Tops

[Blade-Addict]

I know this is the Busse knife part of the forum but I wanted some truly good advice from some people who definately know toughness in a knife. So I came to the Busse section.

What I was wondering was have any of you hardcore knife fans dealt with any of the TOPS tactical knives? If so, how have they handled in extreme conditions and how do they measure up to the quality of a busse knife.

Thanks everyone. I hope I didn't offend anyone for asking about something besides busse but I don't have the cash for busse right now and I thought I'd check these out.

Blade-Addict

 

[Climber]

Blade-Addict -- Howdy!
You wrote:

...I don't have the cash for busse right now ...

Ah, but they are WORTH it... So SAVE those Shekels!
Don't give in to the temptation of a "lesser" blade!
Resist her, man, resist!
(Run, Forest, Run...)

TOPS makes their knives out of 1095 Steel.
It's some basic stuff.
It ain't INFI.
It won't be as tough.
It won't hold an edge anywhere near as long.
ANYWHERE NEAR....
(Did someone say 2771 pieces of 1" Manila Rope without dulling?)
1095 won't resist rust & corrosion.
the Strength, Overall, & Lateral, won't be nearly as much.
You might not give it to your kids or grandkids after you've used it.

(Y'know the really good thing about this forum? i'm not an advertiser! i don't have to say: "all knives are equal," or some such silly nonsense! Ha! Try to find an HONEST APPRAISAL, based upon experience, from a magazine review, and OOPS, not this month, sorry. )

So, my advice? WAIT for the Best, by saving your money: buy a Busse: you WILL NOT be disappointed... If for ANY reason you aren't satisfied with it, guess what? you will find PLENTY of folks willing to tkake it off your hands 'round heah... If you buy the TOPS, you may be satisfied; but then, you may say to yourself: i should have waited & bought the Best; now i really CAN'T afford it. Take the Path To Least Regret, my friend; it's the Way of Less Pain, in the end, too...
Yours,
Climber Clif

 

[1whobuys]

Hi BA,

I saw a used Tops for sale today for $250.00 firm.
At that price you are within Busse range.
For just a little extra, you get a whole lot more for your money with the Busse.

Do a search and read up on both knifes, and you'll get the right one.
It will be cheaper in the long run to save up for the Busse.
You can get it, use it, and sell it and still get most of your money back.
And in most cases if it gets discontinued it will be worth more.
Good luck

 

[Eric Isaacson]

BA,
Welcome to the Forums, glad you stopped by. I hope you stick around and join in our discussions.

I hope I didn't offend anyone for asking about something besides busse but I don't have the cash for busse right now

On the Busse forum, we aren't offended by an honest question so don't be concerned about that.
Although a Busse may initially SEEM expensive over the long term they are not. It has a warranty for life, it doesn't matter if you are the original owner, it doesn't matter if you have a receipt and it doesn't matter where you bought it from. Most importantly it doesn't matter what you were using it for if it was damaged. It's covered.

Some of the other knife companies put many of these limitations on their knives. Before you buy, you may want to check out Tops warranty and see what it says.

As Climber has mentioned the Busse will last forever, a knife you can hand down to your children AND the warranty goes with it. A Busse could be the one fixed blade you buy, as opposed to the many other brands you buy. Therefore the initial cost of the Busse spread over the long term, actually just adds up to a few dollars a year.

You didn't mention what size of knife you are looking for, however, Busse has some knves in the $115-$170 range with the Assault Shaker and the Killer B, take a look and see if these will fit your needs. I hope this was helpful.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I have used a Steel Eagle, Busse Basic #7 and Straight Handled Battle Mistress.

Handle :

The Steel Eagle, like many TOPS knives has steel ridges along the top of the grip. These are very abrasive, more so for example that the Strider cord wrap or the Reeves checkered steel grip. I found them to not be functional for heavy use with bare hands. However they are very secure, and are among the few knives that you can use with full confidence with fear of no slips when your grip is oily/soaped etc. .

Geometry :

The edge on the TOPS is straight with no curvature, which while making sharpening easy, does reduce overall cutting ability. The primary grind is also shallow and leaves the edge thick which is sharpened at an acute angle. It will be out cut many times to one by a similar sized Busse blade.

