Tops Devil's claw 2, any love? Or hate?

BlindMouse2of3

BlindMouse2of3

Gold Member
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
1,585
So I'm a mechanic by trade and keep looking for the right (weak side?) knife. I'm highly ambidextrous but my primary knife / gun side is right hand. I have a microtech SBK that works well enough for SD but it's a little big and has little use for utility. I had a firecraft 3.5 for awhile. Sold it to a friend about the time I was starting to warm up to it but it worked good for utility purposes once I got the bevels corrected. It's been about 8 months and I just haven't found a good replacement. I'd buy another firecraft but I didn't love it enough to buy another unless the price was right. I just ran across the tops Devil's claw 2 and think it might fit the bill. I do like the ring attachment for drawing the knife.

Now to my first world problem. I'm not in a place to order another random knife that might be right as I just recently changed my primary folder from the Kershaw SO82BLk to the Benchmade Claymore. Right after ordering a tkc field buddy 5.5 but before buying a kabar tdi. The tdi is comfortable to carry once it was changed to a horizontal mount on a teklok. The big issue with it is the finish instantly started flaking off. I would have returned it but I cut on the sheath before a started playing with the knife. Also I think I'm more interested in a hawkbill rather than a sharp karambit angle. So short story incredibly long if you've gotten this far and you have experience with the tops what's the good bad and ugly?

Edit to add:
If you have a suggestion for that shape of knife under 8" oal I'm happy to entertain options. Would like to keep it under $150. I'm trying to avoid beating on an "expensive" knife.
 
Last edited:
unwisefool said:
I am also highly ambitious. I plan to be the first dictator of Mars.
Click to expand...
Remove the "tator" and you won't be far off.

I don't know much about karambit type knives, but I've heard good things about the Tops company. A guy I know swears by their "bushcraft" knives.
 
I've had a few tops knives in the past. Don't always care for the names but I've never broken one. The karambit part is my concern as well. From the pictures it looks like it would still have good utility use but nobody local has one in stock.
 
Karambit is mostly for self defense, and then you'd have to entertain the people who argue that knives aren't good for self defense. It sounds to me like you want a good all around beater. I'd suggest the Esee 3 or Esee 4 (6 if you're frisky) for something like that. Their warranty is rock solid, and you can save 100$ in some cases by buying it from Amazon. You're looking at like 120-160$ for a good Esee w/ g10/sheath.
Good luck, pal :)

Edit: (with all that being said the Devil's Claw 2 looks like an awesome karambit lol)
 
I was eyeing the esee-3 at the local shop the other day. Looked good was just hoping to find something with the ring on it. I may pick up a 3 as they do look like a handy size. I just bought a field buddy 5.5 so I don't need a esee-6. But it's to big for shop work.
 
It is a solid, quality knife. I wear it as a necker sometimes. It is on the heavy side, however.

Tops does their 1095 very well.

fOZQWFQ.jpg
 
BlindMouse2of3 said:
I was eyeing the esee-3 at the local shop the other day. Looked good was just hoping to find something with the ring on it. I may pick up a 3 as they do look like a handy size. I just bought a field buddy 5.5 so I don't need a esee-6. But it's to big for shop work.
Click to expand...
The 4 is pretty much the 3 but slightly bigger. The 5 is again, slightly bigger, but MUCH thicker. I'm almost thinking the 4'd be perfect for you. I believe it comes with a lanyard hole so at the very least you could make a paracord ring ;D.

Edit: As for shop work, maybe the Izula II would be even better than 3.
 
I have a collection of moras in the 4" range aswell. The hawkbill is of great interest for popping zip ties and stripping wire. A long time ago I used to have a Emerson la griffe that was great for the same tasks. I ended up getting rid of it because I'd always forget about it going through TSA when I flew to work. Occasionally they got a little to excited. I think I'm just going to have to buy one as my next knife purchase and see. Then I'll put the esee-3 on the list right after the Osborne auto.
 
BlindMouse2of3 said:
So I'm a mechanic by trade and keep looking for the right (weak side?) knife. I'm highly ambidextrous but my primary knife / gun side is right hand. I have a microtech SBK that works well enough for SD but it's a little big and has little use for utility. I had a firecraft 3.5 for awhile. Sold it to a friend about the time I was starting to warm up to it but it worked good for utility purposes once I got the bevels corrected. It's been about 8 months and I just haven't found a good replacement. I'd buy another firecraft but I didn't love it enough to buy another unless the price was right. I just ran across the tops Devil's claw 2 and think it might fit the bill. I do like the ring attachment for drawing the knife.

