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TOPS Updates Two Smaller Knives in their Catalog

August 15, 2019

TOPS is shifting back into new release mode with a small knife twofer: the Devil’s Claw 2 and Street Scalpel 2.0. The two blades take the template of a popular, existing TOPS product and expand upon it, adding to rather than replacing the previous options.

Devil’s Claw 2

With the Devil’s Claw 2, TOPS wanted to expand on certain characteristics of the original. The predecessor had a partially-serrated blade and an abbreviated handle length to help with carry, and while it was very karambit-like, it didn’t quite enter into that category. The new Devil’s Claw 2 takes the original design and plays up the karambit traits. “[The original Devil’s Claw] has always just asked to be made into a karambit, whether by our own employees here or by customer request,” says TOPS’s Craig Powell. “It just made sense.”

The predecessor had a partially-serrated blade and an abbreviated handle length to help with carry, and while it was very karambit-like, it didn’t quite enter into that category. The new Devil’s Claw 2 takes the original design and plays up the karambit traits.

The blade length extends on the original 3-inch Devil’s Claw by .13 inches and adds more of a curve to the profile; serrations are an option here but by default the Devil’s Claw 2 is plain edge. In addition to a longer blade, TOPS stretched out the handle, reducing its width just a tad and adding a finger ring at the butt end to really push the Devil’s Claw 2 into karambit territory. Elsewhere we see the expected TOPS finishing touches: coated 1095 blade steel and a Kydex sheath.

Street Scalpel 2.0

Another ‘oldie but goodie’ in the TOPS lineup is the Street Scalpel, an EDC-style fixed blade that almost modeled the look and feel of the Japanese kiridashi knife.

The new 2.0 switches things up a bit, gentle reconfiguring the profile in a more linear style, and adding some contours and a forward finger choil to the handle. Blade stock has been reduced to 3/16″, affording the 3.13-inch drop point blade different capabilities compared to the original. “[It] starts with 3/16” stock, but the grind makes it act more like if it were made out of 5/32” or 1/8” stock,” Powell explains. “So it’ll sacrifice a little bit of strength, but should be an excellent slicer.”

The handle and blade changes also create a significant bit of weight loss as well: the original Street Scalpel weighs 5 oz., but the version 2.0 brings it all the way down to 3.1 oz. ” The choice now is really between brute force strength and slicing ability,” Powell states.

Both the Devil’s Claw 2 and the Street Scalpel 2.0 are available now.

Knife in Featured Image: TOPS Knives Devil’s Claw 2

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