Range series

It’s here. And it’s nice. Surprisingly thin handle, but that’s not a bad thing - I expect it’ll pretty much disappear in the pocket. Handle feels good to me; I don’t have Sasquatch hands, so it’s a good fit. It is ridiculously sharp right now out of the box. Fit & finish and mechanicals are great, I think they really nailed the crossbar lock. Only complaint is a minor one - it’s a bit too drop-shutty for my liking, so I might tweak the pivot down just a smidge. It’s definitely a keeper.

IMG_1442.jpeg
IMG_1443.jpeg
 
Danny Linguini said:
It’s here. And it’s nice. Surprisingly thin handle, but that’s not a bad thing - I expect it’ll pretty much disappear in the pocket. Handle feels good to me; I don’t have Sasquatch hands, so it’s a good fit. It is ridiculously sharp right now out of the box. Fit & finish and mechanicals are great, I think they really nailed the crossbar lock. Only complaint is a minor one - it’s a bit too drop-shutty for my liking, so I might tweak the pivot down just a smidge. It’s definitely a keeper.

View attachment 2989537
View attachment 2989538
Click to expand...
Nice! Mine claims to be out for delivery this afternoon, so we’ll see. Enjoy!
 
pjsjr said:
Tell us about the slick-ness and if you can get good purchase. What about when wet? Thanks
Click to expand...
I’ve cut up a few boxes, including the one it came in, and I feel like I can get a good enough grip on it. Though I can see where folks would prefer a Pro if grip is a concern where and how they’ll be using it. If I thought this one would be seeing heavy and dirty action, I would have gotten a Pro. The air is cool with very low humidity today, so my hands are pretty dry; I think if there would be any problem with the aluminum handle being too slick (for me, anyway), it would have shown today. Don’t know about when wet, though. I don’t typically use knives in the wet, and if I’m expecting to have to do so, I’ll take a much cheaper one before this, like a Sprint Select. My knives don’t usually see any nasty, heavy cutting; I have a couple of fixed blades for shredding up heavy shipping cartons and that kinda stuff. But my pocket knives have a pretty easy life.
 
My green Elite showed up today. I really like it, so far. Smooth action and really sharp. I really like the look and feel of the green aluminum handle. It's a bit larger than I thought it would be, but definitely not a problem.

My only complaint is that the edge angles are quite different from one side to the other. I've had this with about half of the premium steel Bucks I've bought in the last 3 years. Frustrating, but I can live with it.

All in all, I'm impressed with the Range! Here it is next to my Deploy.

20251001-153037.jpg
 
Helped build the homecoming float for my daughter's team tonight. Put the Range to good use and had three separate people comment on how sharp my pocket knife was. The tip is a little screwy due to the uneven edging from the factory, but she's definitely a laser for cutting purposes!
 
Score a point for the USPS! My (lightly) used 791 Range Elite showed up not long before we were heading out to church last night.

I had just a few minutes to swap the clip over to the proper side for us Southpaws, tweak the pivot, and give my first Magnacut blade a few light passes on the medium and fine grits of Buck’s 10” EdgeTek Ultra (three diamond grit) rod.

A few light cutting needs thus far, but nothing crazy.

The fit, finish, and action are excellent - no complaints, at all. The feel? Well, I said from the start that I’ve never liked metal knives. I’m trying to be objective and give this a fair shake so I should give it some time and see if it grows on me. My initial reaction is that it is too slippery to become “my” knife. Too slippery, and too cold and impersonable. But the finish is not as slippery as a Microtech Ultratech, for example. It’s certainly usable - nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just my personal preference. Each of us likes what we like, with no reason needed.

Which brings me to a fork in the road. Which path do I take?

1. Sell it now before I scratch it up.

2. Use it lightly and give it to my son (18 year old college freshman). He loves Buck as I do, but do I want to give him a cold and impersonable knife? Maybe Buck will come out with a Micarta version with a clip point 420HC blade!

3. Swap the Magnacut blade into the Pro Glass Filled Nylon handle to try out the steel without scuffing up the anodized aluminum Elite body.

4. Use it as-is to see if aluminum knives grow on me and if Magnacut can get me over my prejudice against powder metallurgy steel, and don’t worry about re-sale value.

The bottom line so far: it’s an excellent knife whose material selection just doesn’t speak to me. But I said I would give this Magnacut thing a fair shake, so I need to follow through on that. That is the whole reason I bought this knife, after all. :)

IMG_4270.jpeg

IMG_4268.jpeg

IMG_4269.jpeg

IMG_4267.jpeg

IMG_4266.jpeg

IMG_4274.jpeg
 
Culprit99 said:
Score a point for the USPS! My (lightly) used 791 Range Elite showed up not long before we were heading out to church last night.

I had just a few minutes to swap the clip over to the proper side for us Southpaws, tweak the pivot, and give my first Magnacut blade a few light passes on the medium and fine grits of Buck’s 10” EdgeTek Ultra (three diamond grit) rod.

A few light cutting needs thus far, but nothing crazy.

