THE TOPS M-PAT, READY FOR SURVIVAL & LAST DITCH.

By: Henk “The Knife” Kraaijvanger.

INTRODUCTION, THE HISTORY OF TOPS.

TOPS' STATEMENT: "ONE LIFE ... ONE KNIFE".

In late 1998, former Special Forces soldier Michael J. Fuller, alias "Jon Hand", founded TOPS KNIVES in eastern Idaho in the United States of America, with a mission to design and make knives of the highest quality. TOPS knives are produced in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in the United States, and the company also supports the much-needed charity programme "The Wounded Warrior Project", helping wounded American military personnel.

There in eastern Idaho, craftspeople with military or police backgrounds work daily on the high-quality, solid TOPS knives that many professionals rely on and can rely on. Most TOPS knives have a tactical appearance, because that is what they were designed for. In recent years, however, TOPS Knives has also produced bushcraft and outdoor knives.

TOPS Knives was originally owned by Michael J. Fuller, alias "Jon Hand", who stepped down and retired for health reasons. He handed the day-to-day and overall management of TOPS Knives to current president Leo Espinoza. Leo had no military background and joined the knife company six months after TOPS was founded. He worked his way up through the company from the bottom to the top of TOPS. Leo is now assisted in media matters by Clint Helm, an excellent communicator.

TOPS knives are true "Tools of the Trade", designed and built using the extensive knowledge and real-life experience of many seasoned former operators with backgrounds in the military, law enforcement, outdoor pursuits & outdoor professions, and martial arts. TOPS has worked with designers from diverse backgrounds, ranging from Navy SEALs to Airborne Rangers, martial arts instructors to survival experts, and SWAT team members to Native American weapons experts. TOPS Knives has designers from almost every background involving functional knives and has been making its mark in the knife world for over 24 years.

You only reach that milestone by delivering quality cutting and chopping products, certainly not by making "rubbish from junk steel". And I really will not spend valuable time on "junk-steel knives".

THE EXTENSIVE TOPS RANGE.

TOPS knives are in demand worldwide and are used in "hot spot" regions. Countless people who are or were field operators use or have used TOPS knives and report top performance and reliability, including when their lives depended on the tools they carried. THAT IS EXACTLY WHY SPECIAL OPS PERSONNEL TRUST TOPS knives! And what about their field-proven bushcraft and outdoor knives? As a former soldier, I like specialised survival knives "designed & made by and for military personnel".

THE TOPS KNIFE RANGE INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING PRODUCT GROUPS:

1. Survival/Survival: 2. Tactical/Tactical; 3. Hunting/Hunting;

4. Everyday use/Every Day Carry (EDC); 5. Kitchen/Kitchen;

6. Accessories/Accessories; 7. Clothing/Apparel; 8. Kits/Kits;

9. Sheaths/Sheaths; 10. Specialised knives and equipment/Knives & Gear.

THE "PREDECESSOR" OF THE TOPS MULTI-PURPOSE AIRCREW TOOL M-PAT), THE U.S. JET PILOT SURVIVAL KNIFE (JPSK).

Back in the period from 1957 to 1962, before and during the Vietnam War, U.S. Navy and Air Force pilots were issued an American mass-produced survival knife, the U.S. Jet Pilot Survival Knife/JPSK, initially with a 6-inch blade and, after 1962, a 5-inch blade. Naturally, the JPSP remained in service after the Vietnam War, but it is now out of production, having had quite a few shortcomings. These included being blunt from the factory, poor edge retention = how long it stays sharp, a narrow full tang that was not "bombproof", and a leather handle that was very sensitive to climate and required considerable maintenance. But the stocks held in Army & Air Force stores are not endless either. From 2003, the JPSK was "briefly" replaced by the more modern Aircrew Survival Egress Knife/ASEK from the American knife factory Ontario Knives, until that renowned, genuinely American company went bankrupt. Professional military users who want to survive after a "bail-out" therefore really need a reliable new type of aircrew survival knife, such as this "handmade" TOPS M-PAT.

THE FAMOUS US AIR FORCE ACE COLONEL ROBERT OLDS WITH HIS JPSK ON HIS HARNESS.

THE TOPS MULTI-PURPOSE AIRCREW TOOL, THE M-PAT.

THE TOPS M-PAT.

Special OPS and I Trust TOPS Cause They're Hard To The Core

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOPS MULTI-PURPOSE AIRCREW TOOL, THE M-PAT, AND MY OLD SERVICE MEMORIES.

The TOPS Multi-Purpose Aircrew Tool/M-PAT is a creation of American Navy serviceman Seth "Torque" Brown, designed specifically for fighter-jet crew members. The fixed-blade knife was therefore deliberately made as "slim and thin" as possible without reducing blade stability. It is intended for carrying and potentially using in fighter cockpits, where space to move is very limited.

M-PAT DESIGNER AND USN F-18 WEAPONS OFFICER SETH "TORQUE" BROWN WITH THE TOPS PROTOTYPE.

