Thanks for the review. You are correct that it is a modified Scandi grind, not a full Scandi. We do that because we've found that it holds up to harder use than a standard Scandi grind. 90 degree spines - We don't do them on our high carbon blades because they're differentially heat-treated. In a lot of cases, this means the spine will be too soft to hold up to scraping or striking a ferro rod for long because it will round. That is why we just don't do it. We have nothing against the bushcrafters that like that feature, it just doesn't work well with differentially treated blades.
Thanks brother , I just got my first Tops knife and chose the Brakimo and I'm super pleased. Matter of fact if I had this knife 5 years ago I would have saved a crap ton of money . I think this is the best utility camp craft knife out there, its just awesome in hand .. I'm now a Tops fan can't wait for my MSK to show up LOL 😂 Got it to piggyback with the Brakimo .
Best brakimo review on RUclips. I think most reviewers are underrating this knife a bit. It’s pretty much flawless for what you get for the price. A real complete package with no upgrades ever necessary. I find the handle feels great In hand. Fit and finish was flawless. Came hair shaving sharp out of box
I saw a review from Chris Tanner, Will from Mantis outdoors and Bengi from living survival and they all agree the handle was to thin. i like it. If it's too thin, just take the scales of and add another layer of liners.
Ramon Rodriguez. 😂😂 Bengi?! I don't know why I found that so funny; I literally laughed out loud. It's just Ben, if you didn't know 🤣. But for real though, I have the Brakimo and it's the absolute bomb. I agreed with the others with the handle at first, but after using that knife exclusively for about 5 or 6 months, I love the handle. I like how thin it is now. I don't know why, but it just became really comfortable. Not to say that it wasn't uncomfortable in the beginning. It just takes some getting used to. And because of how well the blade preforms, it is most definitely worth it.
I'd been interested in this since I first saw it. You and Chris did a great job testing it and showing it to us. Looks like a good knife. I enjoyed this and am considering purchase. I use Frog Lube on all my knives too. Thanks guys.
+Wingman115 Well, I bought the Brakimo yesterday. It was between that and the Esse 6. Thanks to you and Chris for the review, it helped me make my decision. I watched 4 times before choosing, lol.
Say Heah John, Almost every knife that sort of used the Mora Signature Style of Blade are Successful, Starting with my Skookum Bush Tool in 3V to my Fallkniven H-1 to all other's who made that shape including Top's. I personally really like this style of blade and I'm having a H-1 made with a Wood Handle how kewl is that. ,, .
nice technique at 3:20 that's nice blade and you did a good rundown. Looking up the prices....yikes over 250$ to get this in my hands shipped. I might need to smuggle this in next time I'm in the states.
Blademates on Google+ is my favorite group to be around! everyone there Rocks!, I promised Shane a shoutout on my channel, and hope we can add more blade members!
Thank you for your answer. One more question please. How does this knife compare to the BOB? I like the design of both knives but I am leaning heavily towards the Brakimo. However, the BOB with the 154cm steel looks interesting. I live on the coast in San Diego and prefer stainless.
where in SD are you from? I'm south of the SD airport (south of downtown). I also have the brakimo, love it. Christ Tanner and Will from mantis outdoors thought the handle was to thin, but I find it comfortable.
He sold off a bunch of his stuff and disappeared. I bought 8 of his SAKs, a mora black, 2 companions, a bushlore, boker and a few more. Idk what happened though.
I REALLY LIKE THAT KNIFE, BUT AT $220 IN UK, ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, TOPS MAKE THE 3 KNIVES I WOULD BUY FOR EVERYTHING, THE NEW STEEL EAGLE AND MISSILE STRIKE, AND THIS WOULD COVER EVERYTHING, TOPS KNIVES ARE REALLY GOOD KNIVES, YOU SHOWED THEIR NEW DESERT NOHMAD, AND TOO ME THAT`S A STRONGER MODERN EK KNIFE, KEEP THE VIDS COMING, AND WELL DONE
Say Heah John and Christopher, Great review, But doing this for a few 24's I'm bound to find one of my knives, and I might add one of my Fav sizes, It reminds me of one of my Ratmandu's especially my INFI versions the way I have the grind, Yeah, I Vexed a High Saber and I don't care how not Bushcraft Knife it is, But here in the United States, It's one great Wood Crafting Knives I use. I do have one slightly smaller which prolly fits the Bushcraft knife criteria size wise. It's my Son of Badger it's a 4 1/2" blade and approx 1.4" wide and around a 5/32nd" thickness, But then I went one size bigger and had my Rodent 6 modified by thinning it down from its robust. 265" thickness to less than a 1/4". But I also had the top gaurd taken off so basically I got a Ratmandu on steroids, It's one of my Fav's 6" blades than my Fallkniven A-1. I also have a more traditional Hunting Knife with a European hand gaurd also a Fallkniven Northern Light Njord. A beauty. But that's how I grade a knife, I use one of my knives as a measuring stick, and I can tell you have a great knife design there, Simply by how my knives work I'm the bush. O basically use my knives for that. Oh, I also have a 5 1/2" Rodent 5, with a similar Busse signature style blade that is one of my Fav's that I made one of my Fav Trios, Its my go to Trio Set, I teamed it with my 2Hawks Double Bit Hatchet and my Wicked Tough Saw, I can carry this Trio on my belt all of them at once. I can also add a Canteen and a Necessities Pouch so if I go very light to scout a area out, All I need is a Haversack and I'm good to go, If I want to play Nessmuk, I pouch carry my Cold Steel Black Rhino folder and Blip, Blap, Blam that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, No doubt that's a keeper, Yeah, It's very similar to some great knives. I always said this, Top's makes some real nice looking knives, I just wish they used the CroVan Steel, I would be a Top'er
Hey wingman! You maybe know me but I am George Abraitis's grandson. I just started RUclips and was wondering if I could get a shout out. But if you don' t do that kind of stuff, it is fine.
