Black 560 - smooth vs. textured?

S

sw1911sc

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Apr 3, 2006
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I joined the forum today and spent some some touring the archives. I noted a thread (3845) that discussed smooth and textured finishes for the black 560. I have a textured 560 and I always assumed that the black finishes were always textured (it is the only one I have ever handled or seen). In fact, did Buck use both types of finishes?

The Buck stamp on the blade is so faint that you can barely see it and I cannot make out any symbol after the 560 that would allow me to date the knife. The finish appears to be baked onto the entire knife except for the rivets and the rod-like spring inside. It is a real eye-catcher.

My black 560 looks exactly like the black "580" which was recently sold on eBay. I have never heard of a "580" and I presume that it was actually heavily stamped 560. This can be viewed at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BUCK-580-FO...VE_W0QQitemZ6605779851QQcategoryZ63792QQssPag eNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Any and all feedback will be greatly appreciated!
 
sw1911sc said:
... smooth and textured finishes for the black 560...
Click to expand...

That's interesting...is it like a crackle finish??? I have a gray 560, which is blasted on all surfaces except the flat sides, which have an "as-ground" finish...

Maybe someone with another black 580 can tell us... :p
 
I want to add an all black to my collection but they seem very scarce. It would be easy enough to make one by using Brownells Gun-Kote and bake it. The problem would be assemly. If the rivets were drilled I have to wonder if Buck would assemble it with new rivets. Would the correct procedure be send it to Buck to be disassebled first.

Would our moderator have any input?
 
Aside from the newer Crystal version, there are three 560's that came out. The first one was between 1988 and 1993 (I may be off on the years. I'm not where I have access to the information) and were all silver like. In 1993 they were made in Black or gray. I'm not sure what the difference is between the original and the later gray versions. I haven't seen them side by side. There's no discussion available on variations to the black ones. There were 18,000 black models made.
 
Here's a scan of the one I have...I don't know what year it was originally...



I left it as it scanned...no one has said anything, but WillTheBarb indicated that my pics are too light...maybe the texture of the flats will show up... :rolleyes:
 
chickentrax said:
Here's a scan of the one I have...I don't know what year it was originally...
Click to expand...
Trax,
Here is a photo of mine, which is dated 1988. It's the original version. I'm trying to determine if there is a difference between it and the "gray" version that came out later. Perhaps Dick will see this and reply. The photo makes it look lighter than it is. The real thing is darker and has a brushed finish with the brushing running from front to back. I would say that yours is like mine and therefore an earlier version. (Of course that implies that the "gray" version is different.
Buck5601988XLTi.jpg
 
Mike Kerins said:
Here is a photo of mine, which is dated 1988. It's the original version. I'm trying to determine if there is a difference between it and the "gray" version that came out later.
Click to expand...

Yours is quite different from mine; mine has only a beveled edge, while yours has the same "step" as the 186...I'd guess Buck simplified the machining process as time went on...which might make mine one of the later variations...

Maybe the original owner of mine can shed some light on this...[coff,coff]... :p

Edit: Yours doesn't seem to have the bevels in the holes, does it???
 
Trax,
After examining your 560, I agree. Mine has only a very slight bevel at teh top of the holes and has a stepped edge identical to the 186, in fact, it's the same knife minus the clip.
Mike
 
Mike Kerins said:
...in fact, it's the same knife minus the clip...
Click to expand...

And the back scale drilled through instead of threaded... :( And both sides counterbored for the screw head/screw end...

If you've seen that pic of the disassembled 186, you probably noticed that the 186 rockerbar has a bushing like the blade...I think, from what I can see, the 560 has the 110 rockerbar...and spring...and spacer...
 
chickentrax said:
And the back scale drilled through instead of threaded... :( And both sides counterbored for the screw head/screw end...

If you've seen that pic of the disassembled 186, you probably noticed that the 186 rockerbar has a bushing like the blade...I think, from what I can see, the 560 has the 110 rockerbar...and spring...and spacer...
Click to expand...
When I said identical, I was referring to the color and bevel. I know the 186 has allen screws for disassembly. Any internal differences, I'll just have to trust you. I ain't taking this one apart. :rolleyes: :p :rolleyes: :p
 
Mike Kerins said:
Any internal differences, I'll just have to trust you.
Click to expand...

Trust Scott...this is from the auction he won... :p



Here's my 110 disassembled...



Not all that many differences...Now that I look close, the rockerbar might be the same, just drilled for the bushing...and the spacer and spring look the same, too...(well, the same spacer as the older 110's)...

And the front scale only has 3 counterbores...back side doesn't seem to be counterbored at all...
 
I sincerely appreciate all of the replies. My black 560 does not have a crackled finish. It feels fairly smooth, but has a slight texture to the black coating. It certainly is a coating of some sort and not a blueing or parkerizing as found on bayonets. My camera is at work, so I will post pictures tomorrow.
 
We kicked that one in the ebay listing around some back when it was first listed in Feb. I think then it was agreed that the black coating made it look like 580 instead of 560.
 
I think its funny how popular the 560 has become in such a short time. Prices have gone through the roof!
There were several small and some not so small changes during its production. The first 560's will have an incomplete bevel (?) or border around the outside, rear perimeter on the left hand side. This is because they were leftovers from the take apart version, model 186. There was no border right there on the 186 because the belt clip fastened there and a border would make for a gap.
I sure hated the black version 560's. The parts are powder coated, just like you would do on the frame of a high end classic car restoration. Its a durable finish, but to me, its just paint. Paint is fine on a car but not on a knife blade. IMHO
Thats why the stamp often got obliterated. The coating was just too thick and filled in all the characters.
I have seen a few prototypes where the engineers tried to get the same color with other processes. I think they tried both anodizing and black oxide.
Getting a data sheet on the 186/560 is on the list of things to do now.
 
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