Here at Knife Newsroom, we love TOPS Knives. We’ve waxed poetic about them before. We’ve even talked about this particular series from TOPS Knives before. Why are we once again waxing poetic about the TOPS Steel Eagle 107C? Because they made it cooler! (*My editor doesn’t like it when we say something is “cool.” He most likely will hate it when we say “cooler,” and he might stroke out over “way cooler” but…) It’s so much way cooler we’re willing to risk getting in trouble for saying it is “way cooler”! The TOPS Knives Steel Eagle 107C-XX has a knife within a knife. It’s like those Russian nesting dolls your grandma used to collect when you were a kid, except with knives. Or as TOPS puts it, the 107C-XX is “The knife that is also a sheath!”
Beloved within the Special Operations community, the TOPS Steel Eagles were the first knives TOPS produced. They haven’t changed the formula for the TOPS Steel Eagle 107C-XX, they’ve just added an element of versatility to the mix.
All they did (all, we say) was to cut out a section of the handle, into which they embedded a Mini-Eagle by burying the 3” blade of the Eagle Mini into the handle of the 107C, hence the 107C-XX – see? Way cooler, because sometimes you just need a smaller blade to deal with smaller tasks.
The main 107C is still the knife you love, even in the 107C-XX version. It’s still entirely manufactured in the USA and features a durable 7.60” hunters point blade forged from 1095 carbon steel with a flat sabre grind and black traction coating. And it still has the same 4.25” rugged reverse saw tooth spine. It even has the same black linen micarta handles you expect to see on the 107C.
The Mini-Eagle is made from the same materials as the TOPS Steel Eagle 107C. It features a 3” partially serrated clip point blade, made with the same traction Coated 1095 high carbon steel as the 107C.
The Mini easily separates from the butt of the 107C by simply loosening the OD550 cord which is threaded through the tang, then pulling the Mini out. It locks back in place with a quiet, but still audible snap, then you simply tighten the push button cord lock to securely hold the Mini in place.
This combo knife set also still includes the MOLLE compatible ballistic nylon belt sheath with the plastic insert and utility pocket.
TOPS Steel Eagle 107C-XX Details
- 1095 Carbon Steel
- 7.50″ Hunters Point, Black Traction Coating
- 0.25” Thick
- 56-58 HRC
- Micarta
- Fixed Blade
- Black Ballistic Nylon
- 13” Overall
- 26.4 ounces with Sheath
TOPS Mini-Eagle Details
- 1095 Carbon Steel, Black Traction Coating
- 3″ Clip Point, Partially Serrated
- 56-58 HRC
- 0.25” Thick
- Micarta
- 5.25” Overall
The TOPS Steel Eagle 107C-XX because how could one not love a knife within a knife. If you’re interested in this knife, click any link in the article or simply click the button below.
All images courtesy of Smoky Mountain Knife Works – smkw.com.
*Editor’s Note: Yes. It’s cool, but we docked the writer’s pay for “so much way cooler.”
