500 lock bar

E

EagleIH

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
179
Just bought a 500 at SMKW. The lock bar is not flush when the knife is closed. The gentleman working the Buck counter let me look at all of the 500s they had in stock (probably about eight) and they all were like this. I tried to pick the one with the best fit and finish. Is this normal for the 500 or was this perhaps a bad run of 500s? Thanks in advance.
 
My production 501 came like that and it annoyed the heck out of me to where I took a file to it so now it sits flush. If you order a custom 500 series knife, it's a different story and as far as I know everything comes out flush with the custom. Not sure why Buck can't fix this issue with the production model.
 
jb4570 said:
Eagle & S&S,

This same issue has been a topic of conversation with another 500 series knife in the past, as pointed out by S&S.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...bad-batch-or-the-factory-design?highlight=501

You should contact Buck IMHO.
jb4570
Click to expand...

Thanks.
According to that thread, it seems to be a tolerance issue which boils down to quality control. If all it takes is a quick finishing off on the sanding wheel, at no additional cost, well then c'mon Buck get it done. It's a great knife and series but this little lock bar issue needs to be rectified. If we write a letter and pass it around to the forum members who have had this issue, and get some signatures, maybe we'll see some better results. What do you all think?
300, what do you think about this idea?
 
I'm no expert, having just learned my way around the innards of a lock back, but here's what I noticed on an old no-nail 112 with the same issue:

It takes a lot of pressure to unlock. When I shine a light in it, the spring seems to contact the rocker farther forward than other knives without the problem. That looks sorta like either the shoulder on the rocker is too far back, or the spring is too long and extra pressure is pushing the back end of the rocker upwards
 
Well if Buck hasn't looked to correct this by now, it probably doesn't bother enough people for them to do anything about it. If I knew what I know now, and it's not alot but a little more than before, I would have never settled for the 501 they sent me. I would have kept sending it back and if they couldn't find one with a flush liner or lock back bar, I would have gotten a refund.
 
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Go to the bottom of the Buck forum main page and click on Joe Howser. Send him a email, not a PM. Tell him about it, he likely will say to send yours to him to be fixed and he will check up on the situation. But, don't expect instant action or reply. Its bow elk season in Idaho.....300
 
Issues like this have all kinds of angles. I have some 300s with production issues and the spring height one is not super rare. I have buffed down a few and just left the other alone. The higher dollar ones seem to have less flaws. The 300s and 500s are production line knives. How that line is supervised and inspected AND what the workers are trained to let go by, I do not know. In the end if someone has a Buck knife issue and its not fixed or they don't get a new knife after they contact Buck , then I am not defensive or disagree if they complain to me. You can do lots more by calling factory and making a statement than any list we generate. The number of 500s represented by forum members active here it is a very small percentage of production. However, if you wish to do a 500 letter you can ask people to private message you and you get together and do one on your own. The forum rules will likely squash any other actions if I take it farther up the line of forum authority.

300
 
Thanks 300. I sent a polite email to Joe Howser just to pick his brain and get his take on it also.
 
I received an email response from Buck concerning the lock bar issue. Their response was that the issue of the rocker not being flush with the case is something that they have been fighting for years. It has to do with the tolerance stack on all the various parts. If each part ends up at a certain spot in its tolerance range, they get the issue. The knives they've seen are not easily fixed. If the rocker is flush in the closed position, it is not flush in the open. So if you open the blade and grind the rocker flush to the case, once you close it, it won’t be flush. They are hopeful that they will figure out how to remedy this as the knife would look a lot nicer if it were flush in both positions.
 
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