SKBlades S35VN/G10 Buck 830 Marksman

I just received the "Operator" aka, Buck Marksman 830 variant with S35VN steel & G10 scales with greatly improved cutout moldings.

First of all, I love the knife! It's not perfect & I'll get to that. But first, this thing flips like butter! I know everyone says that, but it's true.

I was skeptical that it would be easy to close. It seemed odd in pictures & videos. I was wrong to fear that. This knife is easier to close than any other I have, including liner locks, lock backs, or frame locks.

I do believe this is the most comfortable handle in hand of all my knives. I have fairly large hands.

And, it's so lightweight. Compared to my other flippers of the same size, it is one ounce lighter. That's about 20-25% difference. I consider this a positive, but it doesn't have as solid a "thwack" when it opens like my heavier flippers have. But I'm sure this is pure physics; heavy blade = loud thwack.

Now for the negatives. The blade is not centered. It just barely touches a side when coming to rest closed. Not that it causes any friction, but I have much cheaper knives that are perfectly centered. An annoyance.

The edge is ground noticeably more on one side than the other. Now I sharpen all my new knives right out of the box, so this isn't a big deal. But again, my cheaper knives come perfectly even.

I can foresee that this knife will get plenty of use, and may very well be the first knife I grab most of the time.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
MAD777 said:
I just received the "Operator" aka, Buck Marksman 830 variant with S35VN steel & G10 scales with greatly improved cutout moldings.

First of all, I love the knife! It's not perfect & I'll get to that. But first, this thing flips like butter! I know everyone says that, but it's true.

I was skeptical that it would be easy to close. It seemed odd in pictures & videos. I was wrong to fear that. This knife is easier to close than any other I have, including liner locks, lock backs, or frame locks.

I do believe this is the most comfortable handle in hand of all my knives. I have fairly large hands.

And, it's so lightweight. Compared to my other flippers of the same size, it is one ounce lighter. That's about 20-25% difference. I consider this a positive, but it doesn't have as solid a "thwack" when it opens like my heavier flippers have. But I'm sure this is pure physics; heavy blade = loud thwack.

Now for the negatives. The blade is not centered. It just barely touches a side when coming to rest closed. Not that it causes any friction, but I have much cheaper knives that are perfectly centered. An annoyance.

The edge is ground noticeably more on one side than the other. Now I sharpen all my new knives right out of the box, so this isn't a big deal. But again, my cheaper knives come perfectly even.

I can foresee that this knife will get plenty of use, and may very well be the first knife I grab most of the time.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Mine also came with an off center blade and grind difference. Have you been able to tweek it to get it centered?
 
One of the most overlooked folders on the market. I have the original and the tanto. Truth be told the tanto showed up with the lock not engaging at all! A little tuning and it is all good now. I have trouble getting these out of my pocket. Love that they now have super steel model (154cm is no slouch though). My only gripe is soft hardware. Anyone else have an issue with this?
 
If by soft hardware you mean screw heads that strip out then yes. Contacted Buck through their chat line and they sent replacement screws at no charge.
 
I really love this knife as I did the original but I feel the blade grind is a fail, I measure it to be rather inconsistent and the tip is far to thick it really needs some taper to be a proper cutting tool. If I re-profile the edge it will end up looking like a we knives 601 which I like but don't think it works for every knife. The centering on mine was acceptable and I have not had to tighten the pivot while my original took some work before it would stay adjusted. I have to call this knife so close to perfect that it's frustrating.
 
I had to do an awful lot of reprofiling to mine to the edge even & consistent. However, I do love the knife now. Great ergonomics, lightweight for its size. The lock strap always gets a lot of comments from other knife people.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Love the look of this knife with the G10 but that heavy thickness at the tip is sort of a turn off and worry about getting an off center blade too. Might just stick with the aluminum model now.

Are there washers between the bearings and the G10 on this one or do they just run on the G10?
 
I've not taken one apart, but the aluminum handled model did have a washer between the bearing and the handle.
 
Love the look of this knife with the G10 but that heavy thickness at the tip is sort of a turn off and worry about getting an off center blade too. Might just stick with the aluminum model now.

Are there washers between the bearings and the G10 on this one or do they just run on the G10?
Click to expand...

You will rarely see off center blades with the 830. both this version and the aluminum version have washers and bearings in between the blade.
Also if you want to save your jean pockets from being shredded I would suggest the G-10 version, as it has smooth handles without the cheese grader features :)
 
There were a few mentions of off center or uneven ground blades in this thread so was curious how prevalent that was. I guess the heavy tip could be reprofiled. I do like the design better than the aluminum version

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I have the original and the G-10. They are both great knives. A slightly uneven grind occurs on many knives from any manufacturer. Usually I'll use the factory edge until it needs sharpening and reprofile at that time. It's not difficult or time consuming if you have the right tools and a little sharpening savvy.
 
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