Nighthawk question???

[Brasso]

Being in the Reserves, I've been pondering what type of knife that I currently own that I would want to take into a combat environment. I have a KaBar, Phrobis, and Nighthawk. The Kabar is too flimsy in my opinion. I can bend it in my hands. Same with the Phrobis. I took it apart and the tang is only about an inch into the handle and doesn't look to be fastened very securely at that. My question is how far into the handle does the tang on the Nighthawk extend? I cannot bend the knife in my hand like the others. How is it fastened? And what type of steel is it. It seems fairly soft. Thanks.

 

[peteq]

Brasso,

I took an x-ray of a Nighthawk I had laying around so you can see the relationship between the tang and handle.

The Nighthawk has a full tang with three retention inlets for the hard plastic (glass-filled nylon) core. The soft rubber (Alcryn) is locked into place around the core with a continuous loop of material.

The blade is good ol' 420HC. Believe me it is not soft -- put it in a hardness tester and see. 420HC is outstanding for a high-stress environment; very corrsion resistant and very tough. Another point about the blade is that the design has generous radiuses, which means the tang will not put high-stress points on the handle, and will not 'want' to snap in two.

This knife will not fail - period. Now go get 'em!

Pete Q

 

[marty123]

Very interesting. As to the steel, I believe my Nighthawk, bought in 1995, uses 425M. And, the blade doesn't seem soft to me.

 

[Brasso]

Thanks Pete. That was very helpful. I guess it will become my #1 choice. Now, if we could get it in BG42, spear point, with saw serrations on the spine, and a skull crusher.

 

[Tightwad]

Yep, The Nighthawk is a favorite fixed blade for me. It meets my needs so
well I've no need to buy, or want, a different knife. Some would want to
change it ....I just have to wonder why. It's very good just as it is.

 

[glockman99]

I have 2 Buck Nighthawks, and I love 'em, eventho I WOULD like to see them offered in ATS-34 steel, as an option, and maybe even a model with an 8 inch blade..

The handle fits my hand perfectly and has excellent balance and "gripability". The blade-shape is perfect for many applications, and is plenty stout.

 

[Brian Lavin]

Thanks for the insight(pun intended)into how much tang was in there; yet another reason to love a great knife. And I don't care what anybody else says, I STILL want one in BG42!!
I have two standard models, one in black, one bead blast, so now I need a "premium".
Hey, that's why we're called knifeknutts!