Some comments on my new Buck Vantage Force Pro

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zippin44

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Aug 13, 2007
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I've wanted a Buck Vantage for a long time because every time I saw it in the store, I thought the design looked very ergonomic. However, every time I picked it up and examined it, I thought it was expensive for what you were getting. I'm still looking for the full size edc holy grail and ended up buying a Spyderco Para Military 2 a while back. Unfortunately, while I think that knife is bombproof, when you are doing tough cutting into wood, for example, the compression lock on the top of the handle really digs into the thumb groove at the base of your thumb. I also think the constant curve of the blade edge is not the greatest cutting shape.

So yesterday I plunked down over a hundred bucks for a Buck Vantage Force Pro with the blue-black G-10 scales and black S30v blade. I'll comment on the Vantage line later, however, here some immediate observations. I had 5 of the same model, 847BLS-B, to choose from. Most of them had very late lock up, so they were out. All of them had rather stiff and slow deployment but I'm hoping that improves over time. None of them had any side to side blade movement when opened. However, when I got home, I noticed that when the knife is closed, you can easily move the tip of the blade to touch the steel liners. So what's happening already, is that as you flick it open with your thumb, the tip to belly section can ride along the inner edge of the steel liner resulting in scratches and a dull front of the blade. WTF? THis is a hundred dollar knife! Pretty much every time you try to flick it open quickly, the blade wipes the liner edge. I love the ergos on this knife - the shape, the contoured and grippy G-10, the blade shape - but the blade movement is definitely a deal killer. And, Buck advertizes this knife as a super strong self defense knife. Really? Lastly, I clipped the knife to my pocket and low and behold the black coating is coming off all over my pants! Geesh! So I'm curious what others have found with this knife? BTW, the knife came very sharp!

Now, about the line up. Buck has this model line so well stratified it's uncanny. For example, I usually like Sandvik better than S30v, but will say I have never had S30v from BOS, so that remains an unknown. I tried to find a model I liked with the Sandvik, but couldn't make it work. For example, I definitely wanted the back space filler strip and you can only get that on the higher end S30v models. I almost went for the Sandvik model anyway, but then discovered that is you want the stronger liner lock you have to get one of the S30v models anyway. And then, if you want the blue-black contoured G-10, you have to take the black blade. Hopefully, the black blade coating doesn't wear off on my pants like the coating on the clip is doing.

So there you go. I really don't know if this knife is going to work out. I'm not going to spend an hour sharpening the blade just to have the liner f it up. Anyone have any comments that might help?


Looking for a left-handed large Sebenza preferably with micarta or some other inlay
 
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All knives I've ever owned when closed you can make the tip touch either liner.If it scrubs when you flick it open, then don't flick it open.
 
This thing rubs with little sideways force. I compared to a cheap Gerber, a Spyderco Native, a Benchmade - shure they will rub, but nowhere near this easily. Do you have a Vantage? How easily does yours rub? Is yours a black blade or black clip? Is your coating simply rubbing off?
 
All my EDCs do not rub the liner when flicked open:Enlan EL01, EL02, Navy k631, Sanrenmu 764, Spyderco Resilience.

Having said that, the blade grind if done correctly 30-40 degree inclusive) should prevent the edge making contact with liner, even if the side rubs the liner.

Try adjusting the pivot tightness?
 
First off, I am a big fan of Buck knives. That said, I have an Avid and a Pro sitting in the drawer as a reminder that all that glitters is not gold. I can confirm all that the OP says in my knives and add that neither one will center. If you tighten the pivot enough to center the blade, it is next to impossible to deploy. If you loosen the pivot to allow proper deployment, the blade rubs the liner. I really wanted to like these knives, especially for the Bos S30V on the Pro. Yes, I can send them in and I will be well taken care of, but I expected more of the line.
 
I'm a big fan of the Vantage line, but..., everyone I've gotten has had issues with either blade centering, or lockup(being late, but still solid). Still like 'em a lot though for some reason!

Zippin, try completely disassembling it, then putting it back together. For whatever reason this has helped of few of mine with the centering issues.

