What's Next???? Recommendation Requested

afishhunter

afishhunter

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Oct 21, 2014
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My Buck "collection" is comprised of a 110, a 301, and a 389.

I need a good fixed blade. The Buck's I am looking at are the 103 Skinner, 192 and 692 Vanguard, and the new 863 Selkirk, since those are with-in my budget, maybe with a little saving up.

Which would you recommend?

What is the difference between the 192 and 692 Vanguard? Both are USA made, and have the same blade length and 420HC steel. I did not spot a gut hook on either one.

Thanks in advance.
 
191 wood handle Zipper
192 wood handle Vanguard
691 rubber handle Zipper
692 rubber handle Vanguard
 
If your thinking on using it for this up coming deer season, I really like Buck's 103. For field dressing work. A 4" blade with good belly and you can find it with up grade steels.
Here's a photo of one for you. The second knife down. DM
 
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Like David said, the 103 is a fantastic skinning knife and it will do a lot of other chores well. Also, I would recommend the little 102 (the one in the middle). It is just right for an all around knife.

Then, you can think of something bigger such as a 119, 124, or 120.
 
afishhunter said:
My Buck "collection" is comprised of a 110, a 301, and a 389.

I need a good fixed blade. The Buck's I am looking at are the 103 Skinner, 192 and 692 Vanguard, and the new 863 Selkirk, since those are with-in my budget, maybe with a little saving up.

Which would you recommend?
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Depends... If you're looking for a functional knife, my recommendation would be to choose a model well suited for that task. If you're looking to add a nice fixed blade to a collection, then select one that you find interesting.

If this is a function driven search, perhaps describe more about what you'll be using it for to get more direct advice.
 
What pinnah said. And my addition is a classic 103 or other hard scale model of the older era, a really good used one before date codes with classic leather sheath. If you want a pocket knife look at the 500 series next. (Pinnah will agree with me on that, right)

300
 
The 113 is a very good knife in both appearance and function. It can also be had for < $50 online.
 
Use will be general bushcraft. I've been leaning to the 103, I've always liked that knife (especially with the black phenolic handle) and its "Nessmukian" (to my eyes, anyway) blade profile.
 
Fishhhunter,

If you are buying for a specific purpose, there are a lot of options. If you are buying for a collection, spend some time and determine a specific focus. There are too many Bucks to just buy what strikes your fancy at a particular moment.

OFF TOPIC: Since your work takes you all over, it would be kind of fun for you to give what state you are in every time you post.

Bert
 
ok, Kansas City, Missouri, over this weekend. My delivery time got changed to Monday, since shipping and receiving was closed on Saturday ... when I was originally scheduled to deliver.
 
afishhunter said:
Use will be general bushcraft. I've been leaning to the 103, I've always liked that knife (especially with the black phenolic handle) and its "Nessmukian" (to my eyes, anyway) blade profile.
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Selkirk.


IMO, Buck's strong suit is hunting knives, not bushcraft knives. I think the 2 main tasks for bushcraft is making wood shavings and batoning. For this, I think the most important issue is blade grind.

This guy lives in northern Japan on an island with unrestricted deer hunting. He has hundreds of deer processing videos and has reviewed a TON of Buck knives. Still, for a combination of hunting and bushcrafting, he's settled on convex ground Bark River knives. This video shows a comparison between a $300 Bark River and a $15 Mora Companion HD and focuses on the convex grind of the blade (which is not the same thing as a convex cutting edge).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLlxWbce4iE&index=7&list=FLByelOYNpINNJtbaLpAfh0Q

I mention this video because my batoning and feather-sticking/wood working experience very much match his. A convexed blade does a much better job than either a hollow grind (the Buck 100 series) and full flat grinds. But I would much, much rather have a full flat than a hollow grind - hence the recommendation for the Selkirk. Another option would be the flat ground Punk.

It would wonderful to see blades like the Punk or Selkirk put in the 100 series handles or the rubberized Bucklite handles. The first would give an alternative to the expensive Bark Rivers and the latter would give a nice alternative to the Moras. Would be even more ideal if Buck would move from full flat to a convex or sabre grind for these knives too.

Till then, I think the Selkirk is your one and only bushcrafty offering from Buck.
 
(i use an axe or hatchet for splitting/chopping wood. I think batoning is severe knife abuse)
 
I've busted more axes (mishits, what can I say) than knives (none) splitting wood. But I'm a klutz and not here to advocate for batoning. Just trying to understand your needs.

Taking batoning off of the table, I find that I strongly prefer flat or convexed grind blades for wood working. I like to have a bit more thickness right behind the apex as it allows me to control the cutting angle better and to curl shavings without the blade "diving" into the grain.

If you want to do a lot of work working and don't like either the Selkirk or Punk, you might look for 100 series knives of the same vintage as the 2 dot 110s. They have an interesting grind that is thicker behind the edge (perhaps Dave Martin can refresh my memory on the preferred correct term - think it's semi-hollow grind but I don't recall). I find they work wood better than the current thin hollow grinds.
 
You need to hold a Vanguard in your hand to see how you like it. As it's a nice model as well. Have you considered a 'Truck knife'? Something like the 119 or 120. DM
 
Ditto on the Vanguard. I rarely go a single Saturday without wearing my 692 (rubber handle). The 192 has the wood handle. The Vanguard is a good, if not the perfect, all around knife. You can gut a deer, carve tent stakes, slice your left over lasagna for lunch or cut the insulation off an old water heater tank. Maybe not in that order though. Since you don't baton with a knife, IMO it would do anything you need. I haven't found anything my Vanguard couldn't do yet.
 
DocT said:
Don't forget a pocket knife for your collection. The 302 is a great choice.
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For pocket carry I have a 301, 371, and 389 ... and a couple ... "interesting?" patterns by Rough Rider, like a large sunfish.
 
I've got that 113 and it's a bad little knife. I used it as my work knife for probably six months.

And I'd also like to add, I think Soleil has the best avatar ever
 
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