Tops

silverbullets

silverbullets

Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
3,282
So how would you guys rate them? I know this is a swamprat forum but I am new to the knife scene and there are a lot of knowledgable people here.
thanks
 
Hi Silverbullets, welcome to the Rats Nest! :D I havent personally owned a TOPS knife but I've admired them for some time. They use a good steel (1095, for the most part) And they have a very wide selection of patterns. The one I liked the best was discontinued, 5" blade had a drill divot in the handle, cant remember the name. The Rinaldi Armageddon is another interesting blade.

Price wise they seem to be on par with the Swamp and Scrapyard blades.

I have a family friend thats a real TOPS authority, I'll see if I can get them to come over and give you some more info.
 
leatherman said:
Hi Silverbullets, welcome to the Rats Nest! :D I havent personally owned a TOPS knife but I've admired them for some time. They use a good steel (1095, for the most part) And they have a very wide selection of patterns. The one I liked the best was discontinued, 5" blade had a drill divot in the handle, cant remember the name. The Rinaldi Armageddon is another interesting blade.

Price wise they seem to be on par with the Swamp and Scrapyard blades.

I have a family friend thats a real TOPS authority, I'll see if I can get them to come over and give you some more info.
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Thanks I appreciate it, I went into a local knife shop and they had a couple there, seemed real nice although coming from a retail store I am sure they are marked up real high.
 
If you are looking for a Tops knife buy one off the net and save yourself some money. They are good blades and hold up very well but they aren't going to win any beauty contests. You will have to have a better sheath than what they provide. Leatherman can help you out there. He has done all the custom work for us and better leatherwork you will not find. What model were you looking at? Maybe we can help you out and get you a good deal.
 
GhostWolf said:
If you are looking for a Tops knife buy one off the net and save yourself some money. They are good blades and hold up very well but they aren't going to win any beauty contests. You will have to have a better sheath than what they provide. Leatherman can help you out there. He has done all the custom work for us and better leatherwork you will not find. What model were you looking at? Maybe we can help you out and get you a good deal.
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I am not necessarily looking for one, I saw one in the local shop and had never heard of them. The one thing I did like is that I could actually hold one before buying. As for the Swamps and Scrapyards they are very appealing however it seems they are hard to find except on the equipment exchange here and at that point the prices are elevated because they are no longer in production. It is hard to keep up with what is current and what is no longer being made if that makes sense.
 
I've owned a bunch of TOPs knives, used them camping, given them as gifts, had them as my EDC for a while.

Nice blades. Very stout and beefy, not so good in the food prep dept but fine for fieldcraft. The steel edge rusts admirably but proper care takes care of that. Any particular models you were interested in?
 
arnoldglee said:
I've owned a bunch of TOPs knives, used them camping, given them as gifts, had them as my EDC for a while.

Nice blades. Very stout and beefy, not so good in the food prep dept but fine for fieldcraft. The steel edge rusts admirably but proper care takes care of that. Any particular models you were interested in?
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I am not completely sure what the model at the shop was (poor service at this knife shop) but looking at Tops web page I am pretty sure it was the Steel Eagle 107E. Don't know how much they were selling it for, going to call on that today but like I said I saw a lot of jacked up prices there.
 
I have a few TOPS knives and they are excellent.
Very sharp with great fit & finish.

Heavy-duty knives.
 
silverbullets said:
I am not necessarily looking for one, I saw one in the local shop and had never heard of them. The one thing I did like is that I could actually hold one before buying. As for the Swamps and Scrapyards they are very appealing however it seems they are hard to find except on the equipment exchange here and at that point the prices are elevated because they are no longer in production. It is hard to keep up with what is current and what is no longer being made if that makes sense.
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Well if you're looking for a Swamp Rat blade the equivalent of the 107E you're in luck.

Here's the specs for the Steel Eagle
Blade Length: 7"
OAL: 12"
Price: around $195

Specs for Mini Uncle Mojo
Blade Length: 6 3/4"
OAL 12 3/8"
Price: 198.95
Available NOW in black at the rat store

You get in my opinion better steel, better fit/finish with the Rat. True, there is no sheath but you'd probably want to swap that sheath out anyway.
 
