There are a few variations of the Buck Bantam: there is a camouflaged-handle series with three sizes and a black-handled version in four sizes. The Bantam I'm reviewing today has a 3" blade and is model number 285BK, and it will cost about $14. It's made in China, but it still shows the typical quality that made Buck who they are today in the knife world. The features...
Handle Details: The Bantam is 4-3/8" closed and 7/16" thick (not counting the pocket clip). The handle is made of black Zytel; no liners are supplied or needed. The handle sides are lightly textured and are okay, but not great. The handle itself though has a nice shape to it; the finger grooves really help with grip. The knife fits into my hand nicely without digging in or abrading it, and yet it still feels solid enough for EDC use. The back of the handle has jimping along the front 3/4" for better control while cutting. You also get a lanyard slot; a 9/16" by 3/16" oval cut-out in the butt of the handle that will accomodate gutted 550 cord. With the oval shape, you can even get ungutted 550 cord in there without much problem.
The knife is a lockback, and the unlocking slot is located in the middle of the handle. I can access the unlocking slot with my thumb without switching my grip or needing both hands, which is a welcome change from Buck's 110. Lock-up is nice and solid, with no blade play front-to-back and only a tiny bit side-to-side. Unfortunately, the knife is pinned together so adjustments aren't possible. The left side of the handle has BUCK etched on; the right side is blank.
You get a blackened steel pocket clip, which is removable with three Torx T-6 screws, but it's tip-down right-hand only. The pocket clip does not get in the way when you're using the knife, something I wish I could say for dozens of other knives I've used. The clip is nice and tight, but not too tight. I did have a problem with the clip pulling the insides of my pocket out when I'd draw it straight up, but the problem fixed itself by simply loosening one of the clip screws.
Blade Details: The Bantam has a blade of Buck's standard 420HC, which has been given their Edge2X technology. I think this means they ground the blades at a lower angle (18 instead of 23 degrees?) and put a micro-bevel on them. There's a hollow grind on the Bantams, although at first sight it looks like a flat grind. The blade is 3-1/8" long with a cutting edge of 3". The top 1-1/2" of the blade is an unsharpened swedge, and I'm going to leave mine unsharpened. The blade is just a hair under 1/8" thick. Dual thumb studs make opening ambidextrous, but I have to be honest and say that opening is far from smooth. Even after using both Tuff Glide and Break Free, the blade is still a bit stiff. It's too bad you can't just loosen some Torx screw and adjust the blade tension; everything is pinned. So after three applications of Tuff Glide and about 4 dozen openings, it's starting to loosen up. It's still a bit stiff, but it will have to do for now.
The left side of the blade has BUCK stamped inon the top and 285 (the model number) on the tang. The right side has CHINA stamped in the tang. The blade has coloring halfway between a matte stainless and a satin finish. I'd call it an unpolished satin finish.
How does it cut? Great! It came out of the box sharp enough to slice paper, and only required a few seconds on the strop before it would shave hair.
For less than $15, you're getting a knife that could've been sold for easily twice that amount. It's not my choice for a heavy duty wilderness folder or a self-defense blade, but for EDC and general cutting chores the Bantam should give you a lot of performance for the little money you pay for it.
Handle Details: The Bantam is 4-3/8" closed and 7/16" thick (not counting the pocket clip). The handle is made of black Zytel; no liners are supplied or needed. The handle sides are lightly textured and are okay, but not great. The handle itself though has a nice shape to it; the finger grooves really help with grip. The knife fits into my hand nicely without digging in or abrading it, and yet it still feels solid enough for EDC use. The back of the handle has jimping along the front 3/4" for better control while cutting. You also get a lanyard slot; a 9/16" by 3/16" oval cut-out in the butt of the handle that will accomodate gutted 550 cord. With the oval shape, you can even get ungutted 550 cord in there without much problem.
The knife is a lockback, and the unlocking slot is located in the middle of the handle. I can access the unlocking slot with my thumb without switching my grip or needing both hands, which is a welcome change from Buck's 110. Lock-up is nice and solid, with no blade play front-to-back and only a tiny bit side-to-side. Unfortunately, the knife is pinned together so adjustments aren't possible. The left side of the handle has BUCK etched on; the right side is blank.
You get a blackened steel pocket clip, which is removable with three Torx T-6 screws, but it's tip-down right-hand only. The pocket clip does not get in the way when you're using the knife, something I wish I could say for dozens of other knives I've used. The clip is nice and tight, but not too tight. I did have a problem with the clip pulling the insides of my pocket out when I'd draw it straight up, but the problem fixed itself by simply loosening one of the clip screws.
Blade Details: The Bantam has a blade of Buck's standard 420HC, which has been given their Edge2X technology. I think this means they ground the blades at a lower angle (18 instead of 23 degrees?) and put a micro-bevel on them. There's a hollow grind on the Bantams, although at first sight it looks like a flat grind. The blade is 3-1/8" long with a cutting edge of 3". The top 1-1/2" of the blade is an unsharpened swedge, and I'm going to leave mine unsharpened. The blade is just a hair under 1/8" thick. Dual thumb studs make opening ambidextrous, but I have to be honest and say that opening is far from smooth. Even after using both Tuff Glide and Break Free, the blade is still a bit stiff. It's too bad you can't just loosen some Torx screw and adjust the blade tension; everything is pinned. So after three applications of Tuff Glide and about 4 dozen openings, it's starting to loosen up. It's still a bit stiff, but it will have to do for now.
The left side of the blade has BUCK stamped inon the top and 285 (the model number) on the tang. The right side has CHINA stamped in the tang. The blade has coloring halfway between a matte stainless and a satin finish. I'd call it an unpolished satin finish.
How does it cut? Great! It came out of the box sharp enough to slice paper, and only required a few seconds on the strop before it would shave hair.
For less than $15, you're getting a knife that could've been sold for easily twice that amount. It's not my choice for a heavy duty wilderness folder or a self-defense blade, but for EDC and general cutting chores the Bantam should give you a lot of performance for the little money you pay for it.
