am i missing something?

L

langchop

Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
301
Hi guys,
I have mostly dabbled in knifemaking but since young always wanted to start acollection of knives. I recently collected up all my SAK knives and put them into a cabinet. This got my collecting bug going and i started looking for and buying some good looking brand knives: buck, crkt, cold steel etc. Working in the engineering field i understand the significance of steel quality, composition, hardening process and execution, and this correlation with blade geometry and how that all comes together to affect performance. Though I agree the blade is what makes the knife, where i have been seriously dissapointed is in handle construction.
I know G10 , zytel, etc have been touted as top end handle materials, but without a more rigid supporting frame , these seem grossly inadequate for premium priced knives? (at the end of the day most of these are still just flimsy plastics?)
Although my perspective applies to a few brands i have been looking at, a case in point is a Buck bantam i purchased. I could not imagine myself shaving the bark off a branch of wood without the knife flexing excessively and damaging itself or breaking.
Am i expecting too much or has the knifing community just come to accept this under the guise of 'light weight' and'balanced' knives?
 
I'm well beyond the time in my life where I will find myself in a wilderness or survival situation (at least I hope not a survial situation) but if I was, I'd be way more likely to put my trust in one of the more conventionly constructed knives. I own and use a few of the newer lightweight's such as the Eco 110 and Bucklite Max. They have performed well for what I've used them for, but I'd find it hard to put as much trust in them as I would, say a conventional 110 or 112 due to their construction.

I've never understood the obsession with light weight. But then again, I've never been in a situation where every ounce of baggage counted.
 
lang, Welcome to the Buck forum . G-10 material is very strong and not lite . It is easily capable of offering a strong supportive frame for a well designed folder . One has to step out of their engineering prejudices and actually try one out then they can make an accurate accessment . Still, if this is just too much for your liking obtain a 110 or Alpha Hunter and use it . Which has a metal frame . I mean they all are not plastic why not mention this fact in the discussion as well ? DM
 
Thanks David. I agree Plumber, but I'm curious to know the general opinion.
I bought a bantam and when i could squeeze the 'blade slot' in the handle closed quite easily, i swopped it for an alpha. I have always liked composites, so am not biased towards steels, but perhaps biased to the more solid feel of steel.
 
I think a lot of these new-fangled materials are stronger than they look, but.........I just prefer the solid and heavy feel of the older knives.

I always figure I might have to bet my life on a knife......so I like solid.
 
I have a 286 Bantam and it is even the china model but I am sure that I would have to work real, real, real hard to break in in any sort of cutting that is considered possible normal use. Not that it would do any good if you lost a finger, but I dont believe Buck would mfg a knife like this with obvious camp/outdoor expected use if they thought it would be subject to fail under severe designed use. Thats just not thier mindset.
 
I guess I'm missing something but I would have started out touting the virtues of my solid, well designed Alpha Hunter or 110 rather than going to the other end of the spectrum line and then having to back track . My wife has used a 1ST generation Buck lite for 'all' her cutting duties for 4yrs. now (most guys here cannot say that as you'd get to know it capabilities fast) and it has held up flawless . She uses it alot, I even used it to skin a buck . I carry my 2nd generation Buck lite once or twice per week and have used it on many cutting jobs from limbs to apples . It has held up very well . My 110 I carry 2-3 times per week or my Duke both have metal frames and while heavier they offer the blade and handle style I like . The first two I carried exclusively for the past 4 yrs. doing most all my daily cutting jobs with them . The Duke I only obtained recently from the Heritage series which I really enjoy . But all these I've gotten to know well and I've very pleased with their strength, abilities and edge retention . DM
 
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