TOPS Border Crossing Tactical Knife

Tactical knives come and go, some great ideas and some wanna-bes. I admit I'm skeptical when I see that knives are advertised as "in the hands of top field agents right now!" That's an easy claim to make and tough to back up. The biographies of the founders of TOPS (Tactical Operations USA) make me curious--people are there who worked for the border patrol, special forces, FEMA and just about every other agency that might actually use a knife like the Border Crossing.

Looking at the knife, I'm impressed. The Border Crossing fits the high-tech engineering of modern tactical folders to the plain and simple full tang sheath knife design. That makes sense. This knife is all business and cut from a blank of high carbon CM-154 steel a full one-quarter-inch thick. That makes the Border Crossing prybar strong. A drop point plain edge blade 4 1/2 inches long and an overall length of 9-7/8 inches put this knife into the heavy category at a hefty 15 ounces. Black linen micarta handle slabs aren't cut back to save weight -- lightly contoured to increase the grip, there's enough handle here for good leverage and twisting power. A Kydex sheath includes a rotating spring clip.

The heat-treated blade includes a thumb plate for increased control and working pressure and a general shape that combines a dagger-styled point with a more utilitarian cutting edge. The Border Crossing could double as a good skinning knife and in weight is about the same as the usual hunting blade. Overall, the knife exceeds the strength you'd need for hunting. This alloy was chosen for edge holding rather than shine -- common sense maintenance with light oil will be needed. The black blade coating prevents most corrosion trouble from even getting started, as well as eliminating unwanted glare.

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