Say what you will about Buckcote and expensive customs, but E2K is GREAT and E2K on BG42 is state-of-the-art for a production knife. Granted there isn't a BG42 filet knife and likely won't be, but a 110 from Buck's custom shop can be had in BG42 for a price that let's you feel comfortable using it (just don't pick the mother of pearl option) and there isn't a better production folding hunter made. I have been following the (occasionally angry) threads on 420 vs. fill-in-the-blank steel with some real head scratching. Buck does what businesses do - offer customers in all niches as many choices as they can reasonably afford to. Like the steel or don't, but in general I think it's unfair to demand more-for-less, to insist that all product lines be overbuilt to the point that the company teeters and struggles to stay in the market at all. In my opinion Buck has done a much better job than Case in staying in touch with what users (as opposed to collectors) really want and need. Case offers their high-carbon non-stainless steel in so few models that it really looks more like an afterthought than a real committment to the market niche of "daily heavy user" (*grins* sounds terrible, don't it?) They come up with things like bubble gum pink mini-copperlocks and $5000 sets of knives with snap like a Q-tip breaking, but don't offer their '65 pattern folding hunter in high-carbon steel, don't have a custom shop, and restrict their ATS34 offerings to $350 collaborations with Tony Bose. Now, all that being said I have to agree that more knives in aus8 would be very, very welcome in my deer camp and I'd like to see the option be a regular catalog offering, not something you have to do thru the on-line custom shop. I'd like a Vanguard in a better steel as a catalog option, for example. Don't need the special box and inset medallion (Master Series) and BG42 to up the price - just aus8 as a to fifteen twenty dollar upgrade. Same for the filet knife. My point, though, is it's probably unreasonable to expect them to risk their over-the-counter Wal Mart business by increasing the price on every knife with an across-the-board steel upgrade that for many casual users wouldn't be noticed. "We" as serious users are a rather rarified group and maybe a fairly small niche ourselves.
Warmly,
the pup
Well, I mean on all of their knives. But, I suppose they'd lose a lot of customers if they did that, as the prices would invariably go up. And the general public would seem to think that a quality tool just isn't worth more than $20 to $40. I know I used to...
