"The Larrin" Squire with Ebony handles

[pitonyak]

Buck did a stealth run of the Squire using MagnaCut steel (for all you steel nerds).

https://www.buckknives.com/product/501- ... ealth-run/

I have wanted to try the MagnaCut steel and I wanted a Squire; win win.

For me, the knife is a nice size and it feels sharp. I won't bother trying to improve the factory edge until I have used it a bit. Very excited about the knife.

This is a close up of the factory edge, which looks pretty uniform.

When I have time I will drop it into my device that measures angles using a laser, but I can guess the angle based on the knife. Either way, I am very excited about this nice looking knife. Normally I prefer a clip on the knife, but this knife comes with a sheath that has a clip, so I can see how that works out for me. Most of my knives that are similar are older and made by Shrade back in the 80's. I do have an Onset (S45VN) and a 112 Ranger Slip with S35VN, but they both have clips on the knife itself.

[eveled]

It is quite a collaboration. Good little piece of knife history.

I’m glad you plan on using it. It’s a knife that was made to be used. Looking forward to your review after you put it through the paces. Especially after you sharpen it yourself.

It will be interesting to see the factory angle, but don’t put too much emphasis on it. Buck sharpens by hand on a belt grinder. Its pretty primitive.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I saw this drop the other day and just couldn’t get past the price. Seemed a bit too high for the size of the knife. Maybe it’s more about the blade steel? Not sure, but I let that one go by, probably regret it.

[pitonyak]

It is quite a collaboration. Good little piece of knife history.

I’m glad you plan on using it. It’s a knife that was made to be used. Looking forward to your review after you put it through the paces. Especially after you sharpen it yourself.

It will be interesting to see the factory angle, but don’t put too much emphasis on it. Buck sharpens by hand on a belt grinder. Its pretty primitive.

I expect that they will sharpen as per their E2K / Edge2000 / Edge2x. I expect that they do not do that with their "hunting" non folding knives, I would expect a lower angle. Tests (by others) imply that 15dps (what I normally do) works well, not that I have ever used Magnacut steal before.

I did a very quick test with a gnoiometer, and that suggests to me that the angle is roughly 17 or 18 degrees, not that I have any idea if this is uniform on each side, only what the combined angle is.

I will probably take this down to 15dps, but I will make that decision later.

Looking forward to test this knife to see how it holds up to what I do with it. I am off the farm so not as harsh as I used to be on knives.

Andrew

[pitonyak]

I saw this drop the other day and just couldn’t get past the price. Seemed a bit too high for the size of the knife. Maybe it’s more about the blade steel? Not sure, but I let that one go by, probably regret it.

I gave it a long pondering before I finally decided to just do it. This seems to add about a $100 premium for Nickel silver handle with genuine ebony inlays, the magnacut steel, and the different sheath with a pocket clip.

One item that really makes me scratch my head is that the other Squire knives have metal at both ends of the knife. The "special" knife has metal at the front, but wood all the way to the back.

S30V adds $25 in the custom shop (over 420HC). A mirror polish on the 420HC adds $25.

Ebony is not a handle material in the custom shop, so no idea about that. Well, at least not for the 501 (squire).

My primary deciding factor was that the sheath has a clip so I can drop it into my pocket rather than on my belt, Ebony, and Magnacut. And yes, it was a difficult decision.

[Railsplitter]

I assume that the price has something to do with the collaboration with Larrin Thomas, the inventor of Magnacut steel and of course, the unique sheath that you mentioned.

I think this is a fantastic knife but I passed on it because I prefer the Drop Point blade of the standard 501.

For whatever it's worth, we like to call the absence of metal at the rear of the knife a "Barehead" pattern.

I don't really mind the 'Knife Steel Nerds" glasses but I think they should be a little bit smaller. That's just nitpicking though. Buck and Larrin did good on this one.

[Jeepergeo]

I saw this drop the other day and just couldn’t get past the price. Seemed a bit too high for the size of the knife. Maybe it’s more about the blade steel? Not sure, but I let that one go by, probably regret it.

I gave it a long pondering before I finally decided to just do it. This seems to add about a $100 premium for Nickel silver handle with genuine ebony inlays, the magnacut steel, and the different sheath with a pocket clip.

One item that really makes me scratch my head is that the other Squire knives have metal at both ends of the knife. The "special" knife has metal at the front, but wood all the way to the back.

two_squires.jpg

S30V adds $25 in the custom shop (over 420HC). A mirror polish on the 420HC adds $25.

Ebony is not a handle material in the custom shop, so no idea about that. Well, at least not for the 501 (squire).

My primary deciding factor was that the sheath has a clip so I can drop it into my pocket rather than on my belt, Ebony, and Magnacut. And yes, it was a difficult decision.

I watched that one carefully. It's pretty cool, but was more than I was willing to spend this month since the Buck of the Month for August has yet to be revealed and I might want to grab one of those.

A few years back Buck had a Mayo collaboration. I was happy that I held off because Buck put them at a deep discount and I got one then. This magna cut offering will likely sell out, so no sale likely on it.

[astark]

My first post here and just ordered one of these for myself, also noticed someone on eBay is selling one for 350.00 plus 20.00 for shipping, kinda made the purchase from Buck seem like a pretty good deal

[pitonyak]

I assume that the price has something to do with the collaboration with Larrin Thomas, the inventor of Magnacut steel and of course, the unique sheath that you mentioned.

Yes, I am sure you are correct. Having used this a few days I can say that it is easy to pull the knife from sheath in my pocket but difficult to put the knife back into the sheath without pulling the sheath from my pocket. I might buy one of their standard sheaths even though I like a clip and storage in my pocket.

I think this is a fantastic knife but I passed on it because I prefer the Drop Point blade of the standard 501.

For whatever it's worth, we like to call the absence of metal at the rear of the knife a "Barehead" pattern.

Thanks for the information about "Barehead". I had no idea that was the name. Oddly, I did not even notice that the standard version had a drop point blade.

I documented this in my "knife" document where I have pictures and descriptions of the knives that I own as well as general information on steels and manufacturers.

[pitonyak]

My first post here and just ordered one of these for myself, also noticed someone on eBay is selling one for 350.00 plus 20.00 for shipping, kinda made the purchase from Buck seem like a pretty good deal

Fun, first post!

Interested in how you like your version. Have you had any experience with this particular steel? I currently own only one knife in Magnacut (this one) and one in S45VN (Buck 040 Onset).

[Railsplitter]

Thanks for the information about "Barehead". I had no idea that was the name. Oddly, I did not even notice that the standard version had a drop point blade.

I documented this in my "knife" document where I have pictures and descriptions of the knives that I own as well as general information on steels and manufacturers.

You certainly are welcome. I'm sure you noticed but one other thing that makes this model unique is the long pull. Standard 501's have the more common crescent shaped nail pull.

[pitonyak]

After using the knife for a while, I can say that I really like this knife more than I thought that I would.

My only complaint so far is that the sheath does NOT hold the knife well. I was sitting in my car with the knife in my front pocket, and the knife managed to fall out. I liked the sheath because of the pocket clip, but, it is not really a great solution because it holds the sheath in place but the sheath does not hold the knife in place.

I have been trying to convince myself to order a sheath, but the $11 sheath will have almost $10 in shipping.



Andrew Pitonyak