Buck 709 Yearling with photos

cchu518

cchu518

Joined
Mar 6, 2013
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I am still awaiting to receive it so I don't know how it opens and closes, strengths of the springs. I saw some rust at the pivot spot. Will have to work on cleaning it up. Cross fingers!

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For 6.79 you couldn't loose much. Looks good. Clean it up and use it. Doesn't look used/abused.
 
Looking at the other auction pics, the clip blade looks pretty heavily and badly sharpened. But it'll still cut, and for <$7, you're not out much. Should serve fine as a beater or tacklebox knife.
 
The 700 series Bucks are really nice! The main blade does look a little sharpened-down, but not too bad. Plenty of life left there. You got that one for a song, my friend! :thumbup:
If you don't like it, sell it to one of us for $10, and make your money back. ;)
 
I noticed that. I was thinking it would be fun to try and rehab and if not I wasn't out too much! I get dizzy looking at all of the user knives out there. It's hard not to pluck one up for a song.
 
I have a 701 (pic below) that I inherited from my Dad. It was his daily user and is in great condition even though it got a ton of use. Buck knives tend to fare well over time unless they were totally used and abused. I suspect that you will have a nice, usable knife once you get it cleaned up a bit. For <$7, I don't see how you could lose.

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cchu518 said:
That one is pretty sweet. Is the 701 three inches closed?
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No, the 701 is 3.5" closed.

BTW, keep in mind that Buck has a great forever warranty and a super Spa treatment. If you have some problems, they may be covered under that warranty (unless it is obvious abuse) and sending it off for the Spa treatment will give you a like-new knife. I sent off an old 501 that came back looking sweeter than a brand new one would have. I could send in that 701, but I want it left just like that because that is how it was when Dad passed on. Sentimental value as-is.

Buck's CS is one reason why I don't worry too much about buying used Bucks. They are great folks to do business with.
 
cchu518 said:
I saw some rust at the pivot spot. Will have to work on cleaning it up. Cross fingers!

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Tip: If you send the knife in to Buck HQ for sharpening, they're certain to give it a good buffing too. I once had one just like that. Like an idiot, I used the bolsters to push in the tiny nails on Marine Band harmonicas I was re-tuning. Consequently, they were full of scratches and nicks. I sent the knife in to Buck for sharpening and when it came back, the bolsters looked brand new. Amazing work on Buck's part. I can't remember what I paid for the service, but it was just a few bucks. And way more than worth it. :thumbup: :thumbup: for Buck.

-- Mark
 
I took off on Friday and my new pen knife came in. I was looking for something as an alternative to a Case Peanut. And happened to just see this one on ebay while looking for vintage pen knives as well as the Buck Cadet series. The Buck 709 is a lot smaller than I had originally thought it was which makes me like it even more. It's closed length is 3".

I had some 1000 grit sand paper in the office that I brought with me from home last week knowing that I would want to play with the 709 a bit to see if it was salvageable for the $$7 bucks that I paid for it. I got most of the rust off the blade which was minor and I cleaned up the bolsters a tad.

It starts to lock up around 35%-40% not sure if I am saying that right but the blade begins to hold itself open right around there. Has a nice snap to it on close and a firm click on open. All in all I'm very pleased at the shape. It reminds me of a mini 110 without even coming close to being a novelty.

It cleaned up well and it looks like I will just need to put some mineral oil in the joints and give it a go on the tri-stone.
I've been curious to see if an even smaller non-hard use EDC would be handier to carry around. I think there's a lot to say about carrying a smaller blade. I wear dress pants usually and or khakis so for me, I think a pen knife is pretty ideal.

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Nice find on that Buck! It doesn't look like it was used a whole bunch. I am really fond of their 700 series knives, especially the script stamp versions like yours:thumbup:
 
I really their 7xx series, I had a 703. Springs broke on it, and I have heard their known for that. Use it and whatever happens, Buck will replace it.
 
Sweetness! I am enjoying the 3" closed size of the 709. When opened I put my thumb on the back of the blade's spline and it gives a really solid grip. Blades are cutting but not sharp. I have to work them a bit for sure tonight! From what I gather they don't seem to be too popular which is why I think I like them so much. It also has a swedge on the blade that looks really nice upclose.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
I really their 7xx series, I had a 703. Springs broke on it, and I have heard their known for that. Use it and whatever happens, Buck will replace it.
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IIRC it was the first lots of 700 series knives that Buck produced which had improperly tempered springs. The ones produced later had good springs. I have both an early one (with broken spring) and a later one which I've had for decades with no issues.
 
I just put an edge on her. I can see why the bblades last a while. The steel is pretty hard compared to you normal run of the mill cheapie stuff. It took several minutes to put a small bevel on it, something that I can normally do from start to finish on in 2 minutes with a routinely sharpened 8cr13mov blade. 154 feels easier to sharpen than whatever the 709 is made of. I like it!
 
Are newer 7xx models available with the script logo? I might try to get a 701 if later models don't have the spring issue. That steel might be 425M.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Are newer 7xx models available with the script logo? I might try to get a 701 if later models don't have the spring issue. That steel might be 425M.
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This is a tough series to nail down specifics on because of overlapping changes.
1979-1989 = Script Stamp/shield
1990-2000 = Block Stamp/shield

1979-1980 = 440C ( going by what they were using in house )
1981-1994 = 425mod ( again, going by what was being used in house )
1995-2000 = 420hc ( ditto )
2001 was the last year that they appear in Bucks dealer price sheet, but only three of the models.

There were no yearly date codes during much of this time, as 1986 was the year that date codes became used across the board with Buck Knives.

The 703's were the most common spring failures, but not the only ones. I have a 701 Script stamp that the main blade spring let go on. I also have a 703 which I picked up at a PX in '79 or '80 which had the dreaded spring failure. Mine was sent to Buck and repaired ( back in 1980!)with the new temper spring and has worked fine since. I can tell this one from the others that I have because of the distortion of the liners when they took it apart to repair it. I really like the 700 series Bucks, and some day need to chase a few more down ;)

P.s. Buck no longer repairs these as parts are long gone, but will replace a broken one with a similar 300 series model...
 
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