TURLEY & TOPS PSK #23

TOPS NOMENCLATURE ( TURL-23)

Designed by: Terry Barney former U.S.A.F. S.E.R.E Instructor (now called S.E.R.E. specialist) and owner of Midwest School of Bushcraft. Terry worked closely with Iz to bring his idea to a working reality. He is also the creator of free woodsman classes at www.bushcraftusa.com

BACKGROUND: My name is Israel Turley, (friends call me Iz)…I’m a full time knife maker from Missouri the (Show me State). I specialize in hard use woodsman’s knives. My method is to make those knives is to be first a woodsman and second a knife maker, which I believe produces a better tool for the end user.

Knife making is a passion of mine, and I have been fortunate to be making knives for the last five years. I’m blessed being able to make a living at it, but the Woods do hold a special allure for me. I prefer going to woods over going to a knife show any day even though I love knives.

I have a wonderful family that supports me in my endeavor to do a job that’s not exactly common these days and most times not practical. My wife has been gracious enough to put up with me working in the shop most all day then coming in and talking on the phone, answering emails and working on the website the rest of the night.

I always heard that when you start a small business, that you live that business almost twenty four hours a day, they weren’t lying. But I love every minute of it, and I am fortunate that I receive good quality feedback from my customers and always strive to improve my designs.

God has allowed me to do something that gives me a productive purpose and to see people excited about using the knives that I make, well that’s a humbling and rewarding experience for me. The positive feedback from my customers motivates me every day, to get in the shop and get at it.

Many of my customers have become good and lasting friends of mine. That is one of the most rewarding and surprising gifts that knife making has given me. If, God forbid, I never made another knife it would have all been worth it just to become friends with the people I have. Those friendships will last long after anything else I could ever make.

When Mike contacted me about possibly working with TOPS, I was pretty excited to say the least. After talking with him for a while I knew this was the right way to go.

I’ve had dealings in both the knife and survival industries and most of the big name guys I’ve ran into aren’t anything like Mike. He’s a straight shooter, tells it like it is and leaves it at that. On top of that he’s accommodating to the little guy’s needs such as myself.

He doesn’t have to be but he is, that’s something very rare these days. That’s the reason why I chose to go with TOPS Knives. Mike Fuller is a prince of a guy. Of course having several buddies that use TOPS Knives and seeing what they put them through didn’t hurt either.

Thanks for your time and I hope you like what Mike and I are coming up with. If you’re interested then please keep your eyes on the TOPS Knives website for future possible Joint Adventures between TOPS and Turley knives. I sincerely appreciate your support very much.

God bless,
Iz
Romans 10:9

The Fieldcraft Knife was designed by The Brothers of Bushcraft, a coalition of men across North America focusing on sharing wilderness living skills of all categories. From tracking, to building shelters, the Brothers of Bushcraft make it a point to show the skills to all people, of all ages, from all over.

The Fieldcraft Knife is the culmination of their knowledge, combining experiences from; the broad and humid rain forests, the arid and scorpion-littered deserts, and the frigid northern lands that span the Americas.

The knife is ten inches long in total, with a blade length of four and a half inches. This makes a compact, but extremely serviceable knife. The Fieldcraft's blade is 3/16" thick, and made of 1095 High Carbon steel. The cutting edge is a modified Scandinavian Grind, which is very effective for carving, skinning and other general woods work. With a rockwell hardness of 56-58, the ease of sharpening is astounding. That is if you ever get to sharpen the blade. As the hardness and edge geometry work beautifully together to make a long lasting edge.

The handle is one of the most ergonomic ones on the market, sporting several useful additions. Although knives with a lot of frills often end up lacking, the additional items found on the Fieldcraft knife were selected from experience and critiqued in every step of design, development and production. Being made of canvas micarta, the handle will never let you down. The bow drill divot on the handle is frictionless and makes starting those primitive fires almost effortless. The "Thumb Scallops", formed on the hilt of the handle offer more comfort and control when using specialized carving and skinning grips. The pommel of the blade is simply the tang of the knife exposed enough to allow impact from a baton to not effect the handle (though the micarta is definitely tough enough to take such abuse). On the exposed pommel, you will find a scraper specially designed by one of The Brothers of Bushcraft, for striking Ferro rods in a safe and efficient manner.

