Buck Strider SBMF Folding Lockblade
17 October 2005
No matter where you may go in the field: camping, hiking, backpacking, biking, boating, etc., you should always have a knife. In fact, I had an uncle that once told me, "Never leave the house without the ability to hunt food, clean food and cook food." Now I prefer guns for hunting, but if you fish or spear your food (using a knife on a pole) you still have to be able to clean it and cook it. This week's review of the Buck Strider SBMF (Strider Buck Military Folder) will (I hope) demonstrate that it's perfectly capable of the cleaning and other chores.
This brawny folding lockblade found its way into my collection after I recognized it as a variant on the Buck / Strider / Tirani design. Measuring 4.75" closed, and 8" locked open, my test model sports a 3" plain edge. Drawn from the Strider fixed blade knife designs, the grips are shaped well to fit my hand with a curve pattern that allows a full-grip on the handle, or a "finger forward" hold with one finger in front of the pivot. The liner lock locks into place with an audible "snap" and held against all abuse I subjected my knife to. Where the blade meets the grips when locked open, there are matching ridges milled into the spine and grips - allowing for a strong thumb position when pressing down into cuts.
The blade is manufactured from 420HC steel, and - as you can see in the picture - is an extra wide drop-point shaped tool. For easy opening, Buck provides a thumb-hole and a thumb-stud. Both are (obviously) ambidextrous. The fiberglass-reinforced nylon grips are clearly marked "BUCK" while the blade sports markings of "Strider Buck" with the Strider Logo. On the other side of my test blade is the profile of the State of Idaho. Care to guess why? The pocket clip is the same black color as the blade and is reversible for strong or weak side carry. The screws are a Torex head, so you have to have the proper tools to switch the clip from side to side. Buck was smart enough to provide SIX screws. That way, the holes on the side opposite the clip are still filled and not subject to dirt or damage.
OK, so as is my usual, I took the knife out back and beat the you-know-what out of it. After I'd cut every type of string, twine, rope, etc. I could find in my shed, I punched the knife through a 1/4" thick piece of plywood. Went through - no problems. I levered it back and forth to loosen the hole so I could pull it out and afterward I could find no slack in the pivot / lock mechanisms. I thought about hammering it into one of my trees to stand on, but I don't thing anyone expects the liner lock to support adult human weight, so I bypassed that test. Instead, I through it into a puddle of mud and left it there for the week. True to my luck, it rained all week. When I pulled it out of the muck I hosed it off with fresh water and examined it for signs of rust. None could be found - anywhere.
Taking it inside, I cleaned it thoroughly and used it to cut various vegetables and meats. Although it didn't perform terrifically on a ripe tomato (a tough test for any knife), it did well on everything else. It did well on both chicken and steak and then did an encore on grilled Italian sausage. No issues. Having cleaned it several times during the cut tests, I cleaned it once again, oiled it appropriately and set it back on my bureau with the rest of my carry knives.
As a test of comfort for carry, I made a point of carrying it with me for a week. Now, thanks to the development of habit, I grab this knife off my bureau more often than not. I have other choices, but this one keeps finding its way into my right front pocket. Measuring just over 1/2" thick, it's a bit wider than I like for my carry knives to be, but I've grown used to it. Because of the pebbled texture of the grips and the tightness of the clip, I expect that I'll eventually see some wear in my jeans pocket, but that's to be expected with any clip-carry pocket knife.
I purchased this test knife for $49 plus Shipping & Handling. You can find them online at a collection of dealers as well as on eBay (already). To me, it was a worthy investment.
17 October 2005
No matter where you may go in the field: camping, hiking, backpacking, biking, boating, etc., you should always have a knife. In fact, I had an uncle that once told me, "Never leave the house without the ability to hunt food, clean food and cook food." Now I prefer guns for hunting, but if you fish or spear your food (using a knife on a pole) you still have to be able to clean it and cook it. This week's review of the Buck Strider SBMF (Strider Buck Military Folder) will (I hope) demonstrate that it's perfectly capable of the cleaning and other chores.
This brawny folding lockblade found its way into my collection after I recognized it as a variant on the Buck / Strider / Tirani design. Measuring 4.75" closed, and 8" locked open, my test model sports a 3" plain edge. Drawn from the Strider fixed blade knife designs, the grips are shaped well to fit my hand with a curve pattern that allows a full-grip on the handle, or a "finger forward" hold with one finger in front of the pivot. The liner lock locks into place with an audible "snap" and held against all abuse I subjected my knife to. Where the blade meets the grips when locked open, there are matching ridges milled into the spine and grips - allowing for a strong thumb position when pressing down into cuts.
The blade is manufactured from 420HC steel, and - as you can see in the picture - is an extra wide drop-point shaped tool. For easy opening, Buck provides a thumb-hole and a thumb-stud. Both are (obviously) ambidextrous. The fiberglass-reinforced nylon grips are clearly marked "BUCK" while the blade sports markings of "Strider Buck" with the Strider Logo. On the other side of my test blade is the profile of the State of Idaho. Care to guess why? The pocket clip is the same black color as the blade and is reversible for strong or weak side carry. The screws are a Torex head, so you have to have the proper tools to switch the clip from side to side. Buck was smart enough to provide SIX screws. That way, the holes on the side opposite the clip are still filled and not subject to dirt or damage.
OK, so as is my usual, I took the knife out back and beat the you-know-what out of it. After I'd cut every type of string, twine, rope, etc. I could find in my shed, I punched the knife through a 1/4" thick piece of plywood. Went through - no problems. I levered it back and forth to loosen the hole so I could pull it out and afterward I could find no slack in the pivot / lock mechanisms. I thought about hammering it into one of my trees to stand on, but I don't thing anyone expects the liner lock to support adult human weight, so I bypassed that test. Instead, I through it into a puddle of mud and left it there for the week. True to my luck, it rained all week. When I pulled it out of the muck I hosed it off with fresh water and examined it for signs of rust. None could be found - anywhere.
Taking it inside, I cleaned it thoroughly and used it to cut various vegetables and meats. Although it didn't perform terrifically on a ripe tomato (a tough test for any knife), it did well on everything else. It did well on both chicken and steak and then did an encore on grilled Italian sausage. No issues. Having cleaned it several times during the cut tests, I cleaned it once again, oiled it appropriately and set it back on my bureau with the rest of my carry knives.
As a test of comfort for carry, I made a point of carrying it with me for a week. Now, thanks to the development of habit, I grab this knife off my bureau more often than not. I have other choices, but this one keeps finding its way into my right front pocket. Measuring just over 1/2" thick, it's a bit wider than I like for my carry knives to be, but I've grown used to it. Because of the pebbled texture of the grips and the tightness of the clip, I expect that I'll eventually see some wear in my jeans pocket, but that's to be expected with any clip-carry pocket knife.
I purchased this test knife for $49 plus Shipping & Handling. You can find them online at a collection of dealers as well as on eBay (already). To me, it was a worthy investment.
