Curious 426 Bucklite blade finish

chickentrax

chickentrax

Joined
Aug 5, 2005
Messages
5,527
I mentioned this in another thread, and even emailed Steve Sullivan about it. I wasn't sure if it was unusual and therefore potentially collectible, or just another one-off from the friendly folks at Buck. :D

It's the green handled drop-point in the center. The black coating was all over the blade, except for the spine and edge. It scratches, so I don't think it was any kind of special coating. It came off with blasting from crushed walnut shells.



As I said, I took the knife apart and blasted the blade for a 110 project. But just to clarify, and preserve for posterity, here's a composite pic of the blade before and after blasting. You can clearly see the black coating was applied before the knife was assembled.



The last pic is slightly enlarged. The "426" on the green [and maroon] one did not have a date stamp after it; but the black handled one does...[a forward slash = 1993, I assume] :rolleyes:
 
I took a look around and could not find record of a 426 with black oxide blade. That is the only finish that I could think of that could be removed with walnut shells. It could be a one off from the factory. The fact that the back of the spine did not have the coating suggests that Buck did it. You will see the same thing on Ion Fusion blades.
 
oh no! did we jest hear of a one off vanashing ! ?
lawd i hope not!:eek:
man your picture takeing skills are very good!
keep us posted!
 
:eek: I sure hope you didn't let one get away from ya Trax...:( :eek: ...I also wonder if that drop point blade configuration may not be also used on the 500 Duke...Might be the "inter-changeability" thing again...???
 
334dave said:
man your picture takeing skills are very good!
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Not a pic...it's a scan... ;)

I lay my object on the scanner...put a sheet of paper [thin stuff] over it...or drape a t-shirt over it [thick stuff]...and scan it...on "color picture" setting...

Works pretty good...I usually have to run the scan through "Gamma Correction" in PSP @ 1.50 once, sometimes twice; to get the details to show... :)
 
DarrylS said:
:eek: I sure hope you didn't let one get away from ya Trax...:( :eek:
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Not to worry! I snail-mailed it to a Buck collector to examine; it was returned as "uncollectable"... :D

...I also wonder if that drop point blade configuration may not be also used on the 500 Duke...Might be the "inter-changeability" thing again...???
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I dunno...got a 500 you can take close-up scans of??? ;)

What blade does a Duke come with out of the box??? :confused:
 
Does a one-off Bucklite 426 with a black oxide blade bring a premium in Buck collecting circles...? I hope that Mr. chickentrax didn't choose the wrong knife to take apart and remove the black oxide from the blade! :eek:

GeoThorn
 
...Hummph...I have a 500 alright...I got one that my grandkid dug outta the desk and started to help remove floor tiles with...(without askin' I should add)...He left it stuck between the cement floor and the tile, propped up on the carpeting...Guess who stepped on the tile and snapped the blade cleanly...yep...yers truly...:eek: :( :( ...anyway...I don't think they inter-change ,the length is a bit short I would think.
 
geothorn said:
Does a one-off Bucklite 426 with a black oxide blade bring a premium in Buck collecting circles...?
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Doubtful...After all, this *is* the ultimate Buck collector's Forum, and this knife pic was posted before, some weeks ago, without arousing comment... ;)

Bisides...It's a *Bucklite*...What'd they sell for new??? Maybe $9.95 at Wal-Mart??? [marked down to $5.44 if purchased in a commemorative kippered herring can]... :D
 
DarrylS said:
...Guess who stepped on the tile and snapped the blade cleanly...I don't think they inter-change ,the length is a bit short I would think.
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But maybe a 442 or something similar would work??? What are the bolsters??? I just noticed that Jantz and Texas Knifemakers have 1/8" NiAg rod... :D

Or maybe a ground-down "junk" 110 blade would work???

Hmmm...Isn't a broken blade covered under warranty??? :)
 
chickentrax said:
Not to worry! I snail-mailed it to a Buck collector to examine; it was returned as "uncollectable"... :D

I dunno...got a 500 you can take close-up scans of??? ;)

What blade does a Duke come with out of the box??? :confused:
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he he he - thanks for the mum on the QT there chicken! but -
i never did say it was uncollectable! i only said i had never seen that coating or even heard of it before {hint} and that it was worth the postage to see it! ;)
besides- if i had known it was a one off i still would have returned it & told you ..
friends dont do friends you know...:D

Besides that, i did not want to bust it up for what i wanted to do when i had a plain jane to work with...

RRR knives told me a 500 would not easly interchange with a 112 or a 110... that he has had that request a lot...
some thing about the location of curves and holes...
 
On the 500 the bolsters are stainless...I gotta measure the thickness to see if it is close to a 110...I told Joe I'd send it in after the holiday rush was over...still procrastinatin'...LOL...
 
I get .107 on the 500 and .118 on one of the 110's...and truth be told, I can't see the pivot outline to measure the offset...
 
geothorn said:
Does a one-off Bucklite 426 with a black oxide blade bring a premium in Buck collecting circles...?
Click to expand...

Would it bring more than a slab-sided 2-pin 110 with drop-point blade??? :eek:




...:D :D :D ...
 
chickentrax said:
Would it bring more than a slab-sided 2-pin 110 with drop-point blade??? :eek:




...:D :D :D ...
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NOT whin you get finished with it ! {meaning that the drop point 110 would bring more! the unmolested 426 would not bring much as not that many 426 collectors out there...}
will post image of my brothers ivory/ nick/ dm 112 with MY scrimshaw work on it soon as i figured were i saved the scan of it...l>:"&*(%&%#; machines
 
The 500 blade does not interchange with the 110/112. The dimensions around the blade pivot are all different.
If it were me, i would not have removed the coating from that blade but I don't have a good reason. Sure it may be rare but it is in a category of knife that there doesn't seem to be a lot of collectors in. I see this type of thing all the time, someone calls and describes a very rare knife. The good news, i tell them, is that there were very few made, the bad news is no one cares about it. :rolleyes:
Of course that blade was a drop point 110 size blade so that in itself makes it desireable, even without the coating.
By the way, send in that Duke, I have blades still.
 
Joe Houser said:
... Sure it may be rare but it is in a category of knife that there doesn't seem to be a lot of collectors in...
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BUT... there are few that still like the one of a kinds, factory odd-balls, the prototypes... when we have the money to support our habits...:D

I agree with Joe, I would not have blasted the finish off the blade, but that just "my" opinion. I have a few of the odd-balls in my collection. They may not sell for much more than a regular knife, but they are interesting, especially if you can come up with some of the history behind the knife. Finding out the reason its like it is can be a real challenge....
 
Joe Houser said:
If it were me, i would not have removed the coating from that blade but I don't have a good reason...
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Perhaps if drop-point blades (or bare blades notwithstanding the type) were available without having to buy new Wal-Mart knives or eBay bargains, hackers like me wouldn't have to disassemble perfectly good knives to get the blade we want... [can't find an appropriate emoticon]... :p
 
i can answer that for you chicken...
buck has had their knives copyed a lot...some of them badly, very badly...
they control the baldes like they do to prevent poorly mad knives with their name on them from being around looking bad and lowering the standords they have with the public...
there is also the issue of the forever warenty in that if a balde is poerely put on a frame but had no contro on it and people wanty buck to "fix it" and it was something they would not have put out!!!
there are times when buck has supplyed baldes in frames to finishers with restrections and quality control in mind..
but it is bucks blades and name... and they are jest protecting it as you would yours also!...
 
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