Buck 119 baton failure

KenHash said:
...buckmaster... I remember there was talk about Buck blade failure tied to poor heat treat going around back then. I do wonder if that is connected with this blade breakage.
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That was the explanation given by buckknives then.
But if i were to make an educated guess,
The tip tapered to a very fine and slim profile.
And one couldn't possibly expect such a thin point structure
To take on the weight of the entire knife (and it really was heavy)
along with any excess force applied to its less than flexible tip.
With its already inherent design faults
Its a big yes that faulty heat treatment would have given more cause
For the sad result of an otherwise awesome behemoth.
 
Agreed. To be honest we all considered my friend who broke off the Buckmaster to be an "idiot" for throwing such a huge chunk
of metal at a tree in the first place. Fortunately my Buckmaster 184 has remained a display knife, as I considered it too heavy
for practical use. But the hunting knives breaking was a more serious issue because alot of people had Bucks back then and they
weren't being abused at all, just as they were designed to be used. I eventually bought a Cold Steel Master Hunter, the Cammillus
Carbon-V one and based on it's quality as a deer dressing knife, I learned to ignore the company's goofy marketing.
 
Lots of over-simplified posts in this thread.

I'd bet that OP let the material being split contact the handguard, even on a full tang knife such a situation can shear the blade.
 
Lesson learned, move on and buy a Ka-Bar BK-2 if you want a knife to baton with.

If the Buck 119 means that much to you, go out and buy a new one to keep for hunting, fishing, camping, etc.
 
KenHash said:
While I agree it's kind of sad to see a knife with a history get destroyed for what seems like not a very good reason, I use to use a Buk Vanguard for dressing deer. My hunting partner used a 119. Both of our knives ended up with tips broken, probably from hitting bone.
Another friend managed to break off the tip of his Buckmaster 184 throwing it at a tree. This would be in around 1988 or thereabouts. I remeber there was talk about Buck blade failure tied to poor heat treat going around back then. I do wonder if that is connected with this blade breakage.
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Maybe so on the heat treat. But it was an old heavily used knife. Get a new one and don't worry about it.
 
Instead of listening to these guys, why don't you just call Buck?

FYI I had a 2000 made Buck 119 I've beat the snot out of in every way imaginable and it still lives.
 
One of my first quality knives was a Buck 119 I got in 96 or 97. Before it was misplaced or stolen I beat the ever loving tar out it though I dont ever recall batoning with mine but I did throw it alot and treated it like a teen with no real knife knowlege (at the time) would. Other than some ding in the blade and a broken tip, mine still had plenty of life left when I last saw it. While I defintely would not baton with really any knife with a stick tang, I am surprised the OP's 119 broke so easily.
 
The real question here is not whether the buck should have broke. Its what would the jarbenza have done?
 
Interesting thread and discussion.

After reading many of these type of discussions on knife failure due to batoning I decided to just buy a quality hatchet for cutting branches and such. My problem is that I have a hell of a time gutting and skinning
the elk and deer and other game animals with my hatchet. Can anybody help me figure out why I am having so many problems. I have called the hatchet company and they will not stand behind the hatchet as a poor
skinner and help to rectify the problem.

I have solved the batoning problem but cannot skin anything at all with it. What a piece of junk. It is also very uncomfortable and heavy on my belt.

I feel a good quality hatchet should do a good job dressing field game. It just makes a big mess. I do not feel this is my problem or responsibility but the hatchet companies.
 
gedlicks said:
Interesting thread and discussion.

After reading many of these type of discussions on knife failure due to batoning I decided to just buy a quality hatchet for cutting branches and such. My problem is that I have a hell of a time gutting and skinning
the elk and deer and other game animals with my hatchet. Can anybody help me figure out why I am having so many problems. I have called the hatchet company and they will not stand behind the hatchet as a poor
skinner and help to rectify the problem.

I have solved the batoning problem but cannot skin anything at all with it. What a piece of junk. It is also very uncomfortable and heavy on my belt.

I feel a good quality hatchet should do a good job dressing field game. It just makes a big mess. I do not feel this is my problem or responsibility but the hatchet companies.
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Bet that axe didn't break when doing the other stuff though. ;)
 
Little off topic story. My father always carried a Buck 110 & a Western for deer hunting. I must have been around 15 and my father was dressing a deer when another party of hunters strolled up to visit. One gentleman was watching Dad get through the rib cage and made the comment that he finds it easier if you hit the spine with a rock or small hunk of wood to help split the rib cage. And he starts looking around for a rock.

My father stopped what he was doing and looked up at the guy over the top of his glasses (always a bad sign - my kids say I do it too) and said he'd punch somebody in the mouth if they took a rock to the back of his knife. My father was a very kind and generous man, but don't f@@k with his gear or tools. He always said "It's a proud craftsman who takes care of his tools". To him, he counted his knives as part of his tools.

Still remember the look on the guy's face. But it was a good life lesson for me. And I still have his old Western, my brother has the Buck.
 
Man, sorry to hear about your 119, especially given that it had some history to it.

I learned my batoning lesson recently also. Not something I'll be doing again.
 
I baton with knives and I've broken more axe and hatchet handles than knives. It happens.

Nothing wrong with batonning with a full length hidden tang knife. I do it with my Mora Companion HD and old Schrade H-15 regularly and they hold up fine.

This said, the 119 (and really, the entire 100 series) is not what I would reach for to baton wood. The grind, clip point and top bevel are all wrong.

I would love to see Buck produce something like the Punk and Selkirk in the 100 series black handles. Just use a flat, or better yet, convex grind on the blade and a drop point shape. IMO, Buck is conceding too many sales to Bark River, Mora, Becker and ESEE.
 
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pinnah said:
... IMO, Buck is conceding too many sales to Bark River, Mora, Becker and ESEE.
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A Mora isn't even close to a top-dollar item, but those others retail for prices that should (you'd think) give Buck some price-points to aim for between a Mora and the others.

As for batoning — not for me. I view it as a technique to use only when I should have brought the right gear (hatchet or saw) in the first place.
 
Samon said:


Perfect acceptable practice imo. And like mentioned already, there is a method to doing it right.

But, Buck knives are not strong enough for hard use, despite what the fan boys think. The steel is too brittle, the tangs too thin, the grind all wrong and the handles too weak.

When used for their designed purpose though they are alright, still better options out there but not necessarily at the same price.
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My Buck Thug is actually designed for this sort of activity.... 5160 spring steel and full flat grind.
and then there is the new Buck Froe. That thing is literally designed for this!
 
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