Buck alpha in S30V?

L

lavios219

Joined
Sep 25, 2012
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I am considering a Buck custom(what they refer to as custom anyway) Alpha Hunter with guthook in S30V.
Does anyone have any comments on this steel? Meaning Buck's S30V.
I will be using it to dress and quarter whitetail and hogs, but mostly whitetail.
I am a firm believer in having the right tools for the job and I really want a knife that will hold an outstanding edge.
The cost is around $140 because I prefer a rubber grip in my hand when its also covered in blood maybe even rain.

I don't mind paying more or less $$$. Just want the best functioning tool for my needs.

Comments?
 
I don't have an alpha in Buck's S30V, but I've got a Vantage Pro. It seems a bit on the soft side, but this is just one knife and the opinion of one user. I think most of the sub $100 knives are run a bit soft in order to save on warranty costs due to tip breakage.
I have an Alpha in CPM-154 and they seem to have hit the mark with the heat treat on that one, but it isn't a gut hook. I suspect that they'll run the gut hooks a bit softer due the thinner cross section of the tip.
What knife are you comparing the Buck S30V to in terms of wear resistance?
 
The others i had been considering were the benchmade bone collector and the Knives of Alaska whitetail hunter/combo. Both in D2.

However after talking to a knife shop here in town they told me that they and others in town stop carring Knives of Alaska due to poor steel(maybe the heating process) and the inability to get a good edge on them.
 
Buck does a great job with their S30V so I doubt you will have a problem.

Just keep a nice toothy edge on it and it will just keep cutting.
 
lavios219 said:
The others i had been considering were the benchmade bone collector and the Knives of Alaska whitetail hunter/combo. Both in D2.

However after talking to a knife shop here in town they told me that they and others in town stop carring Knives of Alaska due to poor steel(maybe the heating process) and the inability to get a good edge on them.
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I have a KOA magnum boar hunter in D2. It is a fine knife and the D2 is excellent in it. I would imaging their inability to get a good edge on it is due to their inability to sharpen D2. It's far from what I would call "poor steel". I have a buck custom 110 in S30V. I haven't put it through it's paces, so I can't comment. But it came extremely sharp from the custom shop. I would trust Ankerson's take on it that it's a good blade.
 
I've used knives from Benchmade and Spyderco and Buck in S30V. The Buck performed best in side by side edge retention testing cutting manila rope.

Paul Bos developed the heat treat schedule used by Buck. The man is a legend for his heat treating of cutlery steel. The magic shows in the performance of the Buck S30V.
 
Fancier, if you think your s30v vantage is too soft, would that be the same s30v they would use on a custom alpha?

Would I be better off with one in cpm-154?

Also Planetcat, I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but the knife shop I mentioned definitely knows what they are doing. I also talked to three other knife shops, three gander mountains, and bass pro shop. With the exception of a couple of fish fileting knives at bass pro, they all told me they had liquidated their stock and would not be carrying the product any more.

Maybe they started taking short cuts, who knows. All I know is the whitetail hunter combo that I really wanted just doesn't sound that good anymore. My loss.
 
lavios219 said:
Fancier, if you think your s30v vantage is too soft, would that be the same s30v they would use on a custom alpha?

Would I be better off with one in cpm-154?

Also Planetcat, I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but the knife shop I mentioned definitely knows what they are doing. I also talked to three other knife shops, three gander mountains, and bass pro shop. With the exception of a couple of fish fileting knives at bass pro, they all told me they had liquidated their stock and would not be carrying the product any more.

Maybe they started taking short cuts, who knows. All I know is the whitetail hunter combo that I really wanted just doesn't sound that good anymore. My loss.
Click to expand...
No worries my friend. KOA gets a mediocre rap around here, and I really like my D2 Magnum Boar Hunter. Sure, they're not using micarta or G10 for a lot of their knives, but for field dressing and the like, I think they're decent. I seriously wouldn't noodle too much over the Buck S30V. Like Jim said, Buck knows how to heat treat their steels, and I would imagine a gut hook alpha hunter will serve you well in the field. Have you looked at the Cabelas Alaskan Guide series knives by Buck. they have their Alpha Hunter and Vanguard Zipper both in S30V. they don't seem like they're much cheaper than the custom shop though.
 
You have two uber experienced fellas telling you that Buck S30V is top stuff and y'all go believe a newbie. Right.
 
Planetcat, I have looked at the cabelas version and couldn't get past the big yellow emblem plus when they dip it the didn't resharpen the gut hook( quick fix though).

Gonna go with the custom buck.

Thanks to all!
 
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