Buck 119 disapointment

S

segaman22

Joined
Sep 4, 2007
Messages
104
I have to say that i am truly disappointed in my Buck 119. I know I know its a great historic knife and no one loves a Buck more than I do. I was shocked at my use of the knife today. I had to take my bean sticks down today and i cut alot of vines and clothed strips with it. I had just bought this knife a month or two ago and i have never used it. It was sharp as hell out of the box and it is a solid knife. But man it dulled really fast, I mean really fast. It even had small chips in the blade. I have worked on trying to get it sharp all night long and there is no way i can get it as sharp as it was. So can anyone tell me why it dulled to quickly and why it has minature chipping in the blade? I love the knife still and I have to admitt the only reason i got a Buck 119 is because of Survivorman, I know that is not a good reason but that is the reason i got it. How can i keep it sharp? Or how can i resharpen it the way it was. Is this normal for a Buck knife? I have vented now, thanks
 
Sounds as if it might have had a wire edge that peeled off. Either that or it was a faulty blade. I would return it to Buck with a letter explain what happened. There is a very good chance that they will replace or repair it at no cost to you. I have returned a couple knives to Buck and they treated me very well.
 
Try sharpening it and see how it does. Brand new knives have often had the heat treatment of the very edge disturbed when it was sharpened at the factory and you can't tell how it'll perform until you've sharpened away a few thousandths.
 
I agree--give it another chance. It is not a high performance steel, but Buck does a good job with it and it should perform much better than that.
 
Tell us a bit more about how you tried sharpening it all night long. Type of sharpener, angles, grit progression and all. This may help us help you.
 
udtjim said:
Sounds as if it might have had a wire edge that peeled off. Either that or it was a faulty blade. I would return it to Buck with a letter explain what happened. There is a very good chance that they will replace or repair it at no cost to you. I have returned a couple knives to Buck and they treated me very well.
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I am learning in my old age that this should be my first step if/when disappointed in a product.
Most companies are really nice about such things. :thumbup:
 
Thanks guys for your thoughts. The kind of sharpener was a rod that i bought at SMKW a month or so ago while on vacation. It is screwed into a brass handle and when you take it out and turn it around the housing becomes the handle. Thats all i know about it. It stores in a leather case. I have been sharpinging on it some more and it is, well a little sharper than what it was. I will contact Buck and see what they recomend. I dont know much about sharpening knives, I grew up just using my dads old wet rock and that is about the stint of my sharpening knowlege. Im having my right kidney taken out in a week or so over a U.A.B in Birmingham Ala. and that will give me a project while im in the Hospital. I know i have an old Camillus Kbar knife that was dull dull dull and i finally took it out while i was sick and that is what i did. I made that old knife razor sharp again just using a wetrock..... So ill just try the same thing with this knife. If i cant get it that sharp then ill put it up and just start carrying my Ontario Pilots Survival knife like i did before i got my Buck 119. It will sharpen real good.........I guess you guys are right on bladeforums. Its all in the metal. Thanks again for your concerns on the subject.
 
When metal is sharpened to an acute point, there is a thin strip along the very edge that becomes foil thin and the stone just pushes it away instead of cutting it off. It will typically bend to the side opposite the last side sharpened; if you last touched the left side with the stone, the burr will be on the right side. This is the burr and it can feel very sharp until it contacts something harder than paper. At this point it either deforms or gets torn off, leaving behind a dull edge. Cut some thin steel with an abrasive chop saw, like cutting metal wall studs, and you can see the burrs along the cut edges, even though the abrasion was at 90 degrees to the metal. Its the same principle, only much smaller. You can feel a burr by CAREFULLY pulling the knife spine first, as though stropping, on your arm or leg. The burr will pull the hair and can be felt. Also, pulling the blade spine first along some fuzzy cloth will result in a fuzzy knife edge if the burr is present, and relatively large.
 
Excellent explaination. I have seen this happen several times and usually it breaks off and you pretty much have to start over. Often a good edge will not be to hard to develop after the burr is gone. I will repeat though if I am not satified with a product I will return it and the next move is theirs.

BTW, Best of luck with your medical issues, been there too.
 
If you don't know how to sharpen a knife you can try forever and never get the job done. I can only sharpen on V sticks that are fixed and you draw the blade downwards on them. It works great for me. Now my Dad, he can get the angle right on a stone and do a fine job. Me I'd try all night and never get it sharp on a whetstone, or anything else that depends on me holding the angle.
 
jill jackson said:
If you don't know how to sharpen a knife you can try forever and never get the job done. I can only sharpen on V sticks that are fixed and you draw the blade downwards on them. It works great for me. Now my Dad, he can get the angle right on a stone and do a fine job. Me I'd try all night and never get it sharp on a whetstone, or anything else that depends on me holding the angle.
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I could never sharpen on stones either, but i found a way that works for me. Instead of making a large number of strokes down the stones, i focus on keeping the right angle and add extra prssure. You'd have to be careful of that on an extra thin blade, bu i don't use a 15 degree angle like some people do. :rolleyes: heh they're not even stones really, i use the hones from a Lansky Standard set freehand. The guide rod system doesn't have enough angles for each knife that i have, and it would take FOREVER to bevel anything without diamond or ceramic anyway.
 
sounds like a wire edge to me, give it a try with a good sharpening stone and see what happens, if it works good if not contact buck and they will take care of you. good luck
 
After I sharpen, I use a ceramic rod to remove the "burr" and set the final edge. Although I sharpen in a jig, I hand hold the rod. That way I can use a larger angle, with a light touch, if necessary. Note that some steels require special sharpening techniques (like a very light touch for the laminated ZDP-189). (Keep your ceramic rod clean; they fill up quickly. A little cleaning with Bon Ami will get all the gunk off the ceramic.)
 
Look into a set of V-sticks, or a Lansky or DMT kit. The kits clamp on the to back of the blade and you match the angle - then sharpen away with few worries about not getting there. I've used a Lansky for years and it will bring anything up to a fine edge, even the Campanion I beat on asphalt.

Single rods allow a lot of variation of angle, which isn't so bad on a Buck for its convex edge, but make it hard to ensure that the edge meets up to a sharp V. Bucks will take a little more effort the first time to get that flat V as some of the convex edge has to be removed. After that, it just needs touch up.
 
I had a Buck fixed blade once, that I couldn`t sharpen. The edge kept chipping. I gave the knife to a friend to play with, and I think he tossed it. I should have sent it back to Buck, because, I think it was a heat treat problem. I have had a lot of Bucks over the years, and never had a problem. I haven`t bought one for awhile, and I understand that some of them are made overseas. I would try sending it back.
 
tirod3 said:
Bucks will take a little more effort the first time to get that flat V as some of the convex edge has to be removed.
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What gives you the impression that Buck uses a convex edge? None of mine have that and I've never seen it referenced anywhere. They are hollow ground, but the edges are flat bevels.
 
Off-thread, but, speedy recovery! Sorry you aren't feeling well.

I like my Ontario Pilot's knife, too. ;)
I am horrible at sharpening. Saving pennies for a Spyderco Accusharp.
 
Try reworking the edge on a flat real stone, the portible diamond rod type needs some practice before you can get any real consistancy from it, as was mentioned.
 
Ok guys, thanks for all the great info on sharpening my Buck. Also thanks for your concerns on my health. I finally got my Buck sharp again. I used the rock and then finished it off with the v rods and it worked great. Its shaving again. Thanks again guys. Your great freinds.
 
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