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Buck 112 Ranger LT Knife: A Review
I only hear a slight rumbling of wheels before the dogs sound off an alert. The mail has arrived. Sometimes I catch it while I am outside, other times, the truck makes it in and out of our driveway without the dogs noticing (rare, but it does happen). Regardless, I am left with the same dilemma. Now I have a package in front of me begging to be opened. Usually the contents are not too terribly exciting: books for school or some type of camera accessory I needed. The fight, however, is real. I always hated the packing tape with the strings embedded. I would grab one end of the tape and try to sneak my fingertips under the edge of the box only to end up with dense strings digging into my flesh. I would pull them out slowly, painfully, and sheepishly in failure for trying the same ineffective method more than once.
The solution – “Dad, I need your knife!” If dad was not around the first plan was to rummage through his drawers to try to find one. The less exciting Plan B was to grab a pair of scissors from the drawer. When I first started hunting my Dad gave me my first knife. A Buck 110. I soon learned that though it was a quality knife, it was too big and bulky for everyday use and it became my pheasant cleaning knife. This Spring everything changed. I had the opportunity to attend SHOT Show this past January and there visited Buck Knives. I included the 112 Ranger LT Knife in a new products report I worked on. What appealed to me about it was the design – similar to the Buck 110 but smaller and lighter, more suited to my female hands.
Over the past few months I have been experimenting with that very knife for myself and have been very happy with it. I must admit I have a newfound appreciation for the packing tape with strings as it gives me an excuse to grab my knife. It is an incredibly freeing feeling to open one’s own packages. While this can be done with many implements, I do really like the feel of the 112 Ranger LT. I was concerned that the plastic handle would make it seem cheap, but I have come to like it as I can easily wipe it off if it gets dirty. It is a good size so that it fits in my hand and offers considerable leverage. I will admit that I am not a knife expert, but a woman in the outdoors who is learning to use knives more skillfully. This knife is very well suited to my everyday purposes. While I cannot close it with one hand, I actually have preferred this as I get more comfortable using it. One of my greatest fears growing up and borrowing my dad’s knives was that I would accidentally hit the “magic button” and that the blade would slam on my fingers. That never happened and I have come to realize there are many precautions taken to avoid that scenario, but for a beginner everyday knife, this is perfect. It handles well, it has kept an edge with light use, and is not very heavy, I often forget it is with me.
This, however, is not the best hunting knife. If one is in a tree stand or in a situation where one only has one free hand, this knife would be impossible to open. For a survival or hunting situation, I would prefer a knife that I could open one-handed. I would also dread cleaning the inside of this knife after gutting a deer – a fixed blade would be much more suited to that situation. Those, however, are not faults of the knife but instead are circumstances that demand a different tool. For beginner and everyday use, especially for those with smaller hands, the Buck 112 Ranger LT is a solid choice.
