offshore bucks

[RAZORBLADES]

This si why i don't like china knives,seen it many times before,Buck should have stayed away from the cheapo market imho


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRR63gVWm1I

[imafritz]

I don't know, I have the same knife and have used it pretty well, and I find no issues. They now make that knife in US.
Bantam 286

[Skelator88]

I actually bought the same knife for a friend, however it was not tested anywhere near like what he does. Cutting mail open thats about it no problems

[Badhammer]

I've seen similar videos involving just about every model of knife made by every manufacturer. I really could care less how someone else uses or abuses their knife and the results. YMMV

[Plumberdv]

Ol' southernfriedredneck or what ever the heck his name is, could more than likely have done the same to any knife given the treatment he subjected it to.

Buck's imports are very well made and they have nothing to be ashamed of. Some "folk" are just looking for any reason to bash anything not made in the US, IMHO.

[mbjannusch]

Ol' southernfriedredneck or what ever the heck his name is, could more than likely have done the same to any knife given the treatment he subjected it to.

Buck's imports are very well made and they have nothing to be ashamed of. Some "folk" are just looking for any reason to bash anything not made in the US, IMHO.

I agree, I understand that during use there is some wrenching or torque on the blade but if your intention is to pry on something use the proper tool not your knife. It made to cut not pry. I do like the fact that the blade didn't break. Its allot better to have a handle snap than pieces of jagged metal go flying into the air or your eye.

[StuntDouble]

So he proved that a years worth of using a knife for things a knife wasn't meant to be used for will eventually wear it out. Gee..I guess that is Buck's fault after all.

[RAZORBLADES]

wWell,he said he used the old U.S.A bucklite the same way for years and that still seemed to be working fine.I went to walmart and bought one myself this evening,and did my own little evaluation,it didn't take much to make the lock fail,and i can see why it fails also.The little usa mini bucklites are built better.

[pinnah]

Razorblades, did you get the Bantam or Bucklite Max? Can you describe why you think it is failing? Others have reported that the plastic Bantams have some flex.

Funny, I just noted tonight that my 482 has a good amount of vertical play. It's the only Buck I have that has play like that.

I would love to understand more about how the lockbacks develop play and/or fail.

[mbjannusch]

Vertical pay and prying abuse is completely different. The thing is made of plastic. How much pressure is it supposed to take to get the thing fails. If you don't like it don't buy it. Buy a 110

[sitflyer]

wWell,he said he used the old U.S.A bucklite the same way for years and that still seemed to be working fine.I went to walmart and bought one myself this evening,and did my own little evaluation,it didn't take much to make the lock fail,and i can see why it fails also.The little usa mini bucklites are built better.

The Bucklites are solid slabs of rigid plastic, Very stong...the one he busted is a hollow shell of plastic with flanges for the pins...not as strong. The 442's are also semi hollow with re enforcing ridges and flanges, again not as strong as the 422 or 426... I would not use these in the manner this person described, but for people who use a knife to cut things, they are fine.
A lock is only a safety device, and ANY safety device can be made to fail if one tries hard enough...

[Plumberdv]

wWell,he said he used the old U.S.A bucklite the same way for years and that still seemed to be working fine.I went to walmart and bought one myself this evening,and did my own little evaluation,it didn't take much to make the lock fail,and i can see why it fails also.The little usa mini bucklites are built better.

Well, he says he did, but I just wonder if he'd have done a video if he had ruined that one? Seems odd to me that he picked on an import, makes me wonder about his real agenda. If you read his followup remarks below the video screen, it becomes a little clearer.

[AfghanWarrior]

Last week I had a guy on another forum try to sell me a rare Buck (China) knife not produced (as per him), but smuggled out of China. He had all three colors. After a few key strokes I found out these are just cheap China fakes.

I have 20-30 bucks (Cali & Idaho) and no China Bucks. My pledge is never to own a China Buck.....

