Problems with My First Buck

J85909266

J85909266

Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,531
I recently purchased a Buck Strider 880T, which is the large tanto version of the very thick, heavy duty, high dollar Strider models they made. I bought it because I wanted a really stout, large folder with a very thick blade and tough blade shape for rougher stuff since I mostly own a bunch of thin bladed slicers.

I bought the knife brand new, and out of the box I was impressed. Bigger and stouter than I had even hoped for. Once I opened it up and really looked at it though, I noticed some critical problems.

The first issue was with the edge grind on the secondary tanto tip edge. It was ground way off to one side at a very obtuse angle making it half chisel ground and completely dull and usable. This was definitely a new knife and the grind was factory. I attempted to maybe sharpen it a bit, but I quickly realized that this would need to real grinding or serious time and skill and a good stone, none of which I really have. This was a minor issue compared to the others, though.

The blade also has almost no ball detent retention keeping it closed. Just by lightly moving it a bit, the blade comes swinging almost all the way open, which is completely dangerous and makes it unpocketable. I tried tightening the pivot a bit, but the blade immediately went off center and became very difficult to open, and the pivot loosens after a few openings again anyway. Very disappointing.

The last and most critical issue is that the blade fails to lock when opening the knife with regular force. The liner just smacks the side of the tang, and the blade can be pushed closed with little force. You have to really fling the knife open to get it to engage, and even then, the liner just sort of digs into the tang because it isn't shaped right to match up with the slope of the tang at all. If you tighten the pivot to stop the closed blade retention issue, the knife won't lock up at all.

This being one of the more expensive folders I own and my first experience with the company, you can imagine my disappointment. I'm not bashing Buck, and I haven't given up on them as a company, I was just wondering if this kind of thing was consistent with this model, and if there's any hope for the knife, with it being discontinued as I understand it. I don't have any experience with the warranty Buck offers. I plan on calling them today or tomorrow to see what I can get done. I could also take some pictures if anybody cares to see them.
 
Everybody here loves pictures.
Sorry to hear you are having trouble but it ain’t so bad. Buck has the best warranty you will ever find. If you send them the knife it will get fixed. Send an email to Joe Houser, the moderator on this site. He will see you right.
 
The striders are some of the toughest knives on the planet,Buck will take care of all your problems,they are great.Joe Houser here on these forums is the man when it comes to satisfying customers,he is untouchable.

Just give them a chance,any company can sometimes make a bad product,none stand up like buck and make it right.good luck!
 
I've got an 880SP, locks up like a vault, opens with a flick of the wrist (which I like)...I thinned the edge out some. My only complaint, or observation, is that it's a tad larger than I like to carry in a pocket. I found a nylon magazine pouch that fits perfectly (Bianchi, I think), so inadvertent opening isn't a problem. Maybe if you worked it a bit it would settle in; if not send it back to Buck. They'll do you right.
 
I'm going to contact them and send it in. I like the knife, I just don't feel comfortable using it as it is. I'll try to get some pictures over the weekend.
 
Sorry to hear about the issues with that knife. Not the best first impression. If its not too late, make sure you put my name on the outside of the box, in big bold letters, so I can walk your knife through the process. We will make it right for you.
 
Joe Houser said:
Sorry to hear about the issues with that knife. Not the best first impression. If its not too late, make sure you put my name on the outside of the box, in big bold letters, so I can walk your knife through the process. We will make it right for you.
Click to expand...

Too cool for school :cool:



J85909266...
When you address the package with your knife in it, do not write "BUCK KNIVES INC".
Instead write "BKI" and the street address.
This helps reduce tempting the civil servants of the mail service.
Like Joe said, write his name on it too.
 
Joe Houser said:
Sorry to hear about the issues with that knife. Not the best first impression. If its not too late, make sure you put my name on the outside of the box, in big bold letters, so I can walk your knife through the process. We will make it right for you.
Click to expand...


Joe, my Buck 110 with BG-42 fell through a hole in my back pocket in my kitchen on Sunday. I was too lazy to pick it up right away, and now I can't find it. Will you come over to my house and help me look for it?

:D
 
Thanks for the tips, guys. You've been very helpful. I will be sending the knife to Buck some time this week. I really appreciate the responses.
 
In your shipping address, don't use Buck Knives, Use B.K.I or something sinilar.
The word Knives could draw exploration of the contents, and the knife may walk. And not the kind of walk any of us are looking for.
 
Rhino's comment almost made me fall off my chair, and everybody needs a healthy laugh from time to time. Buck will indeed make good on any problem there might be relating to quality control. The company is always tops in my book.
 
I promised pictures, so here they are before I send it off today:

PICT4222.jpg

Here's the side of the tip that actually has an edge ground on it, albiet an uneven one.

PICT4224.jpg

As you can see, the opposite side has no edge ground at all. The shininess you see is where I sharpened away the bead blasting a bit attempting to fix it myself.

PICT4221.jpg

Here's a downward view of the secondary edge. You can see the odd slant it's ground at and how uneven it all is. Sorry, it's a bit blurry.

PICT4218.jpg

The blade sitting off center when closed.

PICT4220.jpg

You can see it pretty much touching the liner on the left side.

PICT4225.jpg

Here's the lock up. You can see the liner isn't fit to the tang at all, and the lock up is bad. The tang is actually digging into the softer titanium liner rather than slipping into place.

PICT4227.jpg

And one last better shot of the tang digging into the liner.

I'm sending the knife out today. Thanks again for the friendly and helpful responses.
 
Good pics. Well documented. Thanks for backing up your written report with images.
 
Thanks. I reallly tried to be thorough and respectful. Now, I'm just waiting to see what kind of warranty Buck will repay me with. What they send back will be well documented as well.
 
Don't fret, Buck takes good care of their customers. I had some issues with my own 881 and Mr. Houser really went out of his way to make sure EVERYTHING was fixed.

:thumbup:
 
The knife arrived back with some things fixed, and others not. The lock up is completely fixed, which was the most important thing. The ball detent blade retention when closed is still just too ineffective for me. The blade still swings open with little force, even when the action is stiff. The blade is still a bit off center in the handle, and the grinds are still really sloppy and uneven, even if both sides of the front edge are now sharpened.

The main issues were fixed, which I thank Buck for, but, unfortunately, I just can't get into the knife, so I'm just going to sell it.
 
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