A year with the Buck-Strider 881sp

E

eleven

Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
107
For the last year I've been carrying this folding knife exclusively. It is the later version with the hardened Ti in the lock area, smoother G-10, reversible clip.. I can't remember any other differences from the original version.

The blade is about 3/16" thick at the spine and hollow ground. I was concerned at first that this would make it hard to cut things like thick cardboard or plastic bottles, but as long as I kept it sharp I was pleasantly surprised that the drag wasn't too bad. It is an acceptable trade-off for me to get the strength of the thick blade, because I want to have that extra strength if I find myself in an emergency situation such as a car accident. This strength/drag trade-off is not for everyone, obviously, but it is agreeable to me.

I think Paul Bos does a great job with this ATS-34 and the heat treat is right on. It takes and holds a great edge.

The knife is 3" long or just a hair under when measuring from tip to the handle scale, which keeps it legal where I live, an important consideration for me.

The pocket clip was too tight at first and I couldn't replace the knife on my pocket with one hand so I grabbed the end of the clip with a pair of plyers and flexed it out until it was looser. This worked fine and once I got the tension where I wanted it, it was held in place perfectly on my pocket, but didn't destroy my pants, and was easily replaced with one hand.

The look of the knife is pretty utilitarian I think and not that threatening looking. Even with the thickness of the knife I haven't really gotten a negative reaction from people who saw it, because I think it looks like a boxy tool to them and not an intimidating weapon.

Since the toughness of the knife is one of the biggest reasons I chose it, I'll cover some of those aspects. Let me say in preface that I have my own theories about what the knife should and should not be able to do, and don't want to have an argument about that or liner locks in general- I just want to state how the knife has met up to my expectations of it.

My own theory on spine wacks is that it ought to stand up to a light one because I might accidentally hit it that way and I need to know it won't fold, and it stood up to light spine whacks into the palm of my hand and then against a piece of wood, with no failure or change at all. I don't see any reason to do hard spine wacks and can't comment on how it would handle them.

I have used the blade for light prying on occasion, and it stood up to this fine, but I didn't need it for any heavy prying at all so I can't comment on how that would go. I used it to pry/twist out large staples and to pry out metal clips for tonneau cover slats, and some other things requiring what I consider "light" prying force.

Out of curiosity I tried some light torquing of the handle with the blade in a vise, and watched the lock. The lock was fine when I did this, but as I said it was light torquing. I've read that these can have problems with hard torquing but that is unimportant to me because I would rock the knife to remove it from something, not twist it. I can see an argument that it should stand up to light torquing though as this might happen incidental to the rocking. I'm satisfied that the knife is solid in this regard for my purposes.

I was concerned before getting the knife that the liners would be too thin based on what I had read, but was surprised when I got it to see how thick they were. While using the knife for a year I've found them to be quite sturdy.

I got this knife second-hand. When I got it the lock was engaging the tang right in the middle. I was concerned that the Ti lock face would wear quickly, but after opening and closing it probably thousands of times over the last year, it is in the exact same place as far as I can tell. When I got it, the knife locked up solidly with no play, and to this day it is the same and has held up perfectly.

I was also concerned about the bead blasted blade surface, but haven't had a problem with corrosion. I don't use any rust inhibitor on the blade and beyond wiping or rinsing it off if I cut fruit or something, I haven't done anything to it and it hasn't rusted at all. I do put a little tuf-glide in the pivot every couple of months or so. The structure of the knife is pretty open so it is easy to keep clean with compressed air or just run a cloth through it if it gets dirty inside.

The G-10 handles have been great. I've used it with wet hands, with oil and such on my hands, and it is always secure when I'm holding it. I think the shape of the handle is boxy enough to help afford a dependable grip, but sized right so that the knife is not uncomfortable to use. This is a very subjective thing though.

In short I think this is a great knife and I'm glad I bought it. I'm going to keep carrying it and don't plan on replacing it unless Strider makes a PT sized version of the AR.

-eleven
 
I would also add that while I generally prefer tip-down carry because I've had trouble with other knives opening if removing from a pocket while seated or in a crouched position, the design on the Buck Strider is such that the knife will slide out even from a crouched position without the thumb studs getting caught and pulling the blade open, so for this one I don't really mind having it tip up and I'm used to opening it that way now. The detent has been good too and it has never opened in my pocket from being jarred around or from running, etc.

