Benchmade or Buck?

J

johnnyKnives

Joined
Sep 21, 2008
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I've narrowed it down to two for the moment. Buck and Benchmade. I like the Buck 102 and Vanguard and the Benchmade 10502. Really, I like tons of others but for small game and affordability I chose these. These knives have a lot of good reviews on here and again they are well priced. Just wondering what other thought of comparing the two. Does either stand out or are they about the same quality?

I'm sure there are many more but I"m on information overload and these are the best I can find for me right now. I expect to have more knives in the future anyway.

Thanks.
 
If they were folders, I'd say Benchmade without hesitation. But when it comes to fixed blades, Buck is such a good, basic knife that brand is no longer an issue - at least not in this case. I love Benchmade's fb's, especially Snody's designs, but I also love the Vanguard and, for that matter, the 102.

I can;t think of the 10502 and am too lazy right now to look it up. Which one is that?
 
StretchNM said:
If they were folders, I'd say Benchmade without hesitation. But when it comes to fixed blades, Buck is such a good, basic knife that brand is no longer an issue - at least not in this case. I love Benchmade's fb's, especially Snody's designs, but I also love the Vanguard and, for that matter, the 102.

I can;t think of the 10502 and am too lazy right now to look it up. Which one is that?
Click to expand...

benchmade 10502 "regular"
http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=44855

there is a black version also:

http://www.newgraham.com/detail.aspx?ID=44708

How long before the black wears off the blade?

I just don't get knives too often so I want to get the best I can.
 
I saw the knife at New Graham. I really thought the Rant was a Red Class blade, but it says Made in US, so maybe not. I like the BM Rant better, mostly because of the lack of lower finger guard. However, if you were to upgrade to the Buck Alaska Guide Vanguard in S30V, now that would make me lean toward the Buck.

Buck has such a long history and is so widely known (and so reasonably priced) that alot of people will discount them as "cheap" or as of a "lessor" manufacturer. Don;t be fooled - Buck still makes very fine, well-crafted knives. They've gone the overseas route with some of their line, but most are still made in the U.S., IF that makes a difference (it does, for me).

Both Buck and BM are great knifemakers. You can;t go wrong here.

BM's black coatings are not "cheap". They won;t just rub off the way you might think. BUT, they will show marring and scratching from normal use that you won;t get with an uncoated blade. In most cases, I prefer uncoated, and especially in your two picks where both steels are 440C stainless.
 
Th epic of the BM Nimravus below will give you some idea of how the coating will wear and under what circumstances. That knife hacked, chopped, and whittled about 15 or 16 mesquite branches. I was bored and on surveillance, and I found a pile of mesquite branch trimmings that some humphead had dumped alongside the highway. So, everyday for about a month on my way to this surveillance site, I would stop and take a leak here. every other day or so I would get a new branch to whittle on. THese braches were about 1" to 1-1/2" thick and about 12" to 18" long. They had knots and small branch stubs, and the wood had been there for several months. Mesquite is a hard wood, just in case your unfamiliar with it. I'd hack off the nubs, chop many of the branches to length, cut off branch elbows, pare off the bark, shape the sticks, and give them away to co-workers. All of the marring you see on the Nimravus was caused by that month of activity. Not bad eh?
BM-Collection-02.jpg


BM-Collection-01.jpg


That just gives you some semblance of how tough these coatings are (on reputable mfr blades, anyway) and also shows that they will mar. By the way, that Nimravus coating looks worse now, but not terribly so.
 
I'd go with benchmade on this one. Nothing against Buck, I've used the Vanguard, it's a nice knife and it's worked for me but Benchmade does a nice job with their 440C blades and from the knives I've used from both makers, I'd choose BM's 440C over Buck's 420HC. 440C is no longer considered a premium cutlery stainless but the BM knives I've used held their edge longer (compared to 420HC) and were still easy to sharpen.
 
How about a Spyderco? Benchmade is okay, but a lot of their knives tend to look very similar, not much design variation IMO.
 
