Having an EDC knife is always handy. It doesn’t have to be tactical either. Not that there isn’t a place for that, but realistically, what do you most often use your knife for? If you’re anything like me, it’s mostly opening packages, cutting some tape or cordage, or slicing up food.

I’ve carried a knife for well over 40 years, since I was around 10 or 12 as I recall. For a good chunk of that time it was a simple slipjoint, usually in the form of a Swiss Army Knife of one model or another. Over time I got in the habit of carrying a locking blade, with a pocket clip and a myriad of one hand opening methods. When I saw TOPS release their new Tex Creek Slipjoint though I got a little nostalgic for those days of just dropping a simple folder in my pocket and forgetting I had it until I needed it.

The Tex Creek Slipjoint

The Tex Creek Slipjoint has a classic look with some modern touches. You won’t mistake it for your granddad’s slipjoint, but at the same time he’d be perfectly comfortable using it. The Tex Creek was designed by Leo Espinoza, President of TOPS Knives, and built by Fox Knives in Italy. Leo took the lines of TOPS Tex Creek fixed blade and transformed it into a traditional design, built from top tier modern materials. He has a keen eye for design, and the folks at Fox Knives are known for crafting world class folders. It’s a perfect collaboration for a thoroughly modern tool rooted in tradition.

The Tex Creek is a compact, lightweight folding knife designed for everyday carry. It measures 5.13 inches overall, while closing down to just 3.13 inches for easy pocket carry. The 2.38 inch blade is crafted from premium M390 steel with a durable 0.110-inch thickness and features a tumble finish.

An OD green G10 handle provides a secure, comfortable grip without adding bulk. Weighing only 1.3 ounces on its own, or 1.8 ounces with the included brown leather sheath, this knife balances performance, portability, and refined materials in a minimalist package. MSRP on TOPS website is $240.00 although it’s currently marked down to $190.00.

Hands On

As the name implies, the Tex Creek is a slipjoint, a non-locking design. It has a positive half stop, and a stop pin to keep the blade edge from contacting the frame when the knife is closed. The back spring tension is just about perfect in my opinion. It’s strong enough that the knife doesn’t close easily under use, but not so strong that it’s hard to open.

Speaking of opening, you may notice that there is no nail nick or slot on the Tex Creek blade. To open the knife you just take the spine of the blade in a pinch grip and pull the blade open. That’s okay by me since my fingernails are always clipped short. I can’t effectively use most nail nicks anyway, especially if the back spring is overly strong.

At just over five inches lone when open, the Tex Creek is a little smaller than a standard 91mm Swiss Army Knife, like a Tinker of Spartan. I can get a comfortable three finger grip on it. The textured G10 handle and jimping on the spine back strap give you a secure grip, even with the relatively petite size of the knife. The scalloped OD green G10 gives it a modern, not quite tactical appearance, but still works well with the traditional lines of the knife.

The 2.38 inch M390 blade features a drop point and an unsharpened swedge on the spine. It makes for a precise point for detail cutting. The factory edge was excellent, so much so that I cut myself almost immediately. A knife is really never yours until it’s tasted your blood. I bonded with the Tex Creek immediately.

EDC

I carried the Tex Creek off and on over a couple of months. I’m used to carrying a larger folder with a pocket clip but quickly adapted to the little TOPS knife. At less than two ounces in weight, and only a little over three inches closed, it easily dropped into my jeans pocket. In fact it fit into the coin pocket of my jeans quite nicely. While it worked fine dropped into the main pocket, with the coin pocket it kept the knife from rattling around with my keys in the main pocket. It also sat higher up and was easier to grab when I needed it.

I mostly used it on conjunction with my lightweight EDC “kit” that consisted of my Charter Arms Coyote .380 ACP revolver, a couple of spare moon clips, and a Streamlight Microstream flashlight. The Coyote only weighs 14 ounces, and the Microstream 1.1 ounces. That makes for a pretty light overall loadout for a gun, 2 reloads, a knife and a light.

The leather sheath that the Tex Creek comes with is quite nice. It’s a simple, well made sleeve with the TOPS logo stamped into one side. If you want to protect the knife from banging around in your pocket it works well. It does add a little bit of bulk and an extra step to deploying the knife as you need to take the knife out of the sheath before opening it though. That isn’t a big issue since this isn’t a tactical knife and doesn’t really need to be deployed quickly. Personally I didn’t use it much, but it’s nice that it’s included for folks who will.

Performance

The Tex Creek provides big performance for such a little knife. The blade profile and excellent edge make daily cutting tasks easy.  It’s really comfortable in hand. More so than many of the more classic slipjoint I’ve used over the years. The textured grip and jimping give a good deal of control for fine cutting tasks.

While much of my use was simple stuff like opening boxes and packages, and cutting paracord, I did use it for some other things too. It saw some lunch duty cutting up meat sticks and cheese. And I had to cut up a couple apples, because that’s a traditional use for a slipjoint. In a more 21st century use, I used the Tex Creek to help clean up 3d prints as well. I trimmed off the flashing and skirts on prints and used it to help knock off supports. The fine tip could sneak into nooks and crevices that I couldn’t get into with the small needle nose pliers I often use for removing supports.

The weather hasn’t been conducive to sitting on the porch and doing any whittling, but I suspect the Tex Creek is going to do quite well at that too. The edge does bite into wood nicely, and the handle shape and contour allow for a variety of grips to be used comfortably. When we’re out of the single digit temperature swings I plan on spending some time on the deck or around the fire pit trying it out.

An Heirloom Folder

This little TOPS slipjoint exudes quality. Fox knows what they’re doing, and the fit and finish are prefect. It certainly isn’t the cheapest slipjoint on the market, but Leo and the folks at TOPS didn’t skimp on materials or quality when they came up with the design. The Tex Creek Slipjoint might not be the knife your grandfather carried, but it’s a knife that you’ll be able to pass down to your grandkids.

Specifications: TOPS Tex Creek Slipjoint:
Knife Type: Folding
Overall Length: 5.13”
Blade Length: 2.38”
Cutting Edge: 2.25”
Closed Length: 3.13”
Blade Thickness: 0.110”
Blade Steel: M390
Blade Finish: Tumble Finish
Handle Material: OD Green G10
Weight: 1.3oz
Weight w/ Sheath: 1.8oz
Sheath Included: Yes
Sheath Material: Brown Leather
Designer: Leo Espinoza
Made in: Italy
MSRP: $240 ($190 as of publish date)

– Tim Stetzer, Shooting News Weekly