Questions for Buck Reps, Re: Diamondbacks

geothorn

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I have a couple of questions about the 3.25 & 4.25 Diamondbacks. Do they have full-length tangs, and, if so, might you have any photos of the Diamondbacks' steel before the handle is added? I could melt the handle off of mine to find out, but that would be neglectful, and I'd rather not have to pay to x-ray them. ;)

Maybe all Buck fixed-bladed knives have full-length tangs? That would simplify things.

GeoThorn

P.S. Does anyone know if the Buck Fieldmate, model 639, has a full-length tang? The Buck Reps might know that answer but someone may have accidentally melted their handle and also, unfortunately, know the answer.
 
I took some pictures of the tang on all three of the knives you mentioned. Send me an email and I will send them to you. They all do have a full tang, meaning it goes all the way to the end of the handle.
 
Thanks for such a quick reply and for rustling up those Diamondbacks and that Fieldmate, without handles, for a photo. It was interesting to see that the Diamondback tangs so closely match the profile of their handles whereas the tang of the Fieldmate more closely resembles a popcicle stick. I guess that those differences result from the changes in 1986 manufacturing processes to those used today, stamping out blades versus laser cut.

Thanks again!
GeoThorn
 
I'm glad you could use those pictures. The engineers evaluate the tang desing on a knife by knife basis, each knife haveing unique characteristics which dictate how the tang will be shaped. Having said that, it is likely that the 639 resembles that of a 119 because they started with a 119 drawing and started modifying it, only changing the tang by adding holes to give the Kraton something to hold onto.
In either case, i can say that returns for a broken tang are rare. Thats a lot of metal going through there and it would take a lot to break. On those that we have gotten back, you can usually see the tank tracks on the handle. :)
 
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