112 LT. Really guys? You had to do this to the classic 112 design? Ugly as sin.

knarfeng

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I am partial to Buck knives. I've carried and used them since the 60's. Most of you also know that I am a mod in the Traditional Forum. I've carried and used traditional knives, including traditional lockbacks since the 1950's. So, I don't say this lightly and I say it with a goodly amount of experience in such matters, "Why has Buck added a nasty lump to the 422LT blade/spring interface."

I like the hand-filling handles of the 110 and 112 knives. And I like the smaller blade of the 112 compared to that of 110, because I find the shorter blade to be handier and more controllable. But I like plastic handles instead of the heavier metal and wood. For me it gives a better balance to the knife. I bought a new old stock 422 (1980's vintage) for that reason a couple of years ago. Nice knife. A few years ago, Buck made some 112's with paperstone handles a few years ago. Nice knives. I gave several away as gifts. (I have to like a knife a lot before I will gift it.) I've kicked myself any number of times for not buying an extra for myself.

The 422 is nice, but it's thick behind the edge, as many Buck knives were back in the 80's. So I decided to purchase an 112LT with the edge-2000 profile, which I find to be an improvement over other profiles. I like the FRN handle, and I like the cutting edge. But, to my surprise the tang-backspring joint is misshapen when the blade is open. This is not bad quality control. This is a purposeful change to the design.
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Both the blade and the spring have an upward lump in them. Oh, I know why they did it, if you make a lump at the joint, it is less noticeable that the back of the knife is uneven with the spring. It means they don't have to be as precise with their tooling and processes. In other words, it's cheaper to build that way.

Good Golly Miss Molly, it's ugly. Worse, that lump is right where I put my thumb when I am cutting with the knife. It isn't sharp, but I notice it every time I use the knife. So aside from being ugly as sin, it interferes with my knife usage.

I get it. I'm an aerospace engineer and we tweak our designs to be more easily assembled by Production. But we don't do it when it interferes with the design. I have said, "NO." to plenty of design change proposals made by Production in my day because what they wanted to do would interfere with the function of the design. In my opinion, somebody at Buck should have looked at the result of this change and done the same. This is one knife I will never give as a gift. It will likely find a hiding place in my dresser drawer.

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422 no lump
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And BTW, no blade play at all in the 422. It's bank vault tight. Got some play in the 112LT. Not enough to fuss about, but it's there.
 
As an aerospace engineer I'm guessing you don't have to deal with competitiveness of dealing to the general public as Buck does. In our world of chiwanese crap, they have to compete. I don't like the lump either, or blade etches, but I know they have to compete.
 
I remember the same discussion when the 110LT was introduced, we wondered in a thread here what the lump was for. I bought three of the Smoke Jumpers, all have the small lump, however I have never noticed it when using the knife, only when looking it over. OH
 
As an aerospace engineer I'm guessing you don't have to deal with competitiveness of dealing to the general public as Buck does. In our world of chiwanese crap, they have to compete. I don't like the lump either, or blade etches, but I know they have to compete.

Oh, you mean like having to close our US plants because the book price of a Chinese-made part is cheaper? (total price is more expensive due to quality issues.) Or moving Design Engineering to India and Singapore because they are cheaper? Trust me. I am all too familiar with it. My point is that there are things you can cut corners on, and things you should not. IMO, Buck made a poor decision in this case.
 
I don't mind the lump, but I like lumps in my mashed potatoes where most people don't. I'll look at it like Lapedog suggests and consider it a indexing point. At the rate my eyesight is degrading, I'm afraid it may be needed sooner than later. Some have filed the lump off with relative ease, so that is an option. I'll keep mine as is. I hope you give it another chance!
 
I dont care for it either but to my understanding all the 110's are that way as well, just on the traditional one they grind it off. Not so easily done on the plastic.
I have been toting my 110 slim pro and blue slim lately and the hump hasnt bothered me except for the looks. It will get ground off though.
It has been there since the 48x series. I ground the back off one and really like it. Just not crazy about thumb ramps.
 
[the fiber reinforced ] plastic handles instead of the heavier metal and wood. For me it gives a better balance to the knife.
Agreed.
Also I find I can carry the full size 110LT just in my pocket and it works; it's not too heavy or bulky.
I wouldn't dream of carrying my Brass and Diamondwood 110 that way. For that it is belt pouch only. I carry lots of other folders in the belt pouch so no big deal but the LT is super light an unobtrusive.

I like the knife. The bump caught me off guard when I saw it . . . but now that I have used the knife I really don't care. It is such a great knife (handle shape :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: and decent blade hardness) that I'm happy to forget about the lump. If that is the worst I have to "put up with" in my folders I'm happy as heck. I could start ranting about other candidates for the sheeet list but I won't.

As far as lock play my really nice old 1982 110 I mentioned above has very significant play and it has been a paper weight most of it's life on the desk or dresser. Very well cared for and used carefully.
Shown here LINK > > >
 
I think the real reason for the hump is to relieve some of the pressure on the pivot when doing heavy duty cutting, which with plastic (I think) the pivot will loosen over time with heavy use...That's my thoughts on it....

I agree it takes away from the streamlined design that we're used to....
 
Looks like a perfect candidate for a grind-off to me...your anger is justified
 
If I were to buy one I would file the lumps off, but since they just seem to be a re-thinking of the BuckLite, whats the point. The F&F of the new models doesn't seem up to snuff either. The back spring is sunk in. Also they had a great idea with the Paperstone models. I love my green Paperstone 112. Why they quit making them is a wonder.
 
I gave away my first 112.LT a black one and never noticed the hump ..But I just traded for the pastel Father's Day buildouts and took a look and yep it's there..I simply don't care one way or another. They were only $10.00 and price point makes a difference at what ever level you judge a knife by. In my case I love and collect 112's ...all of them.
 
I gave away my first 112.LT a black one and never noticed the hump ..But I just traded for the pastel Father's Day buildouts and took a look and yep it's there..I simply don't care one way or another. They were only $10.00 and price point makes a difference at what ever level you judge a knife by. In my case I love and collect 112's ...all of them.

I would not have purchased it if it had been $10. Try three times that amount. Maybe I need to shop around more. Or maybe if they are going to make a cheapy out of it, they need to call it something other than a 112. Either way, the pictures on the dealer' site did not show the hump.

I filed the humps off a 110LT with a diamond stone - was very quick and easy. Here's a thread from last year discussing the topic:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/defective-110-maybe.1586806/

An interesting experience. As I filed down the hump, the spring sank into the handle. Obviously the portions of the blade and spring making contact were high up on the hump. So I used another knife to carve away the top of the handle so that it is now flush with the spring and top of the blade.

It's still a cosmetic embarrassment because you can definitely tell where I removed material, but the spring, blade, and handle are all now even. The joint no longer sticks up where I set my thumb, so it's usable. Definitely won't be buying any similar LT models for gifts or spares, nor recommending them. I wouldn't do that to my friends.

I hope Buck rethinks this design. I've never considered the 110 and 112 to be cheapies. As a long time Buck Knives fan and user, I consider the LT design to be a pity.
 
They had a special at the factory fathers day sale for $10 and it was in store only, no phone or internet sales. Definitely not the normal price.
 
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