First Post and a Question about Buck 632 Mesa Knife

swonut said:
get rid of that exposed tang pommel, or at least round it off a little.
Click to expand...

What if you showed up at a campsite without anything except your 632 Mesa to drive in the tent spikes in order to keep your tent from blowing away to the far corners of the earth? The exposed tang might spare the Micarta a beathing.

I attended a BMW rally in Redmond, OR years ago, riding my restored 1979 R100T airhead. Only striking device I had was a spare kickstand that I had brought to trade. The other attendees traveled so light I lent that kickstand several times to other tent peg pounders. There were no rocks at the venue! Nobody brought a hammer. Nobody. Some came from the East coast. They were experts in traveling light but the venue, in the middle of the city, defeated scavengers.
 
the scales on my Mesa are loose enough to move around a bit. I have tried to tighten the hex screws and loosen the hex screws and it seems they just wont move enough to come apart. Have any of you been able to pull the screws in or out?

EDIT: I solved my problem by cranking down on the screws with a larger 90' T10 hex driver. I'll post some detailed photos in the main Buck Mesa thread.
 
Last edited:
I don't see were it has this pommel for pounding in tent stakes you guys are talking about. It looks to me like it's just the tang. DM
 
David Martin said:
I don't see were it has this pommel for pounding in tent stakes you guys are talking about. It looks to me like it's just the tang. DM
Click to expand...


Yes, it's just the tang extending out past the edge of the Micarta handle. I figured it was a design flaw that should have been corrected. But, I can see where it could be useful for pounding on something without damaging the handle scales. I'm curious now if this was an accident or done on purpose.
 
only buck and walmart folks know for sure but looks to me like it was on purpose.
 
Tang extension was on purpose, for the exact reasons mentioned.

You guys should also be thankful that I had an appetite for the increased cost of micarta, because Bob originally wanted to do orange FRN.
 
emw479 said:
Tang extension was on purpose, for the exact reasons mentioned.

You guys should also be thankful that I had an appetite for the increased cost of micarta, because Bob originally wanted to do orange FRN.
Click to expand...

interesting. not sure i'd want orange frn handles on that knife....some sure would, but not me. so thank you Sir for having good taste and making it happen.
 
emw479 said:
Tang extension was on purpose, for the exact reasons mentioned.

You guys should also be thankful that I had an appetite for the increased cost of micarta, because Bob originally wanted to do orange FRN.
Click to expand...

Bravo on both counts!!! :thumbup:

Next rev... flat (sabre) grind instead of hollow grind. That would be nirvana. Or, a flat (sabre) grind version of the Reaper. These knives will be batonned and should be (insert old Buck logo here). Too many hollow ground Reapers showing up on You Tube with busted edges due to the thin hollow grind.
 
emw479 said:
Tang extension was on purpose, for the exact reasons mentioned.

You guys should also be thankful that I had an appetite for the increased cost of micarta, because Bob originally wanted to do orange FRN.
Click to expand...

Great ideas and materials. This partnership is a win-win for everyone. Thank you for making it happen.
 
People have been batonning knives/froes for many centuries. It's a technique that offers more control for smaller splitting work and can be done with a much lighter and more versatile tool compared to a hatchet.

I have, use and love decent axes and hatchets. But for backcountry travel where weight needs to be kept to a minimum, I find a folding saw and knife to be a more effective and lighter approach.

This is highly dependent on local conditions obviously. I spend nearly all my time in New England woods where this approach is ideal. Different woods and different approaches to camping may change that. I would certainly pack a hatchet on a canoe trip where weight is less of an issue.

But even when car camping where I use an axe and/or hatchet, I find batonning to be a more efficient and safe method for making small kindling. Personally I'd rather baton with a knife than a hatchet. YMMV.

Buck makes a nice froe and I may get that. But it's awfully big and heavy and many knives have similar design features (grind, strong tang) and can be batonned just like the Buck froe was designed for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top