Buck Vantage questions from Canada

[skyhorse]

All of Bucks blade steels are good and will take a razor edge.The higher end steels will hold an edge longer but will take a little more effort to sharpen.It's just my opinion that a persons sharpening skill is actually more important in the end than differences in blade steels.

 

[gcconspiracy]

Well now I'm torn... Save some money and get the Select Large (37.99 in my area), or get the Avid Large (59.99 in my area) with those really nice Dymondwood scales and the 13C26 steel. I have not held the Select Large in my hand, so I think that will be the deciding factor; if it doesn't feel right, it won't matter what steel it has or doesn't have! Thanks for all you feedback and thoughts guys!

-gcc

PS - I don't know if I mentioned it, but I do have fairly extensive experience with buck's 420hc. My 110 in 420hc is by far my favorite blade at the moment, so I know that if I get the select I will love the steel (and have no problem getting it shaving sharp)

 

[52100]

Too many posters state their "opinions" on certain steels or other subjects as "fact" when in reality it's only their "opinion". Opinions are great and are appreciated here but they should always be identified for what they are.

I thought I'd weigh in with MY opinion. I've got a Vantage Pro (S30V), and have used it to dress out several deer and elk. I love the blade shape and grind (and steel) and the open liner lock design that allows me to get the knife soaked clean after it's dirtied up. I purchased my Vantage Pro (to of 'em actually) on sale, so the price was manageable, and WELL worth it IMO. I just wanted to weigh in on the knife model in general------------and to say the S30V is worth considering if you can spring for it.

 

[gcconspiracy]

Well, after a lot of shopping around and handling a ton of knives (I was torn between a vantage large of some sort and a spyderco delica) I ended up finding a shop with both the spyderco line and a nice assortment of the buck vantages. I handled them all for a while and ended up going with the buck vantage avid small; I thought the small would be way too small for my tastes, but found it to be a perfect size for EDC. So far I'm really loving this knife!


As for the usual buck vantage complaints, the blade is perfectly centered & the lock up is amazingly solid both vertically and horizontally, but the lock up is definitely later than I'd like (started around center when I bought it, but after some use it seems to have settled at about 85-95%. I am not concerned about safety, but am hoping it doesn't develop a bunch of blade play in the future).