BCCI Buck 342 Vantage

Fixall

Fixall

Brian
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Mar 26, 2018
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So... A little surprise was waiting for me when I got home from work today! :D

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I haven't ordered any Buck knives in a couple weeks or so and it's December, so it could only be one thing!!

The Buck Collectors Club 342 Vantage (small) with Raindrop Damascus and and burgundy Micarta!

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Overall, I'm super impressed with the knife. It's gorgeous! The raindrop damascus was very, very well done. Absolutely superb. The grind on the blade is as good as can be. The centering slightly favors the mark side, but just barely. The Micarta is quite a bit darker than I was expecting (and I was expecting dark) but it lightens up considerably when you get it outdoors in natural light. I quite like it. The fit and finish on the Micarta and liners is absolutely perfect (Buck sure does some great Micarta work!). The medallion looks fantastic and is set perfectly in the scales.

The only negative I can say about the knife is that the action is pretty rough. The action on the last 342 Vantage Pro was also pretty rough, but I never broke it down and properly lubed/cleaned it before I passed it along so I'm hoping this gets a bit smoother with work/use.

All in all, I am very pleased!

Now, I'm all the way on the west coast, so I know I'm not the first to receive their's... Let's see those knives!

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Good to see they are shipping (thanks for the info). I ordered one but no package yet. hope they all look as nice as yours.
 
That is a great looking knife and I thought about getting one but I prefer the large vantage. Although it would be a great dress carry knife. A real head turner !
 
I was wondering when these were going to ship! Hopefully mine will be here in the next couple of days:thumbsup:
 
That is sharp looking! Does Buck use ball bearing bushings in these? Is the 341 similar to the 342? To me it looks like it is, but has different scales and uses 420HC steel.
 
Definitely not ball bearings. As mentioned above the action is on the gritty side(at least for my example and the one above) but I also have not used mine a lot to wear it in.
 
I got mine today, and am very impressed! Blade came sharp, centered, and evenly ground and the overall finish is very nice. My only complaint would be slightly gritty action but I will take it apart tomorrow for cleaning that should help that.
 
The grittiness is most likely the Damascus blade against the washers. It should smooth out after many openings and closings. At least, that was how it was with the big one.
 
Daniel said:
The grittiness is most likely the Damascus blade against the washers. It should smooth out after many openings and closings. At least, that was how it was with the big one.
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yep.

Daniel is right. the grittiness wont go away from cleaning. it's the damascus layers. I've been using and carrying one of mine a lot and it hasn't broken in, but im used to it and it doesnt bother me.
 
Soo.. Mine arrived this past Saturday.. I am very happy with all aspects of this FINE knife.. Was a little rough when first opening/closing but is breaking in very nicely.. This was my first Club knife and I wish I would have gotten the 2018 knife.. I am going to edc this knife as it has been being used since getting it for all kinds of duty!!
BUCK.. In my world yinz hit this one out of the park.. And Thanks to those that took the time assembling these.. Kudos Folks!!
John
 
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