Now to my first world problem. I'm not in a place to order another random knife that might be right as I just recently changed my primary folder from the Kershaw SO82BLk to the Benchmade Claymore. Right after ordering a tkc field buddy 5.5 but before buying a kabar tdi. The tdi is comfortable to carry once it was changed to a horizontal mount on a teklok. The big issue with it is the finish instantly started flaking off. I would have returned it but I cut on the sheath before a started playing with the knife. Also I think I'm more interested in a hawkbill rather than a sharp karambit angle. So short story incredibly long if you've gotten this far and you have experience with the tops what's the good bad and ugly?

Edit to add:
If you have a suggestion for that shape of knife under 8" oal I'm happy to entertain options. Would like to keep it under $150. I'm trying to avoid beating on an "expensive" knife.
Click to expand...

I say stay away from knives with rings...in a stressful situation, all your fine motor skills will be gone. The karambit is a farming tool, not a weapon. Stabby knives will always be better for SD.
 
GAGL said:
I say stay away from knives with rings...in a stressful situation, all your fine motor skills will be gone. The karambit is a farming tool, not a weapon. Stabby knives will always be better for SD.
Click to expand...
Honestly it'd be a 95% utility purchase for me. I carry a firearm for when I'm heading out into the world but frankly I'm not a high speed individual and tend to try and avoid bad situations.
 
GAGL said:
....in a stressful situation, all your fine motor skills will be gone.
Click to expand...

I won't get too deep into this and derail the thread, but that concept has been disproven long ago.

I am a firearms and force-on-force instructor for several agencies, and if that were the case - no one would be able to pull the trigger in a "stressful" situation.

Training and muscle memory > fine motor skills.
 
I find hawkbill blades quite useful for many tasks. Carried a Byrd crossbill for 3 or 4 years as my only knife for work.

The devil claw looks like a decent knife for utility since it doesn't have an aggressive curve. Tops makes solid knives.

For folders, spyderco makes pretty good hawkbills for utility use. I still have my crossbill from years ago and I use it to cut rubber hose and tube in the garage when I need to do such a thing. I carry a cold steel when doing yard work often as it makes quick work vegetation, basically a pruning blade. I'm not a fan of the finger ring but haven't taken the time to cut it off yet either.

The blackjack model 155 might be an interesting option if you decide to do a different blade shape. I see likited availability currently but a pre-order from one website so maybe there is still some coming.

The tops lite trecker does 't have a finger hole but does have a large hole in the handle that may facilitate what you're after in the ring. Again, different blade shape. I liked the lite trekker more than the Esee 3 or 4 as the handle worked for me a little better. If considering an esee 4, I do really like the HM handles from esee.
 
The finger ring for me is mostly to draw the knife with a shorter handle. It keeps me from putting a finger on the blade when in a tight spot under a piece of equipment. Cutting zip ties and opening wiring harnesses are a regular thing for me. When I have the knife for use with a utility use in mind the ring just becomes part of the handle.
 
shane45-1911 said:
I won't get too deep into this and derail the thread, but that concept has been disproven long ago.

I am a firearms and force-on-force instructor for several agencies, and if that were the case - no one would be able to pull the trigger in a "stressful" situation.

Training and muscle memory > fine motor skills.
Click to expand...
I concur, and can speak from experience.
 
BlindMouse2of3 said:
The finger ring for me is mostly to draw the knife with a shorter handle. It keeps me from putting a finger on the blade when in a tight spot under a piece of equipment. Cutting zip ties and opening wiring harnesses are a regular thing for me. When I have the knife for use with a utility use in mind the ring just becomes part of the handle.
Click to expand...

I understand. I use a short piece of string or fob/lanyard for that kind of thing. Catch the knot with your pinky and comes right out. It's reasonably common on smaller fixed blades.

Just to point out another solution that could give you more knife options to look at that don't have finger rings.

20210704_061726.jpg
 
Fumetsu said:
The 4 is pretty much the 3 but slightly bigger. The 5 is again, slightly bigger, but MUCH thicker. I'm almost thinking the 4'd be perfect for you. I believe it comes with a lanyard hole so at the very least you could make a paracord ring ;D.

Edit: As for shop work, maybe the Izula II would be even better than 3.
Click to expand...
I haven't handled the izula-II, I do have an izula somewhere in my garage.... It normally hangs on the wall next to my keys for breaking down all the misc cardboard that comes through the house. The 2 with the longer handle is interesting but the shape doesn't work well for zip ties and opening harnesses. I need more of a point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top