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Tops Brothers Of Bushcraft (BOB) knife

I didn't see this knife reviewed in the Tops Knives group on iKC, so I wonder if any of you outdoors guys have used this Tops BOB knife. I saw a review of it on YouTube, and seems like a sturdy knife. It has a "Mora" grind that some folks love in an outdoor knife, and it's 1095 carbon.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 3, 2013 at 15:08

I like it Howard, its a huge blade! Do you have the link for the YouTube? Interested to see what they say!

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on November 3, 2013 at 15:20

Steve,

Well, it's pretty thick, but only 4.5" blade length. Here's the review I watched on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKNIefRa4vQ

Steve Hanner said:

I like it Howard, its a huge blade! Do you have the link for the YouTube? Interested to see what they say!

In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on November 3, 2013 at 15:47

Real good design, tough looking knife.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on November 3, 2013 at 20:23

I recall seeing this knife for sale on KnivesLive back in the Tactical Knives day. Josh Hill gave a good explanation of the knife. It looks real impressive and would be pretty good in Bushcraft. I like the handle divot for fire starting and the large lanyard hole.

Permalink Reply by John McDowell on November 19, 2013 at 10:13

i have one howard,i really like it.but the fire starter will fall out of the kydex sheath if you dont secure it,i just use paracord.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on November 19, 2013 at 10:27

Its a good video and I like that it went through so much. Hope nobody has to ever chop that much kindling with an axe...

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on November 19, 2013 at 11:11

John,

Is the Kydex sheath ambidextrous - can you move the belt clip to the other side? I'm a lefty so the sheath has to go on the left and I couldn't tell from the video.

John McDowell said:

i have one howard,i really like it.but the fire starter will fall out of the kydex sheath if you dont secure it,i just use paracord.

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on November 19, 2013 at 11:43

Steve,

As you can tell from the video, this knife just barely works for batoning - at 4.5" blade length. This size is fine for an EDC around the house, or on the job/farm, but for a Bushcraft knife it seems a bit short. I know the bushcrafters love knives like this because it isn't unwieldy and can do "little" chores, but it isn't a great baton knife or a "hacking" knife. To me, batoning is the best for making kindling, whereas an axe or hatchet is iffy - you can't safely hold the stick and whack it with a hatchet, and if the stick will stand up, chances are you will not hit it dead center and/or the pieces fly all over the place.

I am thinking of getting this knife as an EDC, but would take at minimum, the Blackbird SK-5 (5" blade) or larger knife to the woods - along with this Tops BOB knife. If I get this knife, it will be my first modern heat-treat 1095 carbon fixed-blade so I really need to get this knife to test the 1095. All of my EDC knives are S.S. (420, 440, D-2), and "woods" knives are more "exotic" stuff (S30V, 154 CM, INFI, San Mai III, CPM-3V, DM1, and whatever stainless steel Puma put in their Rüdemann back in the '80s.

Steve Hanner said:

Its a good video and I like that it went through so much. Hope nobody has to ever chop that much kindling with an axe...

Permalink Reply by John McDowell on November 19, 2013 at 11:51

yes it is has a great sheath,if you decide to buy one cant go wrong.shop around though lots of price difference.

Permalink Reply by Howard P Reynolds on November 27, 2013 at 20:00

My Tops Brothers of Bushcraft knife arrived today. It is my first modern 1095 Carbon steel blade. I suspect that my Cattaraugus 225-Q from WWII is also 1095, but not with modern heat treat. When I started looking for prices I found out that this Tops BOB knife, as it is called (for Brothers of Bushcraft) comes in brown canvas Micarta, black (looks grey in real-life) linen Micarta, and black with green striping G-10. I chose the black linen Micarta, which as you can see has red spacers.

1. The BOB knife comes with a fire-steel, and whistle.

2. Bow-drill divot in the handle.

3. You need one of those tiny bungee cords to secure the fire-steel to the Kydex.

4. The Kydex sheath is NOT ambidextrous. It comes RIGHT HAND only, so I'll be wearing it backwards on my left side.

5. This knife (4.5" blade) is heavier than my Blackbird SK-5 (5" blade), which is 154 CM; a little wider, but thinner, and flat ground as opposed to the modified Scandi grind of the Tops BOB..

6. Not shaving sharp, out of the box, but it cuts very thin paper with ease. Not sure I want an "outdoors" knife to be shaving sharp, which is fine for slicing veggies, but for hacking or brute work, maybe the micro-serrations left after the DMT diamond "fine" stone is what I need, and not a DMT "Extra-Fine" followed by a ceramic 6000 grit stone.

I'll take this knife to hunting camp next week, and maybe I will get to use it for something.

Unless some of you experts strongly disagree, I intend to add a secondary bevel to this knife before using it.

Permalink Reply by Tobias Gibson on November 29, 2013 at 8:08

Any chance you can take a pic of the backside of the sheath?

Howard P Reynolds said:

My Tops Brothers of Bushcraft knife arrived today. It is my first modern 1095 Carbon steel blade. I suspect that my Cattaraugus 225-Q from WWII is also 1095, but not with modern heat treat. When I started looking for prices I found out that this Tops BOB knife, as it is called (for Brothers of Bushcraft) comes in brown canvas Micarta, black (looks grey in real-life) linen Micarta, and black with green striping G-10. I chose the black linen Micarta, which as you can see has red spacers.

1. The BOB knife comes with a fire-steel, and whistle.

2. Bow-drill divot in the handle.

3. You need one of those tiny bungee cords to secure the fire-steel to the Kydex.

4. The Kydex sheath is NOT ambidextrous. It comes RIGHT HAND only, so I'll be wearing it backwards on my left side.

5. This knife (4.5" blade) is heavier than my Blackbird SK-5 (5" blade), which is 154 CM; a little wider, but thinner, and flat ground as opposed to the modified Scandi grind of the Tops BOB..

6. Not shaving sharp, out of the box, but it cuts very thin paper with ease. Not sure I want an "outdoors" knife to be shaving sharp, which is fine for slicing veggies, but for hacking or brute work, maybe the micro-serrations left after the DMT diamond "fine" stone is what I need, and not a DMT "Extra-Fine" followed by a ceramic 6000 grit stone.

I'll take this knife to hunting camp next week, and maybe I will get to use it for something.

Unless some of you experts strongly disagree, I intend to add a secondary bevel to this knife before using it.