Buck 302 Solitare vs Case Slimline Trapper CV

D

dan oliver

Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Messages
166
I now have both. My observations:

1. Priced about the same
2. Case is finished a little nicer
3. Both are sharp out of the box; each is easy to sharpen on the Sharpmaker.
4. Bought the Case 1st....as a personal steak knife that I could legally carry into restaurants. Perfect for that purpose.
5. The Buck blade design seems to be more "all purpose".
6. Both knives have room in the handle for longer blades. Not sure why that is? They could easily shorten the handle for easier pocket carry; Or make another version with a longer blade.
7. I like them both....great value in my opinion.
8. If I had to pick just one of them, I would keep the Case.

What do you all think?

Thank you
 
The reason the Buck has room for more blades is that it is essentially a 301 thinned down to a 1-blade knife. Has the same scales, endcaps, main blade, etc. This reduced the cost of bringing out a new design because it minimized the amount of new tooling necessary.

I'm normally a fan of Buck over Case because the Buck will hold an edge longer, but as a steak knife the Case is nicer, so I might concur with your choice.
 
The Slimline Trapper is my favourite CASE pattern, long slim,pocket friendly and a versatile food-knife. Many scale choices too.
 
Recently I've been trying a Slimline trapper and have come to really like the pattern. The Case always gets my attention and I do like the barehead scales but, like the OP, the blade looks a little short for the handle. Not that blade length makes a huge difference but I keep ogling pics of the Tidioute tractor red bone slimline trapper.

I'll probably get the Case 1st. Great value for the money IMO.
 
sappyg said:
Recently I've been trying a Slimline trapper and have come to really like the pattern. The Case always gets my attention and I do like the barehead scales but, like the OP, the blade looks a little short for the handle. Not that blade length makes a huge difference but I keep ogling pics of the Tidioute tractor red bone slimline trapper.

I'll probably get the Case 1st. Great value for the money IMO.
Click to expand...

The Queen Utility knife is 4 1/4" like the Case Slimline
But the blade is much longer and is in proportion to the knife lenght
And less money than a slimline (not less than delrin ones)
A very nice knife in bone

The Canal Street 1/2 Moon at 3 3/4" has the same blade length as the Case Slimline
More expensive but the steel is out there and tha choice of scales is excellent
 
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Just some Buck 302 (301 single blade) photos in case someone has not viewed them.

IMG_1947.jpg


302DymwdRev.jpg


302Yellow.jpg


302Group.jpg


300Bucks
 
I'm a fan of Buck knives but just recently picked up an old Case slimline trapper. After carrying it for a few days I think this one is a keeper for sure.
 
I've had my eye on both of those. What's up with Buck and the saber grinds 300? I don't hate them, but your pix of the old flat grinds are niiiice. Are the bolsters ss on the Buck?
 
I personally like the Slimline Trapper's shorter blade and nice long handle. I don't need nor desire a longer blade than what it has, smaller blades seem to have better control and less flex (though the slimline certainly has enough of that), yet I like a nice long handle for the simple purpose that it feels better in the hand.

Unless I'm on a ship or something the slimline trapper is my main EDC, used slightly more often than my Boker lockback and a damascus rough rider lockback.

Edit:

incase this was a concern of yours, in the 2 years I've on-and-off carried the slimline trapper I haven't run into any times where I wish I had a more substantial "all purpose" knife. From rubber hosing, food, to trimming a few +3" branches at work over the summer the CV Slimline Trapper has held its own :thumbup:
 
First off, you may have read one of my off-the-cuff ramblings where I may have made a mistake and wrote that. But, before I wrote the recent nickle silver statement I went back and looked it up in the 2010 and 2011 Buck catalog. Once I settle in for the evening I will look in some old stuff to see if I can find some that are SS.

I even wiki'ed nickle silver......for all the odd names it has been known by....I know someone is gonna say I am vague, but its basically brass with some zinc added. A LE with just brass might be interesting.
300Bucks
 
I very well may have fantasized the ss liners into bolsters. That's a lot of work for an inexpensive production knife. Nickel silver is interesting stuff. Some on the rough riders is downright yellow. I never realized it was mostly copper until noticing that and looking it up.
 
I don't own either pattern but have always wondered about both. I normally tend to like multi bladed slippies but a single once in a while might be nice.
 
I'm a bit partial to Buck anyways so my opinion should probably be taken with a grain of salt but I've seen/handled a few of the 302's and they seem like a very useful and simplified slipjoint that would be outstanding for Foodstuffs "mainly due to the stainless blade" however the edge is a tad thick and the Case CV slimline trapper has a pretty thin and pointy blade that could take a very thin edge. IMO both are fine knives and I don't think you could go wrong with either one.
 
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