Buck Vantage Select Large

Joined
Mar 10, 2010
Messages
86
I've had my Vantage Select for about a month now, and I'd like to share my thoughts on it.

Specs:
-Blade Length- 3.25"
-Blade Material- 420HC
-Handle Material- Zytel
-Weight- 3.7 oz.

Ergonomics: The knife feels great in your hand, and I don't even notice the pocket clip when I'm holding it, which is really nice. The top of the spine has a polish job on it, and therefore is pretty slippery. It's not a huge deal, but some jimping would have been really nice. Because the flipper acts as a guard, you lose about half an inch of handle space. It's fine for me because I have small hands, but people with larger hands might have a problem.

Fit and Finish: The F&F is pretty nice. The handle scales extend a tiny bit past the liners on the top and bottom, but line up perfectly on the sides. The bottom of the opening hole is a little bit rough, but no big deal. The blade centering is a little bit off, but not touching the liner. However, when I close it quickly, sometimes I push a little to the left and the blade rubs the liner. The edge doesn't hit it though, so it's no big deal for me. The lockup is tight, no play, and you get a good engagement with the liner. The blade was push cutting newspaper out of the box.

Design: One thing that I noticed right away is that there is no stop pin on the back of the knife. Instead, there seems to be a small metal stud attached to the blade inside the pivot area. Despite being small, the flipper works very well; after having it for a while, I can easily open it without a wrist flick. The flipper has the same polish as the spine, so it can get a little slippery. The blade detent is pretty weak, so you can shake out the blade if you want. The pocket clip is nice and rides deep. It's not too tight and goes in and out of the pocket well. Something I noticed was that it will flex a tiny bit side to side.
The blade grind is nice, and allows for a nice sharp edge. However, the spine is not swedged or tapered, meaning that the last half inch or so of cutting edge is pretty thick. It's still sharp, though. I do feel that it takes more effort to cut cardboard because the flipper takes up handle space, meaning your hand is farther back from the cutting edge.

Overall, I'm very happy with the Buck Vantage Select. It's a great knife for the money and I think you should take a look at it if you haven't already. Thanks for reading and I hope this helped!
 
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I have the Vantage Pro. What you said and more so.

Working in the back yard wearing gloves today I had no problem opening and closing the knife with gloved hands.
 
my vantage pro is really great for edge holding. value wise i believe it tops spydie or kershaw for such a solid performer.--dennis
 
I bought two for EDC carry ,one for back-up. It has turned out to be my favorite daily carry knife. I wish the top of the blade and flipper had jimpimg but I can live with it. Great value. I even converted a non-carry friend to one ( he got the Sandvik steel version. He loves it !:thumbup:
 
I took my dremmel tool and a small cutting wheel and cut three serations into the flipper, works like a charm.
 
I bought two for EDC carry ,one for back-up. It has turned out to be my favorite daily carry knife. I wish the top of the blade and flipper had jimpimg but I can live with it. Great value. I even converted a non-carry friend to one ( he got the Sandvik steel version. He loves it !:thumbup:

After some practice, I found it easy to open the blade with the smooth surfaced flipper. For someone (me :o ) who sometimes spends a whole lot of time repeatedly flipping it open, maybe a jimped flipper could result in fingertip abrasion. :confused:
 
I bought two for EDC carry ,one for back-up. It has turned out to be my favorite daily carry knife. I wish the top of the blade and flipper had jimpimg but I can live with it. Great value. I even converted a non-carry friend to one ( he got the Sandvik steel version. He loves it !:thumbup:

Don't the 2011 versions have jimping? Pretty sure they do.
 
I have to talk about this knife. The vantage select large is perfect IMO. Forget the pro bc im not talking about steel. It is designed so well. When I got it it was a little tight and it wasnt centered, but it wasnt way off. I just loosened the pivot screw. Actually I tightened it and opened and closed it a few times, it was way tight. Loosened up some and it just kind of fell in place. Perfectly centered and just a bit looser making it just effortless to open. I have to say that it is awesome right now in terms of action. The clip is the best I've seen. The handle design and scales are great. Stell liners. Solid lockup. Im no expert on knives by any means but I am very happy with this, buck is quality.
 
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