Buck 110 auto Elite vs Cold Steel Espada large for EDC

T

TomInOregon

Joined
Aug 31, 2022
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Looking for a new knife for every day carry in Oregon. Mostly opening packages from Amazon, cut rope/string, cutting plastic pallet strapping, and cutting plastic wrap on pallets, plus other typical knife stuff. I've narrowed it down to a couple of choices: The Buck 110 auto Elite and the Cold Steel Espada large (not the cheaper G10 model). Both are about the same price and I believe both use S30 steel. Other than that, they are very different knives for different purposes. I haven't had a Buck 110 since I was a kid, but I loved the feel of it in my hand and found it very useful. I have never seen or held a Cold Steel Espada of any size before. I know it is a bit larger than my current EDC (A Spyderco Manix Glow in the dark). My Spyderco has been great, but it's getting very hard to replace it if it were to get lost, so I would like to retire it before it gets lost or broken. Any input or suggestions would be nice. I know there are a lot of other knives out there, but most of them just don't float my boat. Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums.

Although Cold Steel produces my all-time favorite knife, and I appreciate them for that and continue to buy from them, their customer/warranty service is at best sub-par, at worst it's non existent.

If there were a problem with a Buck knife, either upon receipt or at any time in the future, I am quite confident that Buck would bend over backwards to fix it, including replacing a broken blade (for a fee).

On the other hand, if you buy a Cold Steel knife, and if there is a problem with it, if it is missing a part, or you lose a part (screw), or it develops a problem down the line, good luck getting Cold Steel to help you out. They are not the same company they used to be before being sold.

To put it simply- Buy a Buck and Buck stands behind you %100. Buy a Cold Steel, and you're on your own.

I don't know if any of that matters to you, but it might be something to consider.
 
Thank you. That is important to me, since I keep (and use) my knives for a long time. In fact, on some of the Espada reviews I have read, they mention the blade moving side to side when open. Sounds like quality control may be spotty at Cold Steel.
 
Well the answer was, as usual, to buy both. I picked up a Buck 110 Auto the night I posted since Sportsman's warehouse had it available. I got a great deal on it too with all of the discounts they applied to it. Good knife, but I also ended up ordering a Large Espada and then decided to get a Spyderco Clipitool standard so I will have a bottle opener when camping. Thanks again, Killgar for the information.
 
I would have gotten another Manix, you already know the characteristics and performance
 
TomInOregon said:
the cheaper G10 model).
Click to expand...
I carried the cheaper model for many years and used it pretty hard .

Never had to return or try to replace anything on a Cold Steel product . And I've owned and used many for a very long time .

I don't know if any of this matters to you . ;)

But Cold Steel is under new ownership ...and not too good . So , IDK ?


 
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They seem like two very different type of knives to me. I like both of them. There are some who would never come near to owning a knife that looks like an Espada of any size with a 10 foot pole.

Unfortunately the Taiwan made Cold Steel Espada is a better constructed knife with better materials (S35VN) and more blade for the weight. The lock is much better, it can be deployed faster with less things to go wrong. I can't say the same for a kick spring operated back lock auto opener with the weight and profile of a buck 110.

The Buck 110 auto elite seems to be a good knife though and it has a Paul Bos heat treated S30V blade. Despite it being an auto opener it is definitely less likely to attract unwanted attention like a Large Shiny Espada navaja like knife. It looks cool and although the Large Espada is something to be admired, when pulling it out in some places the word cool does not come to mind. I can see the appeal of owning a Buck 110 auto in general and I also understand why some people may prefer it.
 
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