Marksman Elite in S90v

Badhammer

Badhammer

Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
4,528
I see in the new Buck catalog they have the Marksman Elite with a black oxide coated, stonewashed S90v blade with carbon fiber and titanium inlays on the handle. Just emailed Larry to see about ordering one. It's a Legacy model with 250 production run.
 
I've been eyeballing that as well. I love the marksman! It's only drawback was the steel, IMHO. I stopped carrying mine because I got tired of sharpening it.

The description I read on this Legacy Marksman suggested it was an aluminum handle Cerakoted "Blue Titanium" (color) with CF inserts.

I'm looking forward to seeing a review!
 
I've been looking at that as well. I like it. Does the reverse side of it's blade have S90V on it? It has enough blade for most of my cutting needs and No pocket clip. A plus. How does on feel in the hand? No sheath, so it's meant to be pocket carried (light). You guys like the lock? I'll watch it and see what SK knives comes out with. DM
 
So, it will have a removable clip. I'm watching SK's 110 offering. You guys think the Marksman feels good in the hand? And no problems with the lock? DM
 
David Martin said:
So, it will have a removable clip. I'm watching SK's 110 offering. You guys think the Marksman feels good in the hand? And no problems with the lock? DM
Click to expand...
The Marksman has the Great Vantage Style Pocket Clip! Carries deep in the pocket feels good in the hand. Who knows you might just like it. I'm not sure about the lock setup and how it feels.
 
I think it was in a video review, I saw that you need a hex driver to adjust the locking mechanism periodically.
 
@DM: I don't know you well, but from all of reading you've provided over the years, I will assume you're more of a "traditional" knife fan. That being said, I'm not convinced you'll like the lock mechanism of the Marksman.

It's definitely a departure from the normal lock-backs, liner locks, frame locks and just about everything else that has been around for years. Because of that, it's not well received by traditionalists.

I classify myself in that group to an extent. I couldn't get used to carrying my 110/560 on my weak side while carrying a side arm so I've been struggling to find the right knife for front pocket carry. I started with the Marksman and absolutely loved it! Except that the steel seemed to need touched up constantly. The other criticism I had was the aluminum frame. For some unknown reason they added the geometric shapes to the handles which do little more than cause friction getting in and out of a pocket. They're not hand-friendly either. I guess they did it to add some traction to the frame, but I think they might have went about it wrong. To remedy that, I made my own G10 handles which made the in and out of pocket, and in-hand feel much, much better!

SK's version alleviated the two negative criticizms I had with the knife. The handle and steel are much, much nicer! I haven't picked one up yet, though I don't have a good reason why not.

The lock system, as I mentioned is very easy to operate once you grasp the concept. It is a flipper! You can open it one-handed using the thumb-hole or any other means, but it loves to be flipped open. The bearings make this super easy but if you don't flip it with a little entheusiasm, the lock might not fully engage.

I wouldn't call this a maintenance issue as someone pointed out. It's more of a tuning issue. The great thing about the lock is that you 2 locations to adjust and rather than a knife out of the box that works for you, or doesn't. The Marksman can be tuned to your liking. There is an allen screw in the tail that laterally adjusts how the lock bar interacts with the blade. Then there is an allen head screw on the spine that allows you to adjut the tension on the lock. Finding the sweet-spot that works best for you isnt' that big a deal. If you're a weak flipper, you should adjust the lock forward towards the blade further and tighten the vertical tension on the blade. If you're a strong flipper, you can get away with the lighter lock bar being a little further back.

The beauty of the design is that you can tinker with it until it suites you perfectly. I haven't had to make any adjustments to mine once it was to my liking.

The blade shape and grind is great for cutting virtually anything. The original is a hollow grind, but the grind is very high on the blade making it a more swept hollow grind. In my experience it performed much the same as a flat grind blade the same size. It would take a very keen edge, but wouldn't hold it long enough for me. I don't mind maintaining my knives, but this one begged for the stones almost weekly and for as little cutting as I did, that just seemed to excessive so I swithched to my S30V Vantage.

Gloved hands might have an issue operating the flipper and the lock. The button you flip with isn't very high and depending on the gloves might cause a weak flip and thus not locking open. Closing with gloves is much the same. The lock-bar isn't much wider than the frame itself so again, depending on the gloves, you might struggle to operate the lock. Unlike a lock-back, frame-lock, or liner-lock; there are few remedies that don't involve taking the gloves off to close it, in my experience.

In the G10 hadnles I made for mine, I removed quite a bit of material under the lock bar to ensure that even with padded leather gloves I still had a good chance of being able to operate the lock without taking my gloves off. I was successful the majority of the time.

The last critique I have isn't Marksman specific. You'll see lanyards on all of my pocket clip knives. The reason is simple... The pocket clips wear the tops of my pockets. The cord I use has completely remedied this. Why a pocket clip can't be made with a "U" shape to alleviate this problem is beyond me.

I was multi-tasking while typing this and didn't proof read it so forgive any grammatical erros I might have made....

Photos:








 
Ok, thank you for taking the time to write this review on the Marksman. It helped me make up my mind. I'll shy away from it and hope SK brings out a 110 to my liking. Your work is handsome. DM
 
Badhammer said:
What methods are you both referring to?
Click to expand...

I also saw a review where it showed that with use you may need to adjust the lock tension on the Blade. I have also heard a lot of good things about it like it's smoothness on opening and closing and some say the lock is very strong. I guess I like the simpler style Knives.
 
Xr6x said:
I also saw a review where it showed that with use you may need to adjust the lock tension on the Blade. I have also heard a lot of good things about it like it's smoothness on opening and closing and some say the lock is very strong. I guess I like the simpler style Knives.
Click to expand...

It's not hard and as you noted it's something you "may" have to do. Think of it like a liner locker or frame lock that when the lock bar finally makes its way over to the handle side you can adjust it back to where you want it without having to ship it back for a rebuild. I found mine to be extremely smooth and no adjustment was ever needed. I gifted it to my daughter about a year ago as she was in love with it at first sight. Still working great.

I can understand perfectly your sentiment as I too tend towards more simpler designs but in the case of the Marksman I think you would really benefit if you could handle one in person. It may still not be your cup of tea but you might really like it.
 
I said I'd buy one of these if they made a version with carbon fiber, looks like miy wish came true, with s90v too!!! can't wait. wondering if SK blades will have there own version with more cf? I'll take that version.
 
Last edited:
Mt pokt. Great job on your input. Nicely done.
 
That was a Great explanation on the Marksman MT- Pokt and very nice job on the Micarta and G-10 scales 👍
 
Badhammer said:
It's not hard and as you noted it's something you "may" have to do. Think of it like a liner locker or frame lock that when the lock bar finally makes its way over to the handle side you can adjust it back to where you want it without having to ship it back for a rebuild. I found mine to be extremely smooth and no adjustment was ever needed. I gifted it to my daughter about a year ago as she was in love with it at first sight. Still working great.

I can understand perfectly your sentiment as I too tend towards more simpler designs but in the case of the Marksman I think you would really benefit if you could handle one in person. It may still not be your cup of tea but you might really like it.
Click to expand...
I have no doubt it's a good knife and reading a little more it might not be all that much hassle like you say once it's setup. Maybe someday 🤔 I'd like the Vantage with the the Marksman pivot bearing setup and the S90v blade better. 😉
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top