Tops Felony Stop

T

TalentedMrRipley

Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
25
I have been eyeing this knife for a bit, http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=249. I am just about to pull the trigger but would like to know if anyone has recommendations for something that is comparably priced and sized that they think is better. A couple caveats to that. I need something under 4" and preferably 3.5" or less. I like the horizontal carry option, that is how I plan on doing it. Also I need something that doesn't look scary. I work in an office and don't want people freaking out when I open a box. So while cool, something like this http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=173 is out. Lastly, something priced about the same. Thanks!
 
If you pull that out in an office, or public setting, the SHEEPLE wil most likely light up the 911 dispatchers board with more BLEATS than you can imagine.

Gibby
 
You might be the felony stop.
 
I don't plan on flashing it around :) I do carry a Kershaw folder with a blade about the same length now, so they are used to that. I don't think I could get away with a 6" behemoth or something all serrated and scary/aggresive. I think this is small enough and innocuous enough to be passable.
 
any particular reason you want a double-edged knife, and are they legal where you live/work?
 
Uh, Mr. Ripley? What planet are you from:confused: You seriously think that carrying and using a knife like that Tops, in an office setting, would be "innocuous"? Good luck with that . . .
 
Do you already carry a knife? Do the people in the workplace know about it? Is your boss ok with it?
I'm sure if you went and asked your boss about that knife, they would say no, and would probably tell you never to bring a knife in again.
Now, remember that people are scared of sudden change, but smooth changes over a long period of time can be done (that's how we got all these stupid knife laws to begin with).
My thought is, start off with a small SAK, or Spyderco Ladybug. If people see those, they probably won't put up too much of a fuss. Then once you know the people around you are accustomed and ok with something like that, bring in something a little bit bigger.
After a few years of progressive upgrades and a good reputation with your fellow workers, you might even be able to pull off carrying the Tops FS (eventually the occasional visit from the Tom Brown Tracker would be possible, though that's a little far fetched).
For now, take it easy.
 
just from tops, without any other companies getting involved, any of these knives may suit you better, and at least be a little more discreet and sheeple friendly:
Baghdad Box Cutter
Baghdad Bullet
Blue Otter
Desert Son
Ferret - this one looks like a far better bet
Hoffman Lite Hunter
Sneaky Pete Mini
parrow Hawke - annother fairly freindly looking one.
Walk-About Micarta
 
TalentedMrRipley said:
I don't plan on flashing it around :) I do carry a Kershaw folder with a blade about the same length now, so they are used to that. I don't think I could get away with a 6" behemoth or something all serrated and scary/aggresive. I think this is small enough and innocuous enough to be passable.
Click to expand...

Maybe try the Buck Mayo Kaala. Fits your requirements on size, S30V steel and roughly half the price.

Overall Length: 6.75"
Blade Length: 3.12"
Blade Thickness: 0.125"
Blade Material: CPM-S30V Stainless
Handle Material: CPM-S30V
Handle Length: 3.63"
Weight: 1.90 oz.
Sheath: Molded Nylon

Gibby
 
You might consider a Cold Steel American Lawman. It's got a 3.5-inch blade, the strongest folder lock available and it's not imposing. The Spyderco Native is an exceptional knife, too. You might also try the somewhat stubby CRKT Thunderbolt I or II, especially the II.
 
Confederate said:
You might consider a Cold Steel American Lawman. It's got a 3.5-inch blade, the strongest folder lock available and it's not imposing. The Spyderco Native is an exceptional knife, too. You might also try the somewhat stubby CRKT Thunderbolt I or II, especially the II.
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I'm pretty sure he's looking for a fixed blade with sheath, rigged horisontally on his belt/waistband, to either accompany, or replace, his folder.

Gibby
 
Yes I currently carry a knife at work. Both my direct supervisor and next manager up the line know about it. They have both seen me use it on multiple occasions and borrowed it to use themselves. Its an assisted open Kershaw with a 3.25" partially serrated blade. I do not think that Felony Stops additional 1/4 makes it look that much scarier. I also dress such that mounted on my belt you won't see it unless I am using it or retrieving/storing it. As far as I know a double edged blade is legal. And yes as GibbyX guessed I am looking for something to supplement or replace my existing folder. The goal is to find something that mounts on my belt on the opposite side of my body from my carry weapon. I am looking for a fixed blade that I can use to open boxes, which I do a lot of, and if necessary for self defense. There aren't to many times when given the choice that I would opt for a knife over my pistol but in those situation I think a good fixed blade would be ideal. Plus it puts it on my weak side so that if my strong arm is disabled I could more easily access it. Hopefully that helps explain a bit better. Thanks for all the input!
 
