Buck: Their heat treat with S30V or S35VN? Also... the 119 or 120 for that matter?

Hashishiin

Hashishiin

Joined
Dec 29, 2021
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I ordered a S30V Delica for a hundred dollars and thought "That's ridiculous, I should return that. I have a Dragonfly in K390. I have a CF Chaparral. I have a Cricket. What do I need that for?" and started thinking about fixed blades. The only decent fixed blade I have is an Ontario SP-1, but I am going on a camping trip soon and thought it's a good occasion to upgrade. But, I am thinking of either a custom 119, or a 120. I can get the 119 in Bos heat treated S30V, the 120 in S35VN. I know S35 is a tough steel, heard good things about it for fixed blades, but I just don't really know anything about S30V. Haven't used it a lot, only recently got my first knife in the steel...
I know I can't go wrong... but where does each shine, and does one have the edge up on the other in some circumstances? Do I need the extra length of the 120, I wonder? I doubt it.
Any experiences using and sharpening S30V from Buck? I imagine I'm going to be sharpening this fixed blade in the near future, whatever the steel. I can also get Cocobolo and D2... but I am reluctant to mess with D2 for some reason.
 
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I have both the 120 and the 119 Pro models in s35vn. I tuned the edges up just a little when I got them, but they really didn't need it. I haven't used them enough to make too many statements, but I like them so far. If I hade to keep just one of them, it would probably be the 120. It has aptly been named the General. I only have one knife in s30v. It's good too, but a bit harder to put a good edge on than my other knives in D2, etc. Maybe not "harder" but takes s bit longer. Personally, I think I'd choose s35vn over s30v, but that's just me.
 
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Buck does a great job heat treating its S30V, judging by my Custom Shop 112 and Slim Pro. Buck's Paul Bos (now retired) developed the heat treat of 420HC, which is highly regarded. If there are any problems, Buck has a deserved reputation for standing behind its products.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Buck does a great job heat treating its S30V, judging by my Custom Shop 112 and Slim Pro. Buck's Paul Bos (now retired) developed the heat treat of 420HC, which is highly regarded. If there are any problems, Buck has a deserved reputation for standing behind its products.
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Oh, I trust them to the utmost as they did me right before. I'm just trying to figure out which is the best steel for say, using on wood, if S30V makes a good outdoor fixed blade...
Cocobolo is kind of a running joke with me so the Cocobolo in D2 would be funny, but I don't know if I want to choose a wood handle based on how funny it is... it's a nice wood, to be sure!
 
Not to be too controversial here, but I have to say in actual field use I would challenge you to be able to tell the difference between the two steels two out of three times. Keep this thought in context, actual field use.

If you sit down with a knife and cut 463 1" pieces of sisal rope all at once, and then take the same knife with a different steel and cut the same 463 pieces using a machine to get exactly the same set of resistance and weight on the knife as well as the cutting stroke, you will certainly tell a difference. My personal experience is that out in the field things are quite a bit different.

Sure, you can tell a big difference in 440a at 55 Rockwell vs. S35 at 58 Rockwell. Especially in the two steels you are comparing I doubt you would find any difference in the field.

In just a couple of words on the two knives you are looking at. I got my buck 110 in the early seventies and it has been a solid companion for many, many hikes, hunting trips, canoe trips, overnight camping and long-term camping. It is a great all-around knife that seems to hit the sweet spot pretty well for utility use. Still like it, still use it 50 years later.

In a moment of excitement I bought the 120 also known as The General. All that happened there was they added a couple of inches to the 110 in blade length. It felt strange in the hand and was unwieldy. It is out of balance to me and all it was good for was a lightweight chopper. Traded that bad boy off to a guy that really wanted it only to find he had the same experience I did. He sold it to someone else, too. They're just isn't enough utility value in a knife of that design that is that large.

Your mileage may vary.

Robert
 
Great info here. I'm mainly afraid of breaking the D2 or the S30V, though I don't intend to be batoning, I want to whack limbs and stuff (tree limbs, haha) without fear, carve without fear of that tip breaking. I'm guessing the use of powdered steel (reg. S30) does not negate it's authority as an outdoor knife.
 
Hashishiin said:
Great info here. I'm mainly afraid of breaking the D2 or the S30V, though I don't intend to be batoning, I want to whack limbs and stuff (tree limbs, haha) without fear, carve without fear of that tip breaking. I'm guessing the use of powdered steel (reg. S30) does not negate it's authority as an outdoor knife.
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I'd go with Buck's 420HC just for the ease of sharpening, as well as the toughness and stain resistance. I used my 119 to field dress a moose, stopped about half way to touch up the edge dulled by that gritty hide, which is pretty good performance IMHO.
 
H., the reason I like tougher in fixed blades is not breakage, but chipping. PITA to clean a chip in a longer fixed blade. S30v/s35vn chip relatively easily, say when hitting some metal, or in a pan.

