TOPS knives differential heat treat?

V

Van Damage

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Hey guys, does anyone know for sure if TOPS are diff. heat treated. I read an old thread were Trace Renaldi said the armageddon from TOPS was differentailly treated and TOPS reply to an email I sent them was all there carbon steel blades are differentailly heat treated including the armageddon and power eagle. Does anyone have one stripped showing a hamon?
 
Differentialy heat treat does not mean that in all cases it will display a temper line
 
Wouldnt it on 1095 and 5160? I was wondering if anyone knew for sure cause its not advertised yet Trace and TOPS knives have said they were.
 
I actually have no idea. Tops does make a quality product though. I have an Alaskan Harpoon. I have dug into tree stumps looking for fat wood & even used it once to get something out of a tree for a neighbor kid by pounding it into the tree & stepping on it (210 lbs) with no issues.
 
Yea I beat both my armageddon and power eagle and havent had any problems. the armageddon is the best chopper and spliter out of all my big blades.
 
I believe most hamons are not readily visible, and the blade needs to be finished and treated in a way to "bring it out" so to speak. I could be wrong.

That said, I really doubt any real use would ever show the difference of a differentially treated small to medium sized knife.

Actually surprised to see a website listed the ESEE 3 as being differentially treated, too. Saw this last night when looking up specs.

My best guess is that if a well established company says it, it's probably true, but not to the extent that a custom knife is. I doubt they are putting clay on the spine to get that big difference which can really show up in a Hamon. It's probably more to do with the subtleties of quenching, tempering, and the fact that the spine it's so much thicker than the edge, that it might heat treat a tad softer... Once again, I could be wrong.
 
There are different ways to differentially heat treat a blade

There is the Japanese way of using clay

There is the European draw back method

And a few others

Not all show a temper line

You do not need clay to show a temper line either
 
cool thanks guys for the info. I agree that its kinda pointless to diff treat a small knife, but the armageddon and power eagle are 10 and 12 inches long. Ive got a junglas and swamp rat R9 as well,so far. Its good to know all my choppers have a proper heat treat.
 
I must disagree, respectfully. I see a huge benefit in a small knife with harder edge than its competition. a small knife will more likely be used for controlled cuts, where edge retention will really count. I've been looking for a small, tough fixed blade with good edge retention, and 1095 is my steel of choice. The benefit of the toughness and added edge retention makes it a win win for me, at a decent price. Just my two cents.
 
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