Triton
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2000
- Messages
- 35,970
In the continuing saga of when I lost my pocket knife, I did a comparison of the old solitaire I lost with the new solitaire so generously provided by Jeff of Buck Knives:
First the appearance. The old Crosslock appeared to be a solid no nonsense sort of knife. The new knife is very similar in that regard. The new knife also appears to be designed with utility and reliability in mind.
Second the blade. The blade profiles appear to be very similar. Again, this is a feature I like. When selecting a knife I want one that does not have a fragile tip, and has plenty of cutting surface. Both the old Solitaire and the new Crosslock are very much alike in this regard. I was glad to see that once again the cutting blade did not have any serrations. I know some people really like them, but I would much rather be able to sharpen a knife with a simple whetstone. Of course the new Crosslock is a dual bladed model. I have not had the opportunity to try out the second blade but it appears to be as sturdy and well built as the regular knife blade.
Next the pocket clip. The new pocket clip is a definite improvement over the old clip. Indirectly the old pocket clip on the Solitaires was probably responsible for my losing them. The old clip tended to get caught on things and pulled out from the body of the knife making it not grab as tightly. This could be remedied by bending it back, but the only way to bend it back was to take it off the knife. This required disassembling the knife entirely. This was not an easy process with standard tools because of the way the bolt mechanism was built. The new clip does not appear to get caught on things as easily. Even if the clip does require maintenance it appears that the use of some simple star wrenches will allow me to disassemble it. This is a VAST improvement over the way the old Solitaire is constructed a big thumbs up!
Next the action. One of the things that I loved about my old Solitaire was how easy it was to open and close with only one hand. If I was holding a rope, or a packing case or any other thing that needed cutting while being held on to, it was a simple matter to get my Solitaire out of my pocket, and use the thumb stud to open the knife with one hand. In a similar manner it was just as easy to close the knife. This is not as common as you might think. Almost every quality knife has a thumb stud these days but it’s not always easy to open the knife with one hand. In fact after losing my first Solitaire I purchased a highly recommended competitors knife. To my surprise the handle and thumb stud were configured in such a way that I could not contort my average size hands to open the knife with only one hand. I immediately sent the knife back and purchased my second Solitaire. The new knife was something of a surprise at first I thought that I was having another bad moment where I now owned a knife that I could not open with one hand. However then I noted the fingerstud? (sorry don’t’ know what else to call them) on the back of the blades. Within seconds I was easily able to open the knife with a push of my index finger and a flip of the wrist. Nicely done. I have seen knives with similar finger studs before as well as an “assisted opening mechanism.” I’m glad that the spring loaded assisted opening mechanism was not used in this knifes design as I can see that sort of thing accidentally opening in the pocket and/or leading to legal hassles in some states. I also like the new ridged locking bar on the new version of the Crosslock. It makes it that much easier to shut with one hand without even requiring looking at the knife as the locking bar is readily discernable by touch alone. This is handier then one might think when the user's attention needs to be focused elsewhere.
Next the ergonomics. Initially I was not sold on the new knife ergonomically. The old Solitaires just feel good in the hand. The rubberized strip that is inlaid in the handle provides for a nice sure grip, the handle is a solid handful with no sharp edges. The new Crosslock of course does not have the rubberized grip but rather a series of holes. It does not have that same grippy feel in the hand. Also the all metal handle scale construction lends itself to some hard edges being pressed against the hand when gripping the knife tightly. However, after working with the knife a bit I realized that it probably actually safer then the old version as the holes also provide a sure grip and the finger studs help insure that your hand will not slip down onto the blade when involved in heavy cutting. In all I would probably say that the old design is probably more comfortable although the new design is probably safer.
In summary I would say that Buck Knives has once more done a great job in producing a solid workmanlike knife that I not only will be proud to own and also won’t be afraid to carry and use every single day. To me that is the essence of a good pocketknife.
First the appearance. The old Crosslock appeared to be a solid no nonsense sort of knife. The new knife is very similar in that regard. The new knife also appears to be designed with utility and reliability in mind.
Second the blade. The blade profiles appear to be very similar. Again, this is a feature I like. When selecting a knife I want one that does not have a fragile tip, and has plenty of cutting surface. Both the old Solitaire and the new Crosslock are very much alike in this regard. I was glad to see that once again the cutting blade did not have any serrations. I know some people really like them, but I would much rather be able to sharpen a knife with a simple whetstone. Of course the new Crosslock is a dual bladed model. I have not had the opportunity to try out the second blade but it appears to be as sturdy and well built as the regular knife blade.
Next the pocket clip. The new pocket clip is a definite improvement over the old clip. Indirectly the old pocket clip on the Solitaires was probably responsible for my losing them. The old clip tended to get caught on things and pulled out from the body of the knife making it not grab as tightly. This could be remedied by bending it back, but the only way to bend it back was to take it off the knife. This required disassembling the knife entirely. This was not an easy process with standard tools because of the way the bolt mechanism was built. The new clip does not appear to get caught on things as easily. Even if the clip does require maintenance it appears that the use of some simple star wrenches will allow me to disassemble it. This is a VAST improvement over the way the old Solitaire is constructed a big thumbs up!
Next the action. One of the things that I loved about my old Solitaire was how easy it was to open and close with only one hand. If I was holding a rope, or a packing case or any other thing that needed cutting while being held on to, it was a simple matter to get my Solitaire out of my pocket, and use the thumb stud to open the knife with one hand. In a similar manner it was just as easy to close the knife. This is not as common as you might think. Almost every quality knife has a thumb stud these days but it’s not always easy to open the knife with one hand. In fact after losing my first Solitaire I purchased a highly recommended competitors knife. To my surprise the handle and thumb stud were configured in such a way that I could not contort my average size hands to open the knife with only one hand. I immediately sent the knife back and purchased my second Solitaire. The new knife was something of a surprise at first I thought that I was having another bad moment where I now owned a knife that I could not open with one hand. However then I noted the fingerstud? (sorry don’t’ know what else to call them) on the back of the blades. Within seconds I was easily able to open the knife with a push of my index finger and a flip of the wrist. Nicely done. I have seen knives with similar finger studs before as well as an “assisted opening mechanism.” I’m glad that the spring loaded assisted opening mechanism was not used in this knifes design as I can see that sort of thing accidentally opening in the pocket and/or leading to legal hassles in some states. I also like the new ridged locking bar on the new version of the Crosslock. It makes it that much easier to shut with one hand without even requiring looking at the knife as the locking bar is readily discernable by touch alone. This is handier then one might think when the user's attention needs to be focused elsewhere.
Next the ergonomics. Initially I was not sold on the new knife ergonomically. The old Solitaires just feel good in the hand. The rubberized strip that is inlaid in the handle provides for a nice sure grip, the handle is a solid handful with no sharp edges. The new Crosslock of course does not have the rubberized grip but rather a series of holes. It does not have that same grippy feel in the hand. Also the all metal handle scale construction lends itself to some hard edges being pressed against the hand when gripping the knife tightly. However, after working with the knife a bit I realized that it probably actually safer then the old version as the holes also provide a sure grip and the finger studs help insure that your hand will not slip down onto the blade when involved in heavy cutting. In all I would probably say that the old design is probably more comfortable although the new design is probably safer.
In summary I would say that Buck Knives has once more done a great job in producing a solid workmanlike knife that I not only will be proud to own and also won’t be afraid to carry and use every single day. To me that is the essence of a good pocketknife.