Let’s talk hunting knives. (Traditional)

afishhunter said:
??? To sharpen a Scandi 2 the factory/maker's edge angle u simply lay the bevel on the stone; same as sharpening a chisle.
Yes, depending n the grit, it can scratch the bevel, and remove any patina from the bevel. So ...??? Knives get scratched in use anyway. "Big Whoops" ... who and/or y care?
Stropping is the same; bevel against the strop.
(A lot of the times it is only necessary to strop to restore the working edge, regardless of grind.)
Unless really dull or the edge is damaged, a few push swipes on each side has it good to go.

How is that more difficult/harder than freehand sharpening when you need to manually hold the blade at "x" angle against the stone?

My Scandi's (or faux Scandi that are hollow ground, like the CS "FINN BEAR") are the easiest knives I have to sharpen freehand, be it in the field or at home.
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Easy enough to do if you have some sort of fairly large, fairly flat surface... IE a normal sized sharpening stone, sand paper and a wood block etc. With a pocket stone or small abrasive rod/ whatever, I find them more time consuming and difficult to do properly than a hollow grind. I'm not the only one who's made note of this fact, heard it mentioned by several fairly notably outdoors authoritys, including Townsend Whelen IIRC.

If you think they are easy to do, or you dont mind packing around the equipmment to make the job easy... thats great. Myself and others feel differently.
 
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And Mors Kochanski disagrees with Townsend Whelen. Fortunately we don't all have to agree on everything.
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Bushleague270 said:
Easy enough to do if you have some sort of fairly large, fairly flat surface... IE a normal sized sharpening stone, sand paper and a wood block etc. With a pocket stone or small abrasive rod/ whatever, I find them more time consuming and difficult to do properly than a hollow grind. I'm not the only one who's made note of this fact, heard it mentioned by several fairly notably outdoors authoritys, including Townsend Whelen IIRC.

If you think they are easy to do, or you dont mind packing around the equipmment to make the job easy... thats great. Myself and others feel differently.
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if you say so. I don't have a problem with a 1x3 or 1x5~1x6 pocket stone. I hold the knife solid and move the stone. It might be more side to side rather than bottom to top across the bevel, but it works.
Tho to be honest, 8 or 9 out of 10 just stropping (belt, boot top, leather glove) is enough to get back a working edge.

I don't tote a full size (or even 1/2 size) stone in my backpack.
I have a 1x6 pocket stone in one of the small pockets, along with some "guaranteed to light" kindling. (Zippo Fluid, or Kerosine, or Charcoal Starter in a couple plastic +/- 100ml unicorn squirt bottle. (bottles came from a Vape shop.)
That "kindling" works great to start the twigs/leaves/dried grass/dried meadow muffins/feather stick, etc. for a fire, even when weather conditions are not ideal. I highly recommend. 😇👍)
I also have a (rarely used) 10" (non-metal removing) spiral grooved Butcher's Steel in one of the pack's Molle loops.
 
For field use I take a DMT diafold stone. I like being able to touch up without oil, since I probably won't have water to wash the oil off my hands. Not to mention, if I need a quick touch up during processing of game.
 
JM2 said:
For field use I take a DMT diafold stone. I like being able to touch up without oil, since I probably won't have water to wash the oil off my hands. Not to mention, if I need a quick touch up during processing of game.
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I used to use a small oilstone and just spit on it, worked OK. Now I've got a Bucksharp two sided diamond stone, about the size of a buisness card and it works better. I also have a small abrasive steel, its got a hollow brass handle, and the buisness end can either tucked inside the handle for stowage, or mounted on the end for use.
 
All four 49r patterns came in both leather and staglon handles, for a total of eight different ones. Your knife is indeed a 49r, but they were also marketed to special order contracts as well, such as DU and others. The 498 was marketed for awhile, then dropped, then brought back again. All the other three patterns were not manfactured for long but the 498 had a long history.
 
tongueriver said:
All four 49r patterns came in both leather and staglon handles, for a total of eight different ones. Your knife is indeed a 49r, but they were also marketed to special order contracts as well, such as DU and others. The 498 was marketed for awhile, then dropped, then brought back again. All the other three patterns were not manfactured for long but the 498 had a long history.
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Thanks again for your expertise.
I love that leather one especially. I tried to leave it, but had to go back.
[duh. "49" in the model number might be suggestive of the 49er series, huh?]
 
