Thumb studs, or thumb bar on a new 112 Ranger?

8

8ntsane

Joined
Jan 10, 2013
Messages
3
[Hello Everyone

I used to own a 110 that was lost some time back. I recently replaced the 110 with a brand new 112 Ranger.
IThe old knife opened very easy compared to this new 112. I have been pondering the idea of adding a thumb stud,
or thumb bar to this knife. My concerns with doing this are, With the new 112 the spring tension is very high compared
to the old 110. I seriously wonder if the 112 being this way would still be opened with a thumb stud, or bar?

The next concern for me is the thumb studs I see being sold over the net have a small set screw that will be tightened up against the blade.
This makes me wonder, if a thumb stud is installed, will that set screw leave it mark on the blade if I for what ever reason choose to remove it?
I would like to have the one handed opening, if its doable with the spring tension on these new knifes. But, if the thumb stud will leave a impression
on my blade, I would machine my own out of brass, and make it in such a way the brass halfs pinch the blade.

The last thing Im wondering about, is thumb stud size. Is there a preferable height that works better than others? I quess Im asking, does size matter?
If a large stud is required to get this open, I suppose I have to also question if it will still fit the sheath?
What do you guys think?
 
I don't like the add on studs myself, so I wouldn't add one. The 112 will loosen up some with use. Mine opens fairly easily.
 
I've tried thumb studs on both the 112 and 110 and found that, at least for me, the spring tension is too much for me to comfortably overcome. If you check out the models that are designed to be one hand opening, you'll find that they have much less spring tension (snap, opening or closing) and I believe that's they way they're designed.

The only 110/112 that I've ever found easy to open using a thumb stud is the ill fated 110 Liner Lock from around 1997. It has a noticibly weaker spring and no "snap" when closing. I have two of them, unused and new in the box, so it can't be that they loosened up with use. They seem to have been made with a much weaker spring than the standard models and I think that was by design, to make them easier to thumb open.

I wouldn't count on the 112's spring to loosen up much with use. If they did, folks would be screaming to high heavens about them losing their snap as the "snap" a knife has seems to be very important to many folks.

I've also found that the smaller the knife is the harder to one hand open, and that must have something to do with having less leverage.

LLc.jpg
 
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I am in agrrement with NMpops. Dont want thumb studs on my 110's or 112's. I have a Vantage that is my EDC so i can carry a knife which can be opened with one hand.
 
Thanks for your input Guys

I made a rough thumb stud for the 112 tonight. I thought, hey, you never know until you try. I found that the spring pressure was way to stiff for me to use the thumb stud, so the Idea of putting one on this 112 is out. I suspect the factory changed something over the years that make them much stiffer, dunno? My 25 yr old 110 was never that stiff, even when is was new. Oh well, I thought Id try it out just to see if it would work for me.
I guess if I had huge hands with lots of power in my thumb, it might work. Maybe years from now Ill try it again if I feel this knife loosening up some. It is brand new, so to be stiff was to be expected anyway.

The Buck shown in the pic with a liner lock and stud looks so sweet. I have never seen one like that before.
Very nice, thanks for sharing your pic.

I have other knives that are one handed open and close, So Ill just leave the 112 as is, and not mess with it. I like this knife regardless. I really like the smaller size of the 112, as it seems to fit my hand better compared to the old 110. I suppose I have small paws ;) I got looking around on you tube, and seen a few quick draw holsters that look pretty cool, But I don't know how law enforcement would view those things.

Anyway, Thanks Guys
 
In 1974, Buck increased the spring pressure on the 110's (two dot's) to keep them from being labeled a "gravity" knife. Perhaps the 110 that you had was one that was made before the change.

The liner lock 110 was produced in 1997 -1998 and was a Wild Bill Cody design. It's said that less than 350 of them were produced as a "limited production" not a "limited edition" and they came with the thumb stud installed from the factory. I seem to recall reading that they didn't continue with them because they required so much hand work to build that they weren't practical to produce. It appears that they were never listed in the catalogs.
 
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Plumberdv

Thanks for the information.
That one you show in the pic is a great looking piece. Really to bad they didn't continue making those.
Your a lucky guy to have 2 in your collection.

It would be really nice if there was someone out there that could turn a factory 110-112 into the same knife as yours, but probably would be very expensive to say the least. Your rare Buck 110s are sooo sweet.
 
Yeah, I'm sure that Leroy Remer or Wild Bill could duplicate the LL but I'm also sure it wouldn't come cheap. I guess I am fortunate to have two of them.
 
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