Buck Vs Case

Grew up with a Case XX carrying/collecting Dad so I'm biased but, I don't have anything against Buck knives. I would like to eventually add some of Buck knives to my small collection. One of the last knives I gave as a gift was a Buck.
I don't believe Buck makes any Chrome Vanadium blades, which some people prefer over SS.
 
Being a native Southern Californian, I just naturally gravitated to Buck knives in the 60's and 70's. A Buck 303 was my daily carry for over a decade.

My experience with blade steel is somewhat different than that of others. I can tell the difference in performance between Buck 420HC and Case Tru-Sharp in daily use. The Buck edges last better for me.

I prefer the Buck blade shapes to those of my Case knives. Case rounds all the surfaces, which looks nice and feels nice, but for me does not work as well in the field. I am especially frustrated with the Case interpretation of a clip blade. It turns almost vertical at the tip so that there really is not a point. I cut more than penetrate for most usages, but I do use the tip for some applications. Buck knives have points at the blade tip and the edge is sharpened all the way out to the point. I also notice that the tips of Case sheepsfoot blades tend to be slightly rounded as well, so that they likewise don't function as well as I would like.

Buck knives tend to have weaker springs than Case knives. Some view that as a negative for Buck. I prefer it. I don't want to wrestle opening a knife. Too many times over the years I have opened a knife with gunky or cold hands. In such conditions, easy is good. And when my hands are warm and clean, Easy still ain't bad.

Of all companies which make traditional knives today, I think Buck does the best job of providing a knife which is sharp out of the box. And as mentioned, it is sharp all the way out to the point. I may touch them up, but I don't have to change the edge bevel. Very satisfying.

I made a recent visit to the Buck custom shop and for less than $90 purchased a custom lockback 501 in S30V. The Paul Bos developed heat treat that Buck uses on S30V is superlative. (The blade performance is better than that of S30V blades from other companies). The fit and finish are excellent. To get 154CM blades on a Case, ya gotta pay a couple of hundred bucks. But I can get a higher performance alloy in a traditional pattern for half the price from Buck.

So, be it my years of usage, or the way Buck knives are today, I prefer them over Case.
 
I collect both Case and Buck. The Case knives can be collected from before 1920 and they have used a pretty good dating system for collecting. I don't know if there are any Buck knives that could be found prior to 1964, but I haven't seen any and the 1960s Bucks are hard to find. Also, I think more Buck knives were bought to use hard, so there are not many old ones that are in good shape. Having said that, I do love them both and both are fun to collect. I have never like the steel Case has used and I wish Buck had upgraded from 440C to maybe d2 or something rather than what they are using today. I do love the old Macassar ebony on the old ones. Collecting both is the best of both worlds.
 
JustinR said:
There might be a few left through the club. They had a hard enough time selling the few that they made.
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They actually sold quite well. As of 6/30/14 I think there were perhaps 40 pieces left. Had it not been a club only knife I would imagine they would have all sold within the first week.

As far as the Buck vs Case question goes I like them both. Case obviously offers more variety but either will serve the buyer well. My personal favorites are the discontinued Buck 700 series. Those bad boys are built like tanks.
 
Both make great knives IMO. I like both, but prefer Case because I can get Carbon Steel and Bone covers..... they are also finished a little nicer.
 
Personally, I think Buck has superior designs but Case knives are prettier. The only reason I buy Case is for the Chrome Vanadium (50100B) steel because I like carbon steel and theirs is the best (ask Becker). Otherwise, I choose Buck every time. Bucks seem to me to be a bit stronger and some of their takes on knives such as the Stockman pattern and better thought out and engineered. Also, regarding the edge holding of the stainless blades, I agree with Krarfeng that Buck holds and edge much better than Case.
 
I prefer buck over case, most of case's lineup doesn't appeal to me in the least, I like my knives simple and not flashy or gaudy.
The bucks I have are all finished quite nicely, and I really favor the light pull, though case is good here as well just varies more with them.
I like the sharper edges and less rounded areas on bucks, it bothers me getting a case with a rounded tip.

Case has a few models that I really enjoy such as the trapper and sodbuster, but the majority of my case buying days are done I think.
 
