Knife tips...should they come to a point, or be rounded...?

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geothorn

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I usually prefer to buy knives only after I've gotten the chance to take them out of their box to look at their "fit and finish" and the quality of the tip. However, sometimes knives aren't packaged so that they can be opened and checked-out.

I've recently purchased two "Made in China" Buck model 728 Whitetail Deer Collectibles.

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I was able to prevent myself from buying them until they got reduced in price from $25, leading up to Christmas, to $11 at the end of January. The Whitetail Deer Collectibles were packaged inside a "black leather-like presentation case," which was inside a sleeve, and then both were wrapped in plastic. The packaging was such that each Wal*Mart that carried them had opened one of the knives for display, so that customers could check out that example, but the customer couldn't open the packaging to the one that they were actually buying.

One knife looks fine except for slight blemishes in the blade's steel. The second one is missing the blemishes, but I was disappointed to find that the tip was rounded, rather than ending in a point. What's the norm for a knife's point? Pointy, right?

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Anyway, if pointy is proper for a knife blade's tip, how would I go about restoring the rounded "point" to a pointy point? Is that operation what is referred to as "re-profiling?"

Thanks for your attention,
GeoThorn

(This is why one should always handle a knife before buying rather than buying a knife "sight unseen.")
 
I prefer a pointy tip myself. I find that when I sharpen a knife on a benchstone I usually end up with a Nice sharp tip. Crock-stick type sharpeners will usually tend to round the tip. Of course if you sharpen it you will destroy it's collectors value. :D

Tom
 
This knife has no collector value (and in my opinion, will never have collector value) so sharpen it to your heart's content. To overcome the rounded tip, be sure you do not allow the sharpening medium to follow the rounded contour. Stop just short of where you want the point to be and as you get some of the steel removed, the point will re-emerge. I use a diamond Lansky system and find that system to work well but use whatever you find most efficient.
 
Thank you for all of your replies. I hope that not many are sending their new Chinese Buck Whitetail Deer Collectibles to get warranty repairs immediately.

As a slightly off-topic question, is a knife that's named or called a "collectible" something that's meant to be left in it's display case, hanging on the wall, rather than being a knife that someone would actually use? I mean, in my opinion, most Buck Knives that are collected start out as regular, everyday users, but their purchasers decide to keep them as a part of their collection. The Buck Whitetail Deer Collectible is the first Buck that I've seen that's actually called a "Collectible," so is it intended to stay in it's display case, where no one would likely notice whether it has a rounded tip, or is it a dual-purpose knife, one that can be used as well as collected?

The plaque in the "leather-like presentation case" seems to imply that the knife is solely a collectible:

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Thanks again!
GeoThorn
 
Geothorn,

Generally speaking a knife bought to be put into a collection would not be used at all, not sharpened, not even polished. Boxes and paperwork would be kept as well.

Tom
 
geothorn said:
Thank you for all of your replies. I hope that not many are sending their new Chinese Buck Whitetail Deer Collectibles to get warranty repairs immediately.

As a slightly off-topic question, is a knife that's named or called a "collectible" something that's meant to be left in it's display case, hanging on the wall, rather than being a knife that someone would actually use? I mean, in my opinion, most Buck Knives that are collected start out as regular, everyday users, but their purchasers decide to keep them as a part of their collection. The Buck Whitetail Deer Collectible is the first Buck that I've seen that's actually called a "Collectible," so is it intended to stay in it's display case, where no one would likely notice whether it has a rounded tip, or is it a dual-purpose knife, one that can be used as well as collected?

The plaque in the "leather-like presentation case" seems to imply that the knife is solely a collectible:

Buck728Plaque.jpg


Thanks again!
GeoThorn
Click to expand...

"Collectable".....That means it's meant to stay unopened & in the box so you don't see "Made in China" on the blade. :eek: :D :eek:
 
Hi Jeff --

Is receiving a knife that has a rounded point, out of the box, a reason for returning for warranty repair? I don't know that I'm up to recreating a point on a knife that didn't start with one. I appreciate Larry Oden and T Schloz help in telling me how to revive the point, but I doubt that my knife-sharpening skills are on-par with theirs.

Thanks for your time,
GeoThorn
 
If you aren't happy with the Quality for any reason, it is covered under warrenty repair... The repairs still need to be sent to our El Cajon plant..

Jeff
 
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