Help with buck vantage

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soloz2

Joined
Jul 27, 2012
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I just purchased my first Buck knife, a small Paperstone Vantage for EDC at work. I wanted something more discrete than my Kershaw Skyline or Spyderco Tenacious.
I received the knife yesterday and the blade was nicely centered, but it is extremely difficult to open. Using the flipper it will only go maybe half way. Using the thumb opening isn't very easy either.
I tried loosening the pivot screw, but that didn't fix the problem and caused the blade to come in contact with the liner.
Then I took it all apart and put some 3-in-1 oil on the pivot. This didn't really help, but I noticed that there is a small protrusion on the liner lock that looks rounded like maybe it is supposed to be there, but it is rubbing against the blade to the point that there is already a mark on the blade. I think this is likely the cause of the friction.
Is there supposed to be a protrusion?
Is there something else I can try?
What lubricant should I be using for the pivot on my knives?
 
If you have an option to return/exchange it from the retailer, I'd take it. Otherwise, send it to Buck. They'll likely swap one for you to your liking.

Lubricant in this case = Lubri-can't.
 
I ordered from amazon so I'm sure they will allow me to exchange it. Hate having to wait for shipping.

I take it the lock is not supposed to cause any friction on this model?
If this is abnormal then ill go for an exchange. If friction us normal I might opt for a refund and continue looking for an office EDC
 
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That small protrusion is the detent that keeps the blade closed. I would suspect that with a little use it will wear in and smooth out to your liking.
 
soloz2 said:
I ordered from amazon
Click to expand...

I too ordered a Vantage from Amazon. It was so poorly centered that it wouldn't flip, and I could not adjust it. But when you do a return with Amazon, you get an immediate credit which you can then spend on a new Vantage. In the interim, you return the first Vantage to Amazon. My point being that they don't make you send in the old Vantage before you get the credit, and this speeds things up. At least thats how it worked with me. I was not happy with Buck's ongoing inability to consistently produce centered Vantages, but Amazon's excellent return policy softened the blow.
 
Badhammer said:
That small protrusion is the detent that keeps the blade closed. I would suspect that with a little use it will wear in and smooth out to your liking.
Click to expand...

I agree with Badhammer, maybe its just a bit tight, and you need to break it in, Its not a spring loaded blade. Maybe you are just not use to the flipper yet. I have a large Vantage select, that most would think is stiff but I can rack that blade out faster than a switch blade...
 
I found that the smaller the knife, the harder it is for me to flip it open, and that was exactly the case with the small Vantage's I have. The larger ones work alot better for me.
 
I just received an order that included five various large Vantage and or Vantage Force models. Probably two flip open easily while the other three either stop halfway or require extra force to fully open. I expect that with a little cleanup, lube and some moderate use they will all be just fine.
 
I got my first Vantage (small version) in the mail last week and had the same problem that you describe. It is starting to loosen up a little where I can flip it open easily on most attempts. A few times, I still have to give it that extra flick of my hand to open it.
 
Ill see if it becomes easier over the next few days and then go from there.
Thanks for the input guys.
 
assisted is just that, its not automatic, you have to give it an extra flip. The flipper was designed to start it out for you. If you get it to the point where it flips all the way out, great, you have broken it your knife well.
 
I just bought two new Vantages:

The large Vantage Paperstone and the olive drab nylon-handled Vantage Force Select.

The Vantage Paperstone was the dirtiest knife I have ever seen, brand new out of the box! Plus the blade has some scratches too. (No big deal as it will be used as a beater knife at work.) I do like the Paperstone handle and the low-carry pocket clip is one of the best out there.

The Vantage Force is one of the stiffest opening folders I have come across: It takes a serious flip of the wrist to get it open all the way or else it will hang up and stop about half-opened. I do like this blade shape better than the original Vantage blade shape.

Both of them had a basic edge new out of the box, but they weren't razor sharp. The blade centering was good, until I went to loosen the pivot tension a bit. Then the blades weren't centered, so I tightened them back up.

I think that the quality control on these is much better than the Vantage Pro I bought back in late 2009. The blade wasn't centered and the liners weren't sanded and looked very rough from the die-stamping process.

Part of the problem is that the flipper on the Vantage line is rather small compared to the ones used on other brands, so more effort has to be made to open them.

The only other thing I don't like is the exposed liner-lock. I just don't care for the way it sticks out at all.

That said, I do like the Vantage line, especially the newer Vantage Force models. I hope that they come out with a 3.75-inch blade version at some point.
 
If you're comfortable doing this, you should consider taking it apart to clean the washers.

My Buck Vantage Avid (the Dymondwood version) was a bit uncomfortable to handle out of the box. So I took it apart soon after receiving it in order to round off the edges of the handle scales. Since I was doing that, I figured I'd clean it. It was really dirty inside. I ended up polishing the washers (they had black grit on them) and it flips nicely now.
 
What should I polish the washers with? Also what lube should I use?

I am used to Kershaw flippers. I have a skyline that is not assisted and I got my wife a leek, which is assisted. Both open much more smoothly than the Buck. Both have higher fit and finish, but do not have the low ride clip which was the reason I bought the buck to begin with.
 
Admittedly the Vantage series are not the best flippers. My large ones flip fine. My small Vantage Select needs a wrist flick to finish opening the knife when using the flipper. The flipper is just too small and the blade doesn't have enough mass on the small Vantage to be able to open without a wrist flick. Then again, I haven't tried taking apart the small Vantage and polishing the washers. I did that on my EDC large Vantage and it smoothed the action considerably.
 
Idk... I've never spent more than $40 on a knife before. I have two Kershaw flippers, one assisted one not and they both open with just the flipper smoothly and quickly. I have a Spyderco. This vantage cost righ around the same as my other knives and it is the dirtiest and most rough knife I've had. I like the size and clip, but the pivot is worse than any other knife I've ever owned.
I did sharpen it last night and it took a nice edge... Now if only it would open easily.

So is there a guide to polish the washers?
 
I bought large and small Paperstone Vantage Selects two years ago and right out of the box they flipped open as smoothly and quickly as any knife I've had, no wrist action needed. It sounds like there's a great deal of variation in the quality control on the assembly line.
 
I have a small GRN handle Vantage and it opens very easily. I too recomend taking it apart, as far as the washers, depending when it was manufactured it could have either brass or nylon washers. Either way you can smooth them with some wet dry sandpaper. clean all the grit, lube and reassemble. Adjust the blade to a point where it will not touch the liner and begin to flip and flip and flip. My mini Vantage is my smoothest and quickest opener that i have.
 
Thanks for the help everyone. Ultimately I decided to return this knife. I just couldn't see how a little sandpaper would help enough to even come close to how smooth my Spyderco or Kershaw knives open right out of the box. This was a disappointing venture into Buck knives. I probably won't be ordering another Buck anytime soon. It's a shame that a US company can't make a better product.
 
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