Either way, if anyone isn't happy with their's shoot me an email.., I probably buy it off ya if I don't have that one already!! :D
 
I had a problem with blade centering on my regular Vantage Pro, but quickly solved it by disassembling it and bending the liner a bit to the other side. The stiff liner causes the off-center blades. I oiled the pivot and washers, put it back together and it's a dream now. It flicks open very easily, very smoothly and it's perfectly centered. When I get back home I'll check if the blade would rub the liner when opened, but I don't think it will.

Could someone explain the problem with a "late" lock-up in liner locks to me? My liner does go pretty much all the way over to the other side of the blade, but I don't see any problem with that. It seems that I'm more afraid of an early lock-up, I always think it might disengage a lot more easily.
 
Galeocerdoshark said:
Could someone explain the problem with a "late" lock-up in liner locks to me?
Click to expand...

Well, over the course of months or years, and with thousands of deployments, that interface can wear a little causing the lockup to become more and more "late". Eventually it gets so late that its loose and you have no lockup at all. With "early" lockup, you have more years of service ahead of you. I think thats the primary reason people prefer early lockup.

Zippin, as for the black oxide rubbing off, if you rub the black oxide real good with a paper towel, you will remove that excess black oxide and it will no longer rub off on your pants or hands.

I have grown more and more fond of the Vantage lineup, but think it really excels at the low end of the price range where these issues like blade centering can more easily be ignored. Its easier to ignore with a $20 Select than an $80 Force Pro.

Edit: ok, its not so easy to ignore. Even a $20 knife should function properly. :)
 
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I have had horrible experiences with Buck QC. Every Buck I have ever purchased has had some pretty major defects, from grinds so bad they went over the top of the knife, to full on liner contact, to iffy locks, to springs so weak you could wrist flick a slipjoint. There reputation pointed to me just having bad luck, but after 5-6 total failures, I am pretty much done with the company. Shame too, because I like a lot of their designs. Sucks to hear this about one of their more expensive offerings, I was wondering if the reason my Bucks have sucked is because I tend to by cheap with them ($30 or less). Knowing they have the same failures on their high end designs probably just saved my a good chunk of change on buying one of their Vantage Force Pro's.
 
zippin44 said:
Looking for a left-handed large Sebenza preferably with micarta or some other inlay
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I bought that same exact Vantage model for a gift. I played around with it for a day or so before I sent it and it didn't have any blade/liner problems. Sounds like you may have got a lemon.

Hey man, If you're a lefty why are you messing around with that RH buck? Yea, go get yourself that lefty seb, you'll never regret it. Well not until you have like seven of them and you look back and say "I guess I shouldn't have bought that first one"
 
I recently acquired a vantage pro, and there are a lot of things I don't like....

For starters, I see what you are saying about the blade hitting the liner easily. Its very hard to find the perfect tightness where you can still flick it open with ease and not have the blade touch the liner. In fact, I'm not sure I have ever been able to find that perfect medium.

The lock up is very, very late on my Vantage. I think that the lock is actually touching the steel liner on the opposite side.

It's also way to heavy for my liking and the pocket clip rides too deep in my pocket that I have a hard time taking the knife out of my pocket quickly. I don't like carrying the vantage.

I was recently cutting some weeds in my garden with my vantage and when I was finished the blade had horrible up and down movement. You can shake it up an down and you can hear the blade moving back and forth. I contacted Buck about the problem along with a few other minor fit and finish problems and they told me to send it on. I'm hoping that they do in fact replace the knife for me.

I think for $60, they are over priced. I happened to get mine for $40, which I think is a great deal seeing that it uses G10 and s30v though I still don't like it. I have decided that I will not be buying another Vantage.

Good luck with your force pro,
-orangish ducktape
 
A.P.F. said:
First off, I am a big fan of Buck knives. That said, I have an Avid and a Pro sitting in the drawer as a reminder that all that glitters is not gold. I can confirm all that the OP says in my knives and add that neither one will center. If you tighten the pivot enough to center the blade, it is next to impossible to deploy. If you loosen the pivot to allow proper deployment, the blade rubs the liner. I really wanted to like these knives, especially for the Bos S30V on the Pro. Yes, I can send them in and I will be well taken care of, but I expected more of the line.
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This has been my experience as well.
 