Of course, the TOPS M-PAT is also very suitable for other "aircrew", such as crews of large transport aircraft and helicopters, the Royal Netherlands Army's Air Assault Brigade, and my "old GRO Air Force security & protection infantrymen", now known as the Aviation Troops. During my very active service at GPLV/Deelen Air Base, our GRO 2^nd Security and Protection Platoon was genuinely airborne/airmobile during a MIVO exercise even before the Air Assault Brigade, which was still being formed. This was thanks to good security results and, consequently, good "face-to-face" relations with the helicopter squadron leadership. And no, unfortunately I did not have a TOPS M-PAT fixed-blade knife on my duty belt then, but rather a much-used green Austrian field knife that I sharpened myself, or occasionally one of my own homemade knives. Multifunctional Swiss pocket knives were also favourites of mine, especially during survival exercises!

WINTER SURVIVAL:
See also the old photo below, preparing food/chicken during a winter survival week in February in the Belgian Ardennes, where I had nearly drowned in the Ourthe and ended up soaking wet and chilled through. Keeping moving and climbing the steep rock face, sweating heavily and using my green field knife to secure myself, was the right solution. The aim was to find a good survival campsite with fire & food (chicken). But now back to a useful survival knife, the TOPS M-PAT.

SURVIVAL IN PRACTICE BACK THEN, IN THE COLD WINTER (FEBRUARY).

THE TOPS M-PAT (MULTI-PURPOSE AIRCREW TOOL).
Thanks to its slim, thin profile and compact dimensions, the TOPS M-PAT sits ideally on your flight vest, combat vest, harness or sling without getting in the way. Its practical applications extend beyond the cockpit, and its size and fitted spring belt clips also make it perfectly suited to the tactical vests mentioned. The M-PAT is therefore always at hand when needed and stays out of the way when it is not. It is also ideal for vertical or inverted carry, with a "puncture-resistant" Kydex sheath featuring two retention systems, so the fixed-blade knife only comes free when you need it and draw it. The sharp clip-point blade is strong and versatile enough for self-defence and survival tasks, such as drilling holes. For bushcrafters, however, the TOPS M-PAT was not specifically designed as a bushcraft knife. It can do a lot, but this survival knife is sometimes a compromise for certain bushcraft tasks. Unlike the U.S. Jet Pilot Survival Knife/JPSK and ASEK, the TOPS M-PAT has no rasp saw on the spine, which in my opinion and that of others was only of limited use for rasping through thin aluminium sheet & aircraft skin.

The M-PAT does, however, have a sharp triangular striking surface that can also be useful. The TOPS M-PAT is made to be quickly ready when it matters and to remain unobtrusive when not needed. If you only have room for one compact self-defence and survival knife, the M-PAT is immediately available for the "U.S. survival doctrine"!

THE BLADE:
The clip-point blade, 124 mm long, 32 mm wide and 4,9 mm thick, with a short, almost sharp swedge and "wide blood grooves"/fullers, is made of "Good Old" 1095 carbon steel (not stainless, so it needs some maintenance despite its coating). The blade has robust geometry, a broad full tang, an integrated single guard, a pointed finger choil, a medium-sized sharpening choil, a weight-saving fuller on each side, grippy thumb jimping on the spine and a protruding triangular, pointed birdshead pommel at the end. The "wide blood grooves"/fullers allow you to grip the blade near the tip for fine cutting tasks and also shift the balance point towards the finger choil. This 1095 carbon steel is tough and can be sharpened to a razor edge, making it easy to restore razor sharpness in the field after heavy use with simple sharpening equipment. To prevent corrosion and unwanted light reflections (because if they cannot see you, they cannot take an aimed shot at you), the blade, except for the edge, has an attractive brown/sand-coloured coating. The uncoated edge needs extra care with an oily cloth. It remains a fact, however, that this coating, like every coating I know, can wear during years of rough, heavy use, especially in sandy, damp environments, and therefore will not look "new" forever. But just like the user's possible external "damage", this gives your fixed-blade knife character.

THE HANDLE:
The M-PAT's very slim, fairly narrow, aggressively angular, non-slip handle with a palm swell and finger choil is not particularly comfortable without gloves. It consists of a thin, textured reddish-brown/sand-coloured Canvas Micarta scale, the broad full tang skeletonised within the handle, and another thin, textured reddish-brown/sand-coloured Canvas Micarta scale. These scales are firmly screwed to the full tang with three Torx bolts and sleeves. Like true WW2 patriot and knifemaker John Ek, TOPS knows that three screw systems are much more robust than two. The triangular, pointed birdshead pommel protruding from the handle, with its oval wrist-strap hole, is suitable for hammering and breaking windows in an emergency, but not as a thumb rest when "stabbing" downwards. Or, of course, for temporarily stopping hostile antisocial attacks. The middle underside and rear of this handle, around the finger choil and triangular pointed birdshead pommel, are quite pointed and sharp. This makes it less comfortable for the bare hand, little finger or thumb, or against the ribs when carried close to the body. Military personnel now often use Mil Spec gloves or fire-resistant leather gloves, whereas we lacked almost everything back then, did a lot bare-handed and still do.