The sheath is a strong, durable Kydex, with a steel belt clip. This arrangement allows a safe, secure and comfortable carry on the belt, pack strap, or even around the neck. With a built in Ferro-rod attachment point, the sheath now doubles as a minimalist survival kit.

The Fieldcraft knife has had heavy duty abuse, and testing done in the wilderness of Canada, where local survival experts Mors Kochanski, Dr. Gino Ferri, and many others have deemed her a "Serviceable Field Knife". These words are exactly what she is meant to be.

From carving netting needles and trap triggers, to splitting logs in two, the TOPS Knives/Brothers of Bushcraft Fielcraft Knife will do just about any chore that you can throw at her in a wilderness survival scenario.

Olive Drab SERE Belt Sizes:

'MISSION ENABLER'...is what MSG Kim Breed (5th Special Forces R' TD), called the MAK-7...

MAK-7 (short for Military Assault Knife),  was recently put through its paces in a Spec Sheet Review in Blade Magazine Sept 08
and  MSG Breed said the following:
"The MAK-7 from TOPS is a heavy-duty field dagger made to play rough.  I will say one thing:TOPS KNIVES are built strong.  The edge held up to the chopping, so I set my sights farther down the blade to the tip-the most used portion of a dagger.   I found an old 785 page parts book, and, using the overhand/ice pick grip, started stabbing big holes into it.  The MAK -7 penetrated all the way through, plus and eighth inch.  Even after eight stabs, the penetration was the same.
Overall:  The MAK 7 is a great heavy-duty dagger that will last a lifetime."
 
The foregoing are only excerpts from a full article appearing in the Sept 08 issue of Blade Magazine

Olive Drab SERE Belt Sizes:

Regular: Fits 26-40" Waist / with extra 8" tail @ 40"

X-PLUS: Fits 40-50" Waist / with extra 8" tail @ 50

'MISSION ENABLER'...is what MSG Kim Breed (5th Special Forces R' TD), called the MAK-7...

MAK-7 (short for Military Assault Knife),  was recently put through its paces in a Spec Sheet Review in Blade Magazine Sept 08
and  MSG Breed said the following:
"The MAK-7 from TOPS is a heavy-duty field dagger made to play rough.  I will say one thing:TOPS KNIVES are built strong.  The edge held up to the chopping, so I set my sights farther down the blade to the tip-the most used portion of a dagger.   I found an old 785 page parts book, and, using the overhand/ice pick grip, started stabbing big holes into it.  The MAK -7 penetrated all the way through, plus and eighth inch.  Even after eight stabs, the penetration was the same.
Overall:  The MAK 7 is a great heavy-duty dagger that will last a lifetime."
 
The foregoing are only excerpts from a full article appearing in the Sept 08 issue of Blade Magazine

**Engraving of one name (or initials) per WOOD STOP is included in the price.

WOOD STOP
(MADE FROM TROPICAL HARDWOOD- COMMONLY CALLED ‘BOCOTE’)…

Each ‘WOOD STOP’ is completely hand-finished and simple.

The WOOD STOP is dense and hard and made of material usually used for boat decking and flooring….This is a unique mail opener, backup piece, field expedient spear tip…
It can penetrate heavy cardboard and lighter-weight plasterboard. Yet the tool itself, has virtually no weight at all.

It is a great personalized gift for any guy or gal.

SPECS:
Overall Length: 7 1/2" can vary up to 1/8"
Thickness: 1/8" +
Blade Length: 4"
NOTES: Each pattern is unique (by nature of the wood). Dark luster finish; bottom side is flat; top side is convex…hand-rubbed finish.

***THIS SPECIAL OFFER INCLUDES, FIRST CLASS MAIL (INSIDE THE USA)  AND 2 WOOD STOPS FOR ONLY $19.95…..PLEASE ALLOW 2 WEEKS FOR SHIPPING.

WARNING: Contains no metal and should not be carried onto an aircraft or into any area where a regular ‘personal search’ is required.