Buck Marksman, looking for comments...

[kniferelatedname]

Fwiw, the clip is really grabby due to the handle pattern under it (drop point model). And the detent is really weak. It's easy to flip open without touching the blade or the lock. I wouldn't carry it without the blade against my pocket seam. I thought at $75 it was a good buy. But they seem to be $100+ now. At that price I dunno, there's a lot of good knives there.

 

[Makael]

The detent is part of the lock. If it's weak it needs adjusted. If its too tight it needs adjusted.

Its a great knife. Price any other knife out there with a G and G lock. This one is a deal.

You will love it

 

[Makael]

Fwiw, the clip is really grabby due to the handle pattern under it (drop point model). And the detent is really weak. It's easy to flip open without touching the blade or the lock. I wouldn't carry it without the blade against my pocket seam. I thought at $75 it was a good buy. But they seem to be $100+ now. At that price I dunno, there's a lot of good knives there.

You should probably send the knife in to be adjusted.it takes tools.

 

[Makael]

The Marksman is my favorite Buck model, I have the regular, S35VN, and CF/S90V model ( which has much smoother scales than the other two) I don't find any of the handles particularly uncomfortable. I haven't had any lock failures in regular EDC tasks, but haven't beat on our batoned them though either. Adjusting the lock is very easy, which I did on the S35VN version to get it where I wanted it and haven't had to adjust it since.

Right on.

 

[honestlyinsane]

If you buy many knives . Buy one it an interesting knife with a unique lock. It's smooth. I have both versions. Blade opens too smooth for my liking. Too dangerous to try and one hand flip it open because the blade can bounce off the lock and come back and get you. The blade is sharp. It go me.
If it is your only knife or and edc I would. Buy something else. Vantage or Paradigm (if you can find one) are similar in size.

 

[The Zieg]

I smile hearing or reading folks talk about the uniqueness or innovation of the Marksman lock when we know it's a modern (and so far the most reliable) version of the ratchet lock, which goes back to the late 17h century Andalusian navaja and shows up on the Okapi ring locks of South Africa.

I'd like to get my hands on one.

Zieg

 

[Makael]

If you buy many knives . Buy one it an interesting knife with a unique lock. It's smooth. I have both versions. Blade opens too smooth for my liking. Too dangerous to try and one hand flip it open because the blade can bounce off the lock and come back and get you. The blade is sharp. It go me.
If it is your only knife or and edc I would. Buy something else. Vantage or Paradigm (if you can find one) are similar in size.

If your fingers are on the lock plate and the scales and holding too firm it won't let the plate down when the knife opens fully and bounces back. I drive 60k miles a year and flip one of these out of boredom. Literally thousands of opening and closing. It's a great one of a kind knife.

 

[honestlyinsane]

I smile hearing or reading folks talk about the uniqueness or innovation of the Marksman lock when we know it's a modern (and so far the most reliable) version of the ratchet lock, which goes back to the late 17h century Andalusian navaja and shows up on the Okapi ring locks of South Africa.

I'd like to get my hands on one.

Zieg

Unique in the sense that Buck has never used this before. I don't follow other brands.

 

[sassafrassdogs]

I think he (Paul) uses both cryo and heat in his treatment.

I was under the impression that everyone knew that he used heat when he heat treated the blade. Like I said he used extreme cold to achieve his goal...

 

[moray campbell]

The detent is part of the lock. If it's weak it needs adjusted. If its too tight it needs adjusted.

Its a great knife. Price any other knife out there with a G and G lock. This one is a deal.

You will love it

Thanks for the info and the Marksman love. I did some looking and found a few videos on adjusting the lock strap/bar. I thought I would post one here so owners could easily check out the process.

 

[moray campbell]

If you buy many knives . Buy one it an interesting knife with a unique lock. It's smooth. I have both versions. Blade opens too smooth for my liking. Too dangerous to try and one hand flip it open because the blade can bounce off the lock and come back and get you. The blade is sharp. It go me.
If it is your only knife or and edc I would. Buy something else. Vantage or Paradigm (if you can find one) are similar in size.

Excellent you have both versions. Is there any perceivable difference in blade weight between the drop point and the tanto blade (which looks chunkier/larger) when the blade is being deployed or simply put, do the two blades feel any different when you flip the knife? I have wondered if Buck could add a neodymium magnet into the front top part of the assembly to help catch the blade if it bounces? That might lead to issues with the blade not wanting to drop when you want it to close. At the very least it would complicate the design which seems to be a simple yet for the most part a very reliable design, so if it ain't broke. I have seen versions of this lock design with a secondary lock which automatically engages to insure that the lock strap/bar cannot be made to "bounce" open upon a jarring impact. Do you think that blade bounce is simply an issue of locking strap/bar adjustment? Or can the blade bounce even when the strap/bar is set up and adjusted optimally? I know that with some of my other knives I had a definite learning curve and once I had developed the muscle memory opening was not problematic unless I put the knife away for a while then I had to freshen up my handling skills.

 

[jbmonkey]

Same...
Paraphrasing to the best f my recollection.
Paul Bos heat treated some blades for Buck many years ago.
Buck like this so much, they hired him.
Paul Bos set up and overseen all of Buck's heat treating until his retirement. He still treated blades for the customers while at Buck and one can still send blades to Buck to be treated using Bos' system.
Paul Farner worked with Bos at Buck for 126 years. Farner maintains Bos' system still today.
Buck owns the Bos logo and system for treating blades.

You can find this information in greater detail via a forum search.

To sum things up, have faith that Mr. Farner is capable enough that it's like Paul Bos has his own hands on the blades.

