Fine Tuning a Buck 110

[Redrummd]

I continue to learn more and more about stone, knives and carving stone as I progress in my artwork. The latest upcoming improvements come from things I have learned from Ken in Florida and Eric, of Arks Knives.

I have found that many factory Buck 110's have blades that rattle a bit from side to side with the knife closed or have uncentered blades from the factory. I have learned how to correct these minor issues and I thought a few photos of what I do would be of interest.

Now, I can see a lot of people are viewing my posts but heck it would be nice to see a few comments. I do not know if my ramblings are helpful or even of any interest so please let me see a few comments!


I pulled 12 knives for the next series of knives I will be doing and this was the worst of the 12 as I received them from the factory. It has a blade that rattles a bit and the blade is far from centered. The metal polish is just a bit lower than it would be leaving my shop too if you look at it closely....


The knife is in the vise in this photo and I can actually hear a "pop" when the knife tightens. This gets rid of the blade rattle issue but can tighten the knife to the point is does no longer "snaps". So, If it does not "snap" I need to tweak the tension a bit until it does again.


This photo shows how much the pin pivot was tightened to get rid of the rattle.


After doing the needed steps to cure both rattles and off centered blades here is what they now look like. They are all centered and still snap closed and have no closed blade rattles.

In all of the stress I put the knives through in doing the actual stoneworks they may end up just a bit off centered on the blades but the rattle issues are usually gone for good. Once the stone is in place the frame is so stiff that the techniques used to center the blade with factory scales are not possible.

 

[mqqn]

Hi Michael -

Neat! I never had thought about the stone making the knife that much more rigid, but it makes sense.

I like your tips for tuning up the 110s.

Have you ever done any 112s?

best regards -

mqqn

 

[Redrummd]

I have only done a couple of 112's. The weird front bolster is not compatible with my sanding and grinding wheels.

 

[hohenstreetroa]

Interesting! Thanks for posting this. Thanks to Ken & Eric for giving Mike these tips!

 

[keninfla33716]

Hi all, just joined the Forum. Mike's a true artist, and Eric's quite a gentleman with lots of knowledge. Looking forward to participating in the Forum, will be posting photos in the coming days. Happy Holidays to all..!!

 

[Redrummd]

I had the camera with me when I was doing the tune ups for the next group and I thought of a couple more things that would be helpful. I do want to note that NONE of these involving hitting the bolsters should be done on any knife with stone scales already attached as there is a very high risk of cracking the stone.

One fault that nearly every Buck 110 blade has is a rough top edge of the false edge at the spine to the tip.

This is a very easy fix with use of a scotch brite wheel on a grinder. For safety I take pictures involving powered equipment with the power off but I think you get the idea.

The last of the three pictures shows the approxiamate angle to hold a knife in centering a blade and the leather hammer I use to whack the pivot point with. I hit it HARD twice and check to see if it is centered. This knife took a third hit but the blade was REALLY off center to start. Ths needs to be done before putting the knife into a vise to tighten the front pivot to get rid of closed blade rattle or wobble. Note - You hit the pivot point on the side that the blade is closer too. Look at the photos carefully to see what I am describing.

 

[Redrummd]

Another really neat trick is how to bring back the snap if the front pivot is tightened a bit too much. You just hold the knife as I do in the picture and whack it hard on the front edge of the bolster. Note the "dents" in the towel after I whacked the knife once on each side. Under the towel is my pine wood work bench but I do the same on my oak topped benches too but I don't whack quite as hard on the oak.

I really do not know why this works but it really does work well. I need to admit I do this when I have one that gets gunk in it while I am doing all of the sanding and polishing as ground up rock dust gets into the pivot and back spring and some times even oiling and working the knife open and closed just is not enough. BUT if I break a knife scale it is just my bad....

 

[Southerly]

Thanks Mike, you are always so generous with your knowledge.

Are the 501's the same in respect of tuning? I have just got a 501 and a 110 to play with some Tamworth, Aussie jade. The 501 blade is badly out of alignment closed and a little rattle. The 110 is in alignment, but the lier lock is very stiff to operate and digs into the thumb to release the blade lock, have you come across this before?

Thanks,
David

 

[Redrummd]

The 501 tunes up pretty much the same except Buck is having quality control issues that remain and I have not been able to get a response from Buck knives about the main issue. The issue is the rocker when closed is down a bit at the front pivot and up at the rear bolster. Some have very little snap at full close specifically enough tension to keep the blade snug. I believe they have either a bad batch of blades with the rear bearing area on the blade cut at too small a radius or a bad batch of frames with the front pivot pin hole a few thousandth's too low in the bolster. So, your rattle at close may not be able to be fixed if it is a tension issue at close rather than a too loose front pivot pin.

 

[Southerly]

Thanks Mike, any experience with the stiff liner lock on the 110?
David

 

[Southerly]

One more question Mike, rear (liner lock) bolster has a slight and uneven bevel on it where it meets the scales, looks like the scale and bolster has been sanded down a bit to make them flush. The pivot at the blade end is 100% flush, though the scale has been ground slightly to fit. Is this common, I have only had a cursory look at the 110's before.

Thanks,
David

 

[Redrummd]

Yes, the knives have the spines flush sanded with the scales on and then buffed - pretty much the same at all knife companies and even how I do it. The stiff rocker arm is gunk from the buffing in between the arm and liners. I sometimes need to use .002 shim stock to clean the gunk out. The rear of the rocker arm can sit just a tad high as in the sanding process it can get pushed down instead of getting sanded flat and the "gunk" will hold it down so it looks perfect until cleaned. This usually means no more than .002 high though so hardly what is occurring on the Buck 501's.

The lock on the 110 is also affected by gunk on the end of the rocker arm and the back of the blade at the point where they meet at the spine in locked position. Open the knife about 2/3 and you can use a tiny screwdriver, a metal pick or nail to clean that area. I use "goof-off" to clean the gunk out as it does really help dissolve and loosen the buffing compound remains.

 

[Southerly]

Thanks Michael, I will have a go at cleaning up the 110.

I destroyed the 501 trying to tune it so it will become a practice knife. The blade is now out of alignment again, rattles heaps when open and is stiff and has no spring, and tightening, banging, loosening etc has no positive effect. At least I can pull it apart to see how it goes together without feeling guilty. Will put some low value scales on it as well to get a feel for it.

Thanks for your generosity in your advice.
David