These are my two favorite brands to buy, collect, and to use (Also USA Schrade, but they are out of business). I lean more towards Buck for a working knife and more towards Case for a gifting knife - but I own old and new versions in both brands. One thing I like is having stocking dealers of both brands in my area - I like to buy my slip-joints in person because the pull/snap varies so much from knife to knife (in all brands) and we each know what we prefer individually and that varies too (what's a knife maker to do but issue their knives with varying snap/pull). I bought a Case 63090 Stockman at my local Case "Platinum Dealer" this week - I compared five different knives before I selected the bone color and pull/snap I liked - two of them I wouldn't have buy due to light snap and one due to light bone. I find Buck 300 series pull and snap varies as well. OH
 
Having owned and used both extensively, I can say I love both Buck and Case. But, if push came to shove, I would go with Buck for a stockman. Although the Case and Buck stockman may look alike, they are really two v try different creatures. The Buck is a tougher design, and the move to put the sheep foot blade at the other end so's to have it supported on both sides with a bolster was a good one. Comparing a Buck stockman to a Case stockman is not a fair comparison because the Buck has been re-engineered in it's lifetime for more durability. Both are good knives, with one being a nicer looking package, and the other one being a plain jane worker.

The Buck has lighter pulls on the blades. Something I've come to greatly desire in my older age. But even when I was a young man in the army, and I'd find myself knee deep in a muddy river water while doing a bridge project, it was a lot easier to deal with a easy pull Buck pocket knife than the issue Camillus TL-29 or other knife. I like easy pulls, when I've got cutting to do, I don't want to fight with my knife.

As far as general toughness goes, I tried to wear out a Buck 301 for 25 years. I didn't succeed.

If I was starting all over again, I'd probably buy a Buck 301. I just wish they would go back to the old felt grind with the long pull on the clip blade.
 
Case has more patterns available than Buck, however, Bucks seem to have better qc out of the gate. I would go for Case, based mainly on the Bose collaborations, both CV/SS and 154CM/ATS34 which are not always indicative of the Case brand as a whole. However, I grew up on Schrade, my father carried Schrade OT pen knives, and he used a sharpfinger until he stopped hunting when I was a kid. My brother in laws father raised him on Buck knives, and he carries a Buck trapper. It is nostalgia for him. So, taking variety of patterns into the equation, I would say they are both about the same on my scale. Because of the Bose collaborations, I would have to go with Case slipjoints. I used to avoid them like the plague except for the Bose, but some I've seen have taken leaps forward in QC.
 
I have a number of both Case and Buck, and each have strong points and weak points in comparison to one another. For a pure work knife, I would likely go with Buck, from my experience.

One question on the Buck 301:
I've noticed on the more recent models, the tip and part of the edge of the spey blade looks exposed when in the closed position. Does this cause any problems for the pocket material, or when reaching for it in a pocket? I'm considering buying either another 303 or a 301. I don't think the new 303's spey blades are exposed as much as the 301's, but I'm not sure.

Jim
 
I am not sure about the 301 but the 303's blade is completely put away when closed, no problems there.

James Y said:
I have a number of both Case and Buck, and each have strong points and weak points in comparison to one another. For a pure work knife, I would likely go with Buck, from my experience.

One question on the Buck 301:
I've noticed on the more recent models, the tip and part of the edge of the spey blade looks exposed when in the closed position. Does this cause any problems for the pocket material, or when reaching for it in a pocket? I'm considering buying either another 303 or a 301. I don't think the new 303's spey blades are exposed as much as the 301's, but I'm not sure.

Jim
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In traditional knives, I'm partial to Case over Buck but I certainly like Buck and I own several of them. Case has more choices in traditional patterns. But Buck makes a wide range of non-traditional knives, some of them very appealing and affordable.
 
James Y said:
One question on the Buck 301:
I've noticed on the more recent models, the tip and part of the edge of the spey blade looks exposed when in the closed position. Does this cause any problems for the pocket material, or when reaching for it in a pocket? I'm considering buying either another 303 or a 301. I don't think the new 303's spey blades are exposed as much as the 301's, but I'm not sure.

Jim
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Since I am possibly interested in buying the 301, I would like to find out more on this also. I wouldn't be interested in the 301 if any of the blade tips are above the liner. I have no problem with the sheepsfoot being proud but any tips exposed, I'm not fond of.
 
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