Just got a Buck Hoodlum...

Morales

Morales

Joined
Apr 27, 2007
Messages
523
...and I have to say that I'm highly impressed with the quality of the design and the fit&finish, both knife and sheath. In many large blades I bought I found imperfections in the blade grind, especially in the angle of the edge. Those were imcompatible with the 20 degree setting of the Sharpmaker, but not the Hoodlum. For its size it is also very light in the hand, the handle is close to perfect as far as I can tell and I haven't even begun to explore the possible carry options the sheath offers...

But there are some things that I'd like to know. First of all, the Hoodlum came with no instructions, with no paperwork at all actually, which was kind of surprising. :confused: Especially for the sheath I think I need some hints to get an overview over the possible carry options.
Another thing that I'm actually a little worried about is the fact that the box it came in carried a sticker that said the lifelong guarantee from Buck only applies to customers outside the European Union. Is that true or is it just some legal issue to keep Buck out of trouble (I'd understand that)?

Despite all this, I'll be going out in the woods in the next few days maybe even today to test the blade and see whether the first impressions are justified...I'm so excited!! :D Among my large blades I'm pretty sure that the Hoodlum will take the cake! I will also add some photos if I can manage to make a few good ones.
 
Can't help you much with the sheath question. I've only carried mine the conventional way on my belt.

I have used a Hoodlum quite a bit for maintaining a section of trail by cutting back small limbs and brush. I really enjoy using it, but it does take some wrist action to chop through some of the brush where a machete can bull through stuff because of weight and length.
 
I like mine, it was one of teh sharpest production knives I have ever got out of the box, I mean you could split atoms with the thing. Have not used it much but do like the weight to capability ratio for backpacking etc. You should have got instructions tha talk about the features its a small flded thing cehck in the sheath pocket. Otherwise I am sure buck would send one in the mail and I have seen them online, you could likely find a pdf of the instruction to print by asking the google.
 
Thanks to all for your input! I just did what maybe everyone would have done: I watched Ron Hood himself on YT explaining all the features of the sheath. It's a shame he's no longer with us. None of the production sheaths I own comes even close to one of the Hoodlum.

I already took the Hoodlum out for some quality time in the woods and what can I say...I love this blade. The design may look you've seen a hundred times before, but when you experience it yourself you're in for a surprise. This blade feels so light in the hand, it offers a superb versatility as only a few blades do. Hood's approach differs a lot from the heavier chopping blades of which I own quite a few (SRKW Battle Rat, Camillus BK-9HH, Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie [3x], Boker Magnum Akuma, Cold Steel Trail Master, Browning Crowell/Barker Competition Knife, RD9 from Justin Gingrich). The Hoodlum is extremely ergonomic (at least for me), cuts pretty well and is able to handle the chores of a smaller blade with ease. This can't be said of one or two of the blades mentioned above. ;)

Would I recommend this blade? Absolutely! Even though I paid more than 200 bucks for it here in good ol' Europe, the Hoodlum is worth it as far as I can tell.
 
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