Scary sharp Buck Vanguard??!!

U

Uncle Bill

Joined
Aug 24, 1999
Messages
434
I've just finished re-profiling and sharpening my Buck Vanguard (c. 1994), starting with rough stones on a Lansky at 17 degrees and ending up on a Sharpmaker 204 at 20 degrees after getting the bevel thinned out enough (especially toward the tip) with the Lansky.

Well, now I have a question. How did I get this relatively cheap blade so frighteningly sharp? I mean, this thing will cut hair off my arm without the blade touching skin!

Isn't a 1994 Buck Vanguard (not the BG-42 whiz bang, just the plain one) made of some kind of cheapo steel like 420 or something? Isn't this the sort of knife you graduate from and move on up to a Fallkniven or Dozier?

Of course I imagine this edge won't hold that long, but that's no problem as it was really easy to sharpen (once I had it profiled right).

Comments? Have I got a much better than average blade here, or do some of the rest of you have really good Vanguards too?
 
I had a similar experience with my Buck 532 Jig Bone. This was a limited edition before the Edge 2000 series and it probably is the same steel as the Vanguard. I sharpened it on the Sharpmaker 204 and boy, what a surprise. Sharp as the dickens. I mean really, really razor sharp. Pleasantly surprised me that is for sure.

Buck puts out a good product.

------------------
~Greg Mete~
Kodiak Alaska

 
I have a Buck Vangaurd also and it can be sharpened to a razor edge also, and believe it or not it holds an edge extremely well. I use it frequently for dressing squirrels, rabbits, etc. It has always amazed me! I mean just the other day I had it out and it would still shave my arm, and I bet anything I have dressed out 25 squirrels since it was sharpened last. Now that is not to shabby for a $40.00 knife. I love mine and think that a lot of times Buck Knives don't get the respect they deserve.
 
I have always liked the Buck Vanguard. It holds an aedge well and is still easy to sharpen. Its also cheap enough to use without worrying.
 
Ive noticed on my hollow ground bucks that the edge is wicked thin.... this probably has something to do with it
 
In 1994 Buck switched from 425M alloy to 420HC alloy. The intent was to get an alloy that would take a finer edge than 425M. They try and use the best alloys they can find that are soft enough when annealed to be cut with stamping dies. The trouble with this is that vanadium (which gives fine edges) makes alloys tougher when annealed. Buck has worked on their heat treat to try and keep their grain structure fine.

About a year ago they decided to make their final edge bevel thinner to get sharpened easier. This is their Edge 2000 process. Your 1994 model knife was probably harder to sharpen before you thinned down the edge profile. Even though their steel was OK between 1994 and 1998 people were complaining about difficulty with sharpening and maintaining an edge. They traced a major part of this to the thickness of their blade back behind the edge.
 
You can sharpen any steel to an equally good polished edge. I have sharpened blades made of mild steel, silver, and copper, and gotten them all just as sharp as a real knife (of course they wouldn't stay that way if you cut anything with them, but you can shave a few hairs with a sterling silver blade easily enough). You might not get be able to get a blade made of lead really sharp (I haven't tried), but it's no problem with any steel.

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
I think when sharpening a Buck knife before the Edge 2000 you just had to thin the bevel down a bit. I just sharpened my Buck 105 and it was shaving sharp in no time. I think my Sharpmaker 204 has something to do with it. To me it made all the difference in the world.

------------------
~Greg Mete~
Kodiak Alaska

 
I take exception to the idea that you can get any metal equally sharp. Bad stainless steels in particular have such grainy consistencies that they will not take a true razor edge. As you work the carbides break out. My measure of razor sharp is very high, and a little token hair removal doesn't qualify. Badly done 440 alloys don't take nearly as sharp an edge as a high quality AUS-8.

Carbon and mild steels generally have a fine enough grain structure to get razor sharp. High carbon stainless needs careful heat treatment and cryo quenching to come close. I wouldn't dismiss Buck's efforts casually. There is more to a fine blade steel than hardness and toughness.
 
Try finishing with tripoli compound on leather glued to a rigid backing. If I really want to be fanatic about it I do a final polishing with Raybrite A, a sub-micron alumina gemstone polish, also on leather with a rigid backing.

I think it's also important to do the last of the honing with very light pressure before going on to the stropping stage.

Note I specified a polished edge; it is not possible to put an equally good coarse edge on all steels, at least not by the methods I use.

-Cougar Allen :{)
 
Cougar,

What do you think about a leather strop on a rigid back used with knifemakers green rogue for a final edge? Too coarse a compound?

-=[Bob]=-
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top