Buck Vantage (Avid) construction - some observations and questions

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Jan 24, 2011
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I was recently gifted one of these (lucky me!:thumbup:) and I really like the knife. A few small things I may have changed on the design, like making the "flipper" button marginally longer, but nothing worth getting worked up over.
The one thing I did notice though - and I have not taken the knife apart, so I may have missed something - is that there is no stop pin in the construction, that I can see. I have been getting into designing and making liner and frame lock tactical folders lately and have from reading, speaking to other makers and observation always included at least one stop pin/block in my designs.
I don't think the Avid was designed as a tactical folder, more of an EDC, so maybe it need not be that strong. On the other hand, is a design without a pin necessarily weaker than one with a pin?
Are all the Vantage models like this or is it only on the Avid?
 
The slot that the pin moves in measures 1/8" so the pin is only a hair smaller in diameter. I can't even imagine how much force would have to be applied to the blade to make this fail.

Vantagestoppin.jpg

this should help...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/866984-Avid-Hidden-Blade-Stop?p=9819755#post9819755

link to thread above
 
Thanks sit, seeing that old picture reminded me that the Vantage I used for it was still sitting around here naked so I decided to take a few more shots. These may give a little better overall perspective of the stop in relationship to the frame and blade.

All the Vantages including the newer Force models use the same system.

IMG_0473.jpg


IMG_0475.jpg


IMG_0476.jpg
 
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Ah, an internal/hidden pin. Neat! Some pretty neat engineering and close tolerances too, for a production knife. I really like mine and it would seem a lot of other people like the knife too - and rightfully so. Thanks for the pics and info sit and plumb, I really appreciate your input.
 
The knife has to have a stop pin, otherwise nothing would prevent the blade from rotating open further than it should. That being said, I have seen multiple people confused by the apparent lack of a stop pin on the knife. I love the hidden stop pin design.
 
The knife has to have a stop pin, otherwise nothing would prevent the blade from rotating open further than it should.
Exactly - and that is what had me confused in the beginning - I thought maybe they had redesigned the lock to have a support that went beyond the center of the pivot to stop the blade from opening too far, or perhaps had a different method to stop the blade. I also think the hidden pin is a very neat idea!
 
I've started carrying my vantages again, and I think many people overlook how strong this design is. The blade, handle, and lock are all extremely stout, in a svelte, easy to carry package with enough variation to suit anyone. Home run Buck.
 
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