126 years? this fellow knows his stuff.

i have a standard version and the skblade g10 version. i dont find the scales too sharp.....but everyone is different and does different tasks. buck does heat treat the best in the production business. i wouldnt worry about that part.

i havent noticed the allens loosening in the lock setup. its a g&g hawk design, the lock i mean, they do great stuff and dont put it out if it doesnt work.

the bearing setup is great but be careful to flip it open hard enough or downward and it locks before getting fingers in the way. if you dont it will bounce off the lock bar and come flying back.

 

[moray campbell]

"QUOTE" I thought at $75 it was a good buy. But they seem to be $100+ now. At that price I dunno, there's a lot of good knives there.[/QUOTE]

Was this an in general comment or did you have any specific knives in mind which are similar or perhaps other G&G Hawk design knives? Boker sell a G&G Hawk design called the Griploc about $80.00 which is an interesting flipper, Chris Reeves has a knife with a reverse version of this lock by G&G Hawk (too spendy for me) and there are others such as the Wildsteer WX which is a much improved version of this lock though again too spendy for me.
The Marksman not only has a unique locking system but it is also seems to be a serious flipper and it looks good (to me) plus it is available in both a drop point as well as a tanto blade design in assorted steel options and scale designs.
I tend to agree that new the Marksman is on the expensive side but it might be more affordable on the second hand market. I don't get the impression that the Marksman has been one of Bucks more popular designs (I don't know) so there may not be a lot in circulation.

 

[sassafrassdogs]

"QUOTE" I thought at $75 it was a good buy. But they seem to be $100+ now. At that price I dunno, there's a lot of good knives there.

Was this an in general comment or did you have any specific knives in mind which are similar or perhaps other G&G Hawk design knives? Boker sell a G&G Hawk design called the Griploc about $80.00 which is an interesting flipper, Chris Reeves has a knife with a reverse version of this lock by G&G Hawk (too spendy for me) and there are others such as the Wildsteer WX which is a much improved version of this lock though again too spendy for me.
The Marksman not only has a unique locking system but it is also seems to be a serious flipper and it looks good (to me) plus it is available in both a drop point as well as a tanto blade design in assorted steel options and scale designs.
I tend to agree that new the Marksman is on the expensive side but it might be more affordable on the second hand market. I don't get the impression that the Marksman has been one of Bucks more popular designs (I don't know) so there may not be a lot in circulation.[/QUOTE]

Just a friendly heads-up, you need to be a Gold Member before you can talk prices, buying, selling etc...Don

 

[moray campbell]

ok thank's Don. Does this apply only to knives made by the maker the forum is for (in this case Buck Knives) or in general for any brand? I have posted to find out if there is a specific thread or forum where one can inquire about buying selling or trading knives. I will take a look to see if there has been a reply> I know there is one for buying in fact I just picked up a knife there the other day but what about posting a WTB or WTT?

 

[honestlyinsane]

ok thank's Don. Does this apply only to knives made by the maker the forum is for (in this case Buck Knives) or in general for any brand? I have posted to find out if there is a specific thread or forum where one can inquire about buying selling or trading knives. I will take a look to see if there has been a reply> I know there is one for buying in fact I just picked up a knife there the other day but what about posting a WTB or WTT?

The don't allow you to talk about the value of a knife. Or buying or selling unless you are a gold member . Buying and selling would be done in the subforum for just that.
General in a manufacturer specific forum you don't talk about any knives other than that manufacturer.
Lastly the quote of someone stating they feeling the knife is a good value at 80 but not at 100.00 is an opinion and not really a determination of value.
There are also a whole bunch of rules about deal spotting and vendors. You might want to peruse the stickies.
To answer you question about the difference blades I like appearance of the tanto but find the tanto impractical.
As far as weight the feel is negligible

 

[Wallace Mutt]

Here is a little vid I made demonstrating some of the bounce and opening/closing of the tanto.

 

[jbmonkey]

I smile hearing or reading folks talk about the uniqueness or innovation of the Marksman lock when we know it's a modern (and so far the most reliable) version of the ratchet lock, which goes back to the late 17h century Andalusian navaja and shows up on the Okapi ring locks of South Africa.

I'd like to get my hands on one.

Zieg

true. it is the only one currently made? right?

it is a neat lock. unique and strong.

sassafrassdogs i have a couple of those boker g&g griplocs. also a very neat lock and design. this buck g&g hawk design is top notch.

 

[moray campbell]

Hey thanks for the info, I guess I was confused as someone responded to me and dollar value was raised by them. I understand better now I should have read the rules. some forums are stickier than others. I went to the forum section for trade and buy/sell and I posted there.
Can you tell me (as I have never owned a tanto tip blade) what you find impractical about the tanto as compared to the drop point. I can see that you can't do as fine or long pointy pokie required type work with a tanto but for a general cutting blade is there much of a difference? Thanks again for your reply.

 

[jbmonkey]

Hey thanks for the info, I guess I was confused as someone responded to me and dollar value was raised by them. I understand better now I should have read the rules. some forums are stickier than others. I went to the forum section for trade and buy/sell and I posted there.
Can you tell me (as I have never owned a tanto tip blade) what you find impractical about the tanto as compared to the drop point. I can see that you can't do as fine or long pointy pokie required type work with a tanto but for a general cutting blade is there much of a difference? Thanks again for your reply.

you didnt ask me but i tell ya why i dislike tantos. 4 edges to sharpen instead of only 2. if you dont mind being extra careful per edge its not so bad...but if you try to sharpen two edges per side it ruins the division and turns it into a single edge with a hard turned belly over time. i also find no real use for it as stabbing isnt a task i do with any folder and really have no use in any knife other than a pig sticker per say.