Buck Mesa review

Yo Mama

Yo Mama

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2011
Messages
6,209
After looking at purchasing a new smaller camp food prep knife I settled on the Buck Mesa. It fit all of my initial requirements , however there is room for improvement. I hope this review helps anybody considering purchasing this knife as well.

Let's start with the good, the grind on it is about perfect and came seriously sharp. The retention fit for the holster is fantastic and it carries with ease because it is a lighter knife. So far in terms of cutting I haven't thrashin on it too hard other than preparing salads and making a few feathers sticks.

Now for the bad. Starting with the sheath there's no adjustability for cant and I don't like that you have to actually undo your belt to attach every time instead of having a quick-release latch. The second striking disappointment I have is how far in the set screws for the handles are. With where they are positioned your pinky finger ends up digging into a hole instead of having a flat surface. Lastly the ramp on the spine gets in the way and doesn't help with either a thrusting or retracting motion. You end up having to put your thumb further down the spine in order to get any kind of leverage.

Overall at the price point I believe you get a very solid knife however I definitely think I'm going to have to customize it to my liking. The safe would be worth having a custom sheath bill as well as removing some of the ramp on the spine. I will also plan on filling in the hole between the handles and the set screws or sanding down the micarta handles to meet.

19aaccda57531c2b131594399e0f597c.jpg


21baf135d47edc295d13ad3ce7ab6ad6.jpg


It may be unfair to compare because of the price difference but I just can't help thinking that the Becker bk16 wins overall in this size category.

f7ae1a8e891f605393a75c3c6a9b958a.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yo Mama, on a lark, I got a Reaper this winter and quickly reached the same conclusions you did. I ended up grining off the thumb ramp entirely and greatly reduced the finger guard. I also add a plastic liner under each scale to add some width. It's much more comfortable now with my big hands, which were crowded by the guard.

I would much prefer a sabre grind, or at least a full flat grind. Buck could go toe to toe with more expensive brands with a few changes but it seems they seem dead set on adding features for looks instead of performance. The hollow grind, unneeded false edge, thumb ramp, oversized guard... Too bad.
 
Thanks for the review. Despite some of the cons you pointed out, I think this is a great under the radar Walmart exclusive release by Buck
 
I wonder what compelled them to set the handle screws that deep. Seems a bit much! As a general rule, thumb ramps on pretty much all production knives are set too close to the handle, mostly because it looks nicer. Unfortunately that puts the peak of the ramp directly under the arch of the thumb in a natural extension, making it worse than useless. Dylan Fletcher is pretty much the only maker I know of who does ramps right.
 
The lines of the blade looks great.

Guard would probably have to go but thats an easy fix.
 
As someone who hasn't ever handled a buck mesa, and only seen a few photos of it, I'm kind of surprised how slab sided the handles are. I guess I was expecting a bit more (any) contouring.

After reading through, I do feel if I were in that size/budget range, I would probably choose a number of condors offerings over this. Mostly due to personal preferences (hollow saber grounds aren't my favorite).

Thanks for the review :).
 
Just broke my Mesa this morning, and I'm so bummed! After cutting wood with it this weekend it developed a 3mm crack about 2 inches out from the handle. I really love this knife but the Hollow Grind leaves too little steel behind the edge. I'm moving on to the large fixed Selkirk (Flat Grind), and I have a feeling it's going to hold up much better.

Buck, if you're listening, do more of the Flat, Saber, or Scandi grinds that keep the steel where it counts. Still love your knives, though!
 
it also fits the endeavor sheath and the compadre sheath. word of warning bucks qc on buying seperate sheaths is real hit and miss. you can buy two and one fits perfectly and the other is a bit too tight, so be warned.

i dislike the mesa sheath even though its easily adjustable for left or right carrry, is due to the smallish belt loop. doesnt carry well on my thicker leather gun belt. too small and thin a loop for universal use.

i also dislike the sharpish edges on the thumb ramp but easily fixed with a stone. lastly yep the screw holes are where my fingers dig in and it doesnt bother me too much it can be distracting a bit.

all in all a pretty darn good knife for the money and the knife the endeavor should have been.
 
My view is that hollow grinds are meant for hunting knives, where the intended activity is mostly cutting meat, not wood. Breaking it is a bummer, however, whatever the cause.
 
I can't speak about the Mesa but I have worked my Reaper hard and it keeps asking for more.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top