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Yes. The 498 grew out of the Schrade Walden 148, the 497 came from the 147, the 491 from the 141, and the 499 came from the earlier 137 (!). Those were earlier patterns from the late 1950s and early 1960s. They also came in both stacked leather and molded Delrin that looked like jigged bone. Those old ones are nice, as well.
 
tongueriver said:
Yes. The 498 grew out of the Schrade Walden 148, the 497 came from the 147, the 491 from the 141, and the 499 came from the earlier 137 (!). Those were earlier patterns from the late 1950s and early 1960s. They also came in both stacked leather and molded Delrin that looked like jigged bone. Those old ones are nice, as well.
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Good to get that through my skull.
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Added a 703 to my WESTMARK family. My wife gave me my first 702 in the late 1970s while we were living in Colorado. I picked up another slightly used 702 years later. A couple days ago at a pawnshop that I frequent, I found this gently used 703. While not original, the sheath is nicely built with a hard plastic liner to protect the wearer.
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Pictured here with the family:
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Nice thing about a slightly used knife is that I can actually carry it on occasion without worrying about putting the first scratch on it! I found for sale on line an original 703 sheath, but the price is significantly higher than I paid for the knife! I sure don't need that! Thanks for watching! T-A
 
Hatchet_Jack said:
A gift from meako meako that has already been put to work. Took a wicked sharp edge, broke down a deer and was still shaving hair.

View attachment 2456873
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What I think I'm seeing is an early BUCK 110, based on the pin configuration, with rounded edges. The ealy 110s came with crisp 90 degree edges that were far less comfortable in the hand than later versions with the rounded handle edges. Is this actually a 110? What is the mark on the blade tang? Are you aware of who did such a beautiful job of improving the handle? I'd love for you to share more of the knife"s story. T-A
 
the-accumulator said:
What I think I'm seeing is an early BUCK 110, based on the pin configuration, with rounded edges. The ealy 110s came with crisp 90 degree edges that were far less comfortable in the hand than later versions with the rounded handle edges. Is this actually a 110? What is the mark on the blade tang? Are you aware of who did such a beautiful job of improving the handle? I'd love for you to share more of the knife"s story. T-A
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I’ll have to defer to Meako for all the details on the history of the knife.

As for the handle, I just soaked it in mineral oil for a few hours. I was actually thinking that at some point I’ll probably have a go at re-covering it in antler from a stag I’ve shot or maybe a bit of special wood from my collection.
 
the-accumulator said:
What I think I'm seeing is an early BUCK 110, based on the pin configuration, with rounded edges.
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I'm no expert, but I agree.
Two small scale pins ... late 60's to early 70's? A lot like the S5-V5(?) 2 dot from c.1973 I had. I think that was the last with 2 small pins. They went to 3 larger pins after that. The covers look to be solid Ebony, not Dymawood, as well.
Definately from the 440C era.
The handle bevel isn't consistant at the indent for the lockbar and bolsters. My guess is a previous owner rounded the edges.
Did a pretty good job, from the looks of it.
Hatchet_Jack said:
Took a wicked sharp edge, broke down a deer and was still shaving hair.
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Not surprising it was still sharp after one deer.
The knife is probably from the days Buck's standard blade steel for the 100 series was 440C. It is also likely that over the years the edge has beed made keener than the 50 to 60 degree inclusive edge they had pre-2000, and the edge has been thinned a bit from sharpening, too
Tho to be honest, thanks to their superb/unsurpassed BOS heat treat, their 425M could/can peel & break down at least 2.5 to 2.75 whitetail, and post 2000 (improved edge geometry starting in 2000) 420HC can do the same for at least 2.75 to 3 whitetail before it needs stropped to restore the working edge, as well.

Nice 110. You'll get a lot of years from it. 😁👍

You can send it in to Buck for a SPA treatment. It was still under $10, last I saw, about a year ago. It will look new when you get it back. (tho I don't think the handle/bolster will be restored to square.)
If you do, specify the "Edge 2000" or later sharpening angle, not the historical.
In 2000 they changed to a 30 degree inclusive edge (+/-2 degrees) from 50 to 60 degrees (+/-2 degrees), and sharpend to a "V" instead of the previous "U".
The post 200 edge is sharper, lasts longer, and is easier to maintain.
 
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