Vantage flipping terribly

dkb45

dkb45

Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
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I have a Buck Vantage Force Pro that has been given me problems to say the least. Knife came with horrendous play and wouldn't flip without flailing my arm, so is sent it in to be repaired. Knife came back sharpened and unchanged. So I call back and get it sent in again, and now that it is back they just replaced the whole knife (thanks on that, the original sucked), but I have a new issue- the blade flips like crap.

I can get the knife to flip open, but I can't without a relatively hard wrist flick. I tried taking the knife apart and cleaning to no avail, and have tried adjusting the pivot. Is it flipping so terribly because of the blade coating? I can take it off where the washers are in contact if need be. Should it not be flipping smoothly? I know the lock isn't too strong, and I know the detent is adequate, so is it just that coating?
 
The best thing you could do is take it apart and clean it and if it still sucks polish the pivot area with some 1000 grit sandpaper.
 
For what it's worth, I own 5 Vantages, 3 of them 847's and they all came out of the box difficult to flip. Given a little time and patience though, each one eventually loosened up without any alteration and now flip easily with just a slight flick of the wrist. They are not assisted openers so some wrist action is to be expected.
 
My vantage forces have always been more difficult to flip than my vantages. I believe it to be caused by a combination of the use of nylotron washers and the blade coating. What worked for me was polishing the washer and detent tracks on the blade with some 2000 grit sand paper and mothers mag, then cleaning, reassembling, and lubing the knife. Don't over tighten the pivot otherwise you'll be compressing the washers and making it much more difficult or even impossible to open.

Vantages do come with a slightly rough action out of the box, but after a little breaking in and some lube, mine have become nice and smooth. My regular vantage flips out without needing a wrist flick, but my vantage force still needs a light flick to flip open.

Good luck! Let us know how the knife turns out!
 
I'm going to wait until my Worksharp arrives next week to carry the Vantage. Edge came entirely too acute (the edge was around 20° inclusive) so I need to get that put closer to 30° inclusive, and I won't spend a whole weekend on my stone to get a new edge on.

Before I gave the Vantage a break (tons of micro chipping on the edge) the action did start to smooth out. I likely will take some sandpaper to the pivot to remove the coating there.
 
I think what the others have said is correct. Clean the pivot, sand any rough spots, and break in. Lube is key, especially on the detent groove. Here is a video I made on tuning the Vantage; it's good for people who haven't fiddled with their Vantages before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLKjOhgZ8Vw
 
I have two Vantages, a Paperstone Vantage and a Vantage Avid. Both of mine flip with just a snap of the finger. I centered the blade on both of them and oiled the pivots and after a few times of opening them they flipped fine with just my finger.
 
Of the three I have experience with first hand (one my own), none of them have smooth actions. All are gritty, catchy, and require a heavy flick. I don't think it's just pivot you have to clean up, but the detent as well.
 
Surprisingly, the detent and track on mine is perfect. The coating on the blade just screws with the flipping action. I will eventually get around to sanding the washer contact area, but it is already breaking in nicely.
 
My Vantage Force doesn't flip nearly as well as some of the ones I've seen in videos, but I chalk it up to being brand new and I'm just giving it that "break-in" period. We'll see how it feels after another 800 flips ;)
 
It has a new wonderfully sharp edge, and got two drops on oil on the pivot (one on each side) of mineral oil, and now it is already feeling better. I guess the coating under the washers was just REALLY rough at the start, but it is smoothing out now. This is my first knife with a coating and a flipper, so I was kind of stumped.
 
Did some polishing with 500 then 1000 grit sandpaper and it now flips pretty well. Not perfectly, but it doesn't really require wrist action now to flip open. The coating really does screw with flipping it.
 
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