Nighthawk

A

Aelius

Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Messages
94
What do you think of the Nighthawk? (Click on the picture for a better quality one).

How easy would it be to sharpen the blade?

What does "420HC" mean?
 
I have a Nighthawk that I was unable to get hair shaving sharp. Sent it to Buck for a resharpening - still not hair shaving sharp. Not a bad knife but at the price there are better knives out there.
 
420HC is one of Buck's more common steels. It's not a great steel, but it's not a bad steel per se when heat treated the proper way, which Buck does. Buck has good, dependable, and inexpensive fixed and folding hunters. Below is a post I made about the Nighthawk this summer:

My childhood friend (a year younger than myself) and I went to Wal*Mart on a mission to replace the crappy Husky folder that he recently lost- it was his workplace tool and he needed a new one. So we looked at the meager knife display, I asked to see the Native, which the guy flipped open in a way that I almost got turned into a throwing knife target, was very impressed, tried to sell my friend on it, but he had his eyes on fixed blades. I pointed out a 110 and told him that it was just like a fixed blade but more convenient to carry. He persisted, and I figured that if he wanted one of their fixed blades, I would at least point him in the right direction and advise him against Gerber. Then it was down to a 119 and a Buck Nighthawk, which I had never seen/heard of. At first, I told him the 119 was a good choice- hey, it's a classic. But after handling both, I realized that the ergonomics of the Nighthawk blew the 119 away. They're really full and squishy I knew it was the standard Buck 420HC, but I judging from the construction, I think it can be a trusty companion for the better part of a lifetime, maybe more. So for $40 it was his. The guy behind the counter said he'd need to see ID to make sure I was over 18. Unless I was going to stand in front of him until the beginning of winter, I wasn't going to be 18. But the moron looked at my license, ignored the bright red "UNDER 18 UNTIL 12-01-2006" and rang up the knife. No loss for me! So tomorrow we're heading out to a big park (Bradley Palmer in Ipswich, MA) so we can enjoy a nice hike with some good knives. I'll be packing my Brian Goode fixed blade. I must also say that the Buck sheaths are very nice for the price, and I like the way they hang and hold the knife. It's also made in the US, which is a nice touch. I used a magnet to trace the tang, and it seems to be a full tang but I could be mistaken. I hope it is. Ah well, I'm very happy for the new couple.
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I had two nighthawks and they came shaving sharp. They also held an edge fairly well. I would say they were at least as good as Sog's 440A steel. The blade is a full 1/4 inch thick so it is beefy. It should see lots of hard use and I think Buck offers a lifetime warranty on all their products.
 
i have 4 nighthawks and love them all. In order to get them razor sharp the edge has to be re angled. I am currently turturing one right now to see how they hold up.
 
A friend of my used to have a nighhawk. He used his Lansky for sharpening an got it shaving sharp. IMO it's a nice price for a good quality. And as Cobalt said they got a lifetime warranty.:thumbup:
 
I've got one of the "civilian" models with bead-blasted blade (no black coating) and all-black handle (no olive drab), along with one of the more common black blade / OD & black handle. Both were sharp as all git-out when new, and sharpen back to that level of sharpness pretty easily. Like ashtxsniper said, the factory bevels are very obtuse, and need a bit of thinning to get the most out of it.

The blade is thick, with a saber grind, so it ain't a slicer; but it is crow-bar strong. My "civvie" was my camping knife for a few years, and took a beating with nary a complaint.

And oooooh, the ergonomics... that's one of the best handle designs ever. :thumbup:
 
Aelius said:
How do I thin the blade to reangle it, making it sharper?
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You can just sharpen it on a sharpening stone, at a lower angle than usual. Be warned, it could take a while unless you have a coarse stone. I did mine before I had a good diamond stone, on an old two-sided Norton India stone; the coarse side cuts pretty fast.
 
