I didn't watch the video and I'm not gonna waste time with it, what kind of rope are they cutting? 1 inch hawser line that's been sitting on a beach and is impregnated with sand? I can say for certain that buck 420 doesn't dull on one cut of any synthetic arborist grade rope.
Who in real life walks around just hacking up perfectly good rope anyway? I'd be more concerned about how many cuts in an actual cordage that normal people use every day it takes to dull a blade. Marilla and hemp are truly something that's outdated. There's a reason it's not used in critical rigging operations, and they make ratchet straps that are worlds more durable for tying a canoe to your car.
Willie and others, the thread is ABOUT that video. Why would you bother to reply then? You don't even know what you're commenting on. In the SAME sentence you refused to watch the video, you asked a question that is answered in the video. You're willfully ignorant.
I don't understand why simply being "budget steel" makes it bad. ...
Did YOU watch the video? It's not that it's bad, it's that it doesn't hold an edge. Two cuts through thick sisal rope and it won't cut paper any more.
That's besides the point, in the video they're comparing a buck knife to all the more modern steels and designs they've tested over the years and they find that even amongst budget knives with budget steels, you can get better performance for your dollar. No one is questioning whether a Buck 110 will cut nor whether it's a knife that has been trusted by millions over the course of decades. The question is if a Buck 110 in design and steel holds up performance wise compared to knives from other brands with more modern designs and modern steels at a similar price point.
Yes. The point of the video was to fairly evaluate what is possibly America's Favorite Knife against others.
Two Dutch guys bashing an American Classic.
Ope, here's another guy who didn't bother to watch the video. For every downside they pointed out the pointed out the flipside. For example:
- It has horrible edge retention, but it has very good build quality and matierals (aside from the blade steel) for $65
- It is horrible for batoning, but it was not really made for batoning
- The factory edge is very coarse, but it cuts well due to edge geometry.
How is determining what medium is being cut beside the point? Do you spend your days cutting 3/4 inch marilla rope?
No, this is their standardized test medium. It's cheap, it's available, it's abrasive and it doesn't take forever to test edge retention on super steels, so you completely missed the point. Again.
Or are you more likely to cut a piece of 550 cord? Of course something like k390 is gonna cut more abrasive rope than 420hc. Then, when it finally dulls, how many average people have the capability to sharpen said knife?
What I've failed to see in 13 years of working with rope almost every day is anyone using marilla/sisal/hemp rope for anything. What I do see day to day, work being excluded are smaller diameter cordages being used. What's a more "reality based" test, cutting the things that normal people cut day to day, or some gigantic piece of natural fiber cordage that you have to go out of your way to find?
I'll add that when it comes to cutting anything dirty, making 3 extra cuts before needing a sharpening that takes 4 times as long tends to lose you time in the long run.
Maybe someday one of these chuckleheads will take the time to count the cuts one can make in a piece of paracord. Or actually take a knife out to a real job site and see what happens.
I agree that these real-world tests have value. How would you do them in a way that the results would be comparable from one knife to the next? Are you going to buy bags of concrete for each one and count the cuts? They're trying to be a little scientific about it while also being entertaining.
Well their fact can be off if they are dulling it in one cut. I’ve been using a 110 for 34 years now and I know it will make more than one cut and many more. What sharpening angle did it have? What kind of rope did they use? There’s several metrics that can cause it to have an unsatisfactory result. I can only go by my own experience and results and I can tell you it’s far from what they claim.
There are millions of Buck 110s out there and you would think that if they weren’t any better than their review claims Buck wouldn’t still be making them after 59 years but they are. Just check Bucks production numbers to date.
Hmm. I feel like you didn't pay attention, if you did indeed watch the video. They tested the factory edge and after two cuts through thick sisal rope it was too dull to cut paper. I don't know what that angle is, and I don't think Buck does either, as some dude does it by hand on a grinder. That's their standard test. I do think it would have done better if they would have at least touched up that factory edge so it wasn't so toothy. Did you see how coarse that edge was? Yikes. All those teeth on the soft 420HC just broke off by the 2nd cut.
Hard to beat 60 bucks for an American made folder, a great leather sheath, and outstanding warranty.
Except that it doesn't cut many times before going blunt.
The 420hc is perfectly fine for most folks, especially considering how easy it is to sharpen and how well it resists corrosion.
The point was that it doesn't hold an edge. Of COURSE it is easy to sharpen, because it's so soft it won't hold an edge. Of COURSE it's corrosion resistant, because it's alloyed to be that way instead of holding an edge.
Not sure what the problem is.
Who said there's a problem? It was just a couple of questions. (blade steel & knife)
$140 for the left one above is still a good deal.
Agreed, and I pointed out that using a decent steel without getting silly on pricing would make this a good value. Does the price of the knife really have to more than double to support S30v or CPM 154? Then, we'd have all the GOOD things about the Buck 110, but without the one glaringly obvious bad thing. (poor edge retention)
And to the OP: how can I select an option if all you allow me to select is that 420HC is a "budget" steel ? What percentage of a knife's price is the steel, anyways, compared to costs of a proper heat treat, etc. ? There is a reason Buck has picked 420HC and it's not costs.
Well, cost is definitely a major factor. 420HC is cheap as chips and is what allows it to be made and sold at a profit, with American labor costs for only $65. It's for the people with 1960s expectations of edge retention.
You want a tough stainless steel that doesn't chip, well heat-treated 420HC or AEB-L are the best options. They do fall on Larrin's dashed blue line.
No, they were talking mostly about edge retention, not toughness, and we can see that it is pretty bad. It's true that if they had tested this knife in S30v, they may have broken the delicate tip off the blade while hammering on it with the branch during batoning.
While I don’t have enough experience with 420HC to have an opinion, I will say that when I think “pocket knife”, the Buck 110 is what my mind immediately goes to.
Really? 110s are
way too big and heavy for pocket carry. I think most people (Americans, at least) might think "Buck 110" when they think of a belt-carried folder. Pocket knife" means a traditional folder like a barlow or Swiss army knife to most people I know.
Not a fan of homo-erotic knife reviews. Not that there is anything wrong with those.
Did you watch it? They do have their goofy antics to appeal to the younger crowd, but they also know what they're talking about. They're a bushcraft channel, first and foremost, so they don't do much with folders. (which they admit to) I thought they made an excellent point when they said something like: "Don't buy a nice folding knife, then destroy the investment by beating on it doing bushcraft with it. The investment in a folding knife goes to other places, like making a nice folding mechanism." People who refuse to watch the video