420HC is like stainless INFI ("A8 mod" below)

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In use, the two knives below are more similar than you might think:

i-pQ4KCzg-X3.jpg
 
Alberta Ed said:
I'd go with Buck's 420HC just for the ease of sharpening, as well as the toughness and stain resistance. I used my 119 to field dress a moose, stopped about half way to touch up the edge dulled by that gritty hide, which is pretty good performance IMHO.
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A good part of me is saying this, "Go with the base version; if you really love it, then you can get a fancified version"... and I probably will.
Just gonna wait until a few people give me some feeback on S30V and D2, particularly from Buck... but yeah, this is what I bet I'll do.

Dressing a moose, huh? I'll have to be learning to do that at some point or another. Not moose, but deer, probably. Not looking forward to it, but want to learn to make my own meat!
ferider ferider good points about chipping, I am just learning how to make a knife shave using a sharpmaker and am not ready to deal with chips yet. I have a chipped up Fiskars machete that I ignorantly banged up on a bunch of rocks right before I got into knives. Sucks. And I don't want to deal with that where all I might have are some rods.
 
I went with the classic 119 420HC with a burgundy sheath, decided to go with the recs, go classic and see what I think of the base knife to start out with. Going to take it camping as my main knife and see how it does.
 
Hashishiin said:
I went with the classic 119 420HC with a burgundy sheath, decided to go with the recs, go classic and see what I think of the base knife to start out with. Going to take it camping as my main knife and see how it does.
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That was a smart choice. My 420HC 119 is my first choice for processing deer and other general uses. It's in the door pocket of my truck every day. To me the 120 just adds length, not performance. The 119 is just a truly great design (and build) for a user knife at a very affordable price too.
 
OrangeBlueOrangeBlue said:
Generally speaking, S30V is more work to sharpen well than S35VN
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This is good to know.
Zulus said:
I got 110 in 45vn so
119 in 420 and classic phenolic are perfect match :^D
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Nice, I was looking at that one back when it was out. I hope they do another run! How do you like it?
ferider said:
Good pick. The only thing I don't like is the sheath, let me know if you need some pointers ....
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I was going to get their burgundy sheath - why, do other folks make better ones? It comes with a leather sheath anyways, which I believe to be the same as the one I am buying, so maybe I should save the money, not buy that sheath, and buy a different sheath? I have not begun to work with leather yet but I want to start.

By pointers did you mean mods to it? If it can be made into a servicable sheath easily enough, I'll pull the trigger, but glad to have asked and getting opinions before I shoot 20 bucks for that burgundy sheath. I see some really nice ones on Etsy for not much more, with a pull-over strap kind of like my Ontario SP-1 sheath...
 
I’m late to the party but I would have said pick 420hc or go with the compadre in 5160. I’ve don’t stupid things with Buck’s 420hc, it’s great. I love ESEE and their 1095 but I wish I had an Izula in 420hc.
 
Hashishiin Hashishiin , I think going with a base model of the 119 is a great idea. Test it out in the field; see what you like and what you don't, see how it performs for the tasks you have in mind for it. Personally, although I like it for an all around knife (just thinking bout what you said about butchering your own animals) it isn't the best for field dressing or cleaning. And for small animals, forget it. The upsweep on the tip makes it too hard and imprecise to cut around the anus, and the handle is too slippery when it has blood and fat on it to be safe. I have used it for that and didn't like it one bit. It is great for breaking down the joints as needed, but other knives do the butchering and field work better. You won't like cutting open the cavity with that knife, trying to keep from knicking something that will foul your meat; the blade is just the wrong shape for that.

When BUCKS were all the rage starting back in the late 60s early 70s, my friends fixed that problem by getting the 110 and the 119 to use in tandem. Worked out great. A couple of friends of mine still use their 110s in good old faithful 420hc to gut and hang their animals as needed during hunting season. Easy enough to use that 110 for some minor butchering, too.

If you want a classic, go for the BUCK knives you are looking at. But if you are going to get a knife with a specific task like field dressing and butchering in mind, go to the BUCK website and take a look. They have some excellent designs for hunting and game processing on their site, all he way from pretty utility looking to down right pretty.
 
Hashishiin said:
I was going to get their burgundy sheath - why, do other folks make better ones? It comes with a leather sheath anyways, which I believe to be the same as the one I am buying, so maybe I should save the money, not buy that sheath, and buy a different sheath? I have not begun to work with leather yet but I want to start.

By pointers did you mean mods to it? If it can be made into a servicable sheath easily enough, I'll pull the trigger, but glad to have asked and getting opinions before I shoot 20 bucks for that burgundy sheath. I see some really nice ones on Etsy for not much more, with a pull-over strap kind of like my Ontario SP-1 sheath...
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I just think the OEM sheath is flimsy, in particular the belt loop. Pointers meaning to other makers of more solid sheaths, leather or Kydex, not too expensive since it’s a popular knife. I’m obsessed with sheaths though :)
 
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