Buck Marksman, looking for comments...

Plenty of reviews out there.

Wrap-Up
The US made Buck Marksman is an unexpected triumph of a knife, primarily because I’d never have expected Buck to make it. It’s incredibly innovative, but it’s innovation that actually works – and works well. It pushes the envelope of lock and flipper technology, and that’s the sort of phrase usually followed by a caveat like “which is why it’s flaws are easy to accept,” but the Markman doesn’t have glaring flaws. It’s easily up there in my book with the Spyderco PM2 and the Benchmade Griptilian for greatest full size EDC blades. It’s good value for money, solid lock, excellent flipper, useful blade shape, and superb clip make it hard to dislike. If you’ve written off Buck as half-baked Chinese junk, the Marksman is a sign of the shifting paradigm at the company – which recently experience a changing of the guard in February of 2017 with a new CFO and COO – towards making higher quality products, and making them in America. I highly recommend it.
 
Buck Marksman – Final Thoughts
The novelty of the Marksman is what made me buy it. The knife definitely has some novel features to it, and it doesn’t disappoint in that respect. But at the end of the day what impresses me most about the Marksman is that it’s actually a really good knife. The strap lock is unique, and I love how the blade deploys. The knife is also lightweight, tough, and functional. The materials are all high quality and it’s nicely put together – especially at the price point and considering that it is USA made. It carries well, cuts cleanly, and is a lot of fun to open and close. The Marksman has really grown on me. I would go so far as to say this is one of my favorite designs in 2014. I am glad I gave it a chance.

With all of that said I realize that this knife isn’t for everyone. The futuristic design is bound to polarize people, and the strap lock and it’s sharp edges could be a deal killer as well. But if you are in the market for something different and like a good user blade, then the Buck Marksman should definitely be on your radar. I liked it so much it earned a spot on my recommended EDC knives page
 
I was leary of the Marksman at first. Then I saw the "tests" that Makael did and was impressed with it. It wasn't until a good friend of mine, DP, sent me one for my Bday. It's my official EDC and I love it...Never had a problem with any of the functions of the knife... Very well made....
 
Makael said:
Don't be a fool. I know things break. It's your assumption that they all break.

It is what it is. Too bad yours broke but you fixed it. Did you have the parts? Did it just need an adjustment? If an adjustment is all that was needed then it's no different than any pivot on any knife.

So you dropped your and the lock came out of adjustment? So you adjusted it and moved on except to blab your experience in a Buck hosted forum?

I gotta admit, it's a little concerning, then again its not.
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Go ahead and post another page of praise and reviews and hatred for any contrary experiences because my Marksman also failed from a weak lock design. And while the forum moderators are allowing you to say seemingly anything to and about other posters, it still isn't right that you do so.

The Marksman has a weakness in its lock design that has shown itself to at least two owners of that knife. I don't trust it, that won't change even after reading your torture test.
 
Stephen W Huyssoon said:
Go ahead and post another page of praise and reviews and hatred for any contrary experiences because my Marksman also failed from a weak lock design. And while the forum moderators are allowing you to say seemingly anything to and about other posters, it still isn't right that you do so.

The Marksman has a weakness in its lock design that has shown itself to at least two owners of that knife. I don't trust it, that won't change even after reading your torture test.
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Too bad you feel that way Stephen, I guess nothing's perfect.
 
Stephen W Huyssoon said:
The Marksman has a weakness in its lock design that has shown itself to at least two owners of that knife. I don't trust it, that won't change even after reading your torture test.
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Two people here have had trouble with the lock, or claim to have. That is all well and good. You can state that experience in a single post, or 100 posts. I for one, appreciate all input and experiences, whether good or bad, but neither 1 post nor 100 posts about the same experience constitutes any evidence whatsoever that all the locks on all the knives are weak.

What happened here was Makael disagreed with the proposition that the lock was weak, and then put his money where his mouth was to show that his random example of a Marksman 830 survived not just a simple drop, but very extensive torture. This goes above and beyond what most owners do to illustrate the toughness of their knives and adds immeasurably to the discussion here.

I don't believe anyone has said every lock on every example of this knife will withstand every possible impact from every angle every single time. The lock's detractors' points have been made, and are appreciated, but unless you feel as strongly about the proposition that the lock is an overall weak design as Makael feels that it is a strong design by doing some similar type of testing to refute his results, then using different words to rehash the singular opinion: "My lock failed so I think the lock design is weak" over and over and over adds absolutely nothing valuable to this thread. Not that you cannot continue to do so if you enjoy doing so, but it dilutes the valuable input in the thread if the same opinion by the same person is repeated endlessly without new supporting data.
 
Unknownroad said:
Two people here have had trouble with the lock, or claim to have. That is all well and good. You can state that experience in a single post, or 100 posts. I for one, appreciate all input and experiences, whether good or bad, but neither 1 post nor 100 posts about the same experience constitutes any evidence whatsoever that all the locks on all the knives are weak.

What happened here was Makael disagreed with the proposition that the lock was weak, and then put his money where his mouth was to show that his random example of a Marksman 830 survived not just a simple drop, but very extensive torture. This goes above and beyond what most owners do to illustrate the toughness of their knives and adds immeasurably to the discussion here.

