Tops KnivesTPESK01: Earth Skills Knife

I know few things about Matt Graham, the designer. He knows his crap. He’s designed knives for Condor Tools and Knives in the past. Don’t own any of them, but pulled the trigger with this one. His philosophy is having a lightweight blade that is easy to carry. At the same time having some knowledge about knife use so that you know the limitations of the tools that you’ using. Which means how to use your tools so you don’t break them.The thin light blade makes perfect sense. It’s long, and with the Scandi grind, it bites the wood. Where it lacks in weight, it makes up for it in efficiency. It swings like a light machete where you can generate blade speed to slice through brush. Long enough to keep your hands away from thorns, long enough to not bend over straining your back on the low bush.The handle is perfect for the use. I used it in dripping rain with zero slippage. The rear knob is great at grabbing it out of the sheath. The trusted 1095 steel with differential heat treat is great. An hour of hacking did not dull the edge at all. The blade shape is very similar to the Condor primitive version, so I know that Matt really believes in this design since it was in production for years with rave reviews.I was skeptical about the sheath. It looked clunky. But I think this is one of my favorite aspect of this knife. You can wear it on your strong or weak side. You can flip it so that you can grab the handle backwards or forwards. The wide opening of the belt loop allows tremendous adjustment of the angle of the carry. You can raise up the sheath to facilitate resheathing, much like what you do with a samurai sword. Also because of this freedom of movement, getting in and out of cars is easier. Just move the knife around till it’s not in the way. At the same time I ran with it and did not have any issues bouncing around. Very secure.I really respect Matt Graham. And this corroboration with tops was marriage made in heaven. Condor was cool and everything, but I think linking with Tops is more befitting. As long as they keep the price affordable. This knife was designed by a genius of a man who’s spent tens of thousands hours in the woods. And Tops listened to him. Bravo!