I'm one who could be grouped into the anti-recurve faction. With that being said, recurves don't really bother me as long as they're kinda subtle. Hollow grinds are kind of a Buck thing, and I could live with that. One of the major reasons I'm kinda interested in this one is due to the price. Still the combo edge kills it. It's so close, but so far away from what I'm looking for. I agree they could spice up the handle with Dymondwood or something more lively.
When I first saw this knife, I thought of the old gospel hymn, "Almost Persuaded".
I'm with you on the recurve. I can live with it so long as it's not overdone and it's not.
Regarding handles, if Buck made the scales removable (torx heads), they could do a side business in separate scales of all sort of materials. Or at least create a platform for a cottage industry of replacement scales. Might be a nice way to drive buzz.
But I just can't get past the grind. Well I could given a few beers and some quality time with my stones. ;^)
Your comment that the hollow grind "is a Buck thing" has been winding around my brain though....
Back in the day, Buck obviously used flatter grinds. I think the oldies shown in the oldest Buck thread are what I've heard called a "sabre grind" and aren't much different from what you would have seen on Imperials, Westerns, Marbles and Schrades of that era.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...o-has-the-oldest-Buck?p=11896431#post11896431
But you're right that in recent times, Buck uses hollow grinds almost exclusively and often does so with great flurish.
Why?
I don't buy for a second that it's about cost. Just too many low cost flat or non-hollow point knives out there like Victorinox, Opinel, Mora, Becker. Buck certainly has the production ability to put a flatter grind on this knife at this price point.
Is it tradition? I'll accept that on their classic hunting knives. Arguably hollow grinds have their place butchering meat and I can understand why the 119, 105 or 110 will continue to have hollow grinds (even though I strongly prefer flat). But it's not like Buck is hide bound to the look and feel of the phenolic hunting knives or folding hunters. Just look at the range of knives on the Buck web site where Buck has used all sort of designs that break with their hunting line tradition. Given that, I just can't see that relying on a hollow grind is the one single design constant for all Buck knives.
I suspect that the answer may be that at some level, it "is a Buck thing" to build knives that appeal to bad-asses - sort of a classier version of the zombie apocalypse without the gory graphics. Much better if the gory graphics and scary reputation are provided by Hollywood slasher movies. Then you can use that to sell knives to punks and hoodlums while keeping your image clean. And this is the big benefit I can see of the hollow grind. You can use it to create all sorts of interesting looking patterns on the blade that make it look cool, where cool mean menacing.
Can anybody suggest a functional reason for the hollow grind on a knife designed for general purpose outdoor use?