I don't believe anyone has said every lock on every example of this knife will withstand every possible impact from every angle every single time. The lock's detractors' points have been made, and are appreciated, but unless you feel as strongly about the proposition that the lock is an overall weak design as Makael feels that it is a strong design by doing some similar type of testing to refute his results, then using different words to rehash the singular opinion: "My lock failed so I think the lock design is weak" over and over and over adds absolutely nothing valuable to this thread. Not that you cannot continue to do so if you enjoy doing so, but it dilutes the valuable input in the thread if the same opinion by the same person is repeated endlessly without new supporting data.
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You are using a method to invalidate my postings. You have changed what I posted. I did not say the lock design is weak, I said there is a weakness in the lock design.

You also are saying that my postings require supporting evidence. They do not. You are free to disbelieve what I say and furthermore any such supporting evidence would be further disbelieved and used to further discredit my postings and my character.

I do not repeat myself endlessly, I respond, sometimes, to responses to my postings.

I am sure my experience with my marksman lock failure is not a singular experience in that surely others have had issues. Beyond one other poster, however, this is speculation, as is your remark.

And I am going to presume that your remarks on diluting this thread also apply to the poster who has in fact posted literally pages.

And you know what? I believe I shall continue to post my experience in appropriate threads as this issue remains unresolved.
 
ONLY A FOOL TRUSTS A LOCK on any folding knife.

They all have the potential to fail. If being forced in a bad direction when they do fail you could loose fingers.


My very first post here actually the reason I joined. Was to relate a failed 110 lock. Mine is one of a very small sample that failed. I’m not sure how long I carried it in that compromised condition because I don’t rely on the lock.

Everyone knows a slip joint will fold on you if you apply pressure in that direction. Adding a lock doesn’t make it a fixed blade.

It’s another case of a safety measure being put in place that could make an object less safe if it is trusted unconditionally.
 
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I never said anyone's experience was invalid.

As it stands:

*A fairly popular (judging by all the special edition models) hard-use EDC tactical folder has had two people on this forum who have said the lock failed on them, and no one on the Reddit knife forums, YouTube reviews, or knife review publications who experienced similar failures.

*I would not call "two" a trend out of our sample size, so being that those with problems are always (and should be) more vocal about their experiences than the content silent majority, those two constitute a very small percentage of users, many of whom likely use the knife harshly as intended as it is not an overly attractive $1,000 custom collectible piece.

*Someone put their own knife through a brutal torture test, in which harsh forces were applied to the knife and lock from many angles and it survived impressively well.

This is all simply data, there are no emotions involved and everyone's experience is valid. It is up to the reader to decide what evidence is more compelling as to whether the lock design is strong or weak, and whether or not the two knives with failed locks could perhaps have been a result of poor settings from the factory, manufacturing outliers, or whether the two failures invalidate the experiences of the silent (and vocal) majority.
 
Several people have reported one of the posts, for being insulting.
The person to whom the insult was addressed was not one of them.

Since the person to whom the insult was addressed has decided to roll with the punch, no warning will be issued. But I would remind all that this is a family friendly forum. Please watch your language.
 
Pretty simple thing here. Two people have lock problems and like to talk about it whenever the Marksman is discussed. One guy decides to see if it really is a problem worth complaining about. He beats the lock to all get out and proves the problems are isolated incidents. The rest of us watch it discussed, again, and again, and again...who hoo! :)

I had a Terzuola custom ACTF that would consistently fail a light spine whack test. I tried to fix it w/o taking apart the knife, no luck, but I don't have much skill :) By the way the ACTF is the grandaddy of tactical folders. People bet their lives on them. I got it after I was carjacked and thought I needed a security blanket ;) I was pissed about the lockup and put the knife in a cigar box. A month or so later I called Bob Terzuola, discussed the problem, he said that wasn't normal and to send it back. I pulled the knife out to ship it and low and behold it was fixed & locked all the time. Called Bob and told him, we both had a good laugh about my magic cigar box. Never had another problem with the knife.

The moral is, stuff happens and "outliers" exist in the knife world :)
 
I have one of the custom versions sold by our fellow forumite SKblades. No problems at all with the pivot or the lock.

I would like to point out that I consider it a huge bonus that this type of lock means that this knife is a 'flipper' while still being completely ambidextrous. A lot of the 'flippers' out there are aimed for the right-handed folks.

The only disadvantage I can think of is that the knife collects slightly more crud (dust, pocket lint) around base of the blade, but that is no surprise since it runs on bearings (it is a known quality of ball bearings that they attract slightly more crud).

The lock is sturdy enough, but it is external, so theoretically more vulnerable. Although I suppose it is sturdy enough that it would take extremely bad luck (or very specific circumstances) to actually damage it. Although I think if you are unlucky enough that the lockbar actually deforms, I imagine that's pretty much the end of the knife, since the mechanism relies on the lockbar having a very precise shape and flexibility.
 
Lodd said:
I have one of the custom versions sold by our fellow forumite SKblades. No problems at all with the pivot or the lock.

I would like to point out that I consider it a huge bonus that this type of lock means that this knife is a 'flipper' while still being completely ambidextrous. A lot of the 'flippers' out there are aimed for the right-handed folks.

The only disadvantage I can think of is that the knife collects slightly more crud (dust, pocket lint) around base of the blade, but that is no surprise since it runs on bearings (it is a known quality of ball bearings that they attract slightly more crud).

The lock is sturdy enough, but it is external, so theoretically more vulnerable. Although I suppose it is sturdy enough that it would take extremely bad luck (or very specific circumstances) to actually damage it. Although I think if you are unlucky enough that the lockbar actually deforms, I imagine that's pretty much the end of the knife, since the mechanism relies on the lockbar having a very precise shape and flexibility.
Click to expand...
Not the end. Send it in,
 
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