Folding Alpha Hunter story

[Mentor]

Hi Folks,

I thought I would write up a brief report of my knife-related activities this weekend. A Buck Alpha Hunter features prominently, and I am amazed at its performance. Mods, please move this to ‘Knife Reviews and Testing’ if it would be more appropriate there.

I was visiting family in Blue Mountain, Ontario, this weekend. They have just finished building a new house on some beautiful country land, complete with hills, forest (old and newer growth), and a river. I spent some time walking around the property, and I was not surprised to find some decent deer trails cutting through the woods, down to the river. After some discussion with my relatives, we decided to open one of the trails up into a decent footpath. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to put my new BK9 to use clearing some brush! One problem: I was in Blue Mountain, and my BK9 was back in Ottawa.

I had flown into Toronto, and I hadn’t seen a reason to pack a large fixed blade in my luggage. Actually, having had a few knives stolen from checked baggage in the past, I limited myself to just two EDC knives, a CRKT M16 and a Buck Alpha Hunter 279BK (the former as a beater, and the latter because I like a nice hefty folder, and I hadn’t taken this knife for a spin in ages). What’s more, the only other useable brush-clearing item in my relatives’ inventory at the time was a camp hatchet. Not exactly optimal gear for the job.

We decided to proceed anyways, me using the Alpha and my father using the camp hatchet. I’ll admit that the first 10 minutes consisted of me wistfully thinking about all the wonderful fixed blades sitting back in Ottawa (particularly that unused BK9 and my trusty Kabar). I’ll also be the first to admit that chopping branches with a 3.5” liner lock isn’t the best idea. These things being said, when we finished the trail 3 hours later, I was officially a member of the Buck Alpha fan club.

The lock did not fail once during 3 hours of hard chopping and slicing. I gave the blade a touchup on my pocket ceramics before heading out, and I didn’t perceive a need to retouch it during the entire outing. Despite the relatively small size and light weight of the blade, it had no problem slicing through small branches (1-2”, new and old wood) with a single swipe, and larger limbs were taken care of with a few strategic cuts and a break. I was wearing work gloves with leather grips, and these, coupled with the comfortable handle shape of the Alpha, left me with minimal blisters the next day (something I doubt I could say about the BK9 handles, from what I’ve heard). I was also able to manipulate the lock with ease while wearing my gloves (something I know I couldn’t say about my M16). Anything that I couldn’t take care of with the Alpha, we used the hatchet on. I probably could have taken care of the same job in half the time with a decent large fixed blade, but I have no regrets!

All things considered, I’ve acquired a newfound appreciation for my Alpha. I put it through enough serious use (I daresay ‘abuse’) that I would have expected at least 1 lock failure, a dull edge, or hand blisters; instead, it held firm, with no additional blade play, kept its edge, and felt comfortable the whole time. I’m extremely impressed, and I’ll be sure to make an Alpha part of my ‘outdoors EDC’ kit from now on. I’ll also have to remember that there is no excuse not to bring a big fixed blade with me when traveling from now on.

Way to go Buck!

Cheers,

Mike

 

[libbyhuck]

Ditto...I have used an ATS-34 Alpha and it is one of the few gut-hook equipped knives that I can say the gut-hook works smoothly and effectively...2-3 other well known brands guthooks have failed miserably...

 

[LFH]

Thanks for the story on the Alpha! Sounds like a lot of hard work.

Do you think the smooth rosewood type handles would have been harder to work with? assuming yours has the rubber handles?

I bought one off of ebay a while back. It was advertised as a 279BK but had picture of one with the rosewood handles. So I was a bit confused as to what it really was.
I won the bid way cheap. No one else bid on it.
When it got here, It is a 277 with ATS34 steel and has a sheath marked 276, which is either vertical or horizontal carry.
It was described as used, but all I can find is a couple of tiny buff marks on the handle from the snap brad. Wife has already put one of her felt stickys over it. Otherwise is as new.
Can't wait to head out to the ranch with it and put it to use.
This is the smoothest opening/closing folder I have.

I do have a question in all of this. Can you order replacement rubber handles?

These smooth handles may not be quite as good as the rubber ones when I get to sweating and hands get slick.

 

[geothorn]

Mentor - Thanks for a great "working review" of the Buck Alpha Folding Hunter! I have two of the 279BKs and one of the 278BKs (guthook), and, although I haven't put mine through any workout as you have, you've given me extra confidence in how well they'll work!

LFH - Sounds like you got a helluva deal through E-bay! From the sound of it, the picture on the E-bay auction was correct, however the description was out of whack. Maybe you were the only bidder because you didn't worry (or didn't know) about the discrepancy between the picture and the description? After checking-out the Buck Knives folding knives page, it appears that the rosewood handles and the rubber handles *should* be interchangeable, but you'll need to get the definitive answer from someone at Buck.

GeoThorn

 

[LFH]

Yes Geo, turned out the pic was correct. No I didn't worry about which one it would actully be since no one else was bidding on it and it was wayyy underpriced. Either way would have been a steal. It being the 277 was a bonus.

Just one of those lucky times you other Buck collectors were napping, or just felt sorry for me that I keep getting outbid on an auction.

Will look at ordering some rubber grips once the factory sppears to smooth out some. No hurry I guess.

and yes, it is encouraging to hear a real life Alpha story

 

[ABN]

In my opinion, the Folding Alpha Hunter is a great knife for folks who like to do rough work with their folders. I've used mine to dig, pry, and cut through animal bone. I also tend to open mine by snapping my wrist downward, which can't be good for the lock. Despite all the abuse, the knife looks and feels new. Great knife, and my first choice when outdoors.

Regards, -Alex