Well, I finally got the Buck/Mayo today and here's my story:
I've been excited about getting the buck/mayo ever since I heard about it. However, the initial price (close to 300 dollars) and the fact that it's a right handed knife (i'm a lefty) kept me from purchasing one. Later on I read through a few of the threads here and discovered that there was some spotty QC with the buck/mayo. Some problems seemed more like minor inconveniences rather then real problems, while others seem like geniune concerns. Therefore, I dismissed the knife, but I kept thinking about it and recently I checked the threads again and it seems as if the QC was getting better. Therefore, I searched the web for a good price. I found 1 for 185.00 at newgraham and promptly purchased it.
Here's my review of the knife:
The knife is the perfect size for me, there is enough blade to get everyday chores done and it fits neatly into my front pocket. The handle might be a tad small however, the finger choil/notch seems to be set back a little too far and when holding the knife i almost ran out of handle (and i have relatively small hands) The fit and finish is very good, the blade is centered almost perfectly (to be exact it's about 45/55 instead of a perfect 50/50 which is perfectly fine) the action is silky smooth and there is virtually no blade play either vertically or horizontally ( i say virtually because there is always blade play, it just depends on how hard you are really wiggling the blade.) The lockup is solid, i performed the standard spine whack test and the lock held up firm. The knife was also very sharp out of the box and obviously the first thing you do with a new knife is completely shred the box it was shipped in. The knife shredded the box into tiny pieces easily and shaved like it was just sharpened. Another thing I like to do with my new knives is to polish up the blade and then take apart the knife. The 172 has a very simple yet solid design. I easily took the knife apart and put it back together. The construction of the knife is rock solid, the screws are top notch and screwed in perfectly. There are some knives that seem like they don't really want to be taken apart because after you put it back together it just doesn't seem the same anymore or the screws start stripping or the threads are weak. But the 172 begs to be taken apart and put back together, the threads and screws are solid, you can tighten the screws to your hearts content and not worry about anything stripping. And the simple design ensures everything is perfect no matter how many times you take the knife apart.
Rants:
The edges of this knife are sharp to the point that they look like they were not finished. The edges look raw and sharp. I simply took a 400grit sand paper and rounded the edges of the handle slightly and now it's perfect (took about 20-30 minutes) The clip is a bit stiff but thats no big deal, what is a big deal is that the clip seems kind of thing and short; however, it seems pretty strong so I guess size doesn't matter too much in this case. The lock is very stiff, and because the edges of the handle are not rounded it literally hurts to close this knife, i'm hoping the lock with loosen up a little or i'll have to go back with the sandpaper to round the lock part a bit more.
Conclusion:
For those of you guys who have been thinking about buying this knife but hasn't yet... Go out and buy it!! It's a great knife and at under 200 bucks it's a good value. It's an excellent design by Tom and excellent quality and construction by Buck. I know that a lot of people will ask how does it compare to the Sebenza, well honestly in turns of quality the sebenza has the edge here, but in terms of design and cutting ability the 172 is as good as the sebenza if not better. It's quality is easily as good as other high quality knives by Benchmade and Microtech. And in terms of plain good looks the 172 beats out the Sebenza by a long shot!!
I've been excited about getting the buck/mayo ever since I heard about it. However, the initial price (close to 300 dollars) and the fact that it's a right handed knife (i'm a lefty) kept me from purchasing one. Later on I read through a few of the threads here and discovered that there was some spotty QC with the buck/mayo. Some problems seemed more like minor inconveniences rather then real problems, while others seem like geniune concerns. Therefore, I dismissed the knife, but I kept thinking about it and recently I checked the threads again and it seems as if the QC was getting better. Therefore, I searched the web for a good price. I found 1 for 185.00 at newgraham and promptly purchased it.
Here's my review of the knife:
The knife is the perfect size for me, there is enough blade to get everyday chores done and it fits neatly into my front pocket. The handle might be a tad small however, the finger choil/notch seems to be set back a little too far and when holding the knife i almost ran out of handle (and i have relatively small hands) The fit and finish is very good, the blade is centered almost perfectly (to be exact it's about 45/55 instead of a perfect 50/50 which is perfectly fine) the action is silky smooth and there is virtually no blade play either vertically or horizontally ( i say virtually because there is always blade play, it just depends on how hard you are really wiggling the blade.) The lockup is solid, i performed the standard spine whack test and the lock held up firm. The knife was also very sharp out of the box and obviously the first thing you do with a new knife is completely shred the box it was shipped in. The knife shredded the box into tiny pieces easily and shaved like it was just sharpened. Another thing I like to do with my new knives is to polish up the blade and then take apart the knife. The 172 has a very simple yet solid design. I easily took the knife apart and put it back together. The construction of the knife is rock solid, the screws are top notch and screwed in perfectly. There are some knives that seem like they don't really want to be taken apart because after you put it back together it just doesn't seem the same anymore or the screws start stripping or the threads are weak. But the 172 begs to be taken apart and put back together, the threads and screws are solid, you can tighten the screws to your hearts content and not worry about anything stripping. And the simple design ensures everything is perfect no matter how many times you take the knife apart.
Rants:
The edges of this knife are sharp to the point that they look like they were not finished. The edges look raw and sharp. I simply took a 400grit sand paper and rounded the edges of the handle slightly and now it's perfect (took about 20-30 minutes) The clip is a bit stiff but thats no big deal, what is a big deal is that the clip seems kind of thing and short; however, it seems pretty strong so I guess size doesn't matter too much in this case. The lock is very stiff, and because the edges of the handle are not rounded it literally hurts to close this knife, i'm hoping the lock with loosen up a little or i'll have to go back with the sandpaper to round the lock part a bit more.
Conclusion:
For those of you guys who have been thinking about buying this knife but hasn't yet... Go out and buy it!! It's a great knife and at under 200 bucks it's a good value. It's an excellent design by Tom and excellent quality and construction by Buck. I know that a lot of people will ask how does it compare to the Sebenza, well honestly in turns of quality the sebenza has the edge here, but in terms of design and cutting ability the 172 is as good as the sebenza if not better. It's quality is easily as good as other high quality knives by Benchmade and Microtech. And in terms of plain good looks the 172 beats out the Sebenza by a long shot!!
:footinmou