Metacarpels,
Variation is present in every manufacturing process. Production shops fight this on a on-going basis. Anything from a different operator on an operation, to time spent in a tumbling media operation, variations in shop air pressure, etc. All these things will cause a variation in the product. The Quality department is the keeper of the standards on how much variation is allowed, and it is our responsability to help keep the out-going product consistent. Believe me when I tell you this is no easy task. We here at Buck strive to make each knife consistent with the next.
Lets look at a couple of the examples you raised..
sometimes ill see knives that have deep cut thumbnail grooves and others with real shallow cut grooves
The 1st cause of variation of this feature comes from the actual cutting of the notch. As each blade varies a little in final thickness, the depth will vary also. Another cause of variation on this process is that the blade travels to the cutter, so differences in cutter size, travel length and shop air pressure can cause deep or shallow notches. That covers the variation in this process. The blade then goes to hollowgrinding. On the hollowgrind, you will have variations in the final edge thickness and height of the hollowgrind cut. Since the nail notch is cut into the blade before the hollowgrind, These variations cause more or less material to be removed, thereby causing a variation in the depth of the nail notch. So you can see that cutting in a notch on a blade is subject to a few causes of variation.
some blades will be polished fully or have a stonewash type look, and others will be polished everwhere except where the V grind down to the edge is which is quite rough and has lots of visible grain.
The blades are polished in several different ways depending on make/model. Some are tumble polished only. Some are mirror polished. Time in the tumbling media will affect the final finish. Others are Tycroed on a wheel during final assembly to give a brushed finish. Different operators / different pressure applied by the operators will affect this finish. The v grind is not polished on purpose. During our studies leading up to Edge 2000, we found that a polished edge will actualy be rounded making it hard to sharpen by the consumer. Belt wear will affect the depth of grain on the edge.
What ive noticed in our buck line that we get in is some variations in quality from knife to knife that is rather extreme
Every manufacturer fights this. Also the lots you receive may not have been manufactured at the same time/day/month etc...
None of this should be taken as an excuse for variation in our product. Just trying to point out that fighting variation is no easy task, and requires constant vigil by all departments / Operators and a stable communication of Quality parameters. I know from my years here at Buck, that we are always looking for ways to reduce it.
I hope this helps..
Jeff