-eleven
 
eleven, nice of you to post a one year follow-up.:thumbup: I wish I could read more of these kind of threads. It's good to know how your EDC was for a whole year. I also hope to "stay" with a knife long enough to post a "one year".:) Glad to see someone take a realistic view/value of a knife. Enjoy.
 
wwells20, thank you. Before this knife I never stuck with one for very long either. This one has really slowed down my knife purchasing. :D
 
That would either make you, 1- lucky, you don't speed as much on knives. or
2- unlucky, you don't get many "new" knives!
I think it makes you lucky because you are able to "put down roots" with one knife, something I wish I could do! Again, ENJOY!
 
I don't see any reason to do hard spine wacks ...
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.... I want to have that extra strength if I find myself in an emergency situation such as a car accident.
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Now simulate that situation in a worse case senario and use the knife hard enough so that a thinner ground knife would break but without loading the lock significantly.

Nice to see long term followup reports.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
Now simulate that situation in a worse case senario and use the knife hard enough so that a thinner ground knife would break but without loading the lock significantly.

Nice to see long term followup reports.

-Cliff
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Cliff, first of all I value the testing you do and I keep your findings in mind when working with my tools. I think it is important to know the limitations and work within them.

I don't really see eye to eye with you on this though because I can't see how these two things (hard spine wack, hard use that would snap a thinner ground blade) are related. By that I mean I can't imagine a situation where a hard spine wack would be duplicated the way I use a knife.

I can see heavy prying force being used that would snap a thinner ground knife, say prying with the flat of the blade. I can see pushing down on the handle in a forward upright position the way I imagine these locks are tested when they are rated for weight, but this more gradual application of force is different from the shock-effect of the spine wack. I can also see stabbing force from the tip (which I've also done with no problems, didn't mention that above,) or chopping with the edge (sort of a reverse spine whack effect), but why would I strike hard and fast with the spine of the blade as the contact area? That just doesn't make sense to me.

-eleven
 
eleven said:
By that I mean I can't imagine a situation where a hard spine wack would be duplicated the way I use a knife.
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Often times it isn't direct as in beating on the spine, but something in which a part of the force is directed along that line.

I can see pushing down on the handle in a forward upright position the way I imagine these locks are tested when they are rated for weight, but this more gradual application of force is different from the shock-effect of the spine wack.
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Yes, Joe Talmadge was one of the first guys to note problems with fast but very low force impacts on knives which had really high slow load fail points, it is similar to testing for strength and impact toughness in steels.

I can also see stabbing force from the tip (which I've also done with no problems, didn't mention that above,) ....
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If you do a stab and you are perfect in form, and the knife perfectly constructed, and the media you are stabbing into doesn't move it is possible that all the force will be just compressive straight against the lock.

However if any of these things are off then it is very easy for a large part of the force to be loaded onto the spine. Consider for example holding the knife in this grip :

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/CliffStamp/Spyderco/endura/endura_reverse.jpg

and now doing a normal icepick style stab into a hard target. Few would argue this is abusive or beyond the scope of this knife or in general for the tactical and heavy use folders.

Because of the orientation of the point, my follow through will load the spine so as to directly try to open the lock. Any grip you use to stab can induce similar especially in dynamic situations where either you or the media is moving.

Steve Harvy used to test this by attaching the folders to sticks and doing hard stabs, he was concerned from a martial perspective. In any case, this, like all areas is user dependent, everyone sets their own tolerances on what is necessary.

Steve tests locks much harder than I do, this doesn't make him wrong from my viewpoint, he just has a higher standard and that is fine. Obviously someone else can have a similar relationship with their perspective and mine.

...but why would I strike hard and fast with the spine of the blade as the contact area? That just doesn't make sense to me.
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There are a couple of reasons why this could be important in a direct sense. Once is martial, as in you want to do a back cut, or block or otherwise see a spine impact (knife vs stick). The other is wood based where you want to baton on the spine to use the knife to split woods.

