Buck vs. Spyderco - why the huge price difference?

jayjaygee said:
I'm not smart so the answers might be really obvious. But I can't figure out why a Spyderco like the Dragonfly costs so much more than a Buck like the Ranger Slim Select. They both have the same handle material, about the same blade length. The Buck has the steel I prefer (anything that can't be sharpened on a coffee mug I call a "silly steel"), they are both made in the USA, yet the Spyderco costs $103 more!

Is the steel the only difference? What do I not see here?
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spydercos vg10 isnt much better than buck 420hc...in any real world use
 
Boattale said:
I've got several DOZEN 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.
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Same here. I added the DOZEN.
 
lonestar1979 said:
Btw i got Buck Bantam 286 on sale for 15usd few days ago...i dont see spydercos byrd line or even endura and delica much better than this at 3-4x the price...bantam is usa made at 15usd ,quality is amazing
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I think this is legitimately one of the funniest opinions I've ever read on this site, not even joking. It's almost trolling level hilarity, honestly.


Signed,

A guy who's owned like 18 Bantams in his life
 
The Bucks I own are various knives like the 501(x3), 500, 110, 119. The only thing from Spyderco I own is their Sharpmaker. For one-hand opening knives, I've preferred Benchmade. I've never been into the whole steel thing as I've never owned a knife that didn't work well. Some are easier to touch up, some are harder (like my mini-Grip in D2). Most of what most knife makers produce don't interest me much and in the world of Buck, my favorite knife of theirs has been the 501 Squire. An outstanding knife for EDC (even though I no longer EDC one but did for over 30 years).
 
texpat said:
You really have no idea how wrong you are about Buck.

Maybe spend some time in the Buck area of this forum, you could learn a lot. I know I did and continue to do so, what was the real eye-opener was when I visited Buck in Post Falls a few years ago and toured the factory. Paul Bos is a legend in the industry, most people have no idea how many knives they've handled and owned that were heat-treated by Paul Bos and Paul Farner.
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New buck trx models are on par with benchmade and spyderco,if not even better,at lower price
 
Danke42 said:
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6 more and you can get a Coldsteel Kudu.
 
Some people want a late 60's Chevelle and some people want a 2024 Vette....it's ok to like different stuff. You shouldn't have to make others look bad to make yourself look good. If you like Spyderco, that's great but it doesn't mean Buck sucks and they only make knives for old dudes....
 
JD Bear said:
Some people want a late 60's Chevelle and some people want a 2024 Vette....it's ok to like different stuff. You shouldn't have to make others look bad to make yourself look good. If you like Spyderco, that's great but it doesn't mean Buck sucks and they only make knives for old dudes....
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Well said!!👍👏👍
In the end they all cut!!
I HATE the mines better than yours crap!!
Aren’t we all just knife fans?? 🤨
John 😁
 
The trick with Spiderco is that they're always on the cutting edge when it comes to offering the latest OMG-1337 super steel, whereas buck primarily still offers knives in 420HC. Sure, you can also get them in older super steels like S30V and S35VN, with some limited runs of more modern high end steels, but then the cost starts to go up substantially on those models.

420HC can literally be stamped/pressed from sheets, which obviously brings down the cost dramatically compared to steels which require machining. So while a Buck 722 Spitfire looks similar to a Spyderco Wuteva and perhaps even more aesthetically pleasing due to the colorful anodized aluminum handle, it's still just a plain old 420HC blade unless you placed a custom order for one in S30V or S35VN, and even then those steels aren't very expensive compared to OMG-1337.
 
I'm way late to the party, but here's my take. Both companies make amazing cutlery and have their strengths. Both companies have grown since I started collecting in amazing ways and you would be foolish to miss out on certain designs from each company as stellar examples of what human engineering can do to such a simple tool like a pocket knife

The difference between where the companies are located, price of source materials and labor, research and development, design, and business models are very different, but I've found in my collection they both hold amazing value. Any knife can cut, but these companies make functional and fun art, so you pay for the design that speaks to you.

For Buck check out a Sprint, Vantage, Marksman, and fixed Paklite series

For Spyderco don't pass on getting a para2 in hand to see what ergos mean.
 
Yo Mama said:
I'm way late to the party, but here's my take. Both companies make amazing cutlery and have their strengths. Both companies have grown since I started collecting in amazing ways and you would be foolish to miss out on certain designs from each company as stellar examples of what human engineering can do to such a simple tool like a pocket knife

The difference between where the companies are located, price of source materials and labor, research and development, design, and business models are very different, but I've found in my collection they both hold amazing value. Any knife can cut, but these companies make functional and fun art, so you pay for the design that speaks to you.

For Buck check out a Sprint, Vantage, Marksman, and fixed Paklite series

For Spyderco don't pass on getting a para2 in hand to see what ergos mean.
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Great points! Excellent Buck choices you have listed. Me, I could never get past the goofy looking spydie hole. I’m no good at thumb or reverse flicking, so there was that, too. I tried a Manix 2 just to see what the fuss was about, didn’t like how it felt (or looked) at all, ended up selling it. Then I saw a Smock - still has the hole, but much less conspicuous. Totally different look and feel from their usual stuff. It’s also a flipper, and has a rather unique button plunge lock. I gave it a shot, and I ended up really liking it. Now I have a Positron on the way from the exchange, another atypical Spyderco. If they made more of them like that, I’d probably buy more of them. So maybe it’s a good thing they don’t. 😁
 
Danny Linguini said:
Great points! Excellent Buck choices you have listed. Me, I could never get past the goofy looking spydie hole. I’m no good at thumb or reverse flicking, so there was that, too. I tried a Manix 2 just to see what the fuss was about, didn’t like how it felt (or looked) at all, ended up selling it. Then I saw a Smock - still has the hole, but much less conspicuous. Totally different look and feel from their usual stuff. It’s also a flipper, and has a rather unique button plunge lock. I gave it a shot, and I ended up really liking it. Now I have a Positron on the way from the exchange, another atypical Spyderco. If they made more of them like that, I’d probably buy more of them. So maybe it’s a good thing they don’t. 😁
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I guess you need a Southard next.
 
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