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Reviews > Knives > Folding > Buck Knives Revolution-XT > Owner Review by Steve Brunkow
Buck Knives
Name: Steve Brunkow Background: I am an Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster for the same troop that I was in as a youth. I have been camping year round in all types of weather, down to -20 F (-29 C). Most of my camping has been in the Illinois and Indiana area. I am back in scouting along with my son and we do at least one outing a month. I have done a lot of hiking and camping, but not much backpacking. This will be changing as we are going to begin preparing for a 12-day trip to Philmont scout ranch in New Mexico in June 2005. I have a lot of experience cooking with wood and tabletop gas stoves but want to learn to use backpacking stoves. I have also done quite a bit of cross country skiing, and some canoeing. Product Information
Manufacturer: Buck Knives Description and features The Revolution-XT is one in a series of collaborations between Buck Knives and mountaineer Peter Whittaker. The knife won Most innovative American design" at the 2003 Blade Show. The Revolution has a partially serrated blade, a bottle opener built into the "blade/handle", as well as a clip at the other end of the blade. The clip can be used to attach the knife to a belt loop, a pack, etc. The Revolution is a completely different kind of knife design. It is a fixed blade knife with a handle that revolves about the center of the blade. Buck Knives calls this knife a hybrid as it is both a fixed blade knife and a folding knife. When closed the handle covers the sharp end of the blade and the end with the clip and bottle opener is visible. When the handle is rotated to the "open" position the clip/bottle opener end revolves into the handle. The knife has a push button that locks the knife both open and closed for safety. It is a bit difficult to describe so I suggest looking at a photo of it on the Buck web site. My first impressions The Revolution is a great looking knife with a very unique design. The handle rotates smoothly; the lock is easy to use but doesn't get depressed accidentally as it is flush with the handle. There are a series of four small notches on the back of the blade where my thumb rests when using it, almost like a fish scaler on a Swiss Army knife. The finish (mine is blue) has a brushed aluminum look with rich color and a white Whittaker logo near one end. The clip seems sturdy enough with good tension. I wondered how the tension would hold up, it is basically a U shaped piece of steel. The blade is made of 420HC high carbon, high chromium stainless steel. The blade is laser cut from a sheet of steel and for the most part made by hand. According to Buck Knives this is a strong, corrosion resistant blade with very good initial sharpness, good edge holding and resharpens well. The blade comes to a nice point, but not to narrow of a point that might make it susceptible to breaking. The blade condition was very sharp and the serrations looked suitable for heavy-duty use. My opinions When the blade is open the clip is protected from damage by fitting into a recess in the edge of the handle. When the knife is open half of the blade is closed into the handle. If the lock were to fail my hand would help keep the blade from closing accidentally. The blade locks closed as well as open, a great safety feature. The clip is designed to attach the knife to a pack, a belt loop or other similar things, and works well. I often attach it to a belt loop on my jeans. It is easy to snap it on without having to see it and if I don't want it flapping around, I slide the end in my pocket. It is just as easy to remove it. Note, the belt loop on my jeans shows some signs of wear over time from hanging the knife there. The clip spring has held up fine so far and works like new. The Revolution, while maybe not ultra-light, is fairly light and appears to be built very well. The blade is high quality and so far has maintained a good sharp edge. I have not needed to sharpen it since buying it. I do not have much use for the bottle opener, but having it does save a small amount of weight from the blade. It is held together with two different sizes of torx screws, two small ones at one end and one larger one where the knife hinges. I believe I could take it apart to clean it if I needed to, I have not done this. No tool is included with the knife for these and I do not have a one of the correct size. I do not know if the ease of opening the knife can be adjusted with the screw. There are a couple of things to make note of if you are considering this knife. The knife can be opened with one hand if needed, but it is not easy and not very safe to do this. Second, it is not an easy knife to open when wearing gloves unless they are fairly lightweight. If I were to attach it to my pack in the winter and were to use it without gloves it would be pretty cold. It will not carry well in pants pockets as it is almost 7 in (178 mm) long. One last thing to note is that a left-handed user may find opening it a little awkward as the lock button is only on one side of the knife. Field usage I have carried this knife in semi-daily use as well as while camping. I have used it for things like opening packages, cutting rope, making tinder and cutting food such as apples. It has served me well and I expect many years of use out of this knife. Summary The Buck Revolution is a sturdy, well-made knife with a partially serrated blade and a very useful clip for attaching it to a variety of things. You never know when a bottle opener might come in handy.
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