Cabela's Alaskan Guide 110 vs. Buck Custom Knife Shop 110 with an S30V blade

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I am thinking of getting a second Buck 110 to my standard model, and I am wondering if either the Cabela's Alaskan Guide 110 or a Buck Custom Knife Shop 110 with an S30V blade is superior to the other? The knives are about the same price. I know that the Alaskan Guide's blade has a titanium-nitride coating. Is this mostly cosmetics, or does it actually make the blade better? If the blade is made from stainless steel, why coat it unless it's to reduce glare? What does the coating look like after being used for a while? I am assuming that other than the coating it is the same blade in both knives? One thing that I find interesting is that on the Buck site it is stated that the S30V blade "....is difficult to resharpen yourself," but on the Cabela site it is stated that the blade is, ".....easy to sharpen with conventional stones." Is this the same blade?
It would be great to hear what you think of these two version of the 110.
Thank you!
Cliff
 
Cabela's offering, I like the coating. To me it's an upgrade and helps in cutting and stainless qualities. S30V can be sharpened with conventional stones. i.e. SiC, ceramic and diamond. You'll need some freehand know how to pull it off and a good quality stone. Still, I wouldn't label it as difficult. Many guys don't sharpen this steel often to get good at it. It holds a good edge and has good stainless abilities. I have the AG just not the Custom. DM
 
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The advantage of the Cabela's is that you can get one right away. That black coating looks pretty cool too. The advantage of the Custom is that you have more choices on what your knife will look like. I don't have either one, but I do have some knives with S30V blades, and they sharpen up pretty easy on my KME Sharpener with the Diamond stones.
 
I use to have a Pro Vantage so I can attest to Buck doing a fantastic as usual job on their 30V. I'm having a hard time deciding which one too! In addition to what the others said the AG comes with a tan leather sheath. I'm fine with the black but tan would be a nice change! Silly me:rolleyes:; I should have opened accessories on the Buck site! Getting even harder to decide now!
 
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My vote is for the Custom Shop.

In addition to S30V, you can have different scales (even the cherry), NS bolsters, or even finger grooves.

I'm not a fan of coated blades. As a matter of fact I got rid of all of my black coated blades. If you use the knife, it will get scratched, chipped or wrecked otherwise.

I also have an issue with "advertising" a retailer over a manufacturer. If you buy the Cabelas AG, you're advertising Cabelas brand more so than Buck, since Cabelas is the only place to get that particular knife.

That's my $0.02.... don't spend it all in one place ;)
 
Go with the cabelas model,you won't be disappointed.the coating does several things,one of which is rust prevention if left dirty and wet which happens when hunting.it will hold up very well,I've got one fron 2004 that has been used a lot,the coating still looks great and has not peeled or scratched off.the knife is easy to sharpen if you don't let it go completely dull,once dull it will take some time to re edge.
 
Thanks for the input on this. Sounds like either route's a winner.
I have a question about sharpening the S30V blades:
The sharpening stone that I have is a Norton 90x/600x double-sided aluminum-oxide oil stone. I believe these are called India stones, but Norton calls this model Winnipeg.
Will this stone work with those blade, or what would be a better stone or system for the Buck S30V blade?

Thank you
 
Anything will work to keep the factory edge touched up.My favorite alaskan guide is a stag model that J.A.G.custom knives built.that blade has never seen a stone of any kind in 3 years,as I just keep touching it up after a couple uses.i use the bottom of a ceramic cup or the top of a car window to touch them up,it works excellent.WHen I have a dull knife in premium steel,I like to use a diamond stone,course and thn fine,followed by a strapping on the leather strop,this makes a nice edge.
 
The Winnipeg stone I've not heard of. Nor is it listed on Sharpening Supplies web-site. The grit you mention is not normal for a Norton India stone. You'll have to post more information on it. However, the Norton combination India stones I have are 150 grit on the coarse side and 320 grit on the fine. Some say this will not sharpen S30V steel but I've used mine to do it. Mine are the early U.S. mfg. stones. The v carbide hardness as stated by Crucible is high. Supposedly higher than the hardness of Norton's India stone. Try it and see the results you get. Then adjust accordingly. Do you use oil on your stone? DM
 
My dad bought this stone from the Lee Valley catalog. It's listed as their Aluminum Oxide Oil Stone; came in a Norton box marked IM2 with a part number, made in Mexico. Winnipeg is on a sticker on the box with the Lee Valley catalog number, so that may be a name Lee Valley is calling it. I have seen the Norton IM2 sold on speed skating sites, so maybe that's the Winnipeg connection? It's used with mineral oil. Is this stone too soft for S30V? Is there a hardness rating for stones? Maybe a finer grit than 600x would be good for touching the blade up?
 
I have been using the Cabelas AG since about the time they first came out. Have the Idaho tang stamp. Avid deer hunters and the AG 110 will hold an edge way longer than the 420hc. And I have no trouble sharpening one on the Lansky clamp system.
 
I bought the Alaskan Guide at Christmas because it was on sale. Instead of the custom shot 110 with s30v.
 
