Blade tang and backspring

E

EagleIH

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2009
Messages
179
I have a question. I just sent a Buck 503 back to Buck for a little work. The tip of the blade sits a bit too high and almost protrudes when the knife is closed. When I spoke with a nice lady in customer service, she mentioned that it could probably be fixed by grinding down the part of the blade tang that prevents the edge from hitting the interior of the knife handle. My question is if this is ground down some, will this affect the way the backspring sits in the knife? It's not a custom 503, but it's fit and finish is excellent. I've had other 503s that the backspring did not fit flush with the scales. I'd hate for them to fix the blade problem only to create an uneven backspring. Sorry if this is a dumb question, I just don't know. Thanks!
 
We had a Buck forum discussion on lowering stockman tips not long ago. Yours is an excellent question I believe we did not consider. I would guess, that if you send it in to Buck they will check to make sure your "toe" on the tang blade edge falls into the design specs. I have fixed this myself on working stockman knives where the level spring backs were not considered. The spring shape on the blade end would have a lot to do with your concerns. When closed does the toe hold pressure on the spring keeping the back of the spring to the finished/polished level ?. Perhaps Mr. Hubbard from Buck will comment. Or someone who has dissected some Bucks to change out a blade on their own. The spring blade toe interaction, I believe, is what keeps some pressure on the entire blade when in the closed position, to prevent tip pocket opening and subsequent impalement. But the rounded end of the spring may do most of that work with the toe just holding the blade edge from hitting the bottom of the blade well. Because were dealing with springy fittings some design space is left under the blade edge when closed (a test for this space is to carefully press on the top of the blade when closed and feel the movement), this space saves the curve of the blade edge when the blade is "slammed" closed or knife is pinched when closed. If you are going to send it to Buck, state that you want the tip lowered but you don't want a spring back lowering. (Smooth polished back)
300Bucks
 
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Here's that relationship on a 110. It doesn't take much to get the blade tip down. On a 110 however, you see the toe of the lock bar is already on the downslope side of the blade. At least on this 110, grinding too far on that part of the blade would cause the contact between the lock bar and blade to be closer to the 6:00 position which is shallower, causing the lock bar to be below the height of the frame's spine.
Theory of course...;)
 
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I do not think taking a hair off of the kick is going to affect the spring. It would only lower the blade a tad.
 
300Bucks said:
We had a Buck forum discussion on lowering stockman tips not long ago. Yours is an excellent question I believe we did not consider. I would guess, that if you send it in to Buck they will check to make sure your "toe" on the tang blade edge falls into the design specs. I have fixed this myself on working stockman knives where the level spring backs were not considered. The spring shape on the blade end would have a lot to do with your concerns. When closed does the toe hold pressure on the spring keeping the back of the spring to the finished/polished level ?. Perhaps Mr. Hubbard from Buck will comment. Or someone who has dissected some Bucks to change out a blade on their own. The spring blade toe interaction, I believe, is what keeps some pressure on the entire blade when in the closed position, to prevent tip pocket opening and subsequent impalement. But the rounded end of the spring may do most of that work with the toe just holding the blade edge from hitting the bottom of the blade well. Because were dealing with springy fittings some design space is left under the blade edge when closed (a test for this space is to carefully press on the top of the blade when closed and feel the movement), this space saves the curve of the blade edge when the blade is "slammed" closed or knife is pinched when closed. If you are going to send it to Buck, state that you want the tip lowered but you don't want a spring back lowering. (Smooth polished back)
300Bucks
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your replies. I didn't even think about this until I'd already shipped the knife out. I shipped via UPS from east Tennessee, so it won't get to Idaho till Wednesday. I'll try to contact Buck warranty on Monday to see if they will discuss it with me before they work on it. Thanks again to everyone responding.
 
Well, to answer my own question, grinding down the hilt of the tang does indeed affect how the backspring sits, at least on a 503. I received my 503 back from Buck warranty today. They ground down the hilt to drop the point of the blade lower in the handle while closed. Unfortunately, the backspring is now a little uneven with the scales. It was perfectly flush before. I called the folks in the warranty department about my concerns before they did any repairs. I explained to them that I was concerned that grinding down the hilt would affect how the backspring sits i.e. I didn't want to correct one problem only to create another. She said she asked the warranty tech, and he said he didn't think it would affect it very much. I politely explained that I wanted to make sure the backspring was flush before it was sent back. She said that the tech would check it to make sure. I guess his definition of flush differs from my own. I guess I'm just too persnickety. Oh well. Live and learn.
 
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