Buck bevel grinds....*from the factory*

M

mael333ca

Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
447
Hello Guys,

I was wondering if people would share their overall impression of the grinds quality coming out from buck.

To me it seems VERY inconsistent, like they have a poor approach to quality control if they have any... Most of the time it's not a big deal, as most knives have to be regrind out of the box, but theirs sometimes have had a lot of the actual blade grinded out, or it's done crooked to the point of giving a slight recurves to the blade....

are these intentional? as if are employees allowed to grind the blades «their way» perhaps? I would like to fit there should be a standard, but their results is too inconsistent for it been the case... I hope their don't take inexperienced young folks at minimum wage to finish their products...

I like Buck, I really do, but sometimes I feel ordering a folder becomes a gamble. Thankfully, Amazon's liberal return policy will allow me to exchange my recent purchase until I receive a decent finished one and get tired and take my money back...

So you Buck Collectors, have you noticed a tendency in QC? and what is your impressions?
 
You'll have to get specific because the ones I've purchased recently have been good. 110, 112 a 118. DM
 
I have a lot of Buck knives,both collectors and users,and I'm fairly picky about edge grinds.I have had some issues with my bucks before ,but the edges have always been great on them.
 
David Martin said:
You'll have to get specific because the ones I've purchased recently have been good. 110, 112 a 118. DM
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my last buck purchases were a fixed large buck lite orange, the grind was okay ish, the hollow part been noticeably shorter at the tip. Then the Buck small open season in S30V, were the guy grinded of a lot of the blade, the «ricasso»(or whatever you call the base of edge were it starts, there a flat spot there sometimes) been longer the the edge itself...that a lot of blade gone in the process... Then there's the new in box large Charcoal Avid Vantage, the blade grind is acceptable, slight recurve, but the knife is just a gem after been takendown and properly assembled. then theres, my 20$ 143 paklite find: awesome!

Now my last one was the Vantage force pro, love the design, but the blade was way too off after consideration. also, the vantage liners come way too strong on the liner, so strong, the lock up is over 100%, touching the other scale....

but Yeah, I'm both a collector and user. Collector, because I have way more blades than I can reasonable use.
 
I've never understood concerns about factory bevels.

Factory grinds, yes. The grind of a blade is a major engineering decision with major impact on the blade's performance and it's something that takes a lot of work to change (if there is stock there to remove, you can't add metal back to a thin grind). So, we can and should talk about grinds till the cows come home (and it would be great if Buck offered more grind options).

But edge bevels... I can pretty much guarantee that I'm going to reset the edge bevel to my liking and for the intended purpose with a week of owning a knife. How long is a factory edge going to last? A day? A week? A month?

As an engineer, design and QC matter a lot to me. Enough so that I probably upset fanboys when things don't go right. But for me, edge bevels are so far down the list of concerns that they aren't even on my list. I'd much rather see Buck put their QC and engineering resources on eliminating lock rock.

My recommendation (for user knives), is to spend some money on a guided rod sharpening system like the Lansky (diamond stones) and learn how to raise and remove a burr and to choose edge angles to match the cutting task. Once you've got a handle on sharpening, factory edges become a non-issue, at least that's been my experience.
 
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I do not have the models you purchased. But, everything I have purchased has been fine. Sharp right out of the box, great edge. Consistent. I have viewed your models at the store through the plastic clam-shell packaging and they all appeared consistent and good. I hope you didn't accidentally purchase a knock off, a counterfeit.
 
So far (knock on my wooden head) I have not had any grind issues, either on my old Bucks or my newer ones. However, back in the early 90's, I think it was, I saw a few Bucks that were pretty poor in that regard. Plus, they were as dull as a butter knife. I think they had some QC issues back then. Now, it seems those days are long past. The blades are screaming sharp from the factory and the edge grinds are very consistent.
 
DocT said:
So far (knock on my wooden head) I have not had any grind issues, either on my old Bucks or my newer ones. However, back in the early 90's, I think it was, I saw a few Bucks that were pretty poor in that regard. Plus, they were as dull as a butter knife. I think they had some QC issues back then. Now, it seems those days are long past. The blades are screaming sharp from the factory and the edge grinds are very consistent.
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in all honesty, I think it is I that have poor luck...
 
The final edging step at Buck is done by hand.... there will always be some variation. I even have a knife in my collection that missed being edged completely.

:thumbup::thumbup: to pinah for the best answer.
 
