Buck vs. Spyderco - why the huge price difference?

[El Jay]

As long as the knife cuts there isn't much to worry about. Sharpenability is important because all tools must be maintained. Pick one you can sharpen easily and use it like you stole it.

 

[jude_061]

Not anymore. Might want to check current prices.

I usually buy used on the auction site where there’s some deals to be had. But yeah, I know what you’re talking about.

 

[Boattale]

I've got several Bucks and one Spyderco. It's a good knife but it's still in the end, a knife. Never been disappointed with any of my Bucks - most being 420 HC - when it comes to taking and holding an edge. My taste runs to the more classic side of things. As to why price differences, I would place money on the cost of goods sold being the answer.

 

[CVamberbonehead]

Well, I think they just cater to different markets and they have streamlined to cater to those markets. Spyderco sells to the knife nerds that want the latest ultrasuperduper steels and funky modern designs and they don't care how much it costs (obviously, or else the Japanese line would have a sane MSRP). Buck sells more to the classic knife crowd like myself. Buck has modern knives too, and they also use superdupertacticalmega steels as well. They just did some Magnacut and they have multiple steels besides their (very impressive) 420hc. They make a gazillion 110 folding hunters and sell them everywhere so they make a profit and streamline their operations at 1 factory, instead of having multiple different factories in multiple countries all working on smaller runs of different stuff.

For me, I just can't get into Spyderco. The knives are hideous, the handles are mostly variations of "flat sided rough plastics with lots of humps and points", and they are pretty darn expensive as OP pointed out. I have had some before, and they were fine but just not my thing. Plus, honestly any steel will dull with use so Spyderco using crazy hard steels does not really impress me. They still go dull, and they are hard to sharpen even on the finest river rocks and coffee mugs (just buy some sharpening stones please people) lol. Though they also still stamp out VG10 by the truckload and charge a premium for it even though it sucks. Spyderco has so many different models and sprint runs and inventory they just cost alot. Also, they love money.

Buck on the other hand I like alot. They make some modern stuff which is fine but again not my thing, and they make some really nice classic designs that I do like. My Bucks are fairly basic tools that just work well and did not cost me an arm and a leg. They have great grinds which cut extremely well (the hollow grind on Bucks is awesome) and they use good steel (the people trashing Bucks 420hc here should probably try using it first lol). The handles on Buck knives generally seem to be less busy and more comfortable for me and for other people without hands that look like Cubist paintings. They also have a flat out great warranty and customer service as opposed to Spydercos warranty which kind of blows.

Basically, different strokes for different folks. Spyderco sells overpriced knives to city people who collect limited edition colored plastic and flick their knives until they get tennis elbow from all their thwacking off, and Buck sells boring knives to our grandpas to actually use them. lol

 

[jbmonkey]

I like both brands and have a lot of both in my collection. I'm just glad both still have their American factories, continue to provide good American jobs and make knives in America still.......

 

[JParanee]

Buck still makes knives ?

 

[RustyIron]

"The Buck"? You know Buck makes more than one knife right?

Uh... brah... you DO know that the OP was talking about one specific model of Buck knife in his original post... right?
You might want to go back and figure out what people are talking about before you start spouting off... right?

 

[chalby]

.....Though they also still stamp out VG10 by the truckload and charge a premium for it even though it sucks....

.... and they use good steel (the people trashing Bucks 420hc here should probably try using it first lol).....

I'm not sure if you are just trolling, but I would take Spyderco's VG10 over Buck's 420HC on a small/medium folder any day. Sure everyone is entitled to an opinion on that, but saying one is a "good steel" and the other one "sucks" is just idiotic.

Also:

Plus, honestly any steel will dull with use so Spyderco using crazy hard steels does not really impress me.

OK fine but that doesn't really make any sense. You can't see the benefit in not needing to sharpen a knife vs needing to sharpen a Buck in 420HC multiple times for the same amount of work? OK then..... Those "crazy hard steels" aren't really that hard to sharpen if you use the appropriate abrasive. But each to their own. To be fair, I get why people love their Buck's and prefer "budget" steels.

 

[A.L.]

Spider tax

 

[NapalmCheese]

Uh... brah... you DO know that the OP was talking about one specific model of Buck knife in his original post... right?
You might want to go back and figure out what people are talking about before you start spouting off... right?

