Buck 110 vs Modern Folders

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Rhinoknives1 said:
Jill,
I'm not sure what you did that caused a loose pivot? I've never seen that issue and have sharpened and cleaned up many 110's over the years.

Along with still making this classic Americana 110 knife. Buck has an excellent warranty / service dept.
Simple mail your buck to them up in Idaho. http://www.buckknives.com/about-knives/bucks-forever-warranty/

They have always fixed or replaced any knife I and everyone I know of promptly & courteously. They will fix or replace your 110 with the loose pivot.
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It's long gone traded away for a few fishing lures. Thanks anyway, but I just moved on to other folders that can take a bit of snap cutting thin brush off my hiking trails. Now I've started using small fixed blades for the same task too. I think Buck should redo the old 110 and drill the bolsters to accept a bigger threaded pivot. They could recess it and make it look nice, might add 5 dollars or so to the cost. I've seen a few of those metal bolstered lock-backs, with little peened pins holding the blade and Buck or other brands, doesn't matter it's a weak point.
 
skyhorse said:
The Buck110 is still a great knife.It being a belt knife is also a plus for horseback riders. Btw,us old timers know how to use it one handed opening.;)
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Would you mind sharing how?

Here's a picture of my old beat up and abused knife that I recently dug up. I plan on restoring it by polishing it and getting Buck to remove the play in the pivot. I also bought a new 2014 model to display next to it.

 
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I picked up a 110 last summer for a $1 at a garage sale. It had a broken tip, but I figured I would reshape it and throw it in the tool box. I learned that the date code was 1989, the year of my younger son, so I opted to send it to Buck and for $10 they made it new again. Of course the new blade no longer has the 1989 date, but I gave it to my son already for his birthday and he loves it! He has lots of other knives, but thinks the Buck looks and feels awesome.
 
pinching it is one way to open it, but after some practice I was able to use the nail nick like a thumb stud. I got bit more than once in the process though.
 
marcinek said:
"Stacks up" in what way? It doesn't have a pocket clip or a thumb stud...
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That is like saying that a '69 Camaro doesn't have seat warmers or Bluetooth compatibility.

It's too heavy...the pivot pin is too small...waah waah waah. The 110 is a classic knife that has more than proven itself for 50 YEARS now in an impressively wide array of applications. It has underwear that is older than your tactical knife. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the new designs too. My Delica is one of my favorite knives, and I take it into the woods a lot. But, I get along just fine with my 110 too.

A lot of ranchers out west still carry Colt SAAs or clones. Oh sure, they could replace it with a new DA revolver or even a semi-auto, but a lot of those folks are of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. The 110 certainly ain't broke.
 
I expected more than a blade that loosened up in four directions, with light use in fifteen minutes, sorry I found the 110 lacking.
 
The Buck 110 was the first good knife that I ever bought back in the early 70's. I really wanted one for a while and skipped school to go to the Army-Navy store to buy one with my paper route money. I used it for about 20 years. It cut up deer, elk, javelina, dove, quail, rattlesnake, drywall, baling wire, tires, wood and anything else that I came across that needed cutting including a man in self defense. It never failed me and still locked up like new when I gave it away to a kid who did not have a good knife.

It held an edge pretty well and sharpened well. The only thing that I wished was that it was lighter. I bought a new one a few years ago. I have not carried it that much, though. I also have one in automatic conversion.

I have owned MANY knives and MANY customs over the years, but the Buck 110 and 112 both have a special place in my heart. Often copied, but never duplicated!!
 
I'm with Jill on this one. The 110 pin is a terrible pivot. They do, in fact, loosen up with what today would be considered only moderate usage. I used to peen mine back together myself. On the other hand, it was pretty much the best available back in the mid 70s. Today's engineered and threaded pivot systems are light years better.

I know a lot of people have a warm spot in their heart for this knife, but then a lot of people have a warm spot in their hearts for the 67 Mustang, which was techically a crappy car. Please don't shoot me, but it had terrible brakes and didn't steer especially well. Any European sports car could out perform it easily. So, yeah, I get that people have fond memories of it, and I say nothing against that. It's just that we don't always remember things very clearly.

So, really, we get the vast majority of value of our cutting tools very low on the economic scale. People open packages and envelopes with non-knives all the time. A rabbit can be skinned out without any knife at all. What we value today is way off in the left hand tail. I am myself a steel snob and yet my M4 bladed Mini Grip won't open a package or gut a squirrel any better than a well maintained Buck 110. On the other hand, it really is a much better knife in terms of durability, edge retention, ease of opening, and general lack of required maintenance.

That old timer is certainly welcome to his Buck 110, or his flint knife, or whatever moves him. I'm sticking with a modern knife because that's what I like.
 
raja said:
<snip>

This discussion has probably taken place before, but your thoughts please on how the Buck 110 stacks up against the modern one-handed opening, pocket-clip knives in real-world use.

Thanks,
Raja
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My mid-1970s Buck 110 will do anything my modern folders will do, so I think it stacks up pretty well. I'd classify it as an outdoor working man's knife - rugged, capable, durable, and relatively inexpensive. It isn't something you are likely to slip into your pocket, but it doesn't claim to be. I spent quite a few years with a 110 as my only knife, which means I used it for working on farms and in the mountains as well as for food prep in the kitchen, and I didn't know I needed anything different. I enjoy modern folders and carry them often, but from my own experience I know that the 110 will do whatever I need it to do.
 
What's the deal with this my seventies Buck being so much better? Mine was from probably seven years ago and it was the absolute worst I've ever used, for the exact same tasks.
 
