The Buck Vantage folding knives rock. They are high value, handsome, low profile, hard cutting designs that make stellar EDC choices. The Vantage also offers the buyer several options in steel and handle material: Vantage Select Large and Small with 420HC and sculpted Zytel scales; the Vantage Pro with S30V and sculpted G10 scales (good looking!); the Vantage Avid with 13C26 Sandvik® and again G10 scales. Large size Vantages have 3 1/4″ (8.3 cm) blades; the Small Vantage 2 5/8″ (6.7 cm) length. The looks on these knives are striking and yet provide solid ergonomics. The sculpted Zytel handles don’t provide a lot of traction but are good looking, light, and thin. The CNC contoured G10 scales on the Pro model add even better looks (the Avid features CNC contoured Charcoal Dymondwood® scales). The blade shape is superb and reminiscent of the uber-expensive Sebenza to me. It possesses a near-perfect form for all kinds of everyday cutting tasks with nice curvature (belly), sweep, swedge, polished flats, and a strong tip. It is hollow ground. Blade finishes are good with the S30V version showing a smoother satin finish with less pronounced striations. Any of the three steels offered should be excellent in role as well and I have been happy with the performance of my other Buck 420HC knives. Many will prefer the S30V Vantage Pro model for just a few more dollars/euros; it is an amazing value at around $40 (price, models all subject to change without updates here). The Vantage deploys fast and smooth with its unassisted flipper design and features an oblong deployment hole for secondary actuation as well. The liner lock design is thin and adequately strong and produces a very thin carry knife in pocket…another big advantage (or vantage!) to the design. Lockup is tight and solid in all directions in all models used and examined. Another homerun in design department is the deep carry, low profile, polished, high strength pocket clip: 10 out of 10. This is the best EDC pocket clip design I’ve seen. If its carry tension (against the pocket) is minimal, it is easy to rectify with removal of the Torx screws and do a little tweaking of the clip (I did). Carry weights are reasonable at 4.0 oz for Vantage Select Large, 2.4 oz Vantage Select Small, and 4.4 oz for Vantage Pro (G10 adds some micro ounces). As shown in the video however, blade centering in handle seems to be a quality control issue with current Buck Vantage Knives and needs to be corrected; some models have the blade rubbing the liner. These knives will be sent back to Buck for service. But if Buck can square this issue away, the Buck Vantage is an amazing design and value achievement for this quintesscential American knife maker. Already it is a fast seller in their line and I predict it will be one of their most popular models ever. And even as it stands now, it achieves impressive ratings from me and enters into my BEST EDC playlist. /////////////////////////// Nutnfancy LIkability Scale: 10 out of 10 (price, centering problem fixed) /////////////////// Music: http://www.partnersinrhyme.com
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office,
The world is full of ridiculous “survival” tools. But these aren’t them. Growing out of the “Companion” card tools, the company ToolLogic has expanded into making some interesting multi-function knife designs. Their upsides are well-designed and perfectlysized blades, lightweight, quality construction, fast deployment, tight lockup, good clip, and useful features. The piggyback tool design is well executed in polymer and it just works. All this at a very reasonable price. Downsides might be lack of ultimate strength, a lower quality 420J2 SS, and coarse serrations. However for a mere $20 to $25 the ToolLogic SL blades can make for useful EDC blades with additional features that might come in handy.