Yo... Dawg... You DO know that wasn't the point I was making as I was talking about how Buck does indeed make some knives that directly compare to Spydercos line up. Also, hey, do you want a refresher on the English language? OP's use of the world "like" as a preposition expresses similarity, but not exactness; as such... You get the rest.

:sad_trombone_emoji:

Edit: come to think of it I'm sure you don't get the rest... Buck makes knives that directly compete with Spyderco in similar materials, actions, and costs. Apples to apples my brohymn.

 

[jayjaygee]

But Buck can't even come close to touching the performance you'd get from a k390 dragonfly

By performance, what do you mean specifically?

It was a good improvement over 420 or any other bargain steel.

Improvement in what way?

Can I politely suggest your way of thinking of sharpening is greatly limiting what a knife can be for you? I have had to change my sharpening methods over the years.

Absolutely, and I appreciate the comment, but this is definitely not someting that I'm likely to change. I also don't drive cars I can't maintain myself, I don't live in a home that doesn't have the option to heat with wood, etc. Imagine being on a trip with your knife, and you lost/broke/forgot your diamond sharpener, and what would happen? You'd end up using your backup 420 knife for the rest of the trip?

Your whole point that you "had to change" is the exact issue. I want tools that work for me. I will not adjust my life to accomodate my hardware.

I appreciate your comment.

I would say you have to decide what you want from a knife. Is it the classic lines of a Buck? Or a cutting machine that stops for nothing?

This is hard for me to process, because the Buck slim select has an ugly/modern look to it in my opinion, but I use it because it cuts so well.

I could buy 7 of those bucks for one spyderco but I still wouldn’t have a spyderco

That's my point, and my question. The buck is so much cheaper, why buy the spyderco?

Agreed. Also, to clarify for OP, the VG10 or H1 the Dragonfly can come with are both sharpen-able on a ceramic mug bottom. And Japanese production is more expensive than it used to be.

Really? If that's true, I am much more interested in the VG10. I'm still not sure if the dragonfly is worth the extra $100 (or $50 as some people are saying, though I know it was $33.95 for the buck and $128.50 for the Dragonfly I saw)

The Spyderco is $40.00 more.
The Buck 420HC blade can be stamped out in bulk, then finished.
The VG10 blade must be individually machined from start to finish. That's a much more expensive process.

Not 40, nearly $100 from what I saw. But maybe there was something else there? Like a special steel or customization I didn't catch? Anyway, even $40 more is more than 2x the price.

I did not know that VG10 must be individually machined, whereas the 420 can be mass manufactured. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a big part of the reason for the price difference.

I wonder what a Dragonfly in 420 would cost? I'd probably buy three.

the spydercos absolutely blew the bucks out of the water for fit and finish and overall design

Okay, I believe that. I've held Spydercos before but I don't think I even really looked at them. This might just be something I don't notice. But it makes a lot of sense!

the knife nerd factor

Ha! Yes, this makes sense.

The pressed-on thumb stud can come loose and there is that little nub where the blade meets the rocker bar that would have been ground away on the other Buck knives.

This is really helpful, although I don't know what a rocker bar is so I'm not sure what nub you mean. BUT I will say that now that I have the sense that this buck might fall apart on me (in theory), it does make me want something more reliable.

Spyderco Dragonfly is not made in the US. It is made in Seki City, Japan.

Oh. Yet another good answer!

 

[jayjaygee]

I'm curious if you have ever held or used one.

A Spyderco? I've handled two, but I barely looked at them. PM2 and PM3. I have not meaningfully used a Spyderco. That's basically why I'm asking this quetsion. I know bucks, I like some things about the Dragonfly but since I have no experience I'm trying to learn why I would spend the extra money.

I love the fact that Buck is still a family owned American company but over the years I’ve plainly just received too many new defective folding knives right out the box.

Oh man, that would definitely be a nail in the coffin for me.

I don’t get the Buck hate, either,

Right? In the last month I've skinned a deer, torn up so much cardboard, cut a weird-looking thing off of my body, and whatever else has come up that I'm forgetting. I spent about three minutes (1 minute x3 times) sharpening them.