BenchmadeBoy said:
Uh, Mr. Ripley? What planet are you from:confused: You seriously think that carrying and using a knife like that Tops, in an office setting, would be "innocuous"? Good luck with that . . .
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Pretty harsh tone there, or could just be the way I read it. May I remind you that in different states there are different attitudes and laws. Even more so when we are talking about completely different countries. The United States of America is still for the most part a free country. We are not yet a socialist nanny state. We trust our fellow citizens with not only knives but with guns as well. In most states in The United States of America, it is legal to openly carry a pistol on your hip no registration or permit required. Just as in most states any law abiding citizen can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

In many places it is a given that most men have a knife and carry a gun. Of course in others the very thought of anyone having either causes the metro sexual males to piddle their panties. A perfect example is where I live in Washington state it is not uncommon to see someone open carry and most folks have knives of one sort or another. For instance at a wood stove store the sales guy had a glock on his hip and some sort of sheath knife next to it. At the bank one of the tellers also open carries, I think others carry concealed. Personally I carry four knives on my person at any given time, lately I have added a BK2 that I wear around the homestead and locally. But now I would never consider doing so just across the water in the Peoples Republic of Seattle. As I have seen a couple of the androgynous Seatte-lites jump back staining their pink and green camouflage pants brown as if I had drawn a rattlesnake from my pocket at the sight of my Kershaw.

Point of this long winded post is that the OP's question is not as absurd as you seem to think it is.
 
Really looks like you missed the 'in an office setting' part, especially where the topic starter himself said he doesn't want to freak people out; meaning that the people he works with could get freaked out by a knife.
 
TalentedMrRipley said:
Yes I currently carry a knife at work. Both my direct supervisor and next manager up the line know about it. They have both seen me use it on multiple occasions and borrowed it to use themselves. Its an assisted open Kershaw with a 3.25" partially serrated blade. I do not think that Felony Stops additional 1/4 makes it look that much scarier. I also dress such that mounted on my belt you won't see it unless I am using it or retrieving/storing it. As far as I know a double edged blade is legal. And yes as GibbyX guessed I am looking for something to supplement or replace my existing folder. The goal is to find something that mounts on my belt on the opposite side of my body from my carry weapon. I am looking for a fixed blade that I can use to open boxes, which I do a lot of, and if necessary for self defense. There aren't to many times when given the choice that I would opt for a knife over my pistol but in those situation I think a good fixed blade would be ideal. Plus it puts it on my weak side so that if my strong arm is disabled I could more easily access it. Hopefully that helps explain a bit better. Thanks for all the input!
Click to expand...


Mr. Ripley, I would highly suggest you research your local laws before putting it to the test and finding out the hard way. The "I thought it was legal" tends to carry no weight with the police or the judge. If you want to portray yourself as being responsible with a knife, then you should be responsible enough to know what is legal/illegal concerning knives, their carry and their use, period! And I'm not even getting into the pistol you mentioned.

Although I kind of jumped in with a snide comment on my first post, Long.Rider is correct in as much as we do not know the environment of his "office". It may be a gun shop, or a lumberyard or whatever. The OP has
not supplied us with that and only recently let us know his direct and one tier up supervision is okay with the Kershaw folder. But, he did express this notion: "Also I need something that doesn't look scary. I work in an office and don't want people freaking out when I open a box."

Ripley, I totally understand your want for a small fixed, horizontal carry because I am still experimenting with something similar. That being said, alot of suggestions of alternates have been given (as you asked for) without any response from you on those models. So, it sounds like you are pretty set on owning the TOPS so, get it. Then, take it to work, preferably in the box it came in, and show it to your supervisors explaining your reasons for wanting to use it for work. Ask THEM if that would be okay. Then, you'll have your answer. Getting your answer AFTER an "office personell" gets scared and reports you and your only defense is "well, you were okay with the folder so I just thought..." wouldn't be pretty and could jeopardise your job. BUT, whatever you do I'd still say check your laws before you carry.

By the way, it's not the blade length of the TOPS knife that gives it a sheeple unfriendly look. It has that military, tactical, single-minded use look to it.

