New buck 889 review

[coyotesniper69]

I just got my new buck 889 and thought I would give a quick review of it. Mine is the OD green w/ black blade.
Here are a couple teaser pics; first one is with my previous EDC, a Dalton Minuteman and the second one is with the Buck Hartsook that came in the same order.

Initial impressions: It is a very beefy knife, which I expected. It does feel a little heavy in the hand (which is actually a perk for heavy use) but still rides nicely in the pocket. I have no problems with the handle texture, it is a bit rough but not as bad as I was expecting based on the reports I read here on BF. The pocket clip was very stiff at first but it loosened up nicely. The liner lock was very stiff at first (more on the liner later in the post). The blade is thick enough to inspire confidence but thin enough to be a great slicer. I actually think the blade is the perfect thickness. The blade was razor sharp out of the box, so sharp it would scare the hair off my arm. This is probably the sharpest knife I have pulled out of a box. The design is almost perfect, I love the choil and that was a key selling point for me, I have not seen any other folder with one. The blade being made of 420HC almost prevented me from buying this knife but I am gaining confidence in it (more on that later).



I first took some new out of box pictures before I started using it. I tested shaving sharpness and it was like a razor. I then sharpened a couple pencils and cut up a box. I tested shaving sharpness again and it would barely cut hair, at this point I thought maybe I made a mistake in getting a 420HC blade. My previous experiences w/ regular 420 were less than desirable. Next, I took it out to the woods and whittled some sticks and then proceeded to lightly baton it through about a dozen sticks 1 -2 inches in diameter. After the batoning I inspected the liner and it had bent and was now moved to about the center of the blade. It still had a solid lock but now the liner was no longer stiff to remove. I opened and closed the blade several times to continue to test lockup and it remained solid. However I did note that when you open and close the blade there is a drag where the liner now touches the blade. Since then I have cut up a lot more boxes, whittled wood, used it to de-limb branches and even done some more batoning. Even though the blade lost its shaving sharpness really quick, it has maintained a very sharp and useable edge thru all this abuse. It will still push cut thru a notepad or slice with ease. I am very pleased so far with my purchase and could definitely recommend this knife to anyone.



Pros-

Sturdy EDC

Good steel (must be the heat treat they use)

Perfect design

Inexpensive

Blade coating one of the best I have seen at resisting wear



Cons-

Even light batoning will excessively wear the liner

Liner pinches hand when batoning

Wish it was a frame lock



Spec according to buck website:


Category End Use: Tactical/survival-miltary


Blade Steel: 420HC Black Oxide coated


Length Overall: 8.13" (20.7 cm.)


Length Closed: 4.65" (11.8 cm.)


Blade Length: 3.5"L (9.1 cm.)


Blade Shape: Extra wide, drop point


Blade Thickness: .145" (.4 cm.)


Weight: 4.9 oz. (138.9 g)


Handle Material: TACCOM™ glass-reinforced nylon, quad-hold design


Carry System: Black oxide stainless steel reversible belt clip


Color: Black


Knife Type: Folding, Locking Liner


Collaborator: Strider


Catalog #: 5749






Sorry for the long post but I am hoping this information may help someone out.

John

 

[rifon2]

IMO a very helpful review.

Reports keep coming in, it seems, on the liner lock Buck uses on this knife.

General concensus is that it could be more sturdy.


On the positive side, the last few Bucks I've bought have also had really, really sharp edges right out of the box.

 

[Messersmith]

Nice review coyote. What is the date mark on it? After carrying an 881 for a few weeks, I've gone back to EDCing my 889, mostly because of the better blade geometry. I think the ergonomics are better on the 889 too.

Did the liner actually take a perminent bend from the batoning? Or did it "wear in" (for lack of a better term)? I noticed on mine that the liner "wore in" (engaged farther to the to the right) during the first few weeks that I used it but hasn't moved since.

A review on the Hartsook would be cool too!

 

[coyotesniper69]

No datemark, it has the strider/buck logo on one side and sb4 on the other.
Here is a pic of the liner taken just a few moments ago:

I will let you guys be the judge of the liner but to me it looks like a bend, however lockup is not affected by it. I did run into one problem last night. When I was using the tip to drill a hole in some wood the lock failed and almost closed on my hand. I have read another review where they will close with tip pressure so everyone please be careful when using it in this manner.

Here are a couple pics w/ its new character marks:

About the hartsook, I cannot give a very in depth review on it. I originally bought it as a blood and guts knife. Its primary duty in life will be to skin fish, deer and squirrel. Since squirrel season dont open until tomorrow I have no intel on how it will perform in that area. I have used it for some kitchen chores and its comparable to a pearing (SP?) knife, the wife loves it so I may have to buy a second. The hartsook was sharp out of the box but not as sharp as the 889. I did not do a shaving test with it so I dont know if it was shaving sharp out of the box. It is thin and small but feels comfortable in the hand, especially with the finger rap paracord they provide. I personally would not rely on this for heavy work as its too thin and S30V is known to be a brittle steel. If you have any specific questions on it I would be glad to answer them.
John

 

[coyotesniper69]

BTW... I forgot to add that most of the blade marks you see are from cutting up an aluminum can. FWIW... I was using it to make a soda pop alcohol stove.

 

[Messersmith]

Another 889 without a date code? It seems like there are a lot of them showing up for only 400 produced.

The liner sure looks like it's bent to me!

Thanks for the comments on your hartsook. I don't have any specific questions, I was just looking for your overall impression of it.