Buck Omni Fixed

M

ManimalX

Joined
Aug 29, 2007
Messages
4
Hi all,

I have been a camper and hiker all of my life, but always used my Dad's old hand-me-down knives. He was very fond of Buck knives, so I am partial to them.

I am looking for an inexpensive fixed blade for "survival" camping in the Rocky Mountains, i.e. a knife that will help me cut branches, split small pieces of wood, etc.

I was considering buying a Buck 12 point Omni. It is made with 440 Stainless Steel. The problem is I don't know anything about metals, so I don't know what this really means.

Has anyone tried this knife? Will it make a good knock-around knife?

Thanks!
 
ManimalX said:
I was considering buying a Buck 12 point Omni. It is made with 440 Stainless Steel.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Welcome to Bladeforums, the Buck Omni series are actually 420HC, not 440. I have the smaller 10pt one and they are a fairly decent knife for the money, fairly tough and while 420HC isn't the latest greatest super steel, it's capable of handling most common chores, especially with Buck's heat treat.


I'd say it would be a good choice for an economic camp knife if you don't go overboard with the wood splitting.

The one thing I am not wild about with these knives is the sheath, mine allows the knife to wiggle around in it to much. And even with the strap fastened, you can turn it upside down and shake the knife out.
 
Awesome, thanks for the reply. I was wondering about the sheath. It looks and feels very durable, but I didn't know how well it would hold the knife.

I am basically looking for something under $50, and this one seemed solid.
 
I have the Buck Omni 10 pt and 12 pt. Like you I didn't like the sheath and ended up making leather sheaths for both. I was also disappointed with the handle, so I cut it off and cord wrapped it. As far as accomplishing the small camping and hiking tasks, it does a pretty good job. I have no trouble keeping them sharp. Another knife I like is the stag Alpha Hunter.

P8190005.jpg

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Nice pix! Now that I see these, it makes me wonder about another knife I have. It is a Winchester, but I don't know the model number. I have seen it referred to as a "Woody". It only cost $14, I really like the blade, it stays sharp and is easy to maintain. However, it has a wood inlaid handle which looks nice but would most likely crack or break if I dropped it wrong or tried to hammer on it. I may have to take the wood off and cord wrap it.

Thanks for the idea :thumbup:
 
I just got the 10pt myself (camo edition) It looks nice but have not had a chance to try it out yet .
 
Check out the traditional Buck 119. It's 6.5" 420HC blade is great for many tasks. You can find it 'dressed up' with a cocobolo handle and brass finger guard & pommel for $50-$60 mail order, or in phenolic with aluminum for <$35 at Wally World. The 'Survivorman' fellow will reportedly be in Labrador in Friday's episode - with a 119.

Stainz
 
Stainz: I was looking at the 119. It is a very nice looking knife. Is the phenolic handle something that will stand up to cold weather and intermittent water very well?

Also, where did you hear that Les Stroud (Survivorman) was going to be using a 119? I really enjoy his show as well as Man vs. Wild.
 
I'm just not fond of Buck's rubber handles. They tend to slip when I get them wet. I like Gerber's rubber better. They seem to have a different substance to them.
 
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