I have viewed and handled a few of the Tops knives. I have researched them a little and I owned one - The Pasaytan. The Paysaytan was not 1095. I think it was ATS-34 or something.

I bought the Pasaytan from another forum member either here on Bladeforums or on Knifeforums (???) can't remeber - it was a couple of years ago.

In my opinion, many of Tops' knife designs are too Mall Ninja in style. Some are reasonably functional.

I liked the general lines and design of the Pasaytan, but when I received the knife, the grind quality was HORRIBLE. It would take me too long to describe all of the different problems - crooked spine, waves in the primary grinds, extremely thick at the front primary grind, poor edge grind, unbalanced, wavy and poor all over. I could grind way better and I would think an intern for a file clerk could probably do at least as good.

I contacted Tops about it. I emailed pictures of the problems with the knife. They didn't care about the knife. They just asked if I had the receipt. I explained I had purchased the knife via the knifeforums and the knife was still NEW and unused - Didn't matter - no receipt = end of discussion. They didn't care anymore. Too bad for me - my problem.

I contacted the person I purchased the knife from to see if he had the receipt and to see if I could work something out that way. He replied back that he didn't have the receipt, but he told me Tops actually has a picture of him on their website with some special ops unit. I contacted Tops back and told them who I had purchased the knife from. They still didn't care.
I ended up selling the knife.

I was VERY disappointed with their way of handling service. I would have been very good with a simple exchange. I would have paid shipping to them. But, they were not interested in trying to take care of their poor quality.

----

Aside from my issues, there seem to be quite a few people who like Tops. But, I am VERY confident Swamp Rat makes a much better knife, I personally feel SR-101 is a better steel than 1095, I personally feel than Swamp Rat knives look better and I am very confident there are many more people who would recommend Swamp Rat over Tops.

So, even though designs may very and design preference may be a personal thing, if you can get a Swamp Rat Mini Uncle Mojo which is a nice design for about the same price as a Tops, I would HANDS DOWN take the Swamp Rat.

..... and I am trying to be objective.

.
 
It's been said in more words than this, but I wouldn't spend my $ on Tops.

SRKW uses better steel, and more importantly, does a better job with heat treat. You will spend a comparable amount of money but get IMO a much better product.

I understand not wanting to buy without holding one in your hand, but considering how easy it is to sell a knife from the "Busse Triumverant" you've decided against, I'd say it's well worth the gamble.
 
I have a TOPS Scalpel on the way.....I love the look of it.....nice pocket carry.

I have a TOPS that I got in trade...a mint/unused Tops B.E.S.T knife in 154cm but customized by Tom Krein, he reground it with a steeper high
hollow grind, and hollow ground the false edge. It is wicked sharp even the swedge......pops hairs off by looking at them. I haven't used it, but chopped a good bit of air with it. Nice sheath with clip attached to it. They seem nice....I might use it...might trade/sell it.
 
Not owned any Tops knives, but can attest that SRKW not only makes a great product, but stands behind them 110%. Eric is great person to deal with and knows how to take care of his customers.

SRKW hasn't been around that long, but their service is right up there with Leupold and Smith & Wesson. If you know of either, you know I think highly of them.
 
That was another good point- the Busse companies warranty the knife, unconditionally no matter how many times it is sold.
 
rifon2 said:
I have a few TOPS knives and they are excellent.
Very sharp with great fit & finish.

Heavy-duty knives.
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By the way, it was not my intention to compare TOPS with Swamp Rat or Busse when I said that the few TOPS I have are excellent in fit, finish, and edge.

I was just stating my own experience with the 5 TOPS knives I have.
 
Everything you stated is very much correct rifon, I hope you dont feel like you got stepped on there, some of us are a little more biased than others. ;)

TOPS has its place, and they are fine knives. I'd reccomend them before a lot of so called "combat knives" on the market. The range of sizes, shapes, patterns, and even a folder or two, makes them a good choice.

I own over 50 Busse's and 30 some odd Swamps with a couple of Scrappers thrown in for good measure, and I still want to get my paws on a Rinaldi Armageddon one of thes days. :D
 
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