Duke 500 problem...?

[Peter LC]

Hello everyone, here's my first post on BladeForums and I'm afraid it's an unhappy one...

I recently bought a Duke 500 in a local, very well-assorted hardware store and was very pleased with it. I did however notice a -shiny- dull spot on the edge, and assumed it was because of the method of instore-display: The edge resting on a hard surface. I thought never mind, I'll sharpen it and off it will go. So I did and all was good.

Not for long though; every time I opened and shut the knife, that spot reappeared. I couldn't believe my eyes, yet got the sharpening-stone out and fixed it again. The problem re-occured time after time until I realized that the blade hits the spring when it's being closed. I can actually see a spot on the spring, too. The only way to avoid the problem seems to carefully guide the blade back into "closed" position.

Is this a common thing, is it a design flaw, or did I buy the occasional lemon...? I'm sad because even at the relatively high -Dutch- price I paid, I felt this knife offered a lot of good looks and build-quality for its money. I also very much liked the idea of owning a knife from an old, well-respected brand like Buck.

So please put me out of my misery! What's the deal...?

Thanks very much in advance.

 

[WrayH]

Peter,
Welcome to the Buck Forum. I certainly hope that your future visits here are all for more pleasant purposes. It is most unfortunate that your first experience with Buck Knives concerns a quality issue. Let me assure you that in my experience the condition of your new Buck knife is quite unusual. In general their quality control is first rate.
Fortunately their Customer Service is also first rate, indeed, probably the best. They will go to virtually any lengths to correct the problem and see that you are satisfied with the product.
You can find the warranty information at the Buck Knives website. Joe Houser is in charge of Customer Service and there is none better. Hopefully your current problem can be solved quickly. The DUKE is a great knife and I am sure that you will ultimately be quite happy with it.

 

[Peter LC]

Thanks Wray...; however, I just checked at the Tech FAQ-page from the Buck site and there IS mentioning of a similar phenomenon with the Buck Tool. Advice is here to slowly close the blade instead of snapping it shut. Well, that seemed to do the trick with me as well...

I might consider trying to live with it; sending the knive to El Cajon by UPS would run into probably $30 or $40, and I'm far from sure my new 500 wouldn't show the same behaviour. Anyway... I'll check tomorrow for possible further replies here and will likely carry my Spyderco tomorrow to think things over...

 

[Joe Houser]

Peter,
Welcome to the forums, and i am sorry your first visit here was for a quality issue.
From time to time, when the tolerances are just right, a knife will go together is such a way that the action is absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, this sometimes also means that the blade hits the spring inside the case, such as yours does. Eventually, this will stop, as you use and resharpen the blade. It could take a long time though if you are a light user.
You can, of course, send it in to us and we will either fix your knife, or replace it with one that does not do that.
I am sorry for the inconvenience this causes.

 

[Peter LC]

Originally posted by Joe Houser
Peter,
Welcome to the forums, and i am sorry your first visit here was for a quality issue.
From time to time, when the tolerances are just right, a knife will go together is such a way that the action is absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, this sometimes also means that the blade hits the spring inside the case, such as yours does. Eventually, this will stop, as you use and resharpen the blade. It could take a long time though if you are a light user.
You can, of course, send it in to us and we will either fix your knife, or replace it with one that does not do that.
I am sorry for the inconvenience this causes.

Thank you Joe, for replying;

I'm glad you're willing to be of help; and I do realize that eventually, I'd sharpen the blade past that critical point.
I hesitate because of the fact I'd not have it around for perhaps several weeks, and need to pay hefty shipping halfway across the planet. On the other end I need to ask myself how much I'd like a Duke that just works perfect.
But then again, I own a Laguiole -stunning as it is otherwise- that shows the mentioned problem and even does so at two spots! I just close that one slowly to avoid this.

I'll carefully consider your offer; thanks again and kind regards,

Peter

 

[Warhawk]

Hi Peter,

Have you tried to return the knife to where you purchased it? Perhaps they would be able to exchange it for one that doesn't exhibit the problem that yours does.

 

[Peter LC]

Originally posted by Warhawk
Hi Peter,

Have you tried to return the knife to where you purchased it? Perhaps they would be able to exchange it for one that doesn't exhibit the problem that yours does.

Nope... They'd had this one in the shopwindow for two years already!
They must have been glad to get rid of it. Sure they don't have a second one.
Anyway, I'm leaning towards keeping this knife. I'll see if I change my mind!

 

[Klaus]

Peter,

sending the knife to Buck shouldn´t cost a fortune - I just sent pretty close to 500 grams to CA and it cost me 24 Marks - I think the dutch PTT should have similar rates than the german post - there are 100/250/500 gram limits costing 10/16/24 marks - you might check that out befor deciding not to sent it based on cost alone.

Regards

Klaus