Pathfinder 105

T

toddwell

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Nov 2, 2020
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Hi all...as a boy one of my prized posessions was the Buck Pathfinder my parents got me for Christmas one year.
That knife got beat up...carried in to the BWCA on canoe trips, used it in building a log cabin as a teen, countless days hanging on my belt when hunting grouse, deer, and ducks, and every time I was in the woods.
Somewhere along the way I lost that knife.
I found another one the other day in a display case at work (SMKW) in collector condition.
Here's my question...I have no problem putting a razor sharp edge on my kitchen knives, the Kershaw Chill I use at work, and the Mora Carbon Companion I use as a knocking around knife...but I can't seem to hone this Pathfinder to my liking. Any tips?
 
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is it a newer one or older one with the old wide angles pre edge 2000?

i couldn't tell from your description. sounds like an older one as you called it in collector condition.

if its an older one you have to either reprofile to easier angles or send to Buck and have them put the modern edge 2000 on it, if you want an easy edge to maintain. if you like the wide bevels...see below same setup.....

if it's a newer one.....angles would be around roughly 30 degrees inclusive plus or minus a couple degrees. use a sharpie and coat the bevels, then when using your stone see where youre hitting the edge.....and adjust to getting the edge and maintain those angles through the entire path.
 
jbmonkey said:
is it a newer one or older one with the old wide angles pre edge 2000?

i couldn't tell from your description. sounds like an older one as you called it in collector condition.

if its an older one you have to either reprofile to easier angles or send to Buck and have them put the modern edge 2000 on it, if you want an easy edge to maintain. if you like the wide bevels...see below same setup.....

if it's a newer one.....angles would be around roughly 30 degrees inclusive plus or minus a couple degrees. use a sharpie and coat the bevels, then when using your stone see where youre hitting the edge.....and adjust to getting the edge and maintain those angles through the entire path.
Click to expand...
Yep...sorry.
105b from the seventies. Old school sheath with the flap over the top to secure it.
Just like the one I had as a teen.
Curiously, I don't ever remember sharpening the one I had as a boy.
Now, I'm kinda fanatical about "sharp"
 
toddwell said:
Yep...sorry.
105b from the seventies. Old school sheath with the flap over the top to secure it.
Just like the one I had as a teen.
Curiously, I don't ever remember sharpening the one I had as a boy.
Now, I'm kinda fanatical about "sharp"
Click to expand...
gotcha.

the old one ya had would have been 440c steel and it held a good edge for a long time in that era of steels. plus as a kid you would be relying on the geometry of the knife more than the sharp edge. I never sharpened as a kid and managed to hack and tear though things long after dull.
 
Just going by the sale tag that was on the knife when I bought it...three lines on the blade...
BUCK
110
U.S.A.
looking at your chart...1972 to 1986
got my original knife as a gift in the mid seventies...
 
toddwell said:
hope I can figure out how to post pics...
Click to expand...
As a non-paying member, you will have to use a hosting site. Imgur is one that I use. Free sign up, then you can transfer photos from your phone or camera to the site and put it in an album. Once it's in an album you can select the photo you want to post. Imgur will give you choices for a link to use. Choose BCCode, then, when you have the reply box open you just paste the link in the reply box. You can then choose More Options and then Preview to see that you have the correct image. Then click Post Reply. HTH
 
pjsjr said:
As a non-paying member, you will have to use a hosting site. Imgur is one that I use. Free sign up, then you can transfer photos from your phone or camera to the site and put it in an album. Once it's in an album you can select the photo you want to post. Imgur will give you choices for a link to use. Choose BCCode, then, when you have the reply box open you just paste the link in the reply box. You can then choose More Options and then Preview to see that you have the correct image. Then click Post Reply. HTH
Click to expand...
Aw jeez...I'm stupid, and that all makes my head hurt. other forums, I just click on the pic...
 
toddwell said:
but I can't seem to hone this Pathfinder to my liking. Any tips?
Click to expand...

If it's old enough to be 440C steel then diamond is your best bet for sharpening. (Back in the 70s Buck sold an Arkansas stone that was too soft to sharpen the 440C steel that they were using. I think that led to a lot of people saying "Buck knives are too difficult to sharpen.") 440C was discontinued about 1980 in favor of 425M.
 
Yep, if you get the 440C sharp, you will love it. That makes sense about the soft Arkansas stones not being aggressive enough. Here lately I have really had success with diamond plates for everything from broad-heads to kitchen knives.
 
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