In late 1998, TOPS Knives was founded with a mission to create the highest-quality knives around. Our Knives are tools, designed and built using the extensive knowledge and real life experiences of many Operators with backgrounds in Military, Law Enforcement, outdoor professions, and Martial Arts. Specifically, we have worked with designers with backgrounds ranging from Navy Seals to Airborne Rangers, from Martial Arts instructors to survival experts, and from SWAT Team Members to Native American weapons experts. We have a designer from nearly every background that uses hard-core knives. Perhaps the best part, all TOPS fixed blades are manufactured and hand-finished at our facility in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, USA. Our Knives have been requested and deployed in "Hot Spots" all over the world. Numerous individuals who are or were Field Operators use or have used our knives and report top performance and reliability from times when their life depended on the tools they had with them.