I've had the Buck Vantage Pro large model since May 2011, and it's been my favorite knife since then. I like the flipper, the deep-carry clip, the ergonomics, and the jack-of-all-trades blade shape. I have been disappointed slightly by the bent-more-than-necessary liner lock. So tonight, when the knife would no longer open one-handed, I became very distressed.
I've never taken a knife apart before, but I really wanted to see if I could fix my Buck! So I broke it down, and saw a few rust spots on the liner. I used some steel wool and scrubbed the liners all over, then oiled everything with some BreakFree CLP. I also bent the liner lock away from the knife with just some slight finger pressure. I put the knife back together, and voila, it's smoother than it has ever been before! AND the blade is now perfectly centered -- before it had been leaning a tiny bit away from the liner lock side. So now my favorite knife has become my favorite perfect knife. I just need to sharpen that s30v again...
I just made this post because I have seen a lot of posts about the Vantage being off-center, so I thought this information might help somehow. I think the only thing I would like to see on the Buck Vantage Pro is a more rust-resistant steel used for the liners, but that is a very SMALL nitpick. So if anyone was thinking of picking up the Buck Vantage Pro, I'll vouch for vantage!
I've never taken a knife apart before, but I really wanted to see if I could fix my Buck! So I broke it down, and saw a few rust spots on the liner. I used some steel wool and scrubbed the liners all over, then oiled everything with some BreakFree CLP. I also bent the liner lock away from the knife with just some slight finger pressure. I put the knife back together, and voila, it's smoother than it has ever been before! AND the blade is now perfectly centered -- before it had been leaning a tiny bit away from the liner lock side. So now my favorite knife has become my favorite perfect knife. I just need to sharpen that s30v again...
I just made this post because I have seen a lot of posts about the Vantage being off-center, so I thought this information might help somehow. I think the only thing I would like to see on the Buck Vantage Pro is a more rust-resistant steel used for the liners, but that is a very SMALL nitpick. So if anyone was thinking of picking up the Buck Vantage Pro, I'll vouch for vantage!
