- Joined
- Oct 21, 2021
- Messages
- 151
Buck Knives is without a doubt my favorite cutlery company, namely because they make such high quality knives which at an extremely affordable cost.
However, I must admit that I am surprised and disappointed by just how quickly The Law of Diminishing Returns comes into play in regards to their more expensive knives. One would assume that since Buck Knives makes such excellent knives at low cost, then their higher priced blades must be of unprecedented quality for cost, but unfortunately, such hasn't been my personal experience, in fact it has been very much to the contrary.
I purchased my very first Buck knife going on 15 years ago at the Sporting Goods section of a Department Store I was working at the time because someone was always borrowing the box cutter from my department then neglecting to return it, and while I had no particular use for a box cutter of my own, a good carry knife would be invaluable. So recognizing the brand name due to my exposure via my father as well as many other men who carried or used Buck Knives, as well as the low price tag of $17.99, I bought a Bucklite of some variation which was pretty much just a Buck 112 with a polymer handle. It served me well for a couple of years until I had unfortunately misplaced it somewhere and never found it.
Regardless, Buck has been my go-to brand for affordable yet high quality knives ever since.
In recent years, I've taken more of an interest in their premium knives, but much to my dismay, thus far my experience with them has been rather disappointing. Granted that I only own a couple of their more expensive knives, but based on my particular examples, the cost to quality ratio has been unfortunately skewed, and it just doesn't feel like you're getting an increase in quality to match the increase in cost.
For instance, last Christmas I received a Buck 110 Slim Pro as gift from my brother, and it's a swell knife to be sure, don't get me wrong, but my Custom Buck 110 (classic) just looks and feels like a higher quality knife, in spite of the fact that it was less expensive. At first I just chalked it up to the fact that the Custom 110 is well, custom and it weighs a lot more than the 110 Slim Pro, so perhaps I was just basing my perception of quality on the heft of the knife.
However, last month I received a Buck 110 Hunter Sport as a Birthday Gift from my brother, which I love and have since adopted as my carry knife. However, I have since purchased a Buck 112 Slim Select, a knife which costs a mere fraction of either the 110 Slim Pro let alone the 110 Sport, yet just feels like such an extraordinary value by comparison. Yes, it's a cheaper knife made of much cheaper materials, with a stonewashed 420HC blade and a Red FRN handle compared to a satin S30V blade and O.D. Green Micarta handle, but overall the quality of workmanship between them isn't all that different, and much to my surprise, the 112 Slim Select feels more sturdy in my hands than the 110 Slim Pro.
In addition, the 110 Sport arrived from the factory with a rather gnarly edge that while extremely sharp, looked as if it hadn't been stropped at all, and after stropping it, I have discovered a very small knick in the blade near the tip. It's not a big enough deal to send it back because it's only visible if you hold the knife up to the light and will certainly fade away with use/sharpening, but still it's there, which has left me with a decidely poor impression of their premium knives.
The prices just seem to exceed the overall quality of the blades once you start getting near the upper end, and frankly I'm just not that impressed by the materials either. Sure, S30V is a more advanced steel than 420HC which will hold an edge longer and is more corrosion resistant, but it's more brittle, more difficult to sharpen, and is a far cry from the best steel their is, so frankly I prefer 420HC. I honestly wish that Buck would make more mid-range knives, as I would prefer a 110 Sport with a blade that's easier to sharpen like the tried and true 420HC.
Perhaps I've just gotten unlucky with the factory edge on my 110 Sport, but regardless, I just feel like Buck's lower-priced knives offer a substantially greater value for the dollar than their premium knives, and while I'm extremely grateful to my brother for gifting me their more expensive stuff, I think that hence forth I'm going to stick with their standard knives.
However, I must admit that I am surprised and disappointed by just how quickly The Law of Diminishing Returns comes into play in regards to their more expensive knives. One would assume that since Buck Knives makes such excellent knives at low cost, then their higher priced blades must be of unprecedented quality for cost, but unfortunately, such hasn't been my personal experience, in fact it has been very much to the contrary.
I purchased my very first Buck knife going on 15 years ago at the Sporting Goods section of a Department Store I was working at the time because someone was always borrowing the box cutter from my department then neglecting to return it, and while I had no particular use for a box cutter of my own, a good carry knife would be invaluable. So recognizing the brand name due to my exposure via my father as well as many other men who carried or used Buck Knives, as well as the low price tag of $17.99, I bought a Bucklite of some variation which was pretty much just a Buck 112 with a polymer handle. It served me well for a couple of years until I had unfortunately misplaced it somewhere and never found it.
Regardless, Buck has been my go-to brand for affordable yet high quality knives ever since.
In recent years, I've taken more of an interest in their premium knives, but much to my dismay, thus far my experience with them has been rather disappointing. Granted that I only own a couple of their more expensive knives, but based on my particular examples, the cost to quality ratio has been unfortunately skewed, and it just doesn't feel like you're getting an increase in quality to match the increase in cost.
For instance, last Christmas I received a Buck 110 Slim Pro as gift from my brother, and it's a swell knife to be sure, don't get me wrong, but my Custom Buck 110 (classic) just looks and feels like a higher quality knife, in spite of the fact that it was less expensive. At first I just chalked it up to the fact that the Custom 110 is well, custom and it weighs a lot more than the 110 Slim Pro, so perhaps I was just basing my perception of quality on the heft of the knife.
However, last month I received a Buck 110 Hunter Sport as a Birthday Gift from my brother, which I love and have since adopted as my carry knife. However, I have since purchased a Buck 112 Slim Select, a knife which costs a mere fraction of either the 110 Slim Pro let alone the 110 Sport, yet just feels like such an extraordinary value by comparison. Yes, it's a cheaper knife made of much cheaper materials, with a stonewashed 420HC blade and a Red FRN handle compared to a satin S30V blade and O.D. Green Micarta handle, but overall the quality of workmanship between them isn't all that different, and much to my surprise, the 112 Slim Select feels more sturdy in my hands than the 110 Slim Pro.
In addition, the 110 Sport arrived from the factory with a rather gnarly edge that while extremely sharp, looked as if it hadn't been stropped at all, and after stropping it, I have discovered a very small knick in the blade near the tip. It's not a big enough deal to send it back because it's only visible if you hold the knife up to the light and will certainly fade away with use/sharpening, but still it's there, which has left me with a decidely poor impression of their premium knives.
The prices just seem to exceed the overall quality of the blades once you start getting near the upper end, and frankly I'm just not that impressed by the materials either. Sure, S30V is a more advanced steel than 420HC which will hold an edge longer and is more corrosion resistant, but it's more brittle, more difficult to sharpen, and is a far cry from the best steel their is, so frankly I prefer 420HC. I honestly wish that Buck would make more mid-range knives, as I would prefer a 110 Sport with a blade that's easier to sharpen like the tried and true 420HC.
Perhaps I've just gotten unlucky with the factory edge on my 110 Sport, but regardless, I just feel like Buck's lower-priced knives offer a substantially greater value for the dollar than their premium knives, and while I'm extremely grateful to my brother for gifting me their more expensive stuff, I think that hence forth I'm going to stick with their standard knives.
