- Joined
- Oct 16, 2007
- Messages
- 33
I originally published a review of this knife on Amazon. If anyone is interested, here is the link to the original review
http://www.amazon.com/review/produc...cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
I still stand by my overall summation, but now that Ive lived with this knife a little longer, Id like to redress a few points.
I had no expectations of any magical properties for this knife because of the use of Titanium. Buck clearly states that the Titanium is only a finish, not an integral part of the knife. That was fine by me, as I like the color and the corrosion resistance of Titanium. There is no Titanium in the frame or blade, so do not expect a wonder knife at a bargain basement price.
Originally, I was less than thrilled with the coarse feel on opening the blade. If you are willing to spend a little time with the knife, this is easily overcome. There may be other methods, but I packed the pivot point with Semichrome Polish and invested about an hour just opening and closing the knife. The pivot point was then flushed with WD-40 spray and another lubricant was applied. The opening action was vastly improved. Since my original review, Ive standardizing on using either Buck oil or Hoppes gun oil instead of the Phil Wood Chain Lube I mentioned. The Phil Wood lube is still a good choice, but the others are more readily available.
At first, I lamented about the factory edge. Since acquiring a set of Spyderco Ceramic Whet Stones (Medium, Fine, Ultra Fine), I decided to do something about the edge. I had no particular gripe with the angle the factory selected, so I refined the edge with the Fine and Ultra Fine stones. I went outside to try the Water Bottle Test. Suffice to say, I thought Id missed the bottle completely, until I saw the pool of water underneath the bottle. The blade was too small to cut all the way through, but the bottle did not move and behaved as if it did not know it had been sliced! I was impressed.
With 5 pocket pants, Ive taken to carrying this in the coin pocket of my pants, so equipped. With a MSRP of US$32, this is a nice, and fairly priced, FPEDC. Im not going to try and tell you this is the equal of a really fine pocketknife, but for the price, it turns out to be quite worthy of the Buck legacy . . . it just may take some tinkering to get there. My Kudu is still my choice for slicing bagels, as the Noblemans blade is too short to cut all the way to the center of a bagel, but the Nobleman is well made and, with some user applied modifications, a fine over all EDC. You can certainly find better EDCs, but at what price?
http://www.amazon.com/review/produc...cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
I still stand by my overall summation, but now that Ive lived with this knife a little longer, Id like to redress a few points.
I had no expectations of any magical properties for this knife because of the use of Titanium. Buck clearly states that the Titanium is only a finish, not an integral part of the knife. That was fine by me, as I like the color and the corrosion resistance of Titanium. There is no Titanium in the frame or blade, so do not expect a wonder knife at a bargain basement price.
Originally, I was less than thrilled with the coarse feel on opening the blade. If you are willing to spend a little time with the knife, this is easily overcome. There may be other methods, but I packed the pivot point with Semichrome Polish and invested about an hour just opening and closing the knife. The pivot point was then flushed with WD-40 spray and another lubricant was applied. The opening action was vastly improved. Since my original review, Ive standardizing on using either Buck oil or Hoppes gun oil instead of the Phil Wood Chain Lube I mentioned. The Phil Wood lube is still a good choice, but the others are more readily available.
At first, I lamented about the factory edge. Since acquiring a set of Spyderco Ceramic Whet Stones (Medium, Fine, Ultra Fine), I decided to do something about the edge. I had no particular gripe with the angle the factory selected, so I refined the edge with the Fine and Ultra Fine stones. I went outside to try the Water Bottle Test. Suffice to say, I thought Id missed the bottle completely, until I saw the pool of water underneath the bottle. The blade was too small to cut all the way through, but the bottle did not move and behaved as if it did not know it had been sliced! I was impressed.
With 5 pocket pants, Ive taken to carrying this in the coin pocket of my pants, so equipped. With a MSRP of US$32, this is a nice, and fairly priced, FPEDC. Im not going to try and tell you this is the equal of a really fine pocketknife, but for the price, it turns out to be quite worthy of the Buck legacy . . . it just may take some tinkering to get there. My Kudu is still my choice for slicing bagels, as the Noblemans blade is too short to cut all the way to the center of a bagel, but the Nobleman is well made and, with some user applied modifications, a fine over all EDC. You can certainly find better EDCs, but at what price?