When did it become 'tacti-cool' to call a knife a "blade"? A blade is the edge of a tool called a knife. Well maybe you're one of those guys that calls mags "clips". :-)
Or you could do what a real woodsman does and buy a hatchet or a tomahawk, and carry a small saw. Standing there chopping with a knife when you could be using a hatchet or a tomahawk just looks incredibly silly. Batoning those big pieces of wood looks even sillier. I's like watching children play with daddy's gear they snuck out of the garage.
+James Ritchie For heavens sake James that's not a way to make friends and influence people. LOL stand down and relax its just a video. Too much internet expert woodsman comments may raise your blood pressure.
Thanks for the review. You are correct that it is a modified Scandi grind, not a full Scandi. We do that because we've found that it holds up to harder use than a standard Scandi grind.
90 degree spines - We don't do them on our high carbon blades because they're differentially heat-treated. In a lot of cases, this means the spine will be too soft to hold up to scraping or striking a ferro rod for long because it will round. That is why we just don't do it. We have nothing against the bushcrafters that like that feature, it just doesn't work well with differentially treated blades.
Keep up the great job with your knives, I just received my new Brakimo in the mail. Thumbs up guys!
Thanks brother , I just got my first Tops knife and chose the Brakimo and I'm super pleased. Matter of fact if I had this knife 5 years ago I would have saved a crap ton of money . I think this is the best utility camp craft knife out there, its just awesome in hand .. I'm now a Tops fan can't wait for my MSK to show up LOL 😂 Got it to piggyback with the Brakimo .
Good stuff thanks for watching.
Best brakimo review on RUclips. I think most reviewers are underrating this knife a bit. It’s pretty much flawless for what you get for the price. A real complete package with no upgrades ever necessary. I find the handle feels great In hand. Fit and finish was flawless. Came hair shaving sharp out of box
I saw a review from Chris Tanner, Will from Mantis outdoors and Bengi from living survival and they all agree the handle was to thin. i like it. If it's too thin, just take the scales of and add another layer of liners.
Ramon Rodriguez. 😂😂 Bengi?! I don't know why I found that so funny; I literally laughed out loud. It's just Ben, if you didn't know 🤣.
But for real though, I have the Brakimo and it's the absolute bomb. I agreed with the others with the handle at first, but after using that knife exclusively for about 5 or 6 months, I love the handle. I like how thin it is now. I don't know why, but it just became really comfortable. Not to say that it wasn't uncomfortable in the beginning. It just takes some getting used to. And because of how well the blade preforms, it is most definitely worth it.
I can't wait till Tops sends my Brakimo out to me. I literally went home and bought it after this review. Great stuff! had a fun time using this knife
+BlackRifle Survival 👍🏻👊🏻🇺🇸
+Wingman115 just got it in the mail, woohoo!
I love my Brakimo and my Tops BOB.
Cool knife for sure. Go Joe!
+Bob Wampler (Wambo) Thanks for watching.
I'd been interested in this since I first saw it. You and Chris did a great job testing it and showing it to us. Looks like a good knife. I enjoyed this and am considering purchase. I use Frog Lube on all my knives too. Thanks guys.
Your welcome.
+Wingman115 Well, I bought the Brakimo yesterday. It was between that and the Esse 6. Thanks to you and Chris for the review, it helped me make my decision. I watched 4 times before choosing, lol.
sameold77
Well thanks for the views! I hope the blade gives you many years of use and fond memories.
I like the Brakimo better than anything else TOPS makes in this size. Great review, as usual.
+Arctodus Simus Thanks for the channel support.
