Different Buck Nighthawk

Haebbie,

Awesome job! A defenite upgrade over the original handle!

I'm guessing the wood is Damson? :rolleyes::rolleyes::D

I was actually going to guess macasar ebony...:foot:
 
WOW!!! That is one good looking Nighthawk!!! Much better than what you got in the first place.
 
Great photos and beautiful work Haebbie. You did an excellent job fitting that ivory bolster to the blade..... :thumbup::thumbup:
 
This is nice job but I am asking myself if that blade is worth the effort. I mean the 420HC steel (some say it's too soft). Or is this knife intended just for display?
 
MWallace said:
Great photos and beautiful work Haebbie. You did an excellent job fitting that ivory bolster to the blade..... :thumbup::thumbup:
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Thank you, Mr. Wallace, it makes me a lot of fun to to fit the ferrule at the blade perfectly. It is not so difficult, but it needs a lot of time. Nearly as much as to prepare the other parts for mounting.

Fettgesicht said:
This is nice job but I am asking myself if that blade is worth the effort. I mean the 420HC steel (some say it's too soft). Or is this knife intended just for display?
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I think the 420HC steel is more better than some say. But you are right, it was the form of the blade that inspires me to make the handle like this. For all days jobs I have the original Nighthawk with the rubber handle. The knife with the wooden handle is for Sundays. But if it is necessary I would use the home made one too. It is always a pleasure to use a nice knife. Ant that it has a used blade makes it easier to use it.

Thanks for posting,
Best,
Haebbie
 
Thanks for reply Haebbie, I ordered Nighthawk recently and I'm waiting for it to be shipped now. I ordered it in spite of the negative reputation it has on another knife forum I'm member of. Nighthawk was said to have thick edge and be "no good" on that forum. I don't believe it's much worse than any other knife in this price cathegory and I believe I'll like it. One doesn't need hand forged damascus blade for 2 days hiking trip. I could'nt find any review of this knife except destruction test. Which is not much useful as normally I do not chop concrete with a knife.
 
fettgesicht said:
Thanks for reply Haebbie, I ordered Nighthawk recently and I'm waiting for it to be shipped now. I ordered it in spite of the negative reputation it has on another knife forum I'm member of. Nighthawk was said to have thick edge and be "no good" on that forum. I don't believe it's much worse than any other knife in this price cathegory and I believe I'll like it. One doesn't need hand forged damascus blade for 2 days hiking trip. I could'nt find any review of this knife except destruction test. Which is not much useful as normally I do not chop concrete with a knife.
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Thank you for posting here, Fettgesicht.

Yes, the Nighthawk has a thick and heavy blade. But it is a good user, also for chap firewood.

A question: Where from you got your name "Fettgesicht"?

Best,
Haebbie
 
I am asking myself if that blade is worth the effort. I mean the 420HC steel (some say it's too soft).
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Fettgesicht,

II am amazed at the negative press 420HC gets so often. I believe this is a bias that people have due to assuming Buck 420HC is like other manufacture's 420HC or their similar steels.

The fact is that Buck's Proprietary heat treating process ensures that 420HC is very hard and durable. Maybe some of the guys will chime in here and talk about the effect Buck 420HC has on drill bits used to add after-market thumb studs. Another thing to look for or think about is “how many Buck’s with 420HC has you seen with any noticeable steel loss due to sharpening?” I can’t think of any. Again, fella’s chime in if you can think of an example.

Do bare in mind that the Nighthawk is a tactical combat knife and the 1/4inch (6.35mm) thick blade is probably not the best choice for slicing potatoes at the camp fire. For personal defense, I rate it as an outstandly superb design. I find the handles to be extremely comfortable and grippy.

So be confident in it; unless used as a pry bar or as you say to “chop concrete” you will find that it easily handle all the chores on your camping trip esp. the heavy & dangerous work.

I am sure you will be in love with it in no time. Enjoy! And I do like mine to be certain. The little guy, I got at Walmart for $40. What a deal!!!!

 
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Haebbie said:
Thank you for posting here, Fettgesicht.

Yes, the Nighthawk has a thick and heavy blade. But it is a good user, also for chap firewood.

A question: Where from you got your name "Fettgesicht"?

Best,
Haebbie
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Thank you too, I believe I will like Nighthawk. Anyway, a relationship to an instrument is formed by using it. We all still remember knives we owned as boys - they were by no means perfect (not stainless, etc.) but we used them a lot and liked them.

As for my nick, general Fettgesicht was a character in an "stone-age" PC game called Wolfenstein 3D. I've never played the whole game and never seen him, just read the name somewhere. I chose this nick long ago and was too lazy to make up something different and more friendly sounding :rolleyes:

Flatlander1963:
Thanks for your post. All my knowledge about steels comes from certain czech knife forum (may I add a direct link? not sure... :confused:). Many of its members are professionals (not exactly bladesmiths, though) and they consider 420HC to be "just another 420 mud", which cannot be much improved by any heat treat, however precise. I do not know if this is prejudice, steel snobism or just bad experience. Some of them are part-time bladesmiths, so they simply may not be interested in mass production knives and steels. I was a bit surprised that those guys complained about Nighthawk's thick edge as to me it is natural that mass production knives often have suboptimal factory edge and it is no problem to regrind it according to one's personal preferences.

