Buck Strider 888 Solution

recondoc1

recondoc1

Joined
Apr 27, 2001
Messages
595
Hey all,
Just picked up a Buck Strider 888 Solution which I'm thinking I'll carry when they pack my keester off to Iraq or points unknown.
As for the one I have, there are a couple of things I'd like to know.
Doing a Coating Job-
1: Can you remove the scales on this thing? I unscrewed the two tourqe screws, but that's as far as I was able to go until I know whether or not I'm going to have to bust them off. I want to shoot GunKote on it and don't want to be baking my G-10.
On Quality-
2: Can anybody tell me why they don't grind this thing all the way down the edge. She's a shorty to start with and losing another 1/2-3/4" isn't my idea of a good manufacturing call. Also, after all of the good things that I've heard about them, I was rather surprised to find it with a rather lacking, and uneven grind.
3: The Sheath. The sheath that came with this one is a combination of Green with Black edging. I thought that the original SOE Sheaths were solid green. This one is not marked SOE, only Made in America. For non-Mil applications, I'd like to get a nice OWB/IWB combo made for it in Kydex or Concealex. Who's the go to company for it.

My initial overall impression is about 50/50. I am impressed with the design and feel that it will do the job I'm facing. However, I am by far unimpressed with the Quality Control from Buck. Paul Bos may be doing the heat treat, but the grinding looks lobsided, short of full blade length and dull again toward the tip with a really steep angle. The bead blast job on this one is just plain second rate, uneven and looks like they used 5 month old abrassive compound.
For a knife with a $220 retail point. I expect nothing but the best. Buck is known for outstanding quality that lasts and lasts. Hell, I've got a 110 from my Grandfather's estate back in 72 and it is still going strong. What happened here with the 888s? I'm for all intents and purpouses planning to stake my life on this knife and this is it? For the kind of money I just put down?
Just to let you know the kind of trust I've always put in the Buck name, you should know that I gave up one of Ed Kalfayans handmade, full custom Chute knives and a brand new Chris Reeve Yarburough to position myself to pick up a Solution. Did I pick up some pocket change along the way? Yep. But it's the Solution that I want strapped to my ass when it heads for the sand. I had handled a friends earlier production knife and was entirely impressed with it. The design just feels right in my hand.
I figured something was wrong when I caught myself out in the shop thinking of what I would need to do to get this knife up to standards. Then it dawned on me that I shouldn't be having to do anything to a $200+ knife to bring it up to standards. It should already excede them.
Anybody else want to share a take on these knives?
Thanks for all the information you can give. :End Rant:
Doc
 
Retail $220 and net price ~$150. First off, at retail prices, I'd save up a little more and get a Strider original because I know they have done it right - no if's, and's or, but's about it.

At $150 for a production based fixed blade, I expect the grinds to be spot on. I expect a good quality sheath not some P.O.S. like benchmade ships their D2 Outbounder in. It shouldn't require any mods or touch ups to perform out of the box - period. If Quality Control let a bad one slip through, send it back.

As for personalizations, that is a really open question and beyond BUCK's control.

The Strider/Buck fixed blade is a good mass produced design for people who need that sort of knife. They are not alone in the field though with the Camillus offerings coming to mind. Even Newt Livesay's knives are in the same price range as the Buck and, they certainly seem battle worthy to me.
 
I think you hit it dead on Sid. There are a bunch of high quality knives in that price point. I've owned several of the Becker's which retail for 1/2 to 1/3 of the net of this one and have never seen anything along these lines with them. As for others out there including Livesay, I've had a bunch. I specifically chose this model because the mix of heft in a short, stout, and well heat treated blade made it the perfect match for my needs, and their grip matted well with my hande shape.
That's the part that chaps my keester on this. Here is a company, with a reputation for outstanding quality, marketing a blade in this group and then turning out something like this. I just don't get it. Of all companies out there, Buck should know better.
I've emailed Joe at Buck and am awaiting his reply. I reserve any judgement on the Buck Knife Company until I see what their take on it is. Right now, I'm doing my best to put personal feelings aside and stick with the facts of the knife at hand.
Has anyone else had a bad CQ Solution 888?
Doc
 
I bought a NIB B/S Solution about 6 mo.ago for $95 on ebay. The grinds were uneven and the there were some odd dimples on the blade (looked like pitting). Mine did have the SOE sheath. I gave it to a friend and bought an EB-LS. It's Strider's attention to detail that made the difference. All of the edges were smoothly rounded, the edge was flawless (and goes the full length of the blade) and the double choil grips were much more comfortable. The only thing that I miss is the lanyard hole on the Solution. Strider also gives military discounts that bring the EB to the $260-270 range. Easily worth the extra $50 IMO.

