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Posted: 6/3/2005 3:27:25 PM EDT
| I was thinking of ordering one of these but I don't know much about it. Do any of you have one and what do you think of them? Is it really worth the price ,Tops has it listed for $299.00 but I found them for $225.00, What do you all think? |
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Hey Achilleas, I recently had the opportunity to purchase a TOPS Black Eagle Strike Team (B.E.S.T) w/ tanto style tip plain blade. Serial # on the blade says 013. The knife came w/ a kydex sheath and small kydex style dogtag w/ the Tops Co. motto and info. It looks to be brand new as there are no marks anywhere on the knife or sheath and blade seems to be factory fresh. But it didn't come with a box. The point of all this is that I bought it on an auction site and got it for a steal! I haven't had the need to use the knife yet so I can't review the blade's cutting ability but I can say that this knife is a monster! The CM154 steel blade is 7" long and made from 1/4" thich stock, all covered in a black coating. Its a heavy sumbitch and is kinda bulky for my needs but I can overlook those short commings because this knife is built like a tank. $225 is a lot of money to spend on a knife. With that said I think the TOPS knives are high quality knives and I would say the Tracker is worth the $225 sale price. My only hesitation is that the Tracker model is made from 1095 steel. In my opinion not too many blades made out of 1095 should command $200 or better, but based on the impressions I got from my TOPS BEST knife, I would not hesitate to spend $200 on a TOPS knife if it suited my needs. On another BB I spoke to someone that bought a TOPS Ranger Short Stop and had nothing but praise for the knife (albeit he had a small problem with the metal clip on the sheath). My biggest piece of advice to you is to keep checking e-bay or the like as you might be able to get a great bargain like I did. Frankly, eventhough I believe the TOPS products are worth the high prices I probably would not have purchased my knife if I had to pay close to retail (due to my wife kicking my ass for spending $200 plus on a knife). Hope I didn't ramble and confuse you too much. I really am impressed with the quality of my TOPS knife. Keep checking E-Bay or maybe even the EE on this board and lemme know what you finally get. good luck! Tony |
| I have heard alot of good things about Tops knives myself but I don't know alot about the different types of steel that is used in knife making. Where does the 1095 steel rate in knife making, will it hold a good edge or is it one of those you have to sharpen constantly? |
| Achilleas, 1095 is an excellent steel for cutting, but it does have some drawbacks. It is widely used in commercial knife making because it is very easy to heat treat. I can make a superb knife, notably the Ka-Bar. However, 1095 is nowhere near the top of the heap for impact resistance, which is something I would find highly desirable in a knife like the Tracker. While the Tracker is an excellent knife, for that price I would consider a custom job by Roger Linger, who makes an excellent version of the Tracker out of the steel of your choice. Note that the knife in the photo is made from O1, which is much tougher than 1095. Here is Roger's home page. |
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Thanks for the info and the links guys, I have checked into some of the custom made Tracker knives and the least expensive model that I found is over $400.00 and that's more than I want to spend on a knife. Maybe if I was a collector I would spend that knid of cash on a knife but not for a knife that I'm going to actually carry and use in the field. I do not know the price of the Linger version though but I will definitely check it out. |
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Well here it is, I ordered it off of fee-bay for $225.00 shipped. After looking through the instructional booklet that came with it the design really makes alot of sense ,it seems like this knife can pretty much do it all. I ordered it with the kydex sheath rather than the leather but I think I would have rather had the leather now. Do any of you guys know who makes a good leather sheath? 
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Achilleas, I have Martin (Sandy) Morrissey make all of mine. He is a Master Leather Craftsman and can be reached at: 4578 Stephens Road, Blairsville, GA 30512. (706) 379-1621. He is a wonderful guy; a WWII veteran and a pleasure to work with. Here are some he made for my customs:     |
| Thanks for the info Fox, those sure are some great looking sheaths you have there. I'm not looking for anything fancy like that for the Tracker but from seeing his work I'm sure he could come up with something to suit me. I'll try to contact Mr. Morrissey next week and see what we can put together. |
Sandy can make them completely without tooling if you wish. A number of my customers prefer them plain. The top three knives all went to a single customer in AZ, who uses them extensively. He figures knives are to be used as are the sheaths, but he wanted that extra tooling to match the custom blades. He said once you crawl through the brush a couple of times the sheaths look nicely used and you forget all about it. 
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