I've never experienced a problem with Buck's edges, but if you feel it's not good enough, send it back. Buck has a AAA+ rating for customer care and will take care of you.
 
Anyone who has been here for a while knows I am big Buck fan. I have bought more than a few of their knives and I can honestly say I have got some very poorly finished knives over the years from Buck. Oh, yes they will make it right with any customer, you have to send the knife back and that add's to the overall cost on both ends.....heartache! These guys make make hundreds of thousands of knives a week a few are going to get out (why do I keep getting them?).

Here is just one such issue from last years stag BCCI 119. Just get a glimpse of this edge and tell me your thoughts on a $170+ custom knife





JB4570
 
A knife is a tool, and if we don't treat our tools with a certain familiar contempt, we lose perspective. - Bob Loveless

I think for the level of perfection your looking for for a display knife, you'll need to double the price and go full custom.

I'd sharpen it and use it.

Now, about the lock rock in the Slimlines.... That annoys me at any price.
 
I'm good with all the blades I have gotten. Almost all of them are shaving sharp. I have over 100 and so far pretty good luck.
 
pinnah said:
A knife is a tool, and if we don't treat our tools with a certain familiar contempt, we lose perspective. - Bob Loveless

I think for the level of perfection your looking for for a display knife, you'll need to double the price and go full custom.

I'd sharpen it and use it.

Now, about the lock rock in the Slimlines.... That annoys me at any price.
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So your saying one should pay about $400 before you get a knife with a properly ground edge? I would expect to get a properly ground edge on $30 119 at walmart and a 119 that is about 6X that price should be about flawless. With your logic I guess if you pay $400 for a custom slimline it will come with perfect lock also:thumbup:
 
jb4570 said:
So your saying one should pay about $400 before you get a knife with a properly ground edge? I would expect to get a properly ground edge on $30 119 at walmart and a 119 that is about 6X that price should be about flawless. With your logic I guess if you pay $400 for a custom slimline it will come with perfect lock also:thumbup:
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Like I said, we call come to this with different priorities. We probably have different standards for what "properly ground edge" means.

The way I see it, as the owner of the knife, the bevel is mine to set. I can understand for a first time knife buyer, it's important to have a decently sharp, serviceable edge for a good out of the box experience. But for a higher end knife that's meant to be used, I can live with whatever at the edge. This is a crude analogy but here you go... If you buy a $3000 bicycle, it would come with a crappy seat. The understanding is that if you're spending $3000 on a bike, you already know what saddle you're going to put on it and that saddle is going to cost you in the $200 range. So why should the bike manufacturer waste too much money putting an expensive saddle on a bike if you're just going to toss in the hopper and replace it with your own.

I talk to enough Bark River fans and they make the same comments about inconsistent bevels. Here the same thing from fans of Canal Street (RIP, it seems?) and Queen.

At that price range, I'd be very, very picky about fit and finish of scales and grinds and steel tempering but the edge bevel, not so much.

Now... if you're talking about a knife that is perfectly executed in all aspect of manufacture including an edge bevel (that will altered on your first sharpening), then I think you're going to have to pay a price that is a step up above, say, a Bark River or Buck custom/special run. Bark Rivers are in the $250 - $300 range, so north of that? Going back to bikes as an analogy, if you want to go beyond a functional custom bike frame to a aesthetically flawless custom, you'll see a big price jump.

As for lock up... As a user, I have zero control over that. I can't tune it out. I can't modify it away. It's possible to make lock backs with minimal or no lock rock without going over $100 I would think. Personally, I'd rather see Buck focus on lock rock than perfectly executed edge bevels.
 
I've only noticed lock rock on my 722 Spitfire. My Bantams have the lock in the middle and have very little if any rock. My 100 and 500 series seem fine too. A bank vault, no. But really good.

This picture is disturbing. I understand things happen from time to time, but I will never say this is okay at any price. Seriously, this will take a bit of work to fix.

IMG_4136_zpswcbllvxz.jpg
 
I could post pictures later this evening once at home. Perhaps my point was not all that well understood, it's not a big deal, but somewhat of a small disappointment. it does touch the collecting aspect far more then utility, that's for sure.

I meant that some of the blades are over grinded to get the primary bevel on. like from some specimen to another, out of the box, some of them look like they had a few years of use taken out of them. That is what I feel Buck should improve upon, because the product is so nice at their price point....that small finishing aspect counts in the end for me, as a collector of course, because as a user, sure it's most definitely not a deal breaker... just by googling images of the small open season you'll readily see the inconsistency.
 
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