I wish there was WalMart in Czech republic :( I had to order Nighthawk via the Internet quite long ago and I'm still waiting for it.
 
so they simply may not be interested in mass production knives and steels. I was a bit surprised that those guys complained about Nighthawk's thick edge
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Well I have to assume that those fellows suffer from a reluctance to acknowlege that a NightHawk is a knife with a specific purpose with a planned affordable price point. It is not a knife for all cutting jobs.

Do you plan to change the grind's profile?

Yes, Walmart has some good deals on nice things (lots of junk too). Their purchasing power is so massive they can arm twist even the biggest suppliers. Good for us consumers.

When you get your knife be sure to come back and give us a review.;)

Yes you can copy/paste a link into your reply. I assume the discussion is in English. Not to many Czech speakers over here.
 
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Thanks for the reply. My Nighthawk has arrived. Firstly, I'm a bit disappointed by the the factory sharpening which suffers from what I call the "Ka-Bar syndrome". During sharpening a little bit too much metal (like 1 mm or so) was ground off near the handle so the edge is slightly curved (I often see this on new Ka-Bars). It doesn't look nice. Then the handle. Either it is designed for above average sized hands or it is... huh... specific. Some of my fingers rest in grooves some other on bumps on the underside of the handle. That feels unusual. But I have a scar on my little finger which is still tough (I cut myself badly in August in that finger) so I may not be able to grasp and feel the handle properly now. :-(

As for the rest - I intend to give this knife to myself as a xmas present (do you do this too?) so I'll test the blade and the overall usability later. But even if the knife keps feeling strange in my hand I will retain it because I like its appearance and don't want to give it away.

About the edge: I don't find the edge too thick. Just a bit overpolished and too smooth but the thickness is OK. I may later sharpen it like convex grind (on sandpaper + mousepad) as this sharpening method works perfectly for me on most knives.

The forum I mentioned is all in Czech but someone may be interested in makers' galleries topic (there is a lot of blah-blah in those threads but some nice pics too): http://knife.cz/Default.aspx?tabid=53&g=topics&f=16
 
Haebbie,

My 650 came in last week. Its an old one with the black handle. The date stamp is for 1994 Pat. Pend
Turns out this knife is in a lot better shape than the fella described it. Its bascially in new condition with very light use. Still has the factory edge.
I still want to do a mod on a 650 but this one may be to old and too good a condition to alter.

To catch the rest of you up on my conversation with Haebbie...I bought this 650 on a online auction site (not the bay) for $20+s&h. So being on the low end of the cost spectrum for a 650 I was planning to remove the handles and black finish on the blade and try to do a brass finger guard, wood or micarta handle, and mirror finish on the blade. I had asked Haebbie about the tang and he did a nice drawing of it for me so I'd have an idea what I was getting into.

Now that I have it in my hand, I'm not so sure I want to change something that is already very good. I suppose the fact its one of the original versions gives me pause also.

What do you fella think?

 
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Flatlander1963 said:
Haebbie,

My 650 came in last week. Its an old one with the black handle. The date stamp is for 1994 Pat. Pend
Turns out this knife is in a lot better shape than the fella described it. Its bascially in new condition with very light use. Still has the factory edge.
I still want to do a mod on a 650 but this one may be to old and too good a condition to alter.

To catch the rest of you up on my conversation with Haebbie...I bought this 650 on a online auction site (not the bay) for $20+s&h. So being on the low end of the cost spectrum for a 650 I was planning to remove the handles and black finish on the blade and try to do a brass finger guard, wood or micarta handle, and mirror finish on the blade. I had asked Haebbie about the tang and he did a nice drawing of it for me so I'd have an idea what I was getting into.

Now that I have it in my hand, I'm not so sure I want to change something that is already very good. I suppose the fact its one of the original versions gives me pause also.

What do you fella think?

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FL, I wouldn't take the black handle 650 for handle remove too. You may find another actual 650 for rehandling. Keep your eyes open, I will do that too to help you to find another one.

Keep cool, comes time comes knife. :D :)
Haebbie
 
Haebbie,I heard a rumor you might be comming over??? If you are why not have a "Buck" party!!! You are our 'over the pond' connection dude...Can we trade/buy/ect..with you ???
 
I really love that corian 112 with the German paperwork... One of the STARS of my 112 collection!!
 
bucksway said:
Haebbie,I heard a rumor you might be comming over??? If you are why not have a "Buck" party!!! You are our 'over the pond' connection dude...Can we trade/buy/ect..with you ???
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yes, Bucksaway, I plan to come over again. And I bring my wife with me to show her somewhat of the experiences I made in the U.S.A. And it would be nice to meet you too. But I don't have a lot to deal with. Let's see.

Best,
Haebbie
 
bucksway said:
I really love that corian 112 with the German paperwork... One of the STARS of my 112 collection!!
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Yes, that's a nice knive. I like it too, especially together with the 110 with the scales made of the same material.



Haebbie
 
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Haebie,

I like the corian scale. I'm in search of some discontinued samples at the Kitchen remodel stores in hopes of finding some potential inlay project. Nice knives there.

Here is my Nighthawk collection. I never thought I wanted any big tactical knives but these have all got my attention. I assume it was an excess inventory of G-10 handles that prompted the build out on the 650/890 hybrid?

DSC_0805.jpg
 
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