TOPS Power Eagle 12

crossada · Dec 16, 2010

i wish TOPS would put out more flat grinds as opposed to their more common hollow/saber grinds.

Great review as always Mist.

Mistwalker · Dec 16, 2010

untamed said:
1/4" thick? Other than that, reminds me of the all-'rounders we have in this part of the world (SE Asia).

As always, nice bushcrafty-applications review Mist!

Yeah, it's a Barong on steroids

Thanks man, glad you enjoyed the post.

DennisStrickland · Dec 16, 2010

mist you really do great reviews all those pics plus tons of cutting. this time of year works for choppers since the sweat is'nt running in our eyes. thanks man--dennis

WILLIAM.M · Dec 16, 2010

Great Review and photos!!!

J.Davey · Dec 16, 2010

crossada said:
i wish TOPS would put out more flat grinds as opposed to their more common hollow/saber grinds.

Great review as always Mist.

I wish TOPS and other companies would use 5160 more often. Personally, I think that 1095 is over-used for 8-inch+ bladed knives. Don't get me wrong, I love 1095. On larger knives I prefer 5160, or even 1085. A little bit of extra toughness with very little loss of edge holding capability. Just my opinion.

Mistwalker · Dec 17, 2010

crossada said:
i wish TOPS would put out more flat grinds as opposed to their more common hollow/saber grinds.

Great review as always Mist.

DennisStrickland said:
mist you really do great reviews all those pics plus tons of cutting. this time of year works for choppers since the sweat is'nt running in our eyes. thanks man--dennis

Thanks Dennis, glad you like them. Yep, this time of year getting warmed up by lots of chopping is a good thing...lol, not like in the summer here when the heat index is 112F

WILLIAM.M said:
Great Review and photos!!!

Thanks Bill, glad you liked it!

J.Davey said:
I wish TOPS and other companies would use 5160 more often. Personally, I think that 1095 is over-used for 8-inch+ bladed knives. Don't get me wrong, I love 1095. On larger knives I prefer 5160, or even 1085. A little bit of extra toughness with very little loss of edge holding capability. Just my opinion.

I like seeing more 5160 used on larger knives myself and I am a big 1095 fan...

A.L. · Dec 17, 2010

Mistwalker, your review threads are always great pleasure to read! (not to mention; to look too!)
It's impressive looking knife, and looks very functional. Im a bit too biased to convex I think, but I would surely like to give some swings with that.

Mistwalker · Dec 17, 2010

A.L. said:
Mistwalker, your review threads are always great pleasure to read! (not to mention; to look too!)
It's impressive looking knife, and looks very functional. Im a bit too biased to convex I think, but I would surely like to give some swings with that.

Thanks A.L., glad you enjoy them. I'm sure this one will end up with a convexed edge, that's just a natural occurrence of my sharpening. I'm thinking flat grind/convex edge will be a great combination.

J.Davey · Dec 17, 2010

mistwalker said:
I like seeing more 5160 used on larger knives myself and I am a big 1095 fan...

How cool would a Becker BK9 in 1/4 inch 5160 be??? Seriously. Let's be honest. How cool would the Becker line, in general, in 5160 be?:thumbup: Just sayin'.

barrabas74 · Dec 17, 2010

J.Davey said:
FINALLY! I've been waiting for someone to do a review of this monster. Glad to see it was you, Mistwalker, as your reviews are always thorough and realistic. Thanks! I think I might have to pick one of these up when finances allow.

Second that! I have been wanting to see one in action for months now. I want this knife now as I was on the edge before not sure how it would chop or what the balance would be like. Great Review!

Mistwalker · Dec 17, 2010

J.Davey said:
How cool would a Becker BK9 in 1/4 inch 5160 be??? Seriously. Let's be honest. How cool would the Becker line, in general, in 5160 be?:thumbup: Just sayin'.

I think that with the grind of the BK-9 1/4" 5160 may be a bit heavy but a 5160 version of the BK-9 as is would be pretty sweet. Not sure 5160 would be any improvement at all to the BK-2 but that's just my opinion as I like 1095CV also.

Mistwalker · Dec 17, 2010

barrabas74 said:
Second that! I have been wanting to see one in action for months now. I want this knife now as I was on the edge before not sure how it would chop or what the balance would be like. Great Review!

It chops really well, and I like the balance too. Just blade heavy enough that I never had any issues carrying the knife unretained through the fields and brush but still not fatiguing to the wrist in use.

