Case Yellow CV or Buck or Boker Stockman?

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based on my limited experience, i would say that they all have somewhat similar fit and finish, handpicking will give you a better chance of getting a really good one, but even if you order sight unseen somewhere you will get a good quality knife.

the steel is where the big difference is. again i have somewhat limited experience, but its my opinion that case's CV edge holding is quite a bit above buck's steel, and a little bit above boker's steel. buck's holds a good edge, and if you get it thin it will cut even when dull. i found that it lost its bite rather quickly though, which the CV hung onto for quite some time. boker's steel is roughly on par with case i would say.

when i speak of boker's steel, i mean the carbon slijoint, not the the stainless steel. no experience with boker's stainless.
 
Both the Case and Buck are hollow grind blades.
I find the Buck blades quite thick.
The Boker is a flat grind, which I like better.

Buck is SS, not carbon.

On F&F, the Buck is good but without character, so I would say Boker is a more pleasing knife.
 
GarageBoy said:
Which one of the above has the best fit and finish?
Thanks!
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The f/f on Buck's 303 and 301 stockman knives is great but, since you said you're sticking with carbon, that rules out those. Between Case and Boker, I'd recommend the Case hands down.
 
Lycosa said:
Handpick that Case Yellow. ;)
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I just acquired a 3318 CV. My first CV. I really like the 18 pattern. It was one in a lot of knives that I bought so had no choice regarding the selection. I can't comment on it's cutting characteristics yet but the snap seems quite weak... especially on opening the master blade. Still, looking forward to carrying it. I have quite a few Bokers and think they are very good for the money IMO. No experience with Buck.
 
I have both the boker (tree brand, rosewood scales) and case yellow in carbon. While the case is a little smaller and fits in my pocket better, the boker has much better fit/finish and nice snap, and very comfortable in my hand.

I end up mostly using the sheepsfoot, which is little bit bigger on the boker.
 
Buying blind, I think Boker is the safer choice. If you can hand pick your knife, you can find a Case that is seconf to none in production knives.
 
I have used both Case CV and Boker carbon for many years. I like the overal look and feel of the Bokers better, but the Case CV holds an edge a bit longer. I usually find a yellow handle Case in my pocket these days. Just bought a small two blade the other day :)

I don't like the steel Buck uses and like said, their edges are too thick.
 
Don, I feel the same way about the CV. It seems to hold it's edge a little longer than the Bokers that I have owned. I usually carry a Case red bone CV slimline trapper.
Around here, in south Mississippi, most people carry Case CV knives. The hardware stores around here have tons of them. They are easier to get. I don't know that I have ever seen a Boker around here for sale. I ordered most of my Bokers from the internet. I have never had a bad one.
 
In my experience Case over Boker..better fit and finish and better steel if you go with CV. Of all the case knives I've had worst problem I had was a tiny bit of play in one blade on one knife no big deal! On boker and henckels made by boker..I've had a number of issues,I want bash them, but I'd take the case ;) I bought a buck 301,liked it but just not enough snap (at least on mine), and not crazy about the deeply hollow ground blades.
 
sgbeskin said:
Don, I feel the same way about the CV. It seems to hold it's edge a little longer than the Bokers that I have owned. I usually carry a Case red bone CV slimline trapper.
Around here, in south Mississippi, most people carry Case CV knives. The hardware stores around here have tons of them. They are easier to get. I don't know that I have ever seen a Boker around here for sale. I ordered most of my Bokers from the internet. I have never had a bad one.
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Case and carbon steel pocket knives have been very stong in the south!

Back in the 80s' I was part of a family business (retail store) in Tallahassee Fl. We had the largest selection of knives in the state. Case CV was our best seller, with Boker in second, followed by the other German companys. We sold more Yellow handle Case Trappers than any other knife, I used to order 300-400 (just trappers) at a time. We were 30 minutes from the Gulf Coast and still had a hard time selling a stainless steel pocket knife :)

The new CVs actully hold an edge longer than the old XX and USA Cases I have and beat all of the high alloy SS factory stuff I've tested.
 
Don Hanson III said:
We sold more Yellow handle Case Trappers than any other knife, I used to order 300-400 (just trappers) at a time.
The new CVs actully hold an edge longer than the old XX and USA Cases I have and beat all of the high alloy SS factory stuff I've tested.
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That yellow trapper in CV is still Case's single best selling knfe.

Don, thanks for sharing that info on the CV versus the steel used in the XX and USA eras. That's interesting info for sure. (Now, if the newer knives were only constructed with the same attention to F&F, detail and care I'd be thrilled.)
 
Don Hanson III said:
The new CVs actully hold an edge longer than the old XX and USA Cases I have and beat all of the high alloy SS factory stuff I've tested.
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This is an interesting comment. To read here, none of the new steel can compete with the old. I wonder if the issue is that more of the best knives tended to survive and get handed down to us today, while the lesser knives got beaten on, beaten up and discarded?

I know in general that older knives had thinner blades, which is a real advantage in my book, but I've long suspected that today's steel and heat treats would compare favorably with older stuff, if for no other reason than it is more consistently produced.

I've got CV in Redbone and Amber Bone and I"m more than satisfied with both. Sharpens easily and holds an edge for a long time. I've even got it thinned to 15 degrees per side and it maintains an edge for a long time.
 
Robb, any good steel, properly heat treated should be able to manage 15 degree bevels without issue. Many here on the forums lower the bevels to a much greater degree.

Like you, however, I find 15 degrees to be a very useful angle in terms of ease of establishing the bevel and subsequent maintenance. Plus it seems to get most jobs done (for me) since most of my tasks don't involve whittling hair. ;)
 
Blues, I go 12-13 degrees per side, then put on a 15 degree secondary bevel with my sharpmaker. It's incredible to me, who used to do everything the hard/long way, just how fast that secondary bevel is to sharpen after hard use. Just a few seconds and it's shaving sharp again. Really easy, and at that thin angle, it seems to cut and cut. I think the blade profile makes it seem all the sharper.

Another observation is that my hard-use blades seem to stay sharper longer. Harder cutting seems to remove all traces of a burr/wire edge, so the sharpening gets right to the edge, instead of pushing a burr back and forth. Light-duty knives that cut string/envelopes don't keep a strong lasting edge unless I use them hard or cut lightly into a brass rod or stone while sharpening.

When I do this with CV, sharpness really lasts.
 
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