Not anymore. Might want to check current prices.

If he was talking about the same Buck I was (slim select), he's right. It costs $33, and a few months ago I got it for $26.

This sort of thread all boils down to the OP not understanding why knife companies don't just make the knives the OP likes out of the materials the OP likes and at a price point the OP likes.

Yes, that's the exact question. I have knives that make sense to me, and I'm trying to figure out why the Spyderco? I've also gotten a lot of good answers here.

Spyderco, on the other hand, was founded by blade enthusiasts and is, IMO, a company very much for blade enthusiasts.

That makes sense. All the excitemeny about "fit and finish" seems like an example of that. I don't care much what my knife looks like. I want it to be comfortable, functional, etc. I'm not saying people shouldn't have their own interests, but I think of that as more of a hobby.

That said, for pure slicing, cutting geometry, Spyderco tends to have Buck beat across the product line as a whole.

Interesting! I don't have enough experience with Spydercos, which is why I'm asking this, and that's really useful info.

Would you apply that to the Dragonfly specifically? Because I'd like a blade that small (and legal) that is still very effective due to design.

As long as the knife cuts there isn't much to worry about. Sharpenability is important because all tools must be maintained. Pick one you can sharpen easily and use it like you stole it.

**thumbs up**

You can't see the benefit in not needing to sharpen a knife vs needing to sharpen a Buck in 420HC multiple times for the same amount of work?

That's missing the issue. It's like asking "you can't see the value of having a stronger padlock on your shed" when the window in the back is still open.
I'm not saying that holding an edge isn't good. It is! The problem is when it compromises the versatility of the blade that it becomes a problem.

But according to one person here, the Dragonfly steel can be sharpened easily, so this whole debate might not apply to the Dragonfly?

 

[jayjaygee]

Thanks everyone!

I think I have the answers I needed!

 

[chalby]

That's missing the issue. It's like asking "you can't see the value of having a stronger padlock on your shed" when the window in the back is still open.
I'm not saying that holding an edge isn't good. It is! The problem is when it compromises the versatility of the blade that it becomes a problem.

But according to one person here, the Dragonfly steel can be sharpened easily, so this whole debate might not apply to the Dragonfly?

You'd have to be more specific about which Dragonfly you are talking about, but my point was in reply to the other poster. I have no idea what you are talking about with padlocks and sheds.

 

[Cementite]

I was always a Case XX guy, but I have several Buck knives and I just recently got into Spydercos.

For a long time, my EDC knife was a Buck 174 Mayo Cutback. I loved the steel because it was easy to sharpen and seemed to hold an edge pretty well. That got me started down the rabbit hole of "what steel is it?" because I wanted to get another one, but I couldn't seem to find one. (Only later did I learn that my Buck 174 is actually one of the least desirable steels available...but you couldn't prove it by me, because as I said, it sharpens really easy and holds an edge.)

The "what steel is it" question led me to learning about super steels in general and Spydercos in particular. So I ended up with three PM2s in Maxamet, CruWear and M4. I really haven't wrung them out so I can't say whether they were worth the price of admission, but I really like them.

Seems to me that comparing Spyderco knives to Buck knives on the basis of price is like comparing a Hyundai to a Lexus. Yeah, they're both just cars and they'll both get you to work equally well, but one is kind of a "luxury" item and the other is strictly utilitarian.

I suspect most folks keep their Spydercos "in the garage" or "on the desk" where their main purpose is to open mail and be admired, while most Buck knives are out there doing the daily dirty work...I know I don't do much actual cutting with my Spydercos, because -- what if they got dull or scratched???

Also, as someone above mentioned, the more you pay for something, the more you think it's worth, regardless of its intrinsic value. Spyderco has that going for them, and for many manufacturers, that's a wise strategy, so long as they're able to move enough units to turn a profit.

 

[rlewpolar]

Spyderco vs Buck is an apple to oranges comparison. The better comparison is Spyderco vs. Cold Steel. I can get an amazingly built S35vn Cold Steel knife with a Triad lock with perfect grinds, centering and beautifully machined G10 for about half the cost of a similar spec’d Spyderco. How does that happen? Taiwan manufacturing, that’s how.

