Knife Review: TOPS Knives Filet Knife With a 154CM Blade

The TOPS Knives Filet Knife With a 154CM Blade

TOPS is a brand that is known for making quality, hard-use tactical and survival knives. As you guys can see, this is not one of those, instead it is a fillet knife. In fact, it is their first filet knife. TOPS worked to find the middle ground between the flexibility of a filet knife and the rigidity of a boning knife. In fact, they say, “the TOPS Filet is reminiscent of a Japanese gokujo (which means ‘all-in-one’).” This is a massive advantage over other, regular filet knives, because the TOPS Filet is a multipurpose knife. TOPS says, “The sweeping 154cm blade on the TOPS Filet will make short work of fileting fish and will leave very little waste cleanly trimming meat form bone with precision. The handle is a combination of rubber and G10 that provides a secure grip, which is important when dealing with slippery objects. The OD Green Kydex sheath with a Kydex belt loop will make the TOPS Filet feel equally at home in the field and the kitchen.” Wow. You can’t ask for anything more when it comes to your go-to filet knife. Read on to get the details about what makes this knife better than other filet knives, and why you really should get your hands on this if you plan on doing any fileting.

The Blade:

When it comes to a standard filet knife, the blade is really what needs to be high-quality. The blade needs to be able to have some bend to it, but also be rigid enough that the work is manageable. Because of this factor, TOPS Knives chose to build their blade with 154CM steel. This steel has been around since the seventies, but recently, Crucible Industries, which is known for making high-quality steel, has really worked to improve 154CM steel, and re-popularize it. For starters, it has a Rockwell Hardness level of around 58-61, which means that it is harder than a lot of your typical stainless steels. The first advantage of having the extra hardness to this steel is that it is going to provide the rigidity to work with this knife to bone fish or other game. If the steel was not hard, it would be too flexible, and it would be your basic filet knife. Instead, TOPS Knives Filet can multi-task. Next, 154CM stainless steel is able to hold its sharpness longer than a lot of other stainless steels. If you were just going to be working with this knife in the kitchen, this is an advantage, but it is not a critical characteristic. However, the TOPS Knives Filet knife is a great option for you to take in the field on your hunting or fishing trips. The steel’s ability to hold its edge is a critical element for this factor, which is another reason why this TOPS Knives knife is so excellent. This steel has the qualities that make it a great option for blades that are used in heavier-duty situations, which means that the toughness behind this blade is going to be top-notch. You won’t have to worry about the flexibility of the knife, because it has enough give that you can easily filet with it. But it also has the durability that you don’t have to worry about this knife taking a slight beating. All in all, the steel choice of the Filet makes it one of the best filet knives for the field.

Something that is super unique about this blade is that the steel has been cryo treated. This means that it has undergone a hardening metal treatment which provides benefits that you simply would not be getting in other steels. The hardening benefits are increased strength, increased wear and tear resistance, and increased toughness. These are massive advantages because the 154CM steel already featured many of these qualities, which simply means that the qualities will be even more profound.

The blade has a tumbled finish, which does have a similar appearance to a stonewashed finish. First, this finish makes the blade look more rugged, which is ideal if this is the knife that you are using in the field. From a functional perspective though, the tumbled finish creates a sort of camouflage on the steel. This pattern and texture are going to easily hide scratches, scrapes, and other wear-and-tear that the blade might accumulate after years of use. Of course, this is a precautionary finish, because the blade is already so resistant to wear-and-tear due to the cryo treatment that it has undergone.

Finally, we get to the shape of the blade, which is a critical element of a filet knife. This is a long, sweeping blade. The belly is an elongated curve, which provides immense cutting surface, ideal for fileting. The upswept nature of the tip ensures that there is the absolute most cutting surface that is possible. It also means that the tip is super sharp, which allows you to really pierce at the beginning of the filet job. At the beginning of the spine of the blade, there is a row of thicker jimping, which will provide you with texture and grip, which enhances the control that you have over this knife. This will be ideal for smaller fileting jobs, where the details really are extra important to keep the meat in the highest quality.

The Handle:

The handle is made out of tan and black SureTouch G10. This handle combination of rubber and G10 is going to offer a super-secure grip for when things get slippery and wet. G10 is made out of fiberglass and resin, which means that it is tough, hard, strong, and lightweight. This is the perfect handle material base for a filet knife that is designed to be 

used in the field. The blade is incredibly tough, which is ideal for every filet knife, but now, the handle is just as tough. While many standard filet knives handles are not going to be a high enough quality for the field, the TOPS Knives Filet knife is the perfect choice. You can trust that the handle is going to be tough enough to travel with you into the field, as well as comfortable enough for long-term use.

