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Just got my Buck/Mayo 172 - Nice indeed but some issues make me wonder

K

Klaus

Joined
Dec 3, 2001
Messages
219
Just got my Buck/Mayo 172 :D

Now I do understand all the hoopla about Tom´s TNT - with the production version being already as great how much better can or will the "real" ones be ? Might need to try to get on "the list" one day though .... :cool:

But I do have some issues / questions with mine - I´m kind of afraid I got that one inevitable "lemon" - or probably I was just expecting too much ? Let me explain:

To start with - this is the most beautiful and best knife I have in my possession - also the most expensive I ever bought and I never would have thought of spending that much - and I just love it already after only 5 minutes.

[And the funny part is all started here in the Buck forum when I checked out my beloved first "real" knife, a -110- (never really found out what -110- really was all about) - then to get modded with BG42 thanks to Joe, plus a 560wBG42 and you get the drift - but back to the 172.]

Standard rants:

The already posted issues with the blade markings - IMO not really a good fit for a knife in this price range - especially the BOS/S30V/U.S.A side on mine is just butt-ugly - almost looks like too much ink on a stamp with all the characters flowing into the next one - if I wouldn´t know better (I certainly hope so at least) I would expect to find such cheap markings on a copy but not on the real one - sorry but this is the truth - at least how I see it.

Clip - wow this is really tight - probably Buck should ship replacement Ti fingernails with the knives :p

Not shure rants:

When opened mine will only engage the lock to just about a third of the Ti lock bar - I´m not shure if this will break in but normally I would expect that more of the Ti would move over as shipped. Right now maybe just 25% of the tang gets covered - is this as it is supposed to be ? What makes me wonder is that while the blade tang ends is kind of a slope (just like the CUDA EDC which is my only other frame lock) but the Ti lock bar ends just straight - I wonder how this is supposed to make a good contact though and if this can ever brake in or if something is wrong with mine ? The blade is rock solid though and I don´t want to do any spinewhack testing with it anyway - it just makes me feel uncomfortabel so far.

On to the "showstopper" rants:

What really makes me feel I got "the lemon" is the "bend tip" or whatever would be the right expression for it. Normally I would expect the blade to get smaller towards the tip in an even grind from both sides. Not on mine. While one side is pretty much straight the other one is bending over. When on a flat surface the straight side pretty much just barely leaves any open space at the tip while the other side almost goes skywards when the knife is turned over (slightly exaggerated). Its also visible very much when closed - as long as the tang is thick its perfectly centered while the tip is almost touching one side and sits at around one quarter to one third on one side.

And I might just be too picky but I have sent a knife back to Boker which cost me a quarter of the Buck/Mayo with a similar bent blade out of the box and they made it good. I don´t want to play the troll here and things can always happen but at this price range and competing with CRK´s Sebenza and especially with me unlucky SOB being in europe I´m honestly slightly unhappy so say the least. :grumpy:

No offense to Tom or anyone at Buck intended - GREAT KNIFE

Klaus
 
Klaus,

I am really sorry your knife was not to your expectations. At the price you have a right to be picky, we know that very well.

There are not very many of these knives in circulation yet so if you can wait a little while your dealer in Germany might be able to swap the knife out for you, otherwise you can always send it here and we will replace it.

I have a message into our sales department for some solution feedback.
 
I received my Buck/Mayo today, too. My initial impressions are certainly. The knife is attractive (I'm not wild about the blade markings, either, but it's not a biggie for me)and comfortable in the hand, with solid lock-up, no blade play of any kind and smooth opening and closing action.

My only gripes? Well, there's the tight clip, of course, but I already bent mine out to a more functional angle. Another thing: the edge bevel grinds do not quite match. Now, we're not talking about a huge difference here, and it in no way effects the usefulness of the knife. I mention it because it's there, and because I'm picky about this kind of thing, but it's not that big a deal.

By the way, does anyone know what angle the Buck/Mayo edge bevel is ground to? It looks thinner than that of the other Bucks I've purchased in the past. I'll be curious to see whether the edge is prone to rolling or chipping.

Anyway, right out of the box, I'm very pleased with my Buck/Mayo. It's not quite Sebenza - level, but it doesn't miss by a lot. I consider that to be pretty high praise, really, bearing in mind the Sebenza's significantly higher price.

Klaus, I hope you can get things worked out with the Buck people.
 
I also received one of the first ones made and,like you, am super impressed overall with it for the price. Mine has the exact same issues mentioned and I have already sent it back to Jeff for a look see. I thought I might be too nit picky too. The uneven final grind on the blade is the most telling issue and I don't want to go to the trouble to reprofile the edge. I have every confidence that Buck will make it right as they have done for me in the past. I have many Buck knives and they all work well. Also, I know they appreciate our honest and open feedback and will make appropriate changes to production.

Respectfully submitted
Tony
 
Well, I guess I got lucky with my 172 or I'm not as picky as some other people are. The only thing that I noticed on mine that should be changed is the bend on the clip end, and I have been told that is going to be addressed on future ones. The blade markings don't bother me, I bought it to use, not to just collect. Since I always reprofile the edge on my knives before use, if the grinds are eneven, it doesn't bother me unless it is severe.
Nathan, as best I can tell, mine was at 17deg. from the factory. I resharpened mine at that deg. and have put it through some use to get an idea how it will hold an edge and it did great. I was a little uneasy with the edge possibly being to thin, but I experienced no edge rolling or chipping.
I'm probably going to get some flame for what I'm saying next, but here goes. First of all I don't own a Sebenza, but have handled a couple and sharpened one for someone else. I sharpened one yesterday and there definetly is a difference in the Buck/Mayo S30V and the Sebenza S30V. I think the difference is going to be due to Paul Bos heat treat and temper. Using the same stones on the two knives, it takes a little more time and effort to get an edge on the Buck/Mayo. With diamond stones, the steel in the sebbie cuts faster than the 172. In my 55 plus years of sharpening knives, I haven't seen a stainless steel that impresses me as much as the blade in the Buck/Mayo does.
 
