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New member - TOPS opinions needed!

Hey guys,

Firstly as a new member, I'd like to say hi and wow, I was impressed by the friendliness of the half dozen or more members that said hi over the course of the day! I am in Australia and therefore my timezone is probably out of sync with a lot of people, however. I'm a 24 year old ex-rifleman of the Australian Infantry, and have been building up a small collection of knives over the years.

Now, for my next acquisition, I have an itch for a TOPS knife - I've been prowling their site for months. I need a couple of opinions to narrow down my final selections. I still do a bit of hunting in western qld and victoria, and while I have a nice Puma Skinner for the purpose of....skinning...as well as several folders (a few disposable CRKT's) and my use and abuse Gerber LMF, I need a big, solid utility and backup/pig sticker to complete my outfit. I love the designs of a lot of the TOPS knives, and have narrowed my choices down to the following:

TOPS Moccasin Ranger: http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=96
TOPS Steel Eagle 107E or C: http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=138 - my opinion of the C (the same as E with a saw-back) is somewhat skeptical. Any informed opinions as to the quality of the saw-back as opposed to the many gimmicky ones I have seen would be very welcome!
TOPS Smoke Jumper: http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=130
TOPS Anaconda 7B: http://www.topsknives.com/product_info.php?products_id=11

As I said before, any opinions are welcome; be gentle, I'm only new here ;) To reiterate my requirements, I need a big, solid and reliable knife to function as utility/sticker/backup to my more specialized knives.

Thanks for your time!

Marty

Tags: Eagle, Jumper, Moccasin, Ranger, Smoke, Steel, TOPS

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Replies to This Discussion

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on March 11, 2013 at 10:40

Hi Marty, you have picked a great brand of fixed blade knives. We have a group dedicated to this brand and it's leader, is prety much an expert on these knives. His name is "Rick", you may want to check with him. I'll send him a message that you are looking for info. He's a great guy and will be glad to help you. Oh, by the way, he's from "England". Good luck with your collection of knives and welcome to our club. Rob.

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Permalink Reply by Marty Mackinlay on March 11, 2013 at 16:54

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the reply, I look forward to hearing from Rick. Opinions seem to swing either massively in the positive or massively in the negative, from browsing forums and sites the last few weeks. My other option is swinging towards something like the ESEE 6. Oh well, I'll get some more info before I make my choice, not going hunting for a few months anyway.

Cheers,

Marty

Robert Burris said:

Hi Marty, you have picked a great brand of fixed blade knives. We have a group dedicated to this brand and it's leader, is prety much an expert on these knives. His name is "Rick", you may want to check with him. I'll send him a message that you are looking for info. He's a great guy and will be glad to help you. Oh, by the way, he's from "England". Good luck with your collection of knives and welcome to our club. Rob.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on March 11, 2013 at 19:41

Hey Marty, please wait to hear from Rick, he'll tell it, like it is. He just hasn't checked in, lately, but he will. I have found the most important thing about buying knives is "education" and the next most important thing is "patience in getting that education". That's just an old Cajun's opinion, though.

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Permalink Reply by Joshua on March 11, 2013 at 21:10

Just recently getting into the TOPS brand and I love em, I've two older models a first run Steel Eagle 107E and a ATC SOLO both are beast of blades. The 107E at 1/4in thick and the ATC is 3/16 i have no fear of breaking either of these blades. I would think any of TOPS larger models will work for you if you want a tank of a knife.

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Permalink Reply by Ms Data on March 11, 2013 at 21:31

Welcome to IKC. I don't know a lot about TOPS but I think there may be an affiliation with Buck in there somewhere. I know that price becomes a big consideration for some of our US made knives in other countries, I also belong to a multitool forum and have seen that our US made Leatherman multitools go for an incredible amount of Euro's. Anyway, I'm no help, just wanted to say hi.

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Permalink Reply by Billy Oneale on March 11, 2013 at 21:46

There are a few Tops/Buck collaborations, but I believe Tops is a stand alone company. They both have factories/ facilities in Post Falss, Idaho.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on March 11, 2013 at 22:35

Well Marty, I guess, I left out alot of other knife collectors that can help you out with this great knife brand "Tops". I hope that a bunch of them take their time and give you their opinion, about these great knives. I hope you get a wide range of opinions, from members using them in the feild. Lets see what a bunch of our members have to say.

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Permalink Reply by Marty Mackinlay on March 12, 2013 at 2:24

Great to get so many responses so quickly! Thanks for the info guys, I'm in no hurry to make a decision - I want it to be an informed one. Thanks for the review, Pat, I gave it a read and it was good to hear the saw-back is actually a useful feature, rather than just eye candy. It is rather costly to ship knives to Australia, though it seems a number of TOPS can be found for $150-200 on ebay or other online vendors.

I welcome any and all opinions with experience in this area - even some alternative knives, should you recommend any! Once again, very impressed with the general friendliness of the members here :)

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Permalink Reply by Todd Helmkamp on March 12, 2013 at 16:01

Hey Marty,

I love TOPS and I own several. My personal favorite is the Brothers of Bushcraft Field Craft knife, although it didn't make your list. I've carried it into the woods on many occasions.

The ESEE line is great as well. I own several models of those ranging from the baby Candiru to the good-sized Laser Strike and am very happy with their performance in the field too.

TOPS is their own company, although they have collaborated with Buck in the past as mentioned by others here. There has been several fixed blades and folders.

Anyhow, I don't think you can really go wrong with either a TOPS or ESEE. Both are fantastic knife companies.

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on March 14, 2013 at 17:46

Thanks Rick, for your advise. It's always good to hear an opinion from someone that has as much experience in a subject as you. Stay sharp, my M8.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on March 14, 2013 at 18:35

Marty,

We also have a TOPS group

http://www.iknifecollector.com/group/topsknives?commentId=3181080%3...

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Permalink Reply by Marty Mackinlay on March 17, 2013 at 5:25

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late reply - have been doing a lot of field work which restricts my time. Thanks for all the thoughts and information, I still haven't decided, but I'll get there soon enough ;)

Thanks again,

Marty