THE SHEATH:
The brown/sand-coloured/tan Kydex sheath consists of two Kydex halves, heat-formed around the knife and then securely joined with ten dark hollow rivets. They hold the knife outstandingly well and without rattling, also tested by shaking it upside down. As extra security against losing the knife, for example during a bail-out jump involving G-forces, the sheath also has a black plastic retention strap attached with a Phillips screw system and a TOPS "Pull the Dot" press stud, which opens in one direction. The space-age material Kydex is a strong, weather-resistant thermoplastic that protects the user against punctures from the sharp blade tip. For carrying on a belt, duty belt or harness, the sheath has two separate TOPS spring belt clips attached with two Phillips screw systems, suitable for belts & duty belts up to 55 mm wide. Unfortunately, the sheath lacks an essential drain hole for rainwater when outdoors/in the field. After rough field use, I would rinse the sheath under the tap or in a stream to wash out abrasive sand, shake it out and then let it air-dry. This can prevent unsightly scratches in the blade coating.

SPECIFICATIONS OF THE TOPS M-PAT.

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

At my request, without conditions or editorial instructions, Mr Clint Helm of the American knife company TOPS Knives sent me the MPAT fixed-blade knife with its reddish-brown textured Micarta handle for this new TOPS review. It was, of course, sent via their Dutch supplier Knives and Tools Online. The field-test findings and statements are entirely my own, and this review was sent directly to the webmaster without involvement from the knife company mentioned. Nor do I receive editorial instructions or pay/a salary from him or other interested parties.

TEST CONDITIONS.
If any part of the blade or supporting handle fails or breaks off, the field test is stopped immediately for safety, and I/we automatically rate the test sample as inadequate! Nor do I sharpen or dismantle the knives during my lengthy field tests! I do usually attach a braided "Snake Dot" finger/thumb lanyard and/or grease a leather sheath if present, and I clean and dry the knife and sheath after use.

RATING SCALE:

MY COMBINED FINDINGS & SCORES FOR THE TOPS M-PAT BEFORE THE E.D.C. AND FIELD TESTS.

MY COMBINED FINDINGS & SCORES FOR THE TOPS M-PAT DURING THE E.D.C. AND FIELD TESTS.

MY COMBINED FINDINGS & SCORES FOR THE TOPS M-PAT AFTER THE E.D.C. AND FIELD TESTS.

SUMMARY.

The TOPS M-PAT is a fixed-blade survival knife specially designed for military aircrew. They need a compact knife on their person for their work, one that is easy to carry in confined working spaces and sits comfortably on their body gear. They also need a full-tang fixed-blade knife that remains sharp, strong and useful during REAL survival after a stressful "bail-out", particularly when deployed out of area wearing tactical winter gloves, as required in the Arctic. Partly thanks to the robust blade geometry, the edge is almost "bombproof", but consequently the blade does not cut every material equally well. Despite the points for improvement noted during the field and E.D.C. tests and listed below, if I were still serving in the military, I would include the TOPS M-PAT in my equipment as a lifesaving compact survival knife. That is how much confidence I have in the quality of the TOPS M-PAT and other TOPS products. I would personalise it a little more to my taste, as I always did with gear during my military career. Through my "military survival eyes", it is much better than the old JPSK could ever be! I also understand that custom versions can be ordered from TOPS. But the TOPS M-PAT remains a very good compact military "Kill and Survive Tool, when you only have space for One Self-Defense and Survival Knife", as TOPS itself says.

MY WELL-INTENDED ADVICE TO MR CLINT HELM AND THE TOPS R&D DEPARTMENT ON POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE NEXT PRODUCTION BATCH. STATEMENT:

"Because whoever stops improving stops being good"!

- Make the surfaces of the angular handle scales a little less sharp, fuller and more oval, without the "hot spots" mentioned. This would also make the handle more comfortable for bare-handed use. And yes, I know, military personnel usually wear tactical gloves nowadays.

- Round off the pointed finger choil and pointed hook of the birdshead pommel on the underside of the tang, making them more comfortable and safer. Or did Seth "Torque" Brown and TOPS intend the pointed hook of the birdshead pommel as a pry bar?

- Lengthen the sheath's additional retention strap with its TOPS "Pull the Dot" press-stud fastening by at least half a centimetre, to allow faster one-handed operation under stress during an emergency bail-out.

- Add a drain hole to the Kydex sheath. In my opinion, this is essential, especially for a fixed-blade knife with a carbon-steel edge.

- To enable a lifesaving fire to be lit with a firesteel in an emergency while preserving the cutting edge, grind a sharp, uncoated 90-degree scraping surface, 1cm long, on the blade spine.

After I contacted TOPS, they declined these well-intended recommendations and will retain this military M-PAT configuration without the improvements mentioned in a subsequent production batch.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
My thanks to Mr Clint Helm of TOPS' communications department, who always replies to emails, and to TOPS for providing the TOPS M-PAT and communicating clearly throughout. Without all this, this new TOPS review would not have come about. See also their extensive product range at: https://www.topsknives.com

And thanks also to their TOPS dealer, the well-known Knives & Tools Online in Apeldoorn, for forwarding it.

THANKS AND SALUTE TO THE TOPS TEAM.