My first hunting knife was an LB 7 which I know I rode pretty hard. I remember the knife while I was in my teens and I'll be 60 this year so it was so long ago I don't know what happened to it. I have had so many knives I really don't remember all of them, and for years I've used knives I built from Jantz kits etc. for my hunting knives. I fiddle with leather crafting too so I've kept busy with those kind of hobbies in my spare time for 20 or so years.
The other day I saw an amazon listing for a Buck 110 and it caught my eye. Good looking knife and a lifetime warranty. Of course I started thinking about my old LB 7 and just wondering how they compare to the Buck 110? I do some leather holsters and knife holsters now and then for friends and such, thinking that someday I might start an Etsy page to sell some stuff I make. I had the thought that I might make some sheaths for the Buck knives since they are still popular. I'm thinking I should buy one of those 110's so I can pattern it. Been thinking about this for several weeks but just never hit the buy button on amazon any of the times I was looking!
Yesterday, I was in my garage and going through some old hunting storage tubs and I found some old knives, an old (maybe my first?) LB 7, and two old Buck 110's, one with the finger groves. I laughed at myself for not remembering I had these and while I looked at them so many memories started coming back to me. All three of them had hammer marks on the back end, were green and ugly, I guess from not being cleaned up before sheathed over the years and maybe some blood or something reacted with the leather and started the leaching of green tarnish. Someone here can probably give me the scientific reason for the green stuff.
Both Buck's have had the blade tips broken off and sharpened to a new tip, and there were pits on the back end where I am horrified, but sure I used a rock to hammer them into a deer pelvis back when I did things like that. The LB 7 had the same digs in it, but for whatever reason, no broken blade. (I have since become less of a cave man when field dressing a deer!)
It is amazing how much you can forget by the time you are 60!
I started with the straight handled Buck and got my sand paper out and got after it to see if the green stuff would be skin deep or worse. I could see brass daylight through it pretty quickly so after a few hours of hand work, I got the buffing wheels going and got it looking pretty darned good. That got me super motivated to go after my old LB 7 and see if it could be smoothed out, un-greened and shined up. It was when I started working on it that the realization came back to me on how clean and smooth the lines are on the LB 7, and how much more awesome it felt in my hand! It is night and day, in my humble opinion, with the quality and craftsmanship going to Schrade without any question. The knife still locks stiffly both open and closed, no wiggle in the blade when opened, up or down, left or right, solid as a rock. And remember, it had been hammered too.
Both the Buck's are loose, the finger grooved one the worse of the two, literally rattling with the knife closed. Could be I hammered on them more, who knows. But they just seem to be made cheaper, like what I would expect from something "imported".
I didn't clean the blades yet, and after buffing the Schrade I see some scratches that need more attention with the sanding, but man, what a beautiful knife! Makes me want to grab a few more of these old ones and hold on to them. Of course, I'll probably forget I have them.
Both the LB 7 on top and the Buck on the bottom were in worse shape than the middle one. You don't hear the term "elbow grease" much anymore but that kind of sums it up!
Look at how the angles are more pleasing to the eye, and the pins, nice and flush with the better looking wood, the beveled cut out for the lock. The LB 7 is slimmer, but a little heavier, slightly longer. The edges of the handle are beveled, not square, more pleasing to hold and still easy to index. The Buck is still a nice knife, just not as nice as the LB 7.
This was the hammered end!
Now I just need to make a sheath for it. I think a sleeve with a clip for my front pocket...
The other day I saw an amazon listing for a Buck 110 and it caught my eye. Good looking knife and a lifetime warranty. Of course I started thinking about my old LB 7 and just wondering how they compare to the Buck 110? I do some leather holsters and knife holsters now and then for friends and such, thinking that someday I might start an Etsy page to sell some stuff I make. I had the thought that I might make some sheaths for the Buck knives since they are still popular. I'm thinking I should buy one of those 110's so I can pattern it. Been thinking about this for several weeks but just never hit the buy button on amazon any of the times I was looking!
Yesterday, I was in my garage and going through some old hunting storage tubs and I found some old knives, an old (maybe my first?) LB 7, and two old Buck 110's, one with the finger groves. I laughed at myself for not remembering I had these and while I looked at them so many memories started coming back to me. All three of them had hammer marks on the back end, were green and ugly, I guess from not being cleaned up before sheathed over the years and maybe some blood or something reacted with the leather and started the leaching of green tarnish. Someone here can probably give me the scientific reason for the green stuff.
Both Buck's have had the blade tips broken off and sharpened to a new tip, and there were pits on the back end where I am horrified, but sure I used a rock to hammer them into a deer pelvis back when I did things like that. The LB 7 had the same digs in it, but for whatever reason, no broken blade. (I have since become less of a cave man when field dressing a deer!)
It is amazing how much you can forget by the time you are 60!
I started with the straight handled Buck and got my sand paper out and got after it to see if the green stuff would be skin deep or worse. I could see brass daylight through it pretty quickly so after a few hours of hand work, I got the buffing wheels going and got it looking pretty darned good. That got me super motivated to go after my old LB 7 and see if it could be smoothed out, un-greened and shined up. It was when I started working on it that the realization came back to me on how clean and smooth the lines are on the LB 7, and how much more awesome it felt in my hand! It is night and day, in my humble opinion, with the quality and craftsmanship going to Schrade without any question. The knife still locks stiffly both open and closed, no wiggle in the blade when opened, up or down, left or right, solid as a rock. And remember, it had been hammered too.
Both the Buck's are loose, the finger grooved one the worse of the two, literally rattling with the knife closed. Could be I hammered on them more, who knows. But they just seem to be made cheaper, like what I would expect from something "imported".
I didn't clean the blades yet, and after buffing the Schrade I see some scratches that need more attention with the sanding, but man, what a beautiful knife! Makes me want to grab a few more of these old ones and hold on to them. Of course, I'll probably forget I have them.
Both the LB 7 on top and the Buck on the bottom were in worse shape than the middle one. You don't hear the term "elbow grease" much anymore but that kind of sums it up!
Look at how the angles are more pleasing to the eye, and the pins, nice and flush with the better looking wood, the beveled cut out for the lock. The LB 7 is slimmer, but a little heavier, slightly longer. The edges of the handle are beveled, not square, more pleasing to hold and still easy to index. The Buck is still a nice knife, just not as nice as the LB 7.
This was the hammered end!
Now I just need to make a sheath for it. I think a sleeve with a clip for my front pocket...