Walt. thank you for your comments. I feel the same about Paul and what he brings to our blades. I will shoot him a copy of this thread.

I had a discussion with Tom about blade thinness and he felt the S30V could handle use without rolling. It has performed in all our testing and I am glad to be getting some market feedback.

Klaus, do you attend the IWA show? I could try to have our sales rep bring a replacement Mayo for you to exchange there and he could carry your back for our review. You have to let me know right now though so I could get him one by Saturday.

We are trying to get about 300pcs out this month (already ordered) so they should be more visible at retail by April.
 
Dear CJ,

thank you very much for your kind offer - unfortunately I will not be able to attend IWA as at the same time there is the large IT expo CeBit taking place in Hannover - as this is my area of business I have to be there ... :(

I could try to check with some people I would possibly expect to go there to swap the knifes for me though.

Lock question: While maybe closing/opening the knife a hundred times or more yesterday to brake it in (and it hasn´t moved a bit yet) I think I found the answer to my slope tang / straight lock question from above - the Ti lock is only straight when opened, when falling into the right position I think it will line up exactly with the sloped tang as the straight end will result in a sloped end when at the right angle - it just isn´t at the right angle (yet?) with mine.

Klaus
 
@CJ - tried to PM you but can´t being a basic member - also you disabled the possibility to sent you email - we might take further discussion offline to not bother the forum too much - I could also wait for Joe to be back and not bug you directly - I know that you and your company will solve this.

I also tried to take some pics of my knife´s weak points

You can clearly see the tip bending over when closed

172-1.jpg


Here´s the lock not engaging properly

172-2.jpg


The BOS-site of the blade with the bad stamp

172-3.jpg


Trying to capture the bend tip when open

172-4.jpg


Not as easy with the Digicam to focus properly

172-5.jpg


(Where´s Shelby when you need him :cool: )

Klaus
 
Klaus - Your lock engagement seems pretty normal, to me. I believe the lock will hold just fine, even if the lock bar occupies less than half the tang. I know my Sebenzas, when new, were pretty much the same way. The advantage to this set-up is that it prolongs the life of the knife, because the additional room that the lock bar can travel tends to compensate for the wear on the lock.

On the other hand, your blade is definitely off - center. There may be a simple remedy for this. I seem to recall reading somewhere that it helps to push blade towards the scale that it's too close to. I haven't tried this myself, so I can't tell you how well it works. Perhaps someone else can offer some helpful advice.
 
Thank you Natan,

as I wrote I wasn´t shure about the locks position - thanks for your clarification - do other 172´s look the same ?

Regarding the off-center blade - its actually not off-center for pretty much all the blade length - very much perfect centering - only towards the tip when it starts that bending in just one direction it ends up near one side. This closed shot was taken to illustrate this "bend or eneven grind tip" as the pics with the blade open don´t show it as nicely due to my focus problem with the digicam.

I think this bend tip can´t be solved by myself - it would need some brute force to bend the blade straight and I would expect it to either get damaged or just break. I would **guestimate** that this bad tip thing happened when grinding the tip of the knife on a belt or something.

Klaus
 
The lock engagement in the photo is the same as mine is. I guess this is pretty much standard, allowing some for wear.
 
Klaus, I don't have a 172 yet, but I hope to have one in the near future. As far as the "bent tip" is concerned, IMO it should appear centered on a knife in that price range. I have a 25.00 dollar Kershaw Vapor that centers perfectly. I'd expect no less on a knife 8 times the price.
 
Klaus,

the blade may need to be fixed a little for you, but the lock up is fine. It will slowly move over as you use the knife.....making it have a long life for you. I would be happy with that lock up for brand new.

the blade tip thing is a little funny, but lets see some pics of everyone elses.

david brunner
 
I'm going to repeat what everyone else is saying... the blade looks messed up, but the lockup is good! Hope you get taken care of :)
 
Thank you all :)

AS I wrote initially the blade lock was rock-solid and no wobble or anything at all - I just wasn´t shure about the engagement which seemd to little to me - but I do listen :D

Regarding the "bent tip" - I think it just needs one moment of too little attention or too much pressure on the grinder to take away too much metal on one side - and this might have happened on mine - but this is just my speculation as I have no real idea how the blade is actually made though.

Klaus
 
Michael,

thanks - well worth a read - missed this so far. But I think I remember that one of the Buck guys mnentioned that the first 172 runs would be done manually - if the blad would have been such eneven grinded (ground?) through an automated process I would expect more people here to comment about it too - or maybe there was a "bad run" on a machine and just this one slipped through ?

Klaus
 
One of the main causes of bend in the blade is memory from the steel rolls that the steel arrives in. The steel "remembers" the rolled form, and it is not completely even out.

The blades are laser cut, and then have several stages before they have the edge ground. I dont know that the grinding would really cause that kind of a bend. Maybe when Joe gets back he can enlighten us.
 
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