I dont love my buck knife

[osage outlaw]

Sleek, Give this one a try.  Its the vanguard that I mentioned earlier. It has a thick drop point blade.  The handle has a nice grip that doesn't slip even when bloody.  I don't think a knife is the best tool for chopping out a bow.  Have you tried using a flat sided hatchet instead?

[sleek]

Im probably going to stick with my KaBar for knife usage though I like the looks of that vanguard drop point for general duties and skinning. As for a hatchet, its on my to build list. I have the osage for a handle

[jayman448]

so... why do so many hate on Buck knives... i love my bucks... 

[mullet]

One, because I have so many hand forged or custom knives that are better. They hold an edge longer and are easier to sharpen and the ones I broke back in the seventies left a nasty taste.

[E. Jensen]

I was literally just chopping with it and it broke

Well there is your problem.  Knives are for cutting.  Chopping is abuse.  Prying is abuse.  Batoning is abuse.  Throwing is abuse (unless its a throwing knife).

Was that an older buck?  Older bucks were made from harder steel (thus more brittle) than modern bucks, switching circa 1980.  Regardless, old 440C knives and modern 420 (some might argue is not even considered a blade steel) are both stainless steels.  All stainless steels are more brittle than their carbon steel counter parts.  That's why decent axes, prying tools, etc etc are made form carbon steel. 

Credentials: retired professional knife maker.

[sleek]

No offense but all that sounds like small print for a large knife that should be able to do more than cut a steak. Agreed on your metalugy statement. Carbon is good stainless is for the kitchen.  My KayBar was designed well and can handle much " abuse." Of course it was designed to. For a knife that should be a woodsman style knife, you really cant do anything with that buck knife.

The knife was bought new about 6-7 years ago and rarely used.

[E. Jensen]

Basically its like this.  A knife can cut well, or it can chop/pry well.  But not both, there is always a trade off.  You CAN get a knife that will do hatchet work, but I promise, 10 times out of 10, one hundred percent, every single time, it will not cut as well as a knife designed to cut

[sleek]

Point taken.

[chamookman]

My favorite scraper is a Buck #105 fixed blade that's about 40 years old. It's bugger to get an edge on, but it really holds it when done. Bob

[country]

I have the same knife.  Had it for quite awhile with no complaints but it is a booger to sharpen

[bubby]

I was always a old timer/schrade guy but i have several bucks now and they are real good knifes, hard to sharpen but stay sharp forever

[soy]

I have the buck Nighthawk....bought it in the early 90s....she'll chop pry cut and about any thing else you could want .....but its so darn thick its a pain to put a good edge on

[Chief RID]

I love my bucks. The black Protege has done most of the duties on deer for a while now. Only takes a touch up occasionally. It has work on a lot of deer the last 10 years or so. Not bad for a 25 dollar knife. The little green handle lite holds a special place for me. It skinned and dressed my 1st traditional big game bow kill with the bow back in the early 90s. It stays sharp too with just minor touch up. The 110 is the hardest to get an edge on and see duty only when the Protege has been neglected between multiple jobs. The lite I believe has been with me since the early 80s.

[Eric Krewson]

I got this one as a safety award from work about 30 years ago, hard to sharpen so it is not my go to knife for gutting deer but is always in my pack as a back-up.

I started putting a hash mark in the handle every time I killed a deer so I could keep track, 65 so far, most killed with traditional bows or black powder guns. I could have killed hundreds over the years but only kill one when I actually need the meat for myself or a friend.