TOPS El Pionero

A few years back, Ed Calderon was able to host one of his most famous training courses at TOPS Knives and took the time to be a guest on TOPS Daily Grind. During his time in Idaho Falls, there were many conversations about edged tools and weapons. Ed, along with Leo (TOPS’ president) agreed that a knife designed by Ed and produced by TOPS would be epic. This was the basis for the design that became El Pionero. It’s a simple design based on what is probably the most common knife type on the globe–a paring knife.

El Pionero has many other features that Ed has found to be useful on knives throughout his experience. The finger divot is a signature of his that he originally learned from his mother and is designed to make it easy to know where the edge is oriented based on where that divot is felt, but also helps when extracting a knife that has been stabbed into something and may be somewhat stuck. The false edge aids in stabbing as well. The Kydex sheath is low profile, and easily customized by the end user to be worn in multiple configurations.

Ed Calderon’s experience in counter narcotics, organized crime investigation, and executive protection along with his unique ability to recognize talents and skills in everyone from tier one operators to street performers has ensured that what he has to offer in terms of training and knowledge are in high demand. 

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