In regards to cutting out of a car, it takes a lot to actually cut the metal, you would need to be gorilla like to actually slice it up, and even hard stabs takes a long time, the only way to do it quickly is to strike the spine of the knife to work it like a chisel.

I'd check the windows first of course assuming the doors were jammed. You can break the windows easily, just take some care with the glass of course.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

Good information, lots to think about. You make a good point about the force distribution in a stab.

To be clear, I'm not expecting to use this 3" folding knife to cut my way out of a lot of metal. I'm just thinking if the circumstances are unpredictable, I'd rather have the toughest thing that will still be practical and affordable for me.
If my budget didn't make it impossible, I think this thread would be a great excuse to mount a Steel Heart on my dashboard. :D

-eleven
 
Most of the stab stuff comes from Steve, he did a lot of lock work and was pretty much the first guy to do systematic really heavy lock testing on tactical folders.

Yeah, I don't know if you can actually cut your way out, I have cut in several times but never attempted an escape, this was originally promoted by Kevin McClung who used it to promote his knives, citing that you could use it cut someone out in an emergency.

It turned out to be similar to the Cold Steel door stab, it doesn't take much of a fixed blade to do it, I have even accidently cut through the cross braces and not slowed down.

Long term updates are always interesting, it would be nice to see really long term ones as well, say five years, how has the lock wore, how does the blade profile hold after a lot of sharpening, etc. .

-Cliff
 
Great review and very well covered.

I have an 881 also and find it to be a very well made and well thought out knife. I like it better than its bigger brother the 880. Mine is a spear point model. I find the spear to be a better shape for me overall than the tanto. I don't much care for tanto designs personally.

While I'm sure in a years time you have come to know the knife well enough to trust it, I would not suggest pushing that knife to the limits of its ability unless it was an actual emergency. To do so now just to test it further is just asking for trouble in my opinion, especially when you consider that it is now a discontinued knife and not easily replaced or repaired by Buck since it is no longer available. When I ordered my last one from the Buck store during their half off retail sale because it was being discontinued they told me I got the last spear point they had.

I was very troubled to hear they were not making the 881 anymore over at Buck. They told me on the phone when I spoke with them that, 'it just didn't sell well'. Imagine that. Gee I wonder why?

It is my opinion that Buck did a terrible job of marketing that knife. No where in the description does it give the potential buyer a hint of what they would actually be getting other than the length and some other details about handle material and lock type. I mean where does it say in the description that it is sporting a 4.5mm / .178 thick blade( I mean prybar) or the 1.65mm / .065 thickness of the liner and lock? It doesn't! Here we had a standout in the crowd of mini knives all this time and they dicontinued it rather than try to market it smarter by telling people what they'd actually be getting. When I got my first one it was so impressive I immediately ordered another. So did a very good friend of mine only he got both tanto and spear point models. Its a shame really to leave out those important details in the description because the knife is so nice compared to anything else in its class or size range when you factor those things in. At least that is how I see it anyway.

STR
 
STR said:
I would not suggest pushing that knife to the limits of its ability unless it was an actual emergency.
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I would contend that having to replace the blade is trivial compared to the consequences of failure in the latter situation. You evaluate gear so you know how to choose what you need, if you don't know what a tool can do then this is impossible. Of course what you want to depend on it to do is up to the person carrying it.

Buck has a bunch of Strider folders, many have thick sabre ground blades, are they all getting discontinued? What is the policy from Buck for such blades, do you just get store credit?

-Cliff
 
I believe they give store credit yes. (on ones they can't fix or replace I mean.)

To the best of my knowledge just the 881 Mini Buck Striders are being discontinued. They had them going for $92 on close out through the Buck Store. ($97 shipped) The 880s are still full price.

My point is that when you compare knives when shopping you look for details to use to compare them. Apples to apples comparisons like say the Mini Buck Strider 881 vs the Emerson Mini CQC7. Reading the descriptions of both you don't see a whole lot to sway you one way or the other. Both have G10 handles, both have liner locks, both have shorter blades. The Emerson has a .050 thick liner and lock. The Buck/Strider a .065. The Emerson has a .125 thick blade the Buck/Strider a .178 thick one. But you don't see these details from Buck and to me that is just bad marketing. Someone dropped the ball over there. :thumbdn:

STR
 
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