so the balance of the knife is slightly handle heavy
Just enough to rest the handle in your hand, but not enough to lose any nimbleness in use
The handle shape widens from the notch to the butt, so pull cuts are very firm in the hand, this fits the blurb on the TOPs site about Reuben having a Puukko in mind
There are two side thumb notches on the side of the handle, which again makes for a very easy intuitive grip
The ricasso I am including as part of the handle, it is quite protruding and acts as a guard for push cut, and would be good protection for deep skinning (more to be discussed later…
The lanyard hole is excellent, it is a rectangular slot that easily takes a lanyard and allows the lanyard to move out of your way as you use the knife
The micatra scales are very grippy, and I treated them with some beeswax
The handle are a little thin for a full fist grip, but is very good for all other grips
Blade
The blade is a puukko style blade
It has a straight section (1 1/2”, 3 cm) and the rest of the blade is a continuous curve to the tip
This continuous curve gives amazing cutting power for very controller slicing motion cuts
The pivot of the center of the curve is very close to your thumb on the spine
The straight section is long enough for arm stiff full fist grip for feather stick cuts
The grind is a “Scandi with a convex edge” (more to be discussed later…
Sheath
It is a Ballistic Tan Nylon Sheath, which transalates to a cheap nylon sheath
It has a Velcro retainer that I would never rely on to hold the knife
The knife is loose in the plastic liner
So I would only use the sheath with the removable flap attached and down
This makes the sheath is large and bulky for the size of the knife
I have a Becker BK 16 that comes with a quality nylon sheath with two secure snap retaining loops
Hello TOPS, the Becker is half the price and the sheath is much better quality and reliable?
Accessories
Bits and pieces
Hello TOPS, please do not waste time and money on these
Drop the price of the knife instead of these non-quality gadgets
My Modifications
Sheath
It is now a very compact carry fitting for the knife style
I had a Sharpshooter Medium Universal Belt Sheath
Filed off the ricasso
Heated beeswax into the sheath and molded it to the knife
Ricasso
I found the ricasso too big
It got in the way; I do not need a front guard for skinning or push cuts
Wanting to put the knife into a leather sheath was an incentive to file down the ricasso until the knife slipped into the sheath
The front finger in the front notch feels much more comfortable
Grind
What to call the grind a scandi with a convex edge or saber with a convex edge?
I was peeling an olive wood walking stick, taking off the dried secondary peel
My Mora took off long peels, but this damn thing would not peel!
So I worked the grind on my waterstones from 400 to 3000
I rebeveled one side to an flat convex almost scandi
The other side to a flatter convex
It is now very sharp indeed and easy to get fine cuts and will peel and make curly feathersticks
Synopsis
My modification has made this knife in to my knife that fits and suits my needs in the field, and does not reflect any defect in the knife design
An excellent knife with a very comfortable handle good for both pull and push cuts
The blade for its length cuts well and is easy to use for both hard use and fine cuts
I would highly recommend this as a go-to knife in the field
From the TOPS site
Overall Length: 8”
Blade Length: 3 3/4”
Cutting Edge: 3 1/2”
Thickness: 1/8”
Steel: 1095 Carbon RC 56-58
Sheath: Ballistic Tan Nylon Sheath
Designed by: Reuben Bolieu
This knife lives up to its name of being a compact utility knife
I like this knife and I like it well enough to modify it to meet my needs
Handle
There is finger notch on the front of the handle, which automatically positions your hand in to place
A nice intuitive grip
The balance point of the knife is just behind this notch, so the balance of the knife is slightly handle heavy
Just enough to rest the handle in your hand, but not enough to lose any nimbleness in use
The handle shape widens from the notch to the butt, so pull cuts are very firm in the hand, this fits the blurb on the TOPs site about Reuben having a Puukko in mind
There are two side thumb notches on the side of the handle, which again makes for a very easy intuitive grip
The ricasso I am including as part of the handle, it is quite protruding and acts as a guard for push cut, and would be good protection for deep skinning (more to be discussed later…
The lanyard hole is excellent, it is a rectangular slot that easily takes a lanyard and allows the lanyard to move out of your way as you use the knife
The micatra scales are very grippy, and I treated them with some beeswax
The handle are a little thin for a full fist grip, but is very good for all other grips
Blade
The blade is a puukko style blade
It has a straight section (1 1/2”, 3 cm) and the rest of the blade is a continuous curve to the tip
This continuous curve gives amazing cutting power for very controller slicing motion cuts
The pivot of the center of the curve is very close to your thumb on the spine
The straight section is long enough for arm stiff full fist grip for feather stick cuts
The grind is a “Scandi with a convex edge” (more to be discussed later…
Sheath
It is a Ballistic Tan Nylon Sheath, which transalates to a cheap nylon sheath
It has a Velcro retainer that I would never rely on to hold the knife
The knife is loose in the plastic liner
So I would only use the sheath with the removable flap attached and down
This makes the sheath is large and bulky for the size of the knife
I have a Becker BK 16 that comes with a quality nylon sheath with two secure snap retaining loops
Hello TOPS, the Becker is half the price and the sheath is much better quality and reliable?
Accessories
Bits and pieces
Hello TOPS, please do not waste time and money on these
Drop the price of the knife instead of these non-quality gadgets
My Modifications
Sheath
It is now a very compact carry fitting for the knife style
I had a Sharpshooter Medium Universal Belt Sheath
Filed off the ricasso
Heated beeswax into the sheath and molded it to the knife
Ricasso
I found the ricasso too big
It got in the way; I do not need a front guard for skinning or push cuts
Wanting to put the knife into a leather sheath was an incentive to file down the ricasso until the knife slipped into the sheath
The front finger in the front notch feels much more comfortable
Grind
What to call the grind a scandi with a convex edge or saber with a convex edge?
I was peeling an olive wood walking stick, taking off the dried secondary peel
My Mora took off long peels, but this damn thing would not peel!
So I worked the grind on my waterstones from 400 to 3000
I rebeveled one side to an flat convex almost scandi
The other side to a flatter convex
It is now very sharp indeed and easy to get fine cuts and will peel and make curly feathersticks
Synopsis
My modification has made this knife in to my knife that fits and suits my needs in the field, and does not reflect any defect in the knife design
An excellent knife with a very comfortable handle good for both pull and push cuts
The blade for its length cuts well and is easy to use for both hard use and fine cuts
I would highly recommend this as a go-to knife in the field
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