One of the biggest needs of a filet knife handle is that is both comfortable and provides enough grip. Anyone who does a good amount of fileting knows that things can get messy and slippery. TOPS Knives knew this as well and designed a handle that can easily take on the worst of it. The handle material G10 is an easy material for the manufacturers to carve texture into. And that they did. They also put a SureTouch finish on the G10, which is basically a rubberized top coating over the G10. This means that even when things are slippery and wet, your grip will be steady.

Also, there is a short row of jimping on the spine of the handle. This jimping is further proof that TOPS Knives knew what they were doing and designed one of the best filet knives around. This jimping is there to give added support to your grip when things get really messy.

The ergonomics of this handle are also high-quality. This is a pretty rounded handle, with the belly and spine bulging out. However, this is going to fit comfortably in your hand, relieving stress from your grip, which is going to allow you to use this for longer periods of time than your standard filet knife.

The Sheath:

Next, we have the Filet’s Sheath. The sheath that comes with this knife is made out of OD Green Kydex, which is the perfect option for this knife. If you are only using this knife at home and in the kitchen, the Kydex sheath might feel like overkill. However, there’s nothing wrong with a little bit extra protecting with a filet knife. However, as soon as you begin using this knife in the field, you will understand just how important the Kydex sheath really is. Kydex is a thermoplastic, which means that the sheath is going to be water resistant and will keep its shape, unlike leather or other sheath materials. The best qualities of kydex are that it is super durable. It’s not going to be affected by the elements, no matter how strong or extreme. Its going to protect the blade, which is important because filet’s knife blades are more delicate due to the upswept nature. And, it’s not going to lose its shape, which means that it will keep on protecting the blade.

You can trust that you can take this knife into the field with you without having to worry about whether or not it is protected—it is going to be. Kydex will seriously have your back.

The Details:

The blade on the Filet measures in at eight inches long, which is a great size for a filet knife, especially a multi-purpose one like this one is. The length is going to ensure that you can easily filet your fish or game. It provides plenty of sharp cutting surface, which is a necessity for your filet knife. The thickness of the blade measures in at 0.09 inches, which really is a fine knife. However, this is going to provide you the flexibility that you need for a high-quality filet knife. This is even slightly thicker than your standard filet knife, because it is a multi-purpose one and can still bone as well as filet. Of course, some of the rigidity comes from the steel that the blade is made out of.

The overall length of the TOPS Knives Filet measures in at 11.50 inches long. This means that the handle is 3.5 inches, which will provide your hands with room to really hold onto the knife when you are working with it. The overall length is long, but to be such a high-quality filet knife, you have to have such a long blade.

This filet knife weighs in at 4.2 ounces, which is not at all heavy compared to the length that it is. This is due to tow different factors. First, the blade is super thin, which is going to cut down on weight even though it is super long. Next, G10 and rubber are both lightweight materials, which means that the handle can be durable and comfortable without weighing down the knife. With the sheath, the overall weight of the knife is 7.3 ounces. This is really lightweight, which is a massive benefit, especially since this is a filet knife that should be taken out into the field. The lightweight characteristic of the Filet ensure that this is a great go-to field Filet knife, because it really won’t add that much extra weight to your pack. It will be easy to take with you, and it works so well that it will be the knife that you want to take with you.

Finally, this knife is made in the United States of America and was designed by Leo Espinoza.

The Wrap-Up:

The TOPS Knives Filet knife delivers the flexibility of a filet knife with the rigidity of a boning knife. Reminiscent of a Japanese gokujo (“all-in-one”), this multipurpose knife will be at home on the lake and in your kitchen. The sweeping 154CM blade delivers flex when you need it and allows you to trim with precision. The handle is a combination of rubber and G10 that offers a super-secure grip for when things get slippery and wet. The OD Green Kydex sheath and Kydex belt loop let you carry this in style. Better yet, this knife is made in the United States of America, which means that it is going to have quality that you can trust.

Whether you need to filet or bone something, and whether you are in the kitchen, or in the field, this knife is going to have you back. When comparing this knife to other filet knives, it soars above the rest. It is high-quality, durable, and provides an excellent grip. With the TOPS Knives Filet knife, you cannot go wrong. Order yours today from BladeOps.