So what exactly is the " edge 2000" ?

[Hickory n steel]

It just dawned on me that the '92 112 I received in the mail on Saturday was made before the edge 2000 was introduced, and in comparing it to my 110's I cannot tell a difference.

What exactly is the edge 2000 ?
I know it's very obviously different than the old 440c blades, but how much does it differ from a 90's blade?

 

[DeSotoSky]

Marketing hype for a change in the included angle.
Here is the blurb on "Edge 2000" from the 1999 catalog.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

My 1991 119 definitely looks, feels, and sharpens like it is more obtuse than my Bucks from 2010 and beyond. My 440C Bucks get plenty sharp, but they are not brilliant slicers due to how thick they are behind the edge.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Marketing hype for a change in the included angle.

So the edge is sharpened at a shallower angle ?

 

[Meadowlark]

Interesting.

I wonder if you send an old 440C knife in for sharpening..........

Will they put an Edge 2000 on it?

 

[Hickory n steel]

Interesting.

I wonder if you send an old 440C knife in for sharpening..........

Will they put an Edge 2000 on it?

You can request it, but they know the old blades and refresh those edges as well.

 

[Meadowlark]

You can request it, but they know the old blades and refresh those edges as well.

Not sure if that was a yes or a no.........can you rephrase it?

 

[Buck Knives Inc.]

If you are not specific on the repair form that you want the old edge we will put the new edge during the SPA or repair.

 

[Meadowlark]

Marketing hype for a change in the included angle.

Are you saying EDGE 2000 was just hype and has no real value?

 

[Meadowlark]

If you are not specific on the repair form that you want the old edge we will put the new edge during the SPA or repair.

Thanks much.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Not sure if that was a yes or a no.........can you rephrase it?

They have the skill to grind / sharpen an older blade the way it originally was or can give it the edge 2000 grind, but I'm not sure which they default to.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Are you saying EDGE 2000 was just hype and has no real value?

they clearly made a change for some practical purpose, but the difference between my newly acquired 112 and my 110's is not obvious to me.
I'm sure there's a functional difference, but it doesn't seem particularly drastic.
I'm not even sure if I could measure the difference without a larger sample of recent knives, because their hand ground edges are often inconsistent these days.
In my experience their regular production knives have always been very sharp and completely functional, just not visually consistent.

 

[Meadowlark]

They have the skill to grind / sharpen an older blade the way it originally was or can give it the edge 2000 grind, but I'm not sure which they default to.

Ok thanks, I get it now.

 

[Meadowlark]

they clearly made a change for some practical purpose, but the difference between my newly acquired 112 and my 110's is not obvious to me.
I'm sure there's a functional difference, but it doesn't seem particularly drastic.
I'm not even sure if I could measure the difference without a larger sample of recent knives, because their hand ground edges are often inconsistent these days.
In my experience their regular production knives have always been very sharp and completely functional, just not visually consistent.

The new ones seem like better slicers, but it may be my imagination.

I think I may have accidently put an EDGE 2000 on a few of my oldest 440C Bucks.........just through years of disgruntled and enthusiastic sharpening at a steeper angle and taking more and more steel off.

 

[Buck Knives Inc.]

The old edges where done on a wheel and a more convex edge at 22-26° per side. The new edge is a flat edge and 13-16° per side. Chuck Buck challenged the factory to come up with a better edge listening to customer feed back that "Buck knives are too difficult to sharpen" With our ability to get 420HC steel as hard as we do it allows a shallower angle but still keep its edge retention and makes it easier to sharpen on a flat stone or sharpener.

 

[Hickory n steel]

The old edges where done on a wheel and a more convex edge at 22-26° per side. The new edge is a flat edge and 13-16° per side. Chuck Buck challenged the factory to come up with a better edge listening to customer feed back that "Buck knives are too difficult to sharpen" With our ability to get 420HC steel as hard as we do it allows a shallower angle but still keep its edge retention and makes it easier to sharpen on a flat stone or sharpener.

That would be pre 90's blades right ?
My '92 112 looks & feels the same as my 2012 110.
I can see a very obvious difference with the 60's-80's blades for sure.

 

[FranklinG]

That would be pre 90's blades right ?
My '92 112 looks & feels the same as my 2012 110.
I can see a very obvious difference with the 60's-80's blades for sure.

I have some early 90's 300 series that feel pretty different from anything after 2000ish. One particular yellow sawcut 301 seems determined to stay blunt. Probably user error. It's the only Buck I've had trouble with, and I don't carry it often. Generally, once enough time has passed for me to forget, I'll slip it in my pocket.

A matching 303 from the same year gets sharp and stays sharp without any problems. That thing is a dream.

 

[DeSotoSky]

Are you saying EDGE 2000 was just hype and has no real value?

I did not intend the word "hype" to be disparaging so much a tongue in cheek jab for marketing's need to put a fancy name on it.
Does a more acute angle on the edge have value? Buck thinks so but ultimately the user will decide.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I have some early 90's 300 series that feel pretty different from anything after 2000ish. One particular yellow sawcut 301 seems determined to stay blunt. Probably user error. It's the only Buck I've had trouble with, and I don't carry it often. Generally, once enough time has passed for me to forget, I'll slip it in my pocket.

A matching 303 from the same year gets sharp and stays sharp without any problems. That thing is a dream.

The slipjoints were definitely different.
'86-'95 had the full flat, then '95-'99 I believe with the high hollow no swedge, and then '00+ for the hollow saber grind we still get today.
with the 300 series I personally think they were better before '00 , but there was a sweet spot back when the consistency and F&F on the blades was still really good.
My '03 305 is great, I still like my 80's-90's examples more but it's a toss up as to which are better.
There's something to be said for the 1st gen in house 300 series blades and for the 2nd gen blades which happen to not have a swedge.

The caveat is that my experience is mostly limited to the 305's which of course have pretty thin little blades, the differences in blade grinds is probably much more of a factor with a larger knife like the 301.

 

[FranklinG]

The slipjoints were definitely different.
'86-'95 had the full flat, then '95-'99 I believe with the high hollow no swedge, and then '00+ for the hollow saber grind we still get today.
with the 300 series I personally think they were better before '00 , but there was a sweet spot back when the consistency and F&F on the blades was still really good.
My '03 305 is great, I still like my 80's-90's examples more but it's a toss up as to which are better.
There's something to be said for the 1st gen in house 300 series blades and for the 2nd gen blades which happen to not have a swedge.

The caveat is that my experience is mostly limited to the 305's which of course have pretty thin little blades, the differences in blade grinds is probably much more of a factor with a larger knife like the 301.

The full flat with brass liners are some of my favorites. I suspect you're right about the difference in blade grinds being more of a factor with 301s. Most of the knives I reach for from that era are 309s or 303s with an occasional 305 or 301 (not the yellow one) thrown in for fun.