Great review! Ive been subbed to Chris' channel for a couple of months. I like his content. Great collaberation
+The Bulliet Woodsman Thank you for the support.
Excluding the micarta handles and kydex sheath, how do you compare this to a bk 10 for survival
love this blade! nice work john!
+BRL Bushcraft & Survival Thanks for watching.
Great review man. I'm sold on this blade now.
Thanks for watching.
Looks like a solid design John! I like the fact that you can use the bowdrill with the sheeth on the blade. Cheers, Marc
+Scouting Free It worked really well. Thanks Marc
Great vid guys!!!
Yeah I agree and practice the same techniques with regard to bow drill!
Good looking knife, sweet bow drill set. I wonder why the lanyard hole is so large? Excellent review!
+Hiker Marapese Joe dates to be different.
Joe flowers said the lanyard hole was oversized for the weight and balance of the knife.
A quick question for you:
Between the Brakimo and the FirstEdge 5050 and 5150...
Pros, cons??
+WDLC1911 can't compare 2 different grinds and designs.
I just picked up a Brakimo to learn some Bushcrafting skills, I was wondering why burn in abow drill, just to remove it? Is it better for the board?
New2Kendo yes it helps get a coal started.
Say Heah John, Almost every knife that sort of used the Mora Signature Style of Blade are Successful, Starting with my Skookum Bush Tool in 3V to my Fallkniven H-1 to all other's who made that shape including Top's. I personally really like this style of blade and I'm having a H-1 made with a Wood Handle how kewl is that. ,, .
really nice review and blade love the design and the overall shape of knife 👍
of the knife
Great review which wood did you make the bow drill drill set out of?
We used pine.
Love your channel by the way!
Nice review. My one question is the lanyard loop design and the fact that it has Micarta flush with the rear tang.
Awesome looking blade!
+WDLC1911 You saw how it processed the pine cone. Over time it may wear on the micarta it depends on what you use it for.
my favorite bush knife from tops! I still go to my silent hero but this knife is a grand slam!!
+Daniel De La Cruz 👍🏻👊🏻🇺🇸
what about resharpening or putting edge back on this type of grind?
It’s a Scandi grind. Sharpen it like every other Scandi.
Still debating this over a bob, such a hard decision… I’m also a fire ranger up in Canada so thanks for being careful out there guys
Both knives would work out fine.
Damn... I dig it!
+Loris Buschor Joe designed a awesome knife.
nice technique at 3:20 that's nice blade and you did a good rundown. Looking up the prices....yikes over 250$ to get this in my hands shipped. I might need to smuggle this in next time I'm in the states.
Very nice.
+Wheels gone Wild Thanks for checking in.
Fantastic knife.
Nice review love your channel bro
Thank you so much.
Dude you are both in SD?! One of you are a blademate of mine and the other I am a big fan of.
Blademates on Google+ is my favorite group to be around! everyone there Rocks!, I promised Shane a shoutout on my channel, and hope we can add more blade members!
Sweet knife
Thanks for watching.
Nice knife! :)
+FuwaForestFilms (Hillbilly) 👍🏻👊🏻
Hi. Do you still own and use the Brakimo? Do you still rate the knife a 5 after extended use? Thanks for the review.
This knife is still kicking butt and taking names.
Thank you for your answer. One more question please. How does this knife compare to the BOB? I like the design of both knives but I am leaning heavily towards the Brakimo. However, the BOB with the 154cm steel looks interesting. I live on the coast in San Diego and prefer stainless.
great collaboration guys! you two are a great team! im subbed to his channel as well... i really like this knife bro it looks like a winner!
+TAC-HILL Thank you for the support.
Is there any coming on this knife and does it have a sharpened spine?
Spine is not sharp.
When are the new matt Graham knifes coming out?
+Giovanni Ambriz Not sure I have to contact Condor.
is there a secondary bevel on that Scandinavian??
Mine looks like it might have a micro bevel... but she sure is sharp...
where in SD are you from? I'm south of the SD airport (south of downtown). I also have the brakimo, love it. Christ Tanner and Will from mantis outdoors thought the handle was to thin, but I find it comfortable.
+Ramon Rodriguez South San Diego.
nice blade for sure, although I'm not a huge fan of the huge lanyard hole.
+Punisher Outdoors Thanks for checking in.
i want this knife in elmax steel or lam.cos steel
+Zebra Stripes yes!
This or the Sxb ?
Both! 2 Way different knife designs.
***** thanks. I just bought a SXB today can't wait for it to come in! The brakimo looks great though I want to get my hands on one! Love your videos!
anybody know what happened to swissarmyzippo? his channels gone. and I never heard anything from him for awhile
+andy pilman Dropped off radar.
He sold off a bunch of his stuff and disappeared. I bought 8 of his SAKs, a mora black, 2 companions, a bushlore, boker and a few more. Idk what happened though.