Gryffin said:
You can just sharpen it on a sharpening stone, at a lower angle than usual. Be warned, it could take a while unless you have a coarse stone. I did mine before I had a good diamond stone, on an old two-sided Norton India stone; the coarse side cuts pretty fast.
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So I would want to reduce the thickness of the side that is opposite of the sharp edge? And what's a good sharpening stone?
 
Aelius said:
So I would want to reduce the thickness of the side that is opposite of the sharp edge? And what's a good sharpening stone?
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I think you are misunderstanding him. Think of the edge as a "V" all you want to do is turn a wide v into a thinner V (\/ into V)
Hope this helps
 
diamond stones are the best. I prefer DMT, SMITHS, EZ-LAP these are a few good brands. A caorse diamont stone(around 325 grit) will re-angle edge quick. I primarily use DMT fine (600 grit) and ultra fine (1200 grit) to get that razor sharp edge. Keep in mind when you purchase a diamond stone that they appear much coarser than they are. As you use them they break in and they get smoother and smoother.
 
Gryffin said:
No, you think the EDGE of the blade. Why would you grind the spine?? :confused:
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To make the angle of the blade lower. The only way to lower the angle is to shave the spine of it. Shaving the edge only sharpens the current angle. If you want another angle, you must sharpen the spine, no?
 
NO!!! NEVER!!! DO NOT THIN OUT THE SPINE TO CHANGE THE BLADE ANGLE!!!!

Search the other forums to find out about sharpening a knife. If you can not do it yourself then take to a person who sharpens professionally.
 
If you want to grind down the flats or reduce the primary grind by grinding against the spine that is perfectly fine but it will take a very long time on benchstones. This is even a decent amount of time on a belt sander.

Generally without power tools you just sharpen at a more acute angle which will reshape the edge directly. For example if you are just using the blade for cutting relatively soft materials (no thick metals) and some wood chopping you can sharpen at about ten degrees per side and then add a small bevel at about 15 degrees.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
If you want to grind down the flats or reduce the primary grind by grinding against the spine that is perfectly fine but it will take a very long time on benchstones.
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What's a flat, and what's a benchstone?

...you can sharpen at about ten degrees per side and then add a small bevel at about 15 degrees.

-Cliff
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What's a bevel, and what do you mean "per side"? It's a one edge blade, not a double edge. And should I sharpen it at 15 degrees or 10 degrees? You mention both.
 
Aelius said:
What's a flat, and what's a benchstone?
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The flats are the sides of the blade, i.e. the part that's not the spine or the edge. A benchstone is a common sharpening stone that can sit on a work bench or table to sharpen a knife. There are other kinds of stones (i.e. slips) so they use names like "bench stone" to differentiate.

Aelius said:
What's a bevel, and what do you mean "per side"? It's a one edge blade, not a double edge. And should I sharpen it at 15 degrees or 10 degrees? You mention both.
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The bevel is the shape of the edge, i.e. the "V" shape. There is a bevel ground in to each side of the bottom of the blade, a \ and a / bevel which together make a "V" shape."Per side" refers to each side of the "V", in other words you will sharpen one side of the "V", then flip the knife over and sharpen the other side. As to sharpening 10 degrees and adding a 15 degree bevel, I'll let Cliff expand on that because I didn't understand it either. :)
 
NeedleRemorse said:
The guy behind the counter said he'd need to see ID to make sure I was over 18. Unless I was going to stand in front of him until the beginning of winter, I wasn't going to be 18. But the moron looked at my license, ignored the bright red "UNDER 18 UNTIL 12-01-2006" and rang up the knife.
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A little off-topic, but:

Haw! I love how you don't have to be 18 to get a driver's license, you can drive a ton of hurtling metal down the highway - but you can't be trusted with buying a knife (which are easily found in any kitchen anywhere). We're lucky to have a wise government making laws for us to follow. BTW I bought a big fat ($3.00) bowie knife in a hardware store at around age 11, I just told 'em it was OK with my Mom. And that was in California! Times have changed.
 
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