The fit, finish, and action are excellent - no complaints, at all. The feel? Well, I said from the start that I’ve never liked metal knives. I’m trying to be objective and give this a fair shake so I should give it some time and see if it grows on me. My initial reaction is that it is too slippery to become “my” knife. Too slippery, and too cold and impersonable. But the finish is not as slippery as a Microtech Ultratech, for example. It’s certainly usable - nothing wrong with it at all. It’s just my personal preference. Each of us likes what we like, with no reason needed.

Which brings me to a fork in the road. Which path do I take?

1. Sell it now before I scratch it up.

2. Use it lightly and give it to my son (18 year old college freshman). He loves Buck as I do, but do I want to give him a cold and impersonable knife? Maybe Buck will come out with a Micarta version with a clip point 420HC blade!

3. Swap the Magnacut blade into the Pro Glass Filled Nylon handle to try out the steel without scuffing up the anodized aluminum Elite body.

4. Use it as-is to see if aluminum knives grow on me and if Magnacut can get me over my prejudice against powder metallurgy steel, and don’t worry about re-sale value.

The bottom line so far: it’s an excellent knife whose material selection just doesn’t speak to me. But I said I would give this Magnacut thing a fair shake, so I need to follow through on that. That is the whole reason I bought this knife, after all. :)

View attachment 2990129

View attachment 2990130

View attachment 2990131

View attachment 2990132

View attachment 2990133

View attachment 2990134
Click to expand...
Josh
In your situation it seems to me that the handle on that knife is screaming for some attention!! 🤔😊
Just saying. 🤔🍻😎
Might make a world of difference!! 🤩
John 😁
 
jmh33 said:
Josh
In your situation it seems to me that the handle on that knife is screaming for some attention!! 🤔😊
Just saying. 🤔🍻😎
Might make a world of difference!! 🤩
John 😁
Click to expand...
Are you saying it’s like a blank canvas, just waiting to be used?
 
GPyro said:
I'd sell it, or better yet return it.
If you don't love it now, at best you'll learn to "like" it.

In time, Buck will come out with a micarta handle version. You can get one then.
✌
Click to expand...
I agree completely. But I bought this one used - knowing full well the materials weren’t my favorite - for the express purpose of giving Magnacut a try. I’ve intentionally stiff-armed it up till now because of my preference for traditional steels, but decided it was time to take it for a spin and see what I think.

So here goes!
 
Culprit99 said:
I agree completely. But I bought this one used - knowing full well the materials weren’t my favorite - for the express purpose of giving Magnacut a try. I’ve intentionally stiff-armed it up till now because of my preference for traditional steels, but decided it was time to take it for a spin and see what I think.

So here goes!
Click to expand...
It all depends on if you’re a heavy user or not. If you’re just a light, ‘casual’ user like me, you probably won’t notice a difference between MagnaCut and 154CM. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t. Even when I carry mine, they don’t often get used. If you’re a busier cutter, then you may - or may not - notice a difference. It’ll probably come down to which one needs touching up or sharpening more often, because I think they both take a good edge. I honestly can’t give you a good reason why I went with the Elite instead of the Pro, other than being consumed by the idea of Buck’s first crossbar knife, and the possibility that this was the last nice knife I’ll be buying for myself. Because the reality is, I could probably live just fine with D2 or 420HC and never be the wiser.
 
DrMegabyte said:
Got my Range mini today. Midway offered me a 20% off coupon for my birthday and a Range mini at 20% seemed a good idea.

Like it a lot to handle, sharp as all get out .. and ... it seems a bit .. Stiff. I was expecting this type of lock to "swing" easily, making one hand open or close easy, I was thinking if I held it like this, with the lock disengaged, gravity would open it?

Does it just need to be opened and closed a bunch to "loosen" up?
Click to expand...

Followup on this having had my Range Pro Mini for a while ... The opening and closing has become much smoother with use .. I assume a little "self polishing" is going on .. and while it still won't "gravity open" without really loosening the torx screw, I've decided I like it better "as is." I feel it is safer, to not have the blade "flop" out when I release the cross bar. I can open / close it two ways: Gentle way to open is to use the thumb stud. As to gentle closing, I have found an easy way to close "one handed" without having any fingers in the critical path: Hold the handle between thumb and forefinger, using the thumb and forefinger to hold cross lock back, push blade closed with index finger.

Of course, I can also be dramatic and one handed. With the action having smoothed out, a gentle "flick" will open or close it. It does make a nice satisfying "snap" noise when you use the "flick" method, but I have found that the "gentle" open / close is less upsetting to the muggles.

Been opening boxes, cutting loose threads, shaving my arm :cool: ... so far no need for resharpening . so I have no issues with the 154CM. I can't say how the textured nylon handle on the Pro is compared to the Elite's aluminum, but I do have a Mini Spitfire with aluminum handles and I feel the Range Pro is very much more "grippy.". Since the Range Mini is the same size ... the Spitfire Mini is likely going to get retired in favor of my new Range Mini Pro.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top