Vantage Select Small is my kayaking knife

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Jan 23, 2011
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I've been a kayaker for almost 18 years. At first, I didn't carry a knife, but after enough incidents with fishing line, I started to. I didn't go out and buy an expensive salt water knife, instead I just used a stainless knife and cleaned it after every use. I've lost a couple of them being upside down for eskimo roll practice, so my choice of inexpensive knives was justified.

Lately, I've used a Mossberg liner lock that has a coated blade and plastic bearings, which is surprisingly well suited for this job. My kayaking buddy had been carrying some garbage overseas folder that he found on the ground. When I asked him where his knife was last month, he had forgotten where it was. We eventually found it in a pocket of his life vest, corroded shut due to neglect. Well, my friend now has the Mossberg (which he was very happy to receive), and I'm calling up the Small Vantage Select for kayak duty.

The Vantage will ride in my life jacket pocket, exposed to spray and immersion if I roll over. At the end of each paddle, I will wash it in fresh water, blow it out, and occasionally oil the joint with mineral oil. I'm looking forward to see how it holds up if I do my part.
 
2TONYB said:
Pics would be good....or better yet, eskimo roll videos.
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Well, here's my kayak:
meridian.jpg


...and here's my Vantage:
Buck_Small_Vantage_Watch.jpg


I'll try to get a video of me rolling with the Vantage clutched between my teeth, LOL.
 
I take it saltwater? As much as I love my vantages, id be using a grip h20 or spyderco salt. I am curious on how resistant to rust 420hc since I wanna get a pair of the new splizzors. I have my doubts since I had a kershaw with sandvik steel and it was rusted by the end of the trip offshore just from cutting bait
 
This is exactly the kind of test or experience that makes for a good forum. Keep us informed of the Vantage situation. I only did the Ozark roll, you roll over, you get out and either stand up and walk or swim to shore with boat in tow and start from scratch......was a little brisk in late March attempts.......300
 
mars5l said:
I take it saltwater? As much as I love my vantages, id be using a grip h20 or spyderco salt. I am curious on how resistant to rust 420hc since I wanna get a pair of the new splizzors. I have my doubts since I had a kershaw with sandvik steel and it was rusted by the end of the trip offshore just from cutting bait
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We'll see how the 420hc holds up to salt water. Like I said, I would have lost a couple of expensive knives already.
 
Here is a update after the first trip:

I did a 4 hour trip in salt water. The Vantage rode in the front mesh pocket of my life jacket. It was exposed to spray coming off my paddle and boat. I used it at lunch to score an orange rind. After the paddle, it stayed 1 hour in a container before it was dunked in fresh water and blown out. I just collected it after leaving it out to dry. My observations:

- The pivot has tightened up; it will only deploy 2/3 of the way via flipper.
- Finish on the blade seems dulled, with very minor staining.
- no signs of rust or corrosion
- edge is still sharp

I have no intention to oil or clean the knife right now. I want to see how it fares after a prolonged period of this use.
 
My large Vantage is hard to deploy all the way with the flipper alone. It has been that way since new, no salt involved. I'm delaying loosening the pivot screw to see if it wears in.
 
Pondoro2310 said:
My large Vantage is hard to deploy all the way with the flipper alone. It has been that way since new, no salt involved. I'm delaying loosening the pivot screw to see if it wears in.
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My Vantage flipped great before kayak duty. That's OK, I can still deploy using the hole. I will lube/clean periodically, but I want to see what happens if I don't baby it.
 
Update after trip #2:
  • 2 hour trip in calm water with minimal salt spray
  • gear dunked in fresh water as usual
  • pivot was very tight after knife dried. Sprayed with WD40 and loosened pivot screw a little
  • 420HC not showing any signs of corrosion, holding edge.
 
Trip #3 was a 4 hour paddle in Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The Vantage was hit with salt spray and sat in a closed container with wet gear for another 3 hours before it was washed my usual way. The knife looks great. After giving the pivot a hit of WD40 last time, it still flips open with ease. As far as I'm concerned, the Vantange is good to go in this capacity. I will stop posting updates after every outing. The only thing that remains to be seen is how it handles immersion in salt water. I'll check back after some long term use in my kayak. Thanks.
 
After about six months of service, I noticed a little rust at the liners, so I took the Vantage apart. This is what I saw:

vantagerust.jpg


It's not surprising that water got trapped between the scale and the liner, causing this rust. This was really the only part affected by water. The screws, pins, brass washers, and blade, are all fine. I cleaned everything up, gave the liners a nice oiling, and re-assembled the knife, and it's ready for duty again. I will remove the scales for cleaning more often. I'm still happy with how this Vantage is performing.
 
I know you are testing.

But, and this sounds a little crazy, you might try some WD-40 spray after a trip. Give it a good spray to drive out water. Or try Breakfree CLP gun cleaner spray it will likely do the same. Neither will hurt scales. Even a good hot water flush under the faucet might work..
300
 
300Bucks said:
I know you are testing.

But, and this sounds a little crazy, you might try some WD-40 spray after a trip. Give it a good spray to drive out water. Or try Breakfree CLP gun cleaner spray it will likely do the same. Neither will hurt scales. Even a good hot water flush under the faucet might work..
300
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Good ideas, thanks :thumbup:
 
Polish the liners and blade pivot areas with Flitz polish and a paper towel until they are mirror bright and that will give it alot more protection than oil will.I polish/buff all my knives liners with Flitz polish whenever I have them apart to aid in corrosion protection and it works.

For a cheap wax to apply routinely,Johnsons Paste wax is excellent.Just get some JPW on a cloth and wipe the whole knife down,then buff the haze off and its good to go.All I do other than that is hose my knives with WD40 or Break Free CLP whenever I think about it here in fresh water use,no corrosion etc...

As far as dropping the knife in water,I use the oval foam float key chains that are sold in the boat houses.They will float smaller knives,but only slows how fast my larger folders sink, but its close and enough to give me time to get a hand on it.Otherwise I prefer a lanyard.
 
A brief update: to deal with the issue of water being trapped between the scales and the liners, I put vaseline inside all the crevices on the handle scales. Now, no more rust. Buck Vantage is a great little knife!
 
Maybe coating the liners with paint or duracoat or cerakote or something similar would help? I like the Vaseline idea. Simple and effective.
 
Probably my last post on this. I started in Dec 2014, so it's been 20 months, and about 25 kayaking trips, with the knife being dunked in fresh water after every trip. Last Sunday we did rescue practice. I was in the water three times, along with a handful of Eskimo rolls. No doubt the knife was immersed in salt water. Afterwards, I could not clean up right away, so it sat for 10 hours inside a damp bin. There was not a spot of rust on the blade. The 420hc has great corrosion resistance. The only thing wrong was the action was a bit gritty from sand, so I cleaned the knife and it is good as new. It's been 10 months since I put vaseline between the scales and the liners, and no additional corrosion has been noticed.

In conclusion, unless you are sailing around the world and never clean the knife, I'd say just a basic Buck knife is more than up to the job for salt water use. The Vantage Select is one heck of a knife.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
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