Designers choice 110

[Warhawk]

Hi all!

Just got my 110! It is beautiful, and I will
post a pic as soon as the film is developed.

One question. I chose the 420HC high polish
blade. Is it customary to polish the blade
after it is tang stamped? The reason I ask is
that the stamp bled badly towards the tip of
the blade. It has a line or two for each
letter on the stamp. The nail nic also shows
the same thing. (The lines from the tang
stamp do stop where the tang stops and blade
grind begins.)

Other than that, the knife is wonderful. The
grind on the blade is excellent, the buffalo
horn handles are beautifully cut and
polished and the finger grooves feel just
right. (Exactly like the finger grooves on my
426.)

Thanks Dana!!!

Dave

 

[Joe Houser]

Dave,

When i first started working at Buck over 15 years ago i asked why the blade stamping on mirror polished blades look "melted". It seemed especially noticeable on the expensive custom knives we were making at the time. I found out that the blades are mirror polished useing a great deal of pressure. Often times the finish is mistaken for some sort of coating. We explored many ways of getting around this condition. You can't stamp the knife after mirror polishing because it has already been hardened. You can't harden the knife after polishing because the heat treat process causes extreme discoloration.
It has come to be known as a kind of trademark of a quality mirror polished blade around here.

I hope this helps

------------------
Joe Houser
Director of Quality, Buck Knives Inc.
Buck Collectors club Administrator

 

[Warhawk]

Thanks for the info, Joe. Makes sense now
that I think about it.
Really is a nice knife!

Dave