Daddy’s wisdom Part 1

C

Casey_C

Joined
Jun 10, 2013
Messages
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My Daddy was the smartest man I ever knew. I know I’m not alone there. Many people feel that way about their Dads. But one piece of wisdom he used to toss out was that it’s not what a thing is worth. It’s what it’s worth to you. I’ve seen him make deals where he came out on top and deals where he got taken to the cleaners. The only ones that bothered him were the ones where at the end he himself was disappointed. Not in a Blue Book value. It was more subjective than that.

I found myself with about $40 more dollars than sense about a week ago. So I bought another knife I didn’t need. Lol. This one is the Buck Inertia.

A few years back I was on a quest. I was in search for the greatest super steel, highest wow-factor knife I could find. And before I get flamed, let me tell you, I am a lover of all things that cut or shoot. I have owned and/or own knives from pretty much every maker with a forum here, and many who don’t have one. I truly love them all.

But here’s the deal. I’m a working class guy. I would LOVE to own a thousand dollar AI sharpening system that would sharpen my knife, polish my boots and satisfy my ex-wife’s desire for alimony. But I’m a crock stick guy in a (insert name of cool and expensive sharpening system here) world. So, here’s what I found. S 1,000 V is gonnabe kick ass...as long as you don’t dull it. But I couldn’t keep up!! No, really!! I tried!

Part 2 to come
 
P2

So, here I find myself the very proud owner of a sub-40 dollar Buck. And I’m THRILLED!! If you buy the hype then the only people who would deign to carry 420 are the gas station knife guys. But at an advertised 58 R I’m not at all sure this stuff, at least with Buck’s heat treat, doesn’t perform more like a super steel. Because I dulled it!! I made it my mission to. If I could find some cardboard I sliced it up. Paper. Boxes. Rope. Old jeans. Whatever.

I could’ve performed cardio thoracic surgery with the knife as it came from the box. That’s not unexpected these days from any maker. In fact I typically mark off some mental points when I buy a knife that’s not hair popping from the box in Century 21.

Would s 110 have popped hair longer? Yeah. Let’s not be silly. But along about cardboard box top number 5 I stropped. STROPPED! Just stropped! And it was off to the races once again.

I started this to be a review of the Inertia and I haven’t even touched on the knife itself yet. My bad. I’ll get there. But as to Buck’s 420, I have to say that at twice the price I’d be impressed. And after all, if you’re buying a stereo and you’re smart, you’ll start w the speakers. And if you’re buying a knife, you go with the steel.
 
Hello Casey c
I am glad you like your new Buck Knife. It is so pleasant to see a positive story on here. I use and like my Buck Vantage I have carried since 2009. I like and use crock sticks to sharpen my knife. I do some free hand sharpening on a Buck Tristone system for my knife when it is real dull. Like you I have many knives I can use and still buy new Buck models from time to time, but still end up using a simple to sharpen Vantage.
Enjoy your Buck Inertia.
 
Casey_C said:
My Daddy was the smartest man I ever knew. I know I’m not alone there. Many people feel that way about their Dads. But one piece of wisdom he used to toss out was that it’s not what a thing is worth. It’s what it’s worth to you. I’ve seen him make deals where he came out on top and deals where he got taken to the cleaners. The only ones that bothered him were the ones where at the end he himself was disappointed. Not in a Blue Book value. It was more subjective than that.
Click to expand...

My late cousin (10yrs older than my dad) once told me during a conversation on knives he had recently bought. It didnt matter what was paid but that if both parties were happy then it was a good deal.
 
Buck is on the list of exceptions for places that can put out a blade in 420HC and do it right. So many leave it too soft and/or have poor edge geometry giving you a blade that dulls too fast. Yes better steels can do more but only when someone does it right is it worth it and not everyone using fancy steels do it right.
 
Good piece of advice...

Don't read too deeply into the BOS Heat Treatment on their 420HC.It's a thorough heat treatment but if you get a 420HC blade by Buck made before 1999...it performs half as good as it does today. In other words it performed the same to an Uncle Henry knife in the late 90's with 420HC hardened at the 57-59rc scale...no different due to the old edge geometry Buck had until it was updated. Edge 2000 technology introduced in 1999 (now called Edge 2X) made the difference. Sharpening the blade twice gave double the bevel width to expose more carbides and narrower edge geometry.

Their slogan for it was "stays sharp longer, comes back sharper". In fact here's an old thread about Edge 2000 featured in the publication of Blade Magazine back in 1999...

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/buck’s-edge2xtm-blade-technology.740645/

This guy's test made Buck's 420HC look good...

But then he started modifying the edge on Leatherman's 420HC and testing Case's Tru-Sharp (420HC) Steel...


Like I said...Edge 2X is more of the key to their performance.
 
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