I will say though, when a Spyderco gets produced in their Taichung Taiwan factory, the result is in a class by itself for a production knife.

I have lots of Spydercos, lots of Cold Steels and a fair amount of Bucks. Ironically, the lowly Buck 110 (admittedly upscaled with S30v) is my favorite knife of all. There is just something about that knife, I can’t explain it. Go figure

 

[lonestar1979]

Well ive checked out new Buck 110 and 112 lightweight pro trx with s30v blades,and the quality on those is same if not even better than on 250,300$ spydercos,and these knives are 90-100$.Spyderco is mostly overpriced hype made for fanboys that dont even use the stuff,just look at it and boast about newest steels etc.

 

[elevator man]

I beg to differ. I use my knifes and expect alot from them. Spydercos not different. Maybe some folks prefer the ergonomics and will actually appreciate the usefulness of those steels? Alot of those high end steels are regular production with alot of sales, not spring runs for collectors.

I would love to see the cost of a Buck 110 made in maxamet with nice G10 scales. I think the cost would not be any cheaper than spyderco.

 

[Quiet]

A Spyderco? I've handled two, but I barely looked at them. PM2 and PM3. I have not meaningfully used a Spyderco. That's basically why I'm asking this quetsion. I know bucks, I like some things about the Dragonfly but since I have no experience I'm trying to learn why I would spend the extra money.

Oh man, that would definitely be a nail in the coffin for me.


Right? In the last month I've skinned a deer, torn up so much cardboard, cut a weird-looking thing off of my body, and whatever else has come up that I'm forgetting. I spent about three minutes (1 minute x3 times) sharpening them.

If he was talking about the same Buck I was (slim select), he's right. It costs $33, and a few months ago I got it for $26.

Yes, that's the exact question. I have knives that make sense to me, and I'm trying to figure out why the Spyderco? I've also gotten a lot of good answers here.

That makes sense. All the excitemeny about "fit and finish" seems like an example of that. I don't care much what my knife looks like. I want it to be comfortable, functional, etc. I'm not saying people shouldn't have their own interests, but I think of that as more of a hobby.

Interesting! I don't have enough experience with Spydercos, which is why I'm asking this, and that's really useful info.

Would you apply that to the Dragonfly specifically? Because I'd like a blade that small (and legal) that is still very effective due to design.

**thumbs up**

That's missing the issue. It's like asking "you can't see the value of having a stronger padlock on your shed" when the window in the back is still open.
I'm not saying that holding an edge isn't good. It is! The problem is when it compromises the versatility of the blade that it becomes a problem.

But according to one person here, the Dragonfly steel can be sharpened easily, so this whole debate might not apply to the Dragonfly?

So, a further word on slicing. Firstly, a Dragonfly is aaaaahhhhhbsolutely a little slicing monster. It makes an excellent fifth pocket knife that does everything you'd really need a small EDC to do. However, Buck usually sends their knives out with a screaming sharp, toothy edge as well. Speaking to the 110/112s for example, they come with a hollow grind, which is why they make great hunting, skinning knives. They can also slice very well. However, it bears mentioning that other Bucks will have different grinds and might not be as slicey, though they will generally come very sharp.

I will say this: Spydercos are just different. Buck makes excellent knives as well. They're just two different companies that make different products. Some of their models will objectively be better at cutting and slicing than some of Buck's models. Also, they will carry differently, or feel different in the hand. I candidly would not say I prefer one over the other, because there are so many checkmarks in the "Positives" column for the both of them. My candid advice would be for you to keep an eye on the Exchange and pick up a Spyderco on there at a price you are good with, and get some exposure to what they offer.

Remember, most of us here have more sharp edges in our collections than we'll ever need to use. A Buck 112 will peel an apple just as well as a Spyderco PM3. A Buck 110 will slice a sandwich just as well as a Spyderco Endura. It's all about getting exposure to different designs and steels. Check 'em out!!

 

[Quiet]

Well ive checked out new Buck 110 and 112 lightweight pro trx with s30v blades,and the quality on those is same if not even better than on 250,300$ spydercos,and these knives are 90-100$.Spyderco is mostly overpriced hype made for fanboys that dont even use the stuff,just look at it and boast about newest steels etc.

This is just adorable.