Does Buck do the same finishes to all steels?

O

ohen cepel

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Title says it I think. Will they do a mirror, satin, etc to all of them?

Or, is it limited to the type of steel?

Would be nice to know to id a certain type of steel, or to know it's not a certain steel.

Thanks!
 
You can't tell the type of steel by the finish unfortunately. I have seen satin S30V and mirror. Also, "stone washed" 420HC and satin. I also have 3 different finishes on ATS-34 blades currently. If I am reading your post correctly that is :D

Also, my 3 Vantages (420HC, 13C26, S30V) all look the same except for the blade steel etchs of course ;)
 
Even on the early knives Buck randomly did various finishes on steels . But the Custom Shop most always did mirror polish on blades and 440C polishes up real nice . Thats a knife makers signature, how well he polishes his blades . DM
 
David Martin said:
Even on the early knives Buck randomly did various finishes on steels . But the Custom Shop most always did mirror polish on blades and 440C polishes up real nice . Thats a knife makers signature, how well he polishes his blades . DM
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How well does S30V polish? I've not seen any with a polish job on them.
 
I would assume that the s30v wouldn't polish up very nice at all. It would smooth out a bit but I don't think you would get to a mirror finish. I tried it on spyderco s30v and should have just left it alone.
 
savagelh said:
I would assume that the s30v wouldn't polish up very nice at all. It would smooth out a bit but I don't think you would get to a mirror finish. I tried it on spyderco s30v and should have just left it alone.
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Buck made some very nice mirror finish S30V blades a few years ago. There is a thread somewhere about it. It can be done, but it's not easy to do.

One of the Buck 800 signature series in S30V with mirror finish:
 
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^ Assuming of course it actually is CPMS30V.

I've read something that makes me wonder if Buck was correct in their description about the steel type.

http://www.jayfisher.com/Blades.htm#From_my_upcoming_book



(cut and paste of the section I'm referring to: )

"I'll add that once or twice a blade pops up that is claimed to be CPMS30V with a mirror polish. One of these is a manufacturer who originally offered the knife for about one hundred bucks. Something smelled fishy here, so I did some digging. The manufacturer insisted there was a difference between CPMS30V and their designation which was S30V. So was this an attempt to sell a knife under the banner of CPMS30V that was actually another steel? The tenacious difficulty of finishing the high vanadium steel to any degree of polish and the relative cheapness of the knife did not make sense. Then the technical person who I spoke to told me it was simply buffed out, then stumbled around words, and finally revealed that the finishing process could not be disclosed. This large and popular American knife company has discontinued the manufacture and sales of this knife, and would not say why."
 
The 800 series comes to mind as well . However, S30V is not easy to polish as it resists polishing greatly and is time consuming to arrive there . But as you see it can be done . A satin finish is a better approach . DM
 
David Martin said:
Tony, Before you go 'there' you best have some proof and not just mud slinging . DM
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+1

A good reason why Buck didn't continue the mirror finish S30V is because it is difficult to do and time consuming. It's called a "special project".
 
David Martin said:
Tony, Before you go 'there' you best have some proof and not just mud slinging . DM
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:thumbup:


wolfdog said:
+1

A good reason why Buck didn't continue the mirror finish S30V is because it is difficult to do and time consuming. It's called a "special project".
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Don't forget also, that Buck makes limited runs of different knives every year. They have several models of "signature series" knives that were made for a year or less. A 405, 103, and a 119 all come to mind, right off the top of my head. 2 models were ATS-34, and the other was either 425M or 420HC.
 
wolfdog said:
Buck made some very nice mirror finish S30V blades a few years ago. There is a thread somewhere about it. It can be done, but it's not easy to do.
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:foot: You're right! I'm sitting here looking at my 802 and 805SS models thinking, "How did I forget about those"?
 
I don't think a knowledgable Buck employee would insist there is a difference between
S30V and CPMS30V as they know these are the same steel. I've polished S60V which is very similiar and its not easy but can be done . Its not impossible . Plus, I purchased a 805 from that series and used it some . They cut real nice though a definative answer would require a metallurical test thus destroying the knife . My model cost 175$ so they were not cheap . DM
 
David Martin said:
I purchased a 805 from that series and used it some . They cut real nice though a definative answer would require a metallurical test thus destroying the knife . My model cost 175$ so they were not cheap . DM
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I saw a mirror polished S30V knife on the web specials page a couple/few years ago that was listed at about that price, $175 - $185. I don't know if it was a buildout or a remainder from that series, but I wish now I had snapped it up.

Looking at that draft of the book that Tony-A quoted, it looks /sounds like the author is making some kind of innuendo, but not being specific in his allegations. Without specifics, I find this text to be untrustworthy. Why doesn't he the name the "popular American knife company"? And the name of the "technical person" he questioned? I find his writing itself to be suspicious without annotations and specific references. The author doesn't make a good recommendation for himself by writing in this way.
 
Tony_A said:
^ Assuming of course it actually is CPMS30V.

I've read something that makes me wonder if Buck was correct in their description about the steel type.

http://www.jayfisher.com/Blades.htm#From_my_upcoming_book



(cut and paste of the section I'm referring to: )

"I'll add that once or twice a blade pops up that is claimed to be CPMS30V with a mirror polish. One of these is a manufacturer who originally offered the knife for about one hundred bucks. Something smelled fishy here, so I did some digging. The manufacturer insisted there was a difference between CPMS30V and their designation which was S30V. So was this an attempt to sell a knife under the banner of CPMS30V that was actually another steel? The tenacious difficulty of finishing the high vanadium steel to any degree of polish and the relative cheapness of the knife did not make sense. Then the technical person who I spoke to told me it was simply buffed out, then stumbled around words, and finally revealed that the finishing process could not be disclosed. This large and popular American knife company has discontinued the manufacture and sales of this knife, and would not say why."
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There is nothing in here to suggest that this was Buck. I know our process for Mirror polishing S30V and it can be done. It can tough to get out the smearing effect. And yes, we usually only mirror polish S30v Special projects
 
Thank you Mr. Hubbard for your input . I knew as well it could be done but I also knew my experience didn't count . It needed to be said by a Buck employee . We all know a legimate book gives references on important points like this . So, without these I'd discount it before it goes to print . DM
 
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