Steel :

Low in abrasion resistance so the edge is lost quickly on gritty materials. The corrosion resistance is low and the coating comes off easily so rust is more of a problem than with a Busse blade. The steel also has durability / strength problems as I bent mine, broke the tip off twice, and broke large pieces (mm+ deep) out of the edge doing things that left no damage to the Basic.

Sheath :

Busse makes a decent Kydex sheath, have not used the other ones. The TOPS sheath I used was out of thinner material and far less durable. It broke apart under impacts that were easily absorbed by the Basic sheath.

Customer service :

I contacted TOPS several times through their website to ask about the performance of the Steel Eagle, no responce. Busse has actually replied to people complaining about the performance of one of his knives on other forums - no contest there.

Greg Davenport has also used both companies blades, you might want to drop him an email. He did a review of two awhile back, Anaconada and Steel Heart (which outperformed the tops blade significantly), but it was removed I think because of flames.

-Cliff

 

[Andrew Lynch]

Welcome to the Busse forum! No problem asking about TOPS.

First, check out Cliff Stamp's website. He has tests regarding a direct comparison between a TOPS and a Busse I think.

Here's the TOPS testing: http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sstamp/knives/steel_eagle.html

Tops knives, IMHO, have horribly abrasive handles. You see, there are these steel "traction grooves" (basically, serrations ) on the handles to increase security of the handles. They serve this purose, while ripping your hands to shreds. Busses are superior to them in every aspect I can think of.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I should point out that some of the newer TOPS models have more belly to the blade and look (from images) to have removed the spine serrations. The other thing I forgot to mention was that the TOPS finger grove/notch in the grip has pro's and con's. It can limit grips and can be very uncomfortable depending on hand size. But if it does fit you, it can be very nice in certain grip conditions. Lastly, the more wedged design of the TOPS blades, does make them better splitters than the Busses of similar size. As Andrew noted I have some commentary on the website, any questions fire away, here or in email.

-Cliff

 

[SALTY]

Welcome aboard and no problem here with fair questions.

Nothing against TOPs, but there is no contest here. 1095 versus INFI - a true unfair comparison if there ever was one.

The above posts cover the objective data in sufficient detail to be responsive, but allow me to be subjective yet honest. The Busse knives are world class tough knives that take whatever you throw at them and ask for more. The company stands behind their products 100% with a true no BS warranty.

They are comfortable, well designed, super tough and hold their resale value. Less priced are truly more expensive when you really consider the matter thoroughly.

 

[veritas]

I'd wonder if anybody frm TOPS would care to comment... (Just A Thought... )

 

[Blade-Addict]

I am truly amazed at how helpful you guys are. I obviously came to the right place. I'm going to check out the website with the direct comparison, but unless it says something phenomenal about TOPS, I'm definately saving for a busse.

Thank you very much guys. From one knife addict to another, I truly appreciate your help.

Blade-Addict

 

[Climber]

Blade-Addict -- Good to hear it, Bud!
SOME of us, perhaps ALL of us, here, would have LOVED to have such a forum when we started making knife purchases, LO, those many years ago... We could've saved MUCH MORE than merely money, but HEADACHES & HEARTACHES, by having been assured of a Busse buy back then... So we LOVE to pass on a "Good Thing" to others, when we have opportunity...
Tell us, when you get your Busse Knife, (The Loyal Friend for Life), How much drool is produced by holding it...
How mystified you are by its wonderful Edge-Holding...
How you wonder that you've been living without it, for all those years...
How many friends YOU'VE shown it to.... (Na-na-na-na NA na!)
How much wood could your wood-chuck chuck...
How you wish you could be younger, so you could get in "a full life" of Busse-Knife use, now that you know about it...
And any other pertinent detail that you think would interest us.
We're pretty simple, really; but simple is good.
A knife that cuts, doesn't break, is enjoyed in its use, holds an edge, easy to sharpen, makes ya feel like you CAN make a difference (or a shelter); Hey: What do ya want outta life, huh?
It's all here...

INFI Powered,
Climber Clif

Invisible
Nitride
Formation
Involvement

[The INFI Acronymer Strikes Again!]

 

[Blade-Addict]

Well I don't know about the other stuff but the picture of the Battle Mistress alone already makes me drool. Something tells me I"m going to have to invest in some bibs for when I get the darn thing cause I'm going to be droolin everywhere