[RAZORBLADES]

I don't have the bucklite max,just the bantam,it flexes too much and allows the lock to disengage,it doesn't take abuse the make it unlock,it will flex in my hand if i cut something on a angle I can make it fail.Not sure what his agenda is,but i've watched hundreds of videos and i don't see where he damaged the knife in any way.If he had di any amount of prying with it the blade tip would have been gone me thinks.

[imafritz]

Vertical pay and prying abuse is completely different. The thing is made of plastic. How much pressure is it supposed to take to get the thing fails. If you don't like it don't buy it. Buy a 110

+1

[Plumberdv]

Agreed, anyone buying a plastic handled, linerless knife expecting it to perform and hold up as well as a more conventional framed knife is delusional. Me thinks the guy is just looking to bash an import.

[Plumberdv]

Last week I had a guy on another forum try to sell me a rare Buck (China) knife not produced (as per him), but smuggled out of China. He had all three colors. After a few key strokes I found out these are just cheap China fakes.

I have 20-30 bucks (Cali & Idaho) and no China Bucks. My pledge is never to own a China Buck.....:D

Good for you.

[oatmeal]

Do not blame chinese manufacuring. Too low production cost and bad enginering cause failure, not chinese manufacturing. I've got plenty of chinese brand knives (enlan, srm) that I am sure will take any hand use abuse.

[sitflyer]

Agreed, anyone buying a plastic handled, linerless knife expecting it to perform and hold up as well as a more conventional framed knife is delusional. Me thinks the guy is just looking to bash an import.

I think a lot of 422 and 426 owners, myself included, will be inclined to politely disagree with you on this point!
The knife that he BROKE, is of a hollow shell construction. The point he was trying to make is that the newer construction method, is cheaper and weaker than the old...his delivery was a tad offensive, but I agree with his points excepting the Political rant. That is a long dead horse!

[pinnah]

Do not blame chinese manufacuring. Too low production cost and bad enginering cause failure, not chinese manufacturing.

^^ This ^^

There a lot of ways to reduce costs. But IMO, all Buck lock backs should be roughly as safe and fail proof as the 110. I can deal with ugly handles (like the Bucklite Max) and could even cope with a handle busting. But I expect the lock to hold. Here's why...

A lock is only a safety device, and ANY safety device can be made to fail if one tries hard enough...

This is entirely reasonable advice but as a matter of practice, I don't treat my Opinels or Buck lock backs as folding knives with safety features. I treat them as folding fixed blades. I suspect I'm not alone on that. In fact, if I didn't count on the lock mechanism to hold, I would just use a slip joint.

When I'm bend cutting limbs and brush, occasionally my knife blade binds up in the wood. When that happens with a Buck or Opinel, I free the blade with a twisting and rocking motion. I don't think this abusive in anyway but I think this is exactly the kind of motion that could cause a failure like that video showed. I also wouldn't do that with a slip joint.

The thing is made of plastic. How much pressure is it supposed to take to get the thing fails. If you don't like it don't buy it. Buy a 110

There's a wide range of plastics and synthetics available. Some are soft and pliable and some are brittle. I suspect this failure is due to the pliability of the Bantam's plastic, just as Duane and RAZORBLADEs have noted. (I also suspect the smaller radius of movement of the shorter lockbar is a contributing factor.)

Obviously, no knife is indestructible. My Opinels have a lock system that even more secure than the Buck lockback. The blade or handle will break before the lock fails. (Search for the Traditional forum for posts by Carl aka "Jackknife" for one such story.) Those are really inexpensive knives with locks that are very secure. I have a tick less confidence in lockbacks in general, but *sense* that the Bucklite Max with its more rigid (brittle) frame would fail more like the Opinel and less like the Bantam. Outright breaking of the handle is different than the joint deforming, the lock releasing and then folding the blade against the frame.

Put a 110, Ecolite, Bucklite Max and a Bantam each in bubble wrap side by each on the display rack. How is the average customer able to know which he can trust and which one he can't? IMO, if a lockback isn't pretty darn close to the 110 in terms of the safety of the lock, it shouldn't have the Buck name on it.