I modified the 110 to make it lighter (scalloped out the bottom bolsters)
Oooh, how does one accomplish something like that? Today for the first time I filed a choil in a blade, so I know nothing.
like I could only own one of these two knives for the rest of my life, or take one with me out into the wild, I wouldn't even have to think about it- I'd choose the 110.
Yeah me too. There are few knives I'd trust more than the 110. Also few knives I use less.
I have a basic Buck 110 that I never carry. It’s heavy, clunky and inconvenient for me to EDC.
Same.
A 112 Slim Pro. I love this knife and it easily keeps up with any other USA made knives in this price category.
Nice! I have a 112 Slim Select and it's my favorite jeans-and-t-shirt carry knife. Your Pro is beautiful but for the price difference I'm happy with mine. I also have the 110 SS, but it was too long for pocket carry.
You can still walk into a walmart and come out with an heirloom-quality hunting knife, thanks to the 110.
Yeah. Or nearly any hardware store, or even my local general store. I do love that.
I did it myself with a checkering file.
It's impressive work!
If I was to chop a twig as you describe I would probably do it like this.
Okay, the results are in. I just performed a highly scientific test on my lilac bush outside, comparing my Old Hickory 7" Butcher Knife, an Ontario RAT-1, a Victorinox Forester, a Buck 722, and the Buck 110, - using the grip that you (
eveled
) posted a photo of. The Ontario has a factory edge, the 722 has not been sharpened all that recently (last week, moderate work since), and the others were sharpened by me since last using them.
The Ontario and the 722 have pinky lanyards. I don't consider that cheating since it's part of the design.
The bush is alive, so although there are no leaves it's green inside. I had thick gloves on the whole time.
Opening the knives: The Old Hick is fixed blade. The RAT-1 flicks open smoothly, the Vic requires two hands and has that familiar old-school/Victorinox feel, the 722 is difficult to open with gloves, and the Buck 110 has the coolest one-handed opening of any knife, prove me wrong. I think the best part is that you risk severely cutting yourself every time you do it.
Using a sort of "chopping" grip I felt comfortable with, I found that the Hick was the easiest to swing, but has little heft so needs a good "windup" to cut anything The RAT-1 with a pinky lanyard was easy to swing, and with an extra push it cut more than the Old Hick, but not as well if I didn't give it the little "extra."
The Vic has no pinky lanyard, but still did quite well. Better than the Old Hick. Second best.
The Buck 722 with the pinky lanyard was the most fun to swing. It did fine, about the same as the Old Hick.
The Buck 110 can not be swung in a chopping motion, due to its balance, but if I articulate my whole elbow, it cut better than any of the others. Maybe if I swung the Vic that way it would have performed the same.
For push-cutting, like cutting a branch at the "V", the Buck 110 destroyed everything but the Vic Forester, which was a close second.
Using the grip that
eveled
uses, the Buck 110 was the best by far in terms of chopping performance, but I don't like the angle/view that I have on things that way - straight on. Also I constantly felt like it was going to fall out of my hand. It didn't! But I felt like it would. Interestingly, if you see how
eveled
grips and you check your Buck 110, you'll see that his thumb is just behind the balance point of the Buck 110. So that mitigates the "unbalanced" feeling. But I still didn't feel confident with it, and imagined how it would feel with a pinky lanyard (not that that is practical).
The 722 is too round in the butt to hold that way, the Vic has a corkscrew there, the RAT-1 was okay but got caught in the branches and had to be yanked out a couple of times. And the Old Hick is too balanced to hold back there.
In terms of feel/fun, I'd go 722, Old Hick, Ontario, Forester, Buck 110.
So (not counting the Vic Forester's other tools) I'd say the Buck 110 was the best for this type of work. But if I had to choose one of these to use all day, I'd choose the Buck 722. It performed very well, was more versatile, and did not tire my hand out. The 110 felt like a chore. The 722 felt like play. I also feel just as confident in its lock as I do with the Buck 110, which I can't say about the Ontario or even the Vic (although I have never heard of either of those failing, it's just in my head that back-lock > liner-lock.)
I'd still love to know what
Luke73
posted here:
https://www.bladeforums.com/goto/post?id=20185681
That looks like a Buck 110 variant, and if the weight is more balanced that the base model, and if it's just as strong as the base model, I think I would carry it nearly everywhere.