14Tango said:
I'd go with benchmade on this one. Nothing against Buck, I've used the Vanguard, it's a nice knife and it's worked for me but Benchmade does a nice job with their 440C blades and from the knives I've used from both makers, I'd choose BM's 440C over Buck's 420HC. 440C is no longer considered a premium cutlery stainless but the BM knives I've used held their edge longer (compared to 420HC) and were still easy to sharpen.
Click to expand...

Agreed,

What he said.
 
Now Josh, Spyderco makes fine knives, I couldn;t fault your post for that, but why would someone recommend them as an alternative to another company simply because (regarding the other mfr) "a lot of their knives tend to look very similar, not much design variation" ??? It's as if the quality of knife might be judged by the "diversity" of the manufacturer.

The OP has narrowed it down to two knives. I am assuming, for the moment, that he has considered the alternatives and it is for this reason that he has, indeed, narrowed it down to two.
 
if u were to be buying a folder, i would fully agree with StretchNM and tell you BM every time but both of thses fixed blades are great, neither will steer you wrong
 
Stretch, that's a great assembly of some of the BM finest, esp. that nice looking classic 970.

Since I'm a Benchmade not a Buck guy it's an easy choice. Uncoated 154cm OR D2, in the 140 Nimravus or if you're lucky a 145 Nim Cub. Carry a 520 or a 14205 as backup and there's a nice combo.

Keep a Smith's pocket diamond rod (or something similar) handy for those quick touchups and you're set!

There's my $.02.
 
StretchNM said:
Now Josh, Spyderco makes fine knives, I couldn;t fault your post for that, but why would someone recommend them as an alternative to another company simply because (regarding the other mfr) "a lot of their knives tend to look very similar, not much design variation" ??? It's as if the quality of knife might be judged by the "diversity" of the manufacturer.

The OP has narrowed it down to two knives. I am assuming, for the moment, that he has considered the alternatives and it is for this reason that he has, indeed, narrowed it down to two.
Click to expand...

That's true. I've spent a lot of time looking. Truth is that I think the benchmade 10502 is not that pretty (is that a nice way of saying ugly?). The rosewood and cherrywood Bucks are pretty knives. However, after research I thought the benchmade would be a better knife. I was starting to go crazy looking at the various steels and so on, but even though the BM is not the prettiest, I think it would be the best for me. I like the grip (not slipping) and I think would actually use it (small game.) the whole 420 versus 440 though makes me like the BM better.

FWIW, I saw the S30V in a buck vanguard but it was so nice *and twice the price of the BM) that I don't know if I would be worried about damaging it. That and I read the S30V was hard to sharpen unless you know what you're doing - and I don't (if you couldn't tell.)
 
14Tango said:
I'd go with benchmade on this one. Nothing against Buck, I've used the Vanguard, it's a nice knife and it's worked for me but Benchmade does a nice job with their 440C blades and from the knives I've used from both makers, I'd choose BM's 440C over Buck's 420HC. 440C is no longer considered a premium cutlery stainless but the BM knives I've used held their edge longer (compared to 420HC) and were still easy to sharpen.
Click to expand...

I second this statement! :thumbup: ,,,VWB.
 
StretchNM said:
Now Josh, Spyderco makes fine knives, I couldn;t fault your post for that, but why would someone recommend them as an alternative to another company simply because (regarding the other mfr) "a lot of their knives tend to look very similar, not much design variation" ??? It's as if the quality of knife might be judged by the "diversity" of the manufacturer.

The OP has narrowed it down to two knives. I am assuming, for the moment, that he has considered the alternatives and it is for this reason that he has, indeed, narrowed it down to two.
Click to expand...

Maybe not the quality, but definitely the aesthetics. ;) I see your point though, and in that case, I'd have to recommend Benchmade. Better steel, better customer service. (Although I seem to be replying a bit late now that I read the rest of the posts.)
 
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