I have 7 Vantage models.

The Pro seems to lockup in the middle when flicked open, but as soon as you apply any force against blade it goes all the way over. I've never used it, been meaning to sell it. No vertical play, but still. My understanding that a late, even maximally late, lockup is not a repair issue unless there is play.

The one Force Model (Avid) I bought sucked. Late blade lockup, but worse, just wouldn't flip open worth a well, flip.

Had a pretty bad run of luck with Bucks in general over the last couple years, so while I was sending in two other knives with probs, sent the Pro Avid in just to see if they'd replace it. They did, came back with one with same lockup, and within 6 months was all the way over and had developed vertical play. I had also buffed off the black coating around the pivot to see if would improve flipping, nope.

Anyway, so I send the second one back in -- I had put note in there that I'd be happy with regular Avid, if I could have the aluminum scales on it, so that's what they did. I have a hybrid, non-coated Sandvik steel but Force aluminum scales, and black pocket clip.

No real joy on the others I had sent in either, btw.

But I do like this Vantage, and EDC it, but what a roundabout way to get it, eh?

- OS
 
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I just sent in an avid to Buck because the blade was rubbing the linner. When you would adjust the pivot screw the blade would get too tight to open. Anyway, I asked them if they would either fix it or send me a Pro and I would pay the difference. I actually just received the knife today. They sent me a Pro at no extra cost. I wouldn't say the blade is centered on the new one, but it's not touching the liner; which I'm fine with.


Anyone know why this is such a problem on these knives? It's certainly. It an isolated incedent. Is it a design flaw, bad part, what is it?
 
Same problems here with an Avid and a Pro, but I still like them just don't love them. Pretty inexpensive considering what your really getting, at least for me I paid in the mid 30's for the Avid and 70 for the Pro Vantage Force. I ended up taking them apart and reseating the whole knife making sure that when I reassembled it the blade was centered. So after a little work both of the blades are nearly centered and have no issues at all with the blade rubbing the liners and both flick open quite easily albeit with a little wrist help.

Should I need to do that on a brand new knife? No I don't think so, but IMO for the price it ain't bad and maybe worth the little work. Now if I spent a lot more and got this kind of quality it would go back in a heartbeat, for me you start getting in the 100 dollar range and it should get to you in better condition.
 
Err... buy the $20 model? I don't seem to have any of the problems I'm reading here. It's the first minute of the video.
[video=youtube;JeWd2t_LZbk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeWd2t_LZbk[/video]
 
newknife said:
I just sent in an avid to Buck because the blade was rubbing the linner. When you would adjust the pivot screw the blade would get too tight to open. Anyway, I asked them if they would either fix it or send me a Pro and I would pay the difference. I actually just received the knife today. They sent me a Pro at no extra cost. I wouldn't say the blade is centered on the new one, but it's not touching the liner; which I'm fine with.


Anyone know why this is such a problem on these knives? It's certainly. It an isolated incedent. Is it a design flaw, bad part, what is it?
Click to expand...
I think that they need to redesign the pivot on these knives. While I love my two Buck Vantages (Select Paperstone and Pro), they both have the same problems.

Sure, you can tighten the pivot to center the blade, but then it's tougher to flip it open. And being a lefty, using the thumb hole is nearly impossible to access due to the design of the liner lock; which is right in the way. Sure, I could add a ziptie to the thumb hole, but to me, that would ruin the clean Tom Mayo-ish lines on them. :(
 
Well, thanks everyone. I think you all echoed my sentiments about this knife. BTW, the blade on my knife is centered when closed. When the blade is extended there is no play (yet?), but when the knife is closed, the blade is almost flapping in the breeze, so when you flick it open (it's actually too tight to "flick") it wipes the liner.

Not sure if I'm going to return it or not. I love the handle shape. It just feels great, and it's a great looking knife with the contoured blue-black G-10 and really nice blade shape. Beyond that meh - it's totally not worth the $100 I paid for it ( the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is the same price and 10x better). And what rubs me the wrong way is that it's advertized as a super strong last ditch self defense knife. No way! I feel like Buck is taking advantage of people here - not good.
 
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