Semper Fi brother!
Mark
 
Well, with only one other bad experience listed so far, I'm not going to condemn Buck. I will however be on the lookout for others.
One thing that doesn't make any sense here; I've owned two of the Buck Strider folders and both were ground and fitted excellently. Why would a knife that is so much simpler, from a production point of view, be so far off of the mark?
Doc
 
Out of curriosity, I went out yesterday and purchased a new Buck Strider 880-SP Folder. In stark contrast to the Solution I bought on Friday, this knife is about as perfected as one can be. The grinds are even, symetrical, and run the entire length of the blade. Bead blasting make of a nice even grey matt finish and the scales are fit dead on flush.
Lockup is more than solid and can really take some work to close if you flick it.
How can two knives, from the same line and manufacturer, be so different? Why would the one that takes an overall lower amount of man hours and materials be the one that would lack in all of the QC areas?
:confused: :confused: :confused:
Doc
 
Doc,

Sorry to hear about your negative impressions with the Solution. Am I correct in assuming that you have the BG-42 version? I remember having an email conversation with you about that. When I had my two Solutions (ATS and BG) their grinds were both even, albeit thick near the tip. Beadblast was very good on both also. The unground edge near the choil annoys me as well, but I can live with it. The ATS had a true, SOE-tagged all-green sheath.

I tried taking off the handle scales also, but I ended up literally twisting the tip of my torx driver! My screws were sure on tight so I gave up on that idea. But I believe G-10 can tolerate a few hundred degrees of heat just fine (how hot do you need to get it?). A boron carbide or diamond DLC coating would work well IMHO.

On my Solution I reground the edge to a convex profile. It took quite some time with a diamond stone and 100-grit silicon carbide sand on a leather strop. Now the tip is thinned out a lot and the knife slices more easily.

I'm glad to hear that Buck took care of you; their strong reputation for customer service was an added incentive when I decided to buy the knife. It can't beat a real Strider but for what I paid I'm happy :) .
 
SD,
I actually gave up on the BG-42 and went with a new ATS-34 model. It was a real drag to get it home and not find the kind of quality I had seen in the earlier production ones. I, unfortunately, did a drive by shopping trip. Due to lack of time, I called the shop, found out that they had one left, told them to hold it, and then drove by and grabbed it up. The downside was that I never checked it out prior to getting it home. I just figured that, with a $220 price tag, I could expect the exacting quality that my friends knife had been done with. I guess I was wondering if Buck tappered off their quality standards once these were established and selling well. Then I look at their other line of fixed blades that have been around for decades and see that the QC on them is still very high. Yet the price on those is 1/4 of the Buck strider. Those knives are made with polished micarta handles with bolster guards and end caps of stainless. They are always fit and ground to perfection. How could they let a knife that costs 4 times that and is much easier to make, leave their factory in this condition. For $220 I expect attention to detail. Now I am still dishing out the additional money to overnight this knife to Joe Houser for a very rapid return. This is a major consern to me given the current status of deployment possibility within days. Buying this knife was originally supposed to aleviate that problem, not compound it. :confused:
doc
 
The KIQ (Knife in Question) is now in the hands of the folks at Buck.
I dropped $27 and some change to Expess Mail it. I am awaiting a reply as to their take on it.
Doc
 
I think you got what I would expect out of Buck. Their fit and finish has been variable for years. You need to inspect their product if you want excellence. Buck is capable of excellence, but not all the time.

You should not have bought it w/o opening the box. Many Buck buyers are not sophisticated knife nuts and would not question your quality problems with the blade. Buck sells knives all over the quality and price map, but they have a consistent minimum quality and good service. You ever work production? Sometimes a product is perfect, but sometimes people are sick and others move up the production line and things change for awhile.

The last two Bucks I gave as presents are still going strong 10 years later, but they don't hold much of an edge, but that's t he 1980s product. The last Buck I got, one of the plastic lock-backs got in 2000, won't lock open, closes with minimal pressure, but it's got a great edge and holds it pretty good. Cost me $7, but it was originally priced $18. I'd return it if I spent $18. That's Buck's quality for ya. Spankin great some, or most times, not really there other times. Been that way for years. But then their blades are not really expensive, most of their market is the average joe, and overall they've got a good quality price ratio backed up with customer service.
 
