Endless Edges!

For 22 years TOPS Knives has been generating hot knife designs with a relentless passion few other manufacturers can match. Simply look at their catalog. Case closed. The sheer volume of offerings boggles the mind. In 1998 this fledgling Idaho company set out with a dream to provide our military troops with affordable tactical fixed-blade knives to fight the enemy abroad. TOPS caught on like wildfire and the flame is still red hot.

Idaho proved to be fertile ground for TOPS. “The reason we’re in Idaho is that Mike Fuller, who ran TOPS for many years, was looking for a place to settle down.” TOPS’ General Manager and Marketing Director Craig Powell tells Handgunner, “Idaho Falls just spoke to him and that was that. Of course, some of the criteria that made Idaho — and Idaho Falls in particular — attractive as a place for the company is that cost of living is low and, in general, freedom for businesses and individuals is high. There is definitely a reason there are a lot of companies throughout the state that manufacture knives and guns.” Fuller retired in 2015 and his longtime right-hand man, Leo Espinoza, took his place, continuing the company tradition in fine fashion.

“It wasn’t until several years in that TOPS started making anything not geared toward tactical use,” Craig notes. “Idaho being the sportsman’s paradise that it is, it was only natural for TOPS to start working hunting and survival knives into the line-up.”

Expanding Edges

By 2010 the TOPS Knives catalog was burgeoning as a result of Fuller’s zeal for new designs, which also included contributions by Leo and a host of collaborations by industry experts. In 2011 the modern day Bushcraft movement began taking the sporting end of the cutlery industry by storm and TOPS wanted in. The first Bushcraft effort was the B.O.B. Fieldcraft fixed-blade and it was a viral sensation even in prototype form.

“It’s hard to pinpoint any one thing that allowed TOPS to gain such clout in Bushcraft, but the Fieldcraft definitely had a huge impact,” Powell reflects. “Mike worked with a group of guys called the Brothers of Bushcraft (B.O.B.) who were all experts in different areas and he had them all come to some type of agreement on the best knife for them. Turns out it was spot on. Aside from Bushcraft gurus and survival experts the Fieldcraft has been exceedingly popular with guys going through SERE training and other similar schools. Tactical guys, it turns out, mostly use their knives for whatever comes up outside of combat, not so much in it, so the Fieldcraft has been a great addition for them, too.” The Fieldcraft also spun off a folding knife version in large and small models as well as a smaller send-up of the original fixed-blade.

Expanding Edges

Another rare trait about TOPS that only a few manufacturers share is quite a few models have stayed in the line-up for years, even decades. We asked Craig to give us a breakdown of TOPS’ popularity among the various genres of knives they sell. “There is a lot of overlap from survival to tactical — but not necessarily from tactical to survival — but in terms of knife choice we are selling more survival knives, which includes Bushcraft and primitive skills knives, than tactical. That said, tactical is still high in importance for us. Now more than ever, we want to make sure the guys who serve have the tools they need. Some of our most popular models right now are the Mini Scandi Knife, Operator 7, C.U.T. 4.0, Street Scalpel, Camp Creek and Wild Pig Hunter. The Tom Brown Tracker and the Fieldcraft are both still way up there, too.”

A Steelapalooza

The knifefest never stops at TOPS. We’ve featured some of their newer models here and we’ll start out with some steel guaranteed to make hunters, outdoors fans and survivalists lick their chops. The Earth Skills Knife is, in Craig’s words, “A very thin, very lightweight short machete designed by survivalist and outdoors athlete Matt Graham.” The overall length is 14.25″ and the knife’s long, leaf-shaped blade is reminiscent of the old Canadian Hunter pattern. This knife will skin large game and prep meals for a camp full all day long.

The Ucon Hawk is a 15.0″ full-tang chopper TOPS calls, “Camp Hatchet Heaven.” With 4.87″ of cutting edge there’s plenty of blade to work with and the bearded design of the head and flare at the top of the handle make the Ucon hawk an excellent carving axe. The handle uses a new material called Orange/Black SureTouch which is made up of alternating layers of G10 and Rubber. Finally, fans of the TOPS Tanimboca Puukko Scandi-style Bushcraft knife now have a 4.0″ “Mini” version that can get down to the nitty-gritty on fine carving and whittling projects.

The 3 Pointer is a 6.63″ fixed-blade that’s just at home as a tactical EDC as it is in the wild. Designed by TOPS leader Leo Espinoza, the 3 Pointer can be had in Natural or Black Linen Micarta handle scales or, for those who desire super stealth, a skeletonized version. A black Kydex belt sheath with two horizontal snap-on belt loops is included.

TOPS Tac-Raze 2 is the second in what is now a series of friction folders — and this one actually has a razor-style blade. Friction folders have no lock per se. Rather, a “rat tail” extension of the blade tang is used to deploy the blade and when fully opened it disappears into the back of the handle where the grip of the hand holds it in place. It’s a throwback to the frontier days before locks were common, brought up to modern day standards.
Where does TOPS go from here? Wherever their imagination takes them. “We don’t tend to worry too much about what everyone else is doing or going to do,” Powell remarks. “We just make the best tools that we possibly can.” And that’s exactly how TOPS Knives has gotten where they are today!

For more info: TOPSKnives.com

Purchase A PDF Download Of The American Handgunner March/April 2021 Issue Now!