As I recall, it was the first folder that saw extensive use as a hunting knife. Everyone of my generation had one and just about everybody's 110 had a broken tip. It was modern for its day, as most hunter's from an earlier generation tended to stick with their fixed blade.

My first 110 is a bit of an aberration as it's made of 425M steel. I wish I had an earlier 440C - swwweeeeettt!!!

Also many people like to live simply instead of simply living. There is a lot to be said for getting rid of clutter and things that you don't really need. Not sure if I would choose the 110 today if I was in my 20's, but it did what I needed for a long time.

But there is no question that the Buck 110 has attained iconic status and deservedly so. I got one when I did because it was the only large folding hunting knife available. It worked then and I'm quite sure it will still work today.

While a bit off topic, I'm trying to do more and procure less. I don't buy anything unless I need it. And I have bought very little over the past year or two. I'm finding getting rid of stuff to be more difficult, but I feel lighter and more free as I do.

Time has always been the best and harshest test of everything from knives to music. And it's difficult to argue that the Buck 110 is not a great knife. Time always separates the wheat from the chaff. It may be obsolete to many, but for $30 it still fills a need for many. I'm not certain it would be my first choice today, but it has to be evaluated within a historical context.
 
jill jackson said:
It's not too heavy to carry, just too heavy for it's tiny pivot pin, with no threads. The one I had came loose right away. Buck could put a bigger threaded pivot in it and it would be a whole lot stronger.
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The 110 pivot is a solid rod, threaded pivots are hollow tubes. You might be surprised to find out which one is actually stronger.
 
A Buck 110 was one of the few knives I carried as a Forest Fire Fighter for 37 years. I could open mine with the flick of the wrist holding on to the blade. Great all around knife and I would rather have it than some of these new type knives. Still carry it and use it at times for memories.
 
For almost 15 years the Buck110 was my main hunting, camping and fishing knife...... Maybe 7-8 deer, bunches of squirrels and rabbits, tons of trout..... If I was in the woods it was on my belt...I used it like a knife and it never let me down.CD
 
Haven't carried my Buck 110 in over 25 years, and still looks brand new although it's been sharpened, mainly because I started carrying a Leatherman PST. I figured that if I had to carry a knife in a pouch, I might as well carry a multitool. Shortly after that, I went to Spydercos and Kershaws. The Buck 110 just felt too heavy and got tired of it needing 2 hands to close. Prior to all that, I had a 2-dot that was used heavily by my dad, missing a pin and the blade has been worn down to about 3". Todays knives are so much better.
 
pinnah said:
The 110 is a hunting knife, first and foremost. Horses for courses. If you like a clip point for cleaning game then the Buck 110 will be better than most modern designs. Not all, but most, at least for that design.

FWIW, I'd bet dollars to donuts the guy was chose the 110 mostly for cultural reasons (which is why most taticool people choose their knives). I'll also wager that it does good enough for what he uses it for, same as with taticool knives. 90% of knife talk is hype, I think. Like most knives made, the 110 is good enough for many things. There are differences at the limits and it's at the limits is where the 110 is not a super versatile knife, imo.




I don't think a hunting folding knife needs to be strong, really. It needs good balance and be well proportioned. Needs good steel. As a hunting knife (for those who prefer a clip point), the 110 is just fine.

The problems come when you expose it to large opening (strong cutting, as in wood cutting) or strong lateral forces (prying) that the Buck design fails. For that, the lowly Opinel blows the Buck 110 out of the water, no question.




I wouldn't trust Buck's all plastic knives (the Bantams and Bucklite Max) as far I could flush them. The old Bucklites used a very stiff plastic and were rugged enough but the current stuff is softer and when used hard, the pivot pins open up the plastic pretty fast. IMO, Buck is flushing their reputation down the hole with those knives (well, that and their 420J2 slip joints).

From the 70s, when they were good.
Buck 110 by Pinnah, on Flickr
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I have Bucks from the 80's and 90's as well as from 2012-14, The one with the best fit and finish, and probably the best fit and finish out of all the knives I own is a custom shop 110 from 2013. Also, the bantams were not designed with hard use in mind. I mine in the same way I would a slip joint and I've never had any problems. I also have a a slip joint in 420J2 and after daily carry a couple summers ago, it's still rather sharp, and has a nice walk and talk compared to my GEC. Buck's budget line is no better or worse than many knife companies. I've come to accept that the general knife discussion isn't an entirely accurate representation of the general opinion (especially on topics such as this) as there is a very large following on the traditional sub forum that tend to stick there. People always bring up the weight of the 110 but don't bat an eye at the weight of the very trendy sharpened folding prybars. Just my .02
 
pinnah said:
I wouldn't trust Buck's all plastic knives (the Bantams and Bucklite Max) as far I could flush them. The old Bucklites used a very stiff plastic and were rugged enough but the current stuff is softer and when used hard, the pivot pins open up the plastic pretty fast. IMO, Buck is flushing their reputation down the hole with those knives (well, that and their 420J2 slip joints).

I haven't had one problem with my Bantam, and I've beat the hell out of it, maybe I've just gotten lucky, but it's stood up to some things that would make some of my other blades cringe.

Anyway my 110 opens great one handed, I love that blade. I'll carry it hunting, hiking, fishing. But I won't use it for any hard use since it was a gift from a dear friend of mine, he carried that knife for many years, I sent it to Buck and for free they did a little refurbishing where he had used it as a hammer. It may not be a premium steel, but Bucks 420 holds a great edge and gets super sharp. Some of my folders I wouldn't trust 100% if I was in a sticky situation, but my 110 has never let me down.
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