I just got off of the phone with Joe Houser at Buck and he is absolutely on the ball with this. He's already got the knife out on the production floor and Jeff Hubbard was waiting to see it as well.
I gleaned some information about the line in general that should be shared with folks.
He explained to me that most of the add knives were in fact protos. It seems that dealer want photos or a knife to photograph as quickly as possible when a line is announced. Therefore the proto gets sent for the adds while final production is still being worked out. I can understand this. Business is business. I would have liked to know it before making my purchase choice however.
The flat section toward the back of the edge is a planned element. Joe informed me that that is the number one complaint from buyers and it is being addressed as to how to correct it. They originally figured it would offer a margin of safety for using the choil to choke up. Evidently the customer public doesn't agree from what he was explaining.
The sheath is still a mystery to him. I can understand that. He told me that he had not heard anything about SOE not doing the sheaths any more. He noted that there is a defined difference in the quality of the two side by side and that he would be making inquiries as to where they came from.
Overall, the customer service experience has been 110% from Buck. I've been contacted by Joe Houser, CJ. Buck, and Jeff Hubbard their QC Chief. All of them have demonstrated a very evident concern over not only my particular knife but the quality of the entire Solution line. I am glad that these guys understand their business so well.
I figure that a company that's been around for over 100 years has pretty much figured it out. They have demonstrated this at every turn. I'm still happy to call myself a Buck customer now that I understant how things happen with them and that they aren't the types to let a problem lie.
Doc
 
Doc, I'm glad to hear the Buck's taking care of you. They've been around a long time and their loyal customer base speaks for itself. About the choil, I figured that's why the knives are ground like that. But other makers such as Busse leave the edge sharp all the way to the choil and I haven't heard any complaints about that. It would be awesome if us current Solution owners could get that fixed on our knives! I like the way Strider does it: sharp until right before the choil, but not tapered.
 
Joe Houser seemed to be aware that this is the #1 complaint on these knives. I'm not sure what the fix will be or if a fix will be implemented. He may be the one to talk to. I figure that if enough folks contact them about it, maybe a change can take place.
Doc
 
No pun intended but buck is still one of the best bands for the buck to be had. I've got a gaggle of Buck knives around here and use them often. When things have been less than the way they should be, Buck Knives has risen to the occaision and more than made right. Joe Houser in particular is on top of his game and puts into action the company's attitude of customer appreciation and satisfaction. Besidea making good knives at their price point and being a good company, there are just plain good folk at Buck Knives.

For what it's worth, the fat part of the unsharpened blade near the chaoil is the biggest complaint I have with mine as well.
 
Being large production companies, Buck, Shrade, and others sometimes let a few get out the door with problems. What sets these guys apart from almost any other market is top notch customer service and a sincere desire to fix the problem, no hassles, no fixing the blame, just making it right.

I've had a few issues with the Buck Strider line myself, due more to the design than the manufacture, IMHO, but Joe was there to take care of business.

Just my thoughts,
Clay
 
I just received my knife back from y'all this morning and it is outstanding. Please extend my thanks to Joe Houser, Jeff Hubbard and Wild Bill. Include yourself there at the top of the list.
The sheath that Joe sent back was one of the older ones (I believe it was actually from his personal Solution). There is a very evident difference. Not as much in the materials as in the workmanship and this may be due to the Oregon firm that you mentioned. Some folks might figure "2 rows of stitching vs. 3 rows, How big a difference could there be?" Well, they may increase production volume and get the order filled more quickly but the difference shows to the end user. Being one to take equipment to the limit and push it beyond many times, the extra row of stitch is a huge difference after a couple of long swims in the ocean and low crawling through sand and sludge over and over again. I know the guys at SOE know this as they are located right next door to Pendelton and deal with it regularly. That's why they build their stuff the way they do. The Oregon firm (Could that be Uncle Mike's?) just missed the point that folks really beat the hell out of gear like this. The sheath that I got originally looked pretty but I doubt it would have lasted through a couple months of hard training or operations.
Just my $0.02.
Another massive THANK YOU to all of the folks at Buck who have turned this, rather tepid, experience into a great one.
Kudos, kudos, kudos.
Doc
 
Good thread guys...thanks!


"Hunters seek what they [WANT].., Seekers hunt what they [NEED]"
 
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