Wow. I wonder what happened
+sameold77 did he stop selling the knife he designed also?
I REALLY LIKE THAT KNIFE, BUT AT $220 IN UK, ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, TOPS MAKE THE 3 KNIVES I WOULD BUY FOR EVERYTHING, THE NEW STEEL EAGLE AND MISSILE STRIKE, AND THIS WOULD COVER EVERYTHING, TOPS KNIVES ARE REALLY GOOD KNIVES, YOU SHOWED THEIR NEW DESERT NOHMAD, AND TOO ME THAT`S A STRONGER MODERN EK KNIFE, KEEP THE VIDS COMING, AND WELL DONE
Joe has yet to design a knife I wouldnt use
He designs some awesome stuff for sure!
Say Heah John and Christopher, Great review, But doing this for a few 24's I'm bound to find one of my knives, and I might add one of my Fav sizes, It reminds me of one of my Ratmandu's especially my INFI versions the way I have the grind, Yeah, I Vexed a High Saber and I don't care how not Bushcraft Knife it is, But here in the United States, It's one great Wood Crafting Knives I use. I do have one slightly smaller which prolly fits the Bushcraft knife criteria size wise. It's my Son of Badger it's a 4 1/2" blade and approx 1.4" wide and around a 5/32nd" thickness, But then I went one size bigger and had my Rodent 6 modified by thinning it down from its robust. 265" thickness to less than a 1/4". But I also had the top gaurd taken off so basically I got a Ratmandu on steroids, It's one of my Fav's 6" blades than my Fallkniven A-1. I also have a more traditional Hunting Knife with a European hand gaurd also a Fallkniven Northern Light Njord. A beauty. But that's how I grade a knife, I use one of my knives as a measuring stick, and I can tell you have a great knife design there, Simply by how my knives work I'm the bush. O basically use my knives for that. Oh, I also have a 5 1/2" Rodent 5, with a similar Busse signature style blade that is one of my Fav's that I made one of my Fav Trios, Its my go to Trio Set, I teamed it with my 2Hawks Double Bit Hatchet and my Wicked Tough Saw, I can carry this Trio on my belt all of them at once. I can also add a Canteen and a Necessities Pouch so if I go very light to scout a area out, All I need is a Haversack and I'm good to go, If I want to play Nessmuk, I pouch carry my Cold Steel Black Rhino folder and Blip, Blap, Blam that's what I'm talking about. Yeah, No doubt that's a keeper, Yeah, It's very similar to some great knives. I always said this, Top's makes some real nice looking knives, I just wish they used the CroVan Steel, I would be a Top'er
I'm stuck between this one and the bob
I pick is the BOB better handle design.
I love your channel but that salute isn't quite regulation.
+Seventh Seal I'm a former Navy AO we always buck the system. IYAOYAS!
Where are you in SD?
if i see one more guy
“batoning “ “feather sticking “
piece wood gonna slit my wrist
Question If you were a reviewer how would you test and review the product? Just asking to get ideas for future video's.
Holy crap you're a Hobbit! Chris towers over you and that pine cone is huge ROFL 😜😅😂
LOL I'm ok with that.
Hey wingman! You maybe know me but I am George Abraitis's grandson. I just started RUclips and was wondering if I could get a shout out. But if you don' t do that kind of stuff, it is fine.
Lets meet up and I will get you on camera!
that pine cone made out of shark teeth is crazy alien looking loll. nothing like that here in ohio
+Tim Beiber 👍🏻👊🏻
*Colombian Matis....FYI
People with large size hands will find the handle is to short.
Thanks for the info.
When did it become 'tacti-cool' to call a knife a "blade"? A blade is the edge of a tool called a knife. Well maybe you're one of those guys that calls mags "clips". :-)
+MississipVol LoL relax my friend and seek refuge in your safe space all will be ok. Thanks for watching.
Who cares
The TOPS metal clips suck. Good point.
+Seventh Seal Thanks for watching.
Or you could do what a real woodsman does and buy a hatchet or a tomahawk, and carry a small saw. Standing there chopping with a knife when you could be using a hatchet or a tomahawk just looks incredibly silly. Batoning those big pieces of wood looks even sillier. I's like watching children play with daddy's gear they snuck out of the garage.
+James Ritchie For heavens sake James that's not a way to make friends and influence people. LOL stand down and relax its just a video. Too much internet expert woodsman comments may raise your blood pressure.
Bwuaahaaa! Another knife by Tops with NO 90 degree spine. No thanks.
+mister smith Not everything needs a 90 deg spine. Most folks won't even use it that way.
+Wingman115 You are correct. Of course, I do use tge spine of my knives, therefore Tops never makes the cut for me.
It's fugly
But it works.