The Zieg
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2002
- Messages
- 4,941
Just about a year on, here's the aluminum framed 110 with micarta scales and an S30V drop point blade. I originally gave a quick review here (Aluminum Buck 110: 430HC Clip Point vs S30V Drop Point?) and it seems time to say a bit more.
True to my prediction, keeping the knife as sharp as the day it arrived has been a challenge, though a welcome one. I've posted in other threads that I'm a profoundly mediocre sharpener and this steel has tested both me and my meager sharpening tools. But even with this shortcoming, I've kept the blade sharp enough to do yeoman work on baling twine, leather, boxes, birds, cuts of beef and pork, apples, carrots, and the occasional whittling job (so far, no fish except those caught at the grocery store, but I'll be fishing this Spring and Summer and I'm sure it will do well). All these tasks are no problem for any 110, of course, so there are no surprises there.
I was leery of the drop point not giving me the piercing capability I'd get from the clip point, but as I noted elsewhere, I don't have a clip point in my SAKs, my Mercator, or any puukko I carry. There's a bit of a clip on my Moras, but not much. As it turns out, this has not been a problem. The point is far sturdier than a 110 clip (not that I've ever damaged any of those, though I've seen it done), but the trade off is that I've had to pay closer attention when sharpening it because the grind seems to widen a bit as it reaches the distal end. There is little distal taper. So I've had a durable cutting edge that really holds up against tough tasks. Plastic clamshell packaging comes to mind.
I have usually carried this 110 in a horizontal slip sheath, but not always. I've slipped it into the leg pocket of carpenter's jeans, kept it upright in my back pocket alongside a handkerchief, and dropped into a jacket pocket. It is so light that it never feels like the brick a brass 110 does. I've carried it in the side pocket of a sport coat without feeling any burden. In the front trousers pocket it is less obnoxious than my keys (which, by the way, are responsible for most of the scratches in the aluminum).
As for the aluminum, it is worth noting that it does not smooth out the way the brass does on a traditional 110. The opening and closing action on this knife began rather smooth, but over time, where brass bolsters wear a bit and the 110 action becomes fluid, the aluminum 110 has become gritty and stiff over time. I can feel where the drag is and it is not in the pivot. It is very noticeably where the tang drags across the aluminum bolster (I suppose technically it the liner). Is aluminum harder than brass? Well, my reading indicates that pure aluminum is softer than brass, but this alloy Buck uses is some tough stuff. Even eleven months into regular use and frequent opening and closing, this 110 does not have the slick action of a year-old brass 110. I'll keep at it, though, and I'll report back in after another year with an update. In the meantime, I'll welcome any suggestion for smoothing up this action.
There is still no blade play in the open position whatsoever. It still locks open with a clack that sounds like dropping the slide on a 1911 pistol.
Two features that have held up beautifully are the blade and scale surfaces. The S30V blade is not badly scratched up, though it wouldn't bother me if it were. This is a user, after all. But even opening a box of nails and accidentally dragging the side (not the edge . . . Whew!) of the blade across several galvanized nails did not do much to the surface. As for stains, it's as bright as the day it came, which is to say, a brushed satin look. The micarta seems undimmed. It still looks different in various lights, the picture above being under halogens in my kitchen. I'll post a couple of pics from outdoors tomorrow. The knife has had some spills, causing some dings in the aluminum bolsters, but nothing has yet dinged or otherwise damaged the micarta. I initially worried the scales might be slippery. The micarta is not grippy, to be sure, but it is not at all slippery. As light as the whole knife is, there is little chance of dropping it due to the smoothness of the scales.
So I'm quite pleased with the aluminum bolstered S30V drop point 110 after almost a year. Thanks of course to @pjsjr who was so kind with his Buck collection last year. Thanks also to the folks who voted in the poll on that thread last year. It was the right choice. Now I just have to get better at sharpening!
Zieg
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I was wondering how well the aluminum would hold up . I'am assuming the pivot is aluminum to. Seems to be doing good 