TheGame · Dec 17, 2010

I have been waiting for a good review on this. I have only seen them online and handled one once, and I wasn't sure I would like it or not. I like choppers, but when I handled it, it didn't feel like any other knife I own. I wasn't sure if that was good or not, but seeing the results makes me think it was good.

Great review as usual :thumbup:

untamed · Dec 18, 2010

mistwalker said:
Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it.

It may not be their primary grind, but it's not like TOPS doesn't do flat grinds. Normally I just tell people to look and they'll see but this comes up a lot and since this one is a flat grind it's relevant so here are links to some of their flat grinds. I own and have done reviews on a few of these.

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=313&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=330&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=282&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=339&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=299&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=210&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=296&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=300&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=283&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=105&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=2&products_id=258&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=304&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=114&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

YES! :thumbup: Thanks Mist for posting a reference for those more "practical" TOPS blades! I'll add one more to those, the Indio

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=246&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

Mistwalker · Dec 18, 2010

TheGame said:
I have been waiting for a good review on this. I have only seen them online and handled one once, and I wasn't sure I would like it or not. I like choppers, but when I handled it, it didn't feel like any other knife I own. I wasn't sure if that was good or not, but seeing the results makes me think it was good.

Great review as usual :thumbup:

Thanks T.G., yep the P.E. really doesn't feel much different in the hand than a lot of other choppers I've had but the grind, blade geometry, and weight distribution come together in a combination that allow it to function in a pretty special way. It is definitely the best chopper and rough-use chopper I've ever had. It just flat gets the job done, and will still handle a lot of finer work too.

untamed said:
YES! :thumbup: Thanks Mist for posting a reference for those more "practical" TOPS blades! I'll add one more to those, the Indio

http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=246&osCsid=qemsigcbnuflm8gt9sbc2nn9a4

Ah yes, the Indio, I had forgotten that one. I like the review Reuben did of it a while back, it's a good looking knife too :thumbup:

.

HISknife · Dec 20, 2010

Mate, you're tarp is AWESOME! The knife is top notch, as well. It's always satisfying to see any knives being used in the field. Actually, I am looking for a chopper to alternate with my Basic-11......

BFH44 · Dec 29, 2010

Thanks for the great pics and descriptions, earlier you mentioned the steel eagle - did you mean the large one or the short one?

I have the "steel eagle 111 A " and i cant think of anything bad about it - even the sweet spot stays sharp after a beating.

i have been looking at their catalog wondering what i should get next and you helped me decide with this review; as well as the review you did on the Pathfinder -

i am asking - since you seem like the guy to ask -- i am thinking about this to take in the field hiking camping ect. - Power eagle and the XcEST BRAVO

I am thinking for Camping and such i want to take the Power eagle as well as the XcEST BRAVO or pathfinder for all around use - i figure between the two i have everything i need

(A) have you used the XcEST BRAVO if so do you prefere it or the pathfinder?

(B) what do you think of combination of Power eagle with one mentioned above for general outing tools?

Thank you
- Eric

Mistwalker · Dec 29, 2010

BFH44 said:
Thanks for the great pics and descriptions, earlier you mentioned the steel eagle - did you mean the large one or the short one?

I have the "steel eagle 111 A " and i cant think of anything bad about it - even the sweet spot stays sharp after a beating.

i have been looking at their catalog wondering what i should get next and you helped me decide with this review; as well as the review you did on the Pathfinder -

i am asking - since you seem like the guy to ask -- i am thinking about this to take in the field hiking camping ect. - Power eagle and the XcEST BRAVO

I am thinking for Camping and such i want to take the Power eagle as well as the XcEST BRAVO or pathfinder for all around use - i figure between the two i have everything i need

(A) have you used the XcEST BRAVO if so do you prefere it or the pathfinder?

(B) what do you think of combination of Power eagle with one mentioned above for general outing tools?

Thank you
- Eric

Yes, I was referring to the 111A, it is an awesome beast of a knife, but the Power Eagle with its flat grind is definitely a better chopper.

As for the combo I think the XCEST and the Power Eagle teamed together puts a great deal of capability in ones hands. The two make a great team.

As for preferring the Pathfinder or the XCEST I'd have to say that I prefer the EXCEST because it does bring more abilities to the table...though I do like the wicked sharp tip of the Pathfinder too.

As for the Bravo I have yet to try it out.

BFH44 · Dec 29, 2010

Thanks

mqqn · Dec 30, 2010

Hi mistwalker -

Another excellent review -

Thanks for taking time to review the knife and post all the pictures up! I really enjoyed reading your review.

best regards -

mqqn

TOPS Power Eagle 12

JD Inventory Reduction Specialist