Knives Illustrated – August 2019

Above: There is enough

room with the belt

clip to

allow the knife to

be tilted as the user

T desires.

OPS Knives has a well-

deserved reputation for a

wide array of original and

very functional knife designs.

Their Fieldcraft Knife, designed by

Brothers of Bushcraft, for example, is

wildly popular among bushcrafters

and other outdoors folks because

it just plain works. While the C.U.T.

4.0, designed by Joshua Swanagon,

bridges the gap between a combatives

blade and a fi eld utility knife. And the

newest in their vast line of high-quality

innovation is the Rapid Strike, designed

by TOPS President Leo Espinoza.

From the outset, The Rapid Strike was

intended to be an excellent secondary

weapon option for military personnel,

law enforcement oŠ cers, and prepared

civilians. A fi rearm, combined with

Right: The jimping on

the spine, and around

the handle, provides

a solid grip in all

conditions. Credit: TOPS

Knives

practice, as well as the resolve to use

it when necessary, is typically seen as

the best choice for a defensive weapon.

That said, a good quality knife is often

carried as a backup.

The Rapid Strike serves in this capacity

quite well.

First Impressions

The fi rst thing I noticed when taking

the Rapid Strike from the box was its

weight, or rather the lack of weight.

Despite having an overall length

topping out at just over 8.5 inches, the

knife weighs a mere few ounces. It is a

very slim knife. The blade, at its widest

point, is just 0.75 inch across, while the

handle is just a hair more than 0.375

inch thick. The thin size, coupled with

the light weight, makes the Rapid Strike

very fast in the hand.

The next thing that was evident was

how the hand really locks into the grip.

Because it is so slim, I was worried it

would feel lost in my hand, but that

was not the case at all. The contour of

the handle feels perfect. The knife has

G-10 scales that have a mild texturing;

there’s just enough roughness to let you

know it’s there without being aggressive

or obnoxious.

40 KNIVES ILLUSTRATED • JULY/AUGUST 2019 knivesillustrated.com