Vantage

stevekolt

stevekolt

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Jan 9, 2007
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This is just a post to see how many folks would be interested in seeing Buck add the Vantage to their "Build A Custom Knife" section. Different steels, sides...I would LOVE to be able to order a few of those. Who's with me?
 
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Yes I have two of the large size pros and a small pro. The small was my first vantage, I liked it very well but sometimes I needed a bit more blade and handle so I got the large. It was perfect for my work knife. Then SK came out with the Maverick 20cv and brown micarta and I jumped on it. It’s been my main edc ever since along with my 303. The 20cv is awesome and stays sharp forever. I would like a little more texture to the handle though. So yes a custom shop vantage would be excellent!
 
Love the Vantage. I’d love some more customization for sure. i’d also love a TI/g10 framelock version. Also one without the flipper.. such a great model
 
revnewk said:
I'm definitely in! Best EDC Buck makes, in my opinion. Both sizes. Amazing clip. Would love the options of different scales and steels.
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I'm surprised there aren't 3rd party scales available. Maybe Buck owners won't upgrade scales like Spyderco owners do.

Biochemdawg said:
Love the Vantage. I’d love some more customization for sure. i’d also love a TI/g10 framelock version. Also one without the flipper.. such a great model
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A flipper really should flip well. I have an older Vantage that flips ok. Several others are not so good. I would be fine with the flipper tab going away. Or them making it flip better. I think a good start would be getting rid of the nylon washers.
 
David Richardson said:
I'm surprised there aren't 3rd party scales available. Maybe Buck owners won't upgrade scales like Spyderco owners do.


A flipper really should flip well. I have an older Vantage that flips ok. Several others are not so good. I would be fine with the flipper tab going away. Or them making it flip better. I think a good start would be getting rid of the nylon washers.
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ive removed the flipper off a few of the large versions. I tend to carry the large more. I have an Avid that flips like a dream, also a select that flips well. All the small models seem to flip okay. The SK version in 20cv came on bronze and it flips very well. I do prefer to alter them now so the 3 main vantages I carry are without the flipper tab and opening up access to the thumb hole.

*had to edit for better context
 
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Biochemdawg said:
ive removed the flipper off a few of the large versions. I tend to carry the large more. I have an Avid that flips like a dream, also a select that flips well. All the small models seem to flip okay. The SK version in 20cv came on bronze and it flips very well. I do prefer them now without the flipper tab and opening up access to the thumb hole.
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I thought they still have the flipper tab. I'm sure they do.
 
Biochemdawg said:
ive removed the flipper off a few of the large versions. I tend to carry the large more. I have an Avid that flips like a dream, also a select that flips well. All the small models seem to flip okay. The SK version in 20cv came on bronze and it flips very well. I do prefer them now without the flipper tab and opening up access to the thumb hole.
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Check your SK blades version. I have two of them. The both have a thin nylon washer between two bronze washers on each side of the blade. I suspect the extra bronze washer is to make up the difference of thinner blade stock, but there may be other reasons. I have to admit to not understanding enough about knife making to know when/why to use multiple washers vs. one thicker washer.

If I recall, my other Large Vantages have 1 bronze + 1 nylon on each side. I can check tomorrow.
 
David Richardson said:
I think a good start would be getting rid of the nylon washers.
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OMG, Buck should switch to bronze washers across its entire product line. What would this cost, 50 cents a knife at most? So worth it. My RAT II with bronze washers flips sooooo much better than any of my Vantages, and it’s not even designed as a flipper!
 
Roamad said:
OMG, Buck should switch to bronze washers across its entire product line. What would this cost, 50 cents a knife at most? So worth it. My RAT II with bronze washers flips sooooo much better than any of my Vantages, and it’s not even designed as a flipper!
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I don't care for nylon either but in all honesty I don't know of if metal on metal has less friction than metal on nylon. Blade weight and detent have more to do with flipper action than pivot material. Bad detent makes a knife hard to flip. Too much and the initial push is hard but knife flies open.
 
All of my vantages flip very well. I did adjust the liner lock tab on my sk version and that made it much better. I think the washers that are being referred to as plastic are probably teflon. If you use oil on teflon or plastic it makes it more sluggish. I just wash and dry then apply dry wax type lube and it’s slick. The only oil type lube I apply is to the detent and lock tab where it slides along the side of the blade away from the washers. I like nickel anti-seize there, it seems to work best and it is water and dirt resistant. I use a toothpick to put just a very small speck and then rotate the blade to spread it along the slide radius. It’s almost like a bearing flipper.
 
Roamad said:
OMG, Buck should switch to bronze washers across its entire product line. What would this cost, 50 cents a knife at most? So worth it. My RAT II with bronze washers flips sooooo much better than any of my Vantages, and it’s not even designed as a flipper!
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I just finished checking my 13 Vantages - various versions made between 2010-2019. They all have bronze washers except the 2014 Vantage Force. It has clear plastic or nylon washers and in all honesty, it flips as good as any of the others. I disassembled 4 of the most sluggish ones and cleaned, oiled and fine tuned the pivots. They all have amazingly similar actions now and I would say that I have no bad ones and no great ones. They are mediocre at best. I agree with Mak that a weak detent is a problem and I believe contributes to the Vantage line having incomplete flips. I also think the liner locks are quite strong and put too much force on the detent ball, resulting in too much friction between the ball and blade, slowing down the flipping action.

I would definitely be interested in seeing the Vantage in the custom shop!
 
Do your Vantages with bronze washers also have nylon as well? I agree the detent is an issue. I had not considering the liner pressure - that's likely a factor as well.
 
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