Tops DART-002 Dart

this was the first time in my life I have dropped this kind of money on a knife. I did a lot of looking and research before settling on this knife for two main reasons: blade geometry and ergonomics. The shape and grind of the blade make it great for chopping/slashing, the thickness of the blade makes it hefty and strong, the steel type (5160) is notoriously tough for blade steels as well as good for holding an edge if heat treated properly (Tops did a great job with this one! most of their other knives are 1095, was glad to see they nailed this steel too). there are knives that outperform this knife in any individual category, but for a jack-of-all-trades survival/fighting/emergency knife, it is hard to find a better one anywhere around this price range. I had heard others say the linen micarta handles can be rough on bare skin, but I disagree (I do use handtools all day long in my line of work though, so maybe my skin is a little rougher than some). I love the material. the shape of the handle, balance of the blade-- really I love everything about it. and while I have no complaints on the pictures, this thing is much more impressive in person. I could ramble on and on, but its a great knife, and I am extremely happy I bought it. the sheath is better than I thought it would be based on any negative comments about it. i'm going to replace the Velcro with a snap, and it'll be all good. there is a slight ratle of the blade against the liner if shaken, but its a survival knife, not an assassin's blade.

This is my all time favorite large camp knife.It is very well made with high quality carbon steel.The handle and ergonomics are perfect.This knife can do some serious work.The only issue at all is that you need to know how to sharpen a knife with a recurve belly.It won't sit flat on a bench stone unless it is small.Oh, and the sheaths on these type of knives these days are the Kydex/Nylon Military style and I think they suck.I had a leather sheath made for it and now it is the way I like it.

Love the knife...great for batoning wood...not the lightest but I like the heft to it. The sheath is not the greatest but I will not blame a knife for a bad sheath. Will have a kydex sheath custom made for and carry scout style

Where have you been my whole knife life!? This one sure doesn't get the attention it deserves. What a quality built, multi-purpose blade.All I need to do now is touch up the already near 90 degree spine for the use of a ferro rod.

Tops Knives always produce high-quality products. I believe this one has gone out of their lineup, but they always have something useful, no matter your need. This is a serious fighting knife, and might double as a survival knife. You can't go wrong buying from TOPS!

I tend to favor heavier, longer knives for chopping and clearing trails and brush because I do alot of bushwacking. I had been using a machete for a while but didn't like the toll it was taking on my shoulder and arm, plus it just didn't cut it for blazing trees, being too unwieldy. I decided to pull this knife our of my box and just try it out. Whoa, it cleared trails and brush and hacked through inch thick branches and saplings like a machete. This only has a 7" blade and weighs 1.5 lbs?!?!?!? That heavy belly, based on the kukuri, makes this a mini giant of a knife. It does a job of a much bigger knife and no stress on my arm and shoulder and a dream to hip carry. Handle ergonomics are great. I used both a glove and a bare hand and it handled well with no slipping, scraping the skin, or biting into the palm of my hand. May turn into my favorite knife.

Nice