TOPS has returned to a longstanding collaboration knife, the Anton du Plessis-designed Silent Hero, for a smaller version called the Silent Hero 4. This variant keeps the design intact, but brings the dimensions down into a much more compact space.
The original Silent Hero is a true veteran in the production knife world, having done the rounds for nearly a decade now. Like many TOPS Knives, particularly from that era, it was a hard use fixed blade with tactical elements, drawn up by du Plessis for use in South Africa in interdiction operations against poaching. The Silent Hero’s 6.38-inch blade was a stout, wide drop point, adept at a wide range of demanding outdoors cutting jobs.
That blade profile is still present and accounted for on the Silent Hero 4, but significantly smaller. With a 4.25-inch cutting edge, this 2022 sequel is about 30% smaller, and that’s not taking into account the thinner blade stock too. Fixed blades vary much more widely in their blade length than folders, and the use categories are, correspondingly, a little bit looser too. So it’s hard to say what the Silent Hero 4 can’t do that it’s big brother can; it may not be as adept at batoning or chopping, but it’s still a sturdy, capable tool, more than able to be a primary outdoor fixed blade. The steel remains the same, TOPS’s tried-and-true 1095, so toughness and ease of sharpening are also high.
The Silent Hero 4’s also carries the wasp body-shaped handle forward from the original, with a deep groove under the guard and a curved spine that to turns back to fill the palm. One element that is gone on the Silent Hero 4 is the forward finger choil on the blade itself; however, the lashing points on the guard and butt end are still here, so users can further secure their hand with a length of paracord. Instead of a leather sheath, the Silent Hero 4 comes with a Kydex one, which will certainly better withstand the elements. In total, it weighs 8.8 oz.
Knife in Featured Image: TOPS Knives Silent Hero 4