Gibby
 
Long.Rider has it about right. While I am in an office setting the sight of a knife isn't going to cause people to go into convulsions. I do however realize that there are limits to what is passable at work. So I have to compromise a bit. But if you read Szabo's description of the original, "We avoided the use of aggressive lines in the design, making the Felony Stop "politically correct" and acceptable by most agencies. Not being offensive to the public, the felony Stop can pass as a utility knife.", it was designed to be both a weapon and a tool but to not scare the tourists. That was part of my reasoning for selecting it. If I wanted bigger and scarier there are lots of options and I own a 5" serrated Spyerdco folder that gets looks. I am not concerned about this particular knife causing a ruckus in my office as long as I don't use it in an threatening or inappropriate manner. Mainly what I was looking for were opinions on possible alternatives that accomplish the same things this knife does that I haven't stumbled across yet. And while I appreciate the "Don't scare the sheeple!" discussion it seems to have side tracked the discussion more than I intended when I said nothing scary. As long as I don't pull out a Rambo number or something "evil" looking I am not worried that it will be an issue where I work. I have worked here for over a year and have used my knife on almost a daily basis with nary a raised eyebrow. At the same time I do realize that there are some knives that would definitely raise an eyebrow, like the one I mentioned in the first post. I have also read up on the laws here. 3.5" inches is fine concealed. There is no specific mention of a prohibition on double bladed. And yes I do have a permit to carry my firearm. Does my employer know? No. Would they allow it? Probably not. I have made the decision to do so anyway and that is a discussion for another time if you disagree.

Gibby, I have looked at all of the Tops knives before posting and didn't see anything else that I liked better and fit the requirements. A decent number of the other recommendations were folders. I have looked at the Buck, doesn't appear to offer horizontal belt carry. Looked at the Boker and honestly it just doesn't strike my fancy. I think at this point I would like to revise my original request and drop the "nothing scary" provision and just ask, do you have alternate recommendations that fit the other aforementioned guidelines?

Thanks for all the responses!
Ripley
 
I like the idea of a small fixed blade. I think you should avoid a double edge, if possible. It is more hazardous and unnecessary for utility. Still the Felony Stop is a beautiful design.

If you want to try something more elegant, and willing to pay a bit more, take a look at the small knives from Bob Dozier. I have the Canoe and Arkansas Toothpick, which you can get in a crossdraw, canted sheath, his Style A.
 
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TalentedMrRipley said:
Long.Rider has it about right. While I am in an office setting the sight of a knife isn't going to cause people to go into convulsions. I do however realize that there are limits to what is passable at work. So I have to compromise a bit. But if you read Szabo's description of the original, "We avoided the use of aggressive lines in the design, making the Felony Stop "politically correct" and acceptable by most agencies. Not being offensive to the public, the felony Stop can pass as a utility knife.", it was designed to be both a weapon and a tool but to not scare the tourists. That was part of my reasoning for selecting it. If I wanted bigger and scarier there are lots of options and I own a 5" serrated Spyerdco folder that gets looks. I am not concerned about this particular knife causing a ruckus in my office as long as I don't use it in an threatening or inappropriate manner. Mainly what I was looking for were opinions on possible alternatives that accomplish the same things this knife does that I haven't stumbled across yet. And while I appreciate the "Don't scare the sheeple!" discussion it seems to have side tracked the discussion more than I intended when I said nothing scary. As long as I don't pull out a Rambo number or something "evil" looking I am not worried that it will be an issue where I work. I have worked here for over a year and have used my knife on almost a daily basis with nary a raised eyebrow. At the same time I do realize that there are some knives that would definitely raise an eyebrow, like the one I mentioned in the first post. I have also read up on the laws here. 3.5" inches is fine concealed. There is no specific mention of a prohibition on double bladed. And yes I do have a permit to carry my firearm. Does my employer know? No. Would they allow it? Probably not. I have made the decision to do so anyway and that is a discussion for another time if you disagree.

Gibby, I have looked at all of the Tops knives before posting and didn't see anything else that I liked better and fit the requirements. A decent number of the other recommendations were folders. I have looked at the Buck, doesn't appear to offer horizontal belt carry. Looked at the Boker and honestly it just doesn't strike my fancy. I think at this point I would like to revise my original request and drop the "nothing scary" provision and just ask, do you have alternate recommendations that fit the other aforementioned guidelines?

Thanks for all the responses!
Ripley
Click to expand...

Mr Ripley, my sincere apologies for sidetracking.

Concerning this recent post, I would say keep a copy of Szabo's marketing pitch with the knife at all times in order to "talk down" the sheeple after they have a panic attack.
As for the knife, do as I am. I have one custom small, fixed being made which comes with it's own sheath. Next up, I will purchase a small, fixed production knife (undecided yet which one) and have a custom sheath made which is rigged for horizontal carry only - no adjustable. Just one that threads on my belt and takes up a footprint no wider than my belt. Basically, like a necker on your belt.
I highly suggest you explore the custom market, there are some great makers here on the forum as well as world wide. For the price of the "FELONY STOP", you could get a very nice little custom FB, made with your input.
Okay, I'm done.

Gibby
 
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