Hawk, Good to hear from you. Will you let us know what you think about it after using it? DM
 
Thanks David I will. Cabelas had them on sale is Dallas and I remember Razerblades talking about how the coating stays on well up there in Canada.
So I could not pass it up .
 
Custom Shop FTW! I own 5 custom shops bought over the last 14 months. Every one of them came back stone cold perfect. Seamless fit and finish on all of them. 4 out of the 5 are finger grooved which are all amazing! The custom shop finger grooves are pretty different than regular production finger grooves. The custom shop finger grooves are a touch deeper and the individual grooves closer together. The fit and finish of these grooves are seamless from scale material to liners. A thumb on spine grip with a custom shop finger grooved 110 is the most secure and comfortable I have ever felt on any folding knife it is perfect. Also, custom shop S30V is also BOS heat treated. I would also like to point out that all my custom shop 110's open all the way to full locked open with the least mechanical resistance I have ever felt out of a 110. I recently got the Lochsa for example. The fit and finish are truly amazing. The look of very high quality black G10 and pivot end only brushed nickel bolster, brass(?)anvil logo set in the G10 towards the clip end, even the heads of the scale pins are brushed nickel to match the bolster. The clip about matches the bolster but is stonewashed. The look of the big thumb studs on the blade does not look out of place at all. When opened the satin finish S30V blade compliments the outstanding materials and hand finishing of the handle materials.

Unfortunately opening the Lochsa is a pain in the a**. My Lochsa at least has all the heavy resistance of the motion of the locking system that most of the base production 110's have. My custom shops open so easily, smoothly with only a hint of tension from the movement of the locking system. My custom shop 110's open so easily and so smoothly that I can use the pad of my thumb position it right behind the nail nick and thumb the blade through its action into lock up quite easily.

I do not know what it is exactly that the custom shop builders do differently that results in such a superior and easy action. If my custom shops had thumb studs I could easily make the blades fly open with a touch of wrist into lock up. The Lochsa on the other hand takes twice as long to open using the thumb stud and requires to much strength to fight against the mechanical resistance of the lock. I have yet to see a Lochsa owner even on Youtube open a Lochsa using the thumb stud without having to stop about half way through the action and position their hand a bit further forward so the thumb has less of a distance to overcome in order to drive the stud further and mainly to better position the thumb so you can force your way through the rest of the heavy resistance of the lock.

As for the Cabelas AG I do not like doing advertising for Cabelas whenever I open my knife. it is a very good knife do not get me wrong it just does not have the custom shop level of fit and finish. Most importantly the AG also does not have the custom shops effortless action. I do not know if the AG's S30V has the BOS heat treat but do know that the custom shop S30V does.

So....custom shop, for roughly the price of a LNIB AG 110 you could order a custom shop 110 with BOS heat treated S30V, your choice of brass or nickel bolsters, visible pin heads or not, your choice of a few different species of wood scales AND the new black G10 option not to mention the animal bone scales. I very highly recommend the finger grooves on any custom shop 110 the ergonomics are perfect. If the new black G10 scales that the custom shop is now offering is as good as the black G10 on my Lochsa then functionally it is the best scale material they offer. My Lochsa has some of the highest quality black G10 I have ever seen.

Latly are there any 110 pros out there who could give any advice on any methods to hopefully reduce the the very heavy tension the locking system seems to be under? Until I can remedy that situation the thumb studs on my Lochsa are pretty much useless, using the nail nick instead is much faster for now. There has gotta be a way. For now I am looking for a larger right hand only single stud set up I can replace the ambidextrous studs with that is stainless steel, a touch wider and longer than stock as well as knurled. On top of that just contacted a source for grinding a thumb access contour into the G10 beneath the thumb stud. The Lochsa cost much more than my custom shops yet functions like a stone basic WalMart blister pack production model that has been hanging on the rack way to long. JAG currently has his books closed which blows.

So yes, custom shop S30V, finger grooved with the black G10 scales plus your choice of nickel or brass/pins or no pins etc will get you a far better performing 110 with better fit and finish and especially ergonomics than the AG will for either the same price maybe up to $25 more....
 
Celtic, Glad you like your Custom Shop 110's. Try using CLP in the pivot of your Lochsa. Spray some in it allowing it to soak over night. Then work it, opening and closing it
4-500 times the next day. By the way all S30V steel whether from Cabela's or Buck's Custom Shop gets the Bos heat treat symbol. Also, Paul Bos retired from Buck Knives
Heat Treating Dept. in 2011. His Protege' Mr. Paul Farner took over that dept.. The symbol just remained as that of the excellent st andard Paul Bos set. DM
 
LOVE the custom shop 110's! CLP? Ill look it up. Used Benchmade Blue Lube which helped a little. Im determined to get my Lochsa to open as easily as my custom shops. I know Bos retired but his method remains. Do you know if the custom shop G10 is the same as the Lochsa G10? It is the highest quality G10 I have ever seen.

DM is there a certain CLP you recommend?
 
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