Tops SXB, First Impressions and Pics!

M

mastiffhound

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Dec 27, 2013
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My Tops SXB came in today and while I'm happy, I'm a little disappointed at the same time. I thought that I'd get this up before other folks find out and start with the angry posts.

I'll start with the "specs"-

Overall length listed on Tops site- 16.75"
Actual length- 15.75"

Blade length listed on Tops site- 10.38"
Actual length-9.25"

Weight (knife only) listed on Tops site- 26 oz
Actual weight- 26.5 oz

Actual weight with sheath (not listed by Tops)- 2 lbs 5oz or 37 oz

This is the source of my disappointment, somehow a full inch was lost? That is however where my disappointment ends.

Time for a starter pic!


It is handsome to my eye, my niece upon seeing it thought it looked similar to a Spartan sword on 300. She instantly wanted to handle it as did my nephew. It fit both their hands well, at least that's what they told me. It fit my hand perfect and the scales were well finished. The Rocky Mountain Tread didn't bother me but I'm a blue collar guy and my sandpaper hands will probably damage the micarta instead of it damaging them. Everything was rounded and I didn't find any hot spots, that could change when I get a chance to use it.

The finish/blade coating is very even and I can't find a single spot of error. Comparing it to my RTAK II, well it beats the pants off of it. That's to be expected though, It's a $210 (what I paid) knife compared to a $80 knife (I despise the posts that list the MSRP!). I'd be pretty perturbed if it wasn't finished to a higher level than the RTAK II!

Lots of folks have said that their Tops Knives were "butter knife" sharp. Not the SXB I recieved! It shaved the hair on my hand easily, here's a pic-


It cut paper easily at all parts of the blade, even the hook/draw was super sharp. The edge was almost polished, though I could still see some faint marks. It is tip heavy, it reminds me of a more balanced hatchet. The tip is very pointy but looks strong and I'd not expect a failure unless I tried to pry an engine out of a VW or something else as foolish. The lower part of the blade (draw knife) is indeed thinner ground at the edge than the upper "head"/main cutting edge.

The sheath was a pleasant surprise though some might still be disappointed. It does have some rattle, but it's not terrible. More like thumps than rattle really. The straps that hold the SXB in the sheath at the handle are the big win, at least for me. It has Velcro and buttons, I wonder if this was recommended by EJ Snyder? I'd have to have a pretty stupid day to lose the SXB. The Velcro seems somewhat subdued, it's not that loud paper tearing sound that most Velcro makes. The nylon feels more rigid than the nylon on my RTAK II sheath too. I'd rather have had a kydex sheath but this will work just fine.

Here are the rest of the pics!!!-

Next to the RTAK II for size comparison-


Lastly, in their sheaths-


My nephew was smart and asked if he could get my RTAK II seeing as how I have a replacement. His birthday is in a week (which he made sure to remind me) so I said ok. Oh well, it gives me an excuse to get another big chopper as a backup!

I'll also be posting this in general discussion, it might help someone to have the real specs. If I wasn't such an affable guy I might have sent it back for the specs being an inch off. It looks like it was supposed to be this size as the sheath fits and is the only Tops sheath I've seen come with both Velcro and buttons. I'm pleased with it though, it helps to remember that humans aren't perfect. If you guys have any questions then ask away, I try to get them answered to the best of my ability. Have a good night folks!
 
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I found a couple more pics I took yesterday, they must have still been loading from my phone.

Closer view of the blades-


On the sheath-
 
Thanks for the first impression and pics.
Looks like a knife you can have some good fun with.
I'm a big fan of the wsk designs so very interested to see/hear how this newcomer performs.
Enjoy your new steel buddy!
 
Just me or does it look very similar to the Old RazR ?






Me thinks there is a little copying there ! :eek:
 
How big was the RAZR? The SXB looks like a little more refined or simple (maybe less costly to produce) version without the hook and draw knife ledge? My buddy has a Tracker and they look similar but are very different at the same time. The SXB's size was the big plus for me, the Tracker was just too small for me to chop with and the finger guard on the Tracker just wasn't big enough for my taste. The SXB reminds me of a more balanced hatchet with an extra cutting edge. I'll try to get some time with it this weekend or the next and see if it works out better for me than my RTAK II. I'll post when I get a chance to use it and try to get some pics while I'm at it.

I just caught the blade bug this year, so everything is kind of new to me. At this point in time I'm not sure anybody is going to come up with something truly "new". New materials are a possibility but almost everyone makes a bowie, kukri, bolo, dagger, WSK, etc shaped blades. Bushcraft knives are a good example, who isn't making a version now? This is not an excuse, but this is the best answer I can come up with at this time with my very limited knife experience. The knife/blade industry seems similar to the firearms industry, a bunch of different takes on a lot of the same patterns/designs. I don't think that's a bad thing though, I like having lots of options;)

Does anyone else find it strange that the MSRP on the Tracker #1 is $10 more than the much larger SXB? More steel and more micarta can't be cheaper to produce can it?
 
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Nice knife. Congrats on a cool blade. The wsk design isn't for me though. I bought the original Tracker a long time ago and ended up selling it within a few months. Still, I enjoy watching EJ Snyder work with the SXB on Naked and Afraid XL. Pretty cool to see the designer of the knife using it in a "survival" situation.
 
Thanks for your post. I think the SXB looks like a fun knife to own.
 
I sent Tops an email about the size discrepancy, they said it was listed wrong and changed the measurements on their site.

New measurements on Tops site is-

Overall length- 15.75" (Same as mine)

Blade length- 9.38" (I got 9.25")

Weight- 26 oz (I got 26.5)

Weight with sheath- 34 oz (I got 37)

The new measurements are much closer to my own. So this is in fact the actual size, in the catalog it states that "Because each knife is hand finished overall sizes may vary 1/8" to 1/4" on the same model". So if you were looking for a 10" chopper the SXB doesn't quite get there. I will try to get out and use it this weekend, I just had too much to do last weekend. I'll put an update up once I put steel to wood.
 
Ooh, im tempted to buy this on looks alone... But I guess ill wait for some field tests to circulate before I start throwing my money around.
-John
 
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JN7556 said:
Ooh, im tempted to buy this on looks alone... But I guess ill wait for some field tests to circulate before I start throwing my money around.
-John
Click to expand...

EJ is a good friend of mine, and this knife was made for him and him only. Not made to promote himself with a knife maker, or for TOPS to pimp him out in order to sell more knives. This knife going to market is just a benefit of him looking for his perfect knife.

He is not a knife guy (like us knife knuts); wanted a tool that could do it all, be abused, used, hacked, chopped, etc... I actually handled the same one he used in Naked and Afraid XL for 40 days, and you could tell it was used hard. And it held up well.

I have no vested interest with TOPS or the SXB, but just trying to give you a little background on it. I'll probably end up getting one since I'm a knife slut. :)
 
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