Decisions decisions... custom Buck 110

Aias

Aias

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Aug 1, 2012
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I have asked similar questions in the course of responding and participating in such threads, but I figured I'd give it one last try before committing... so here is goes:

Which handle material is your favorite on a custom Buck 110 with nickel bolsters. Since I plan to engrave my initials on the top bolster and my birth year on the bottom bolster, it will be of serious sentimental value--I plan to pass it down to my son. The little guy has looked at the "build your custom Buck" page with me and, well, he loves blue, so his choice is the Indigo Royalwood... which looks real nice, but I was thinking of one of the stag/horn materials.

So, please let me know what you think. If you can post picks of your suggestions/ your custom Bucks, I would be most appreciative.

Thanks.
 
I'm partial to the elk horn with nickel bolsters. No rivets. I think a knife to hand down to your son is a great idea.
 
Well, we all have our own opinions and that's as it should be. I may get flamed for some of mine, but here goes anyway.

If I were going to order a 110 from the Custom Shop to hand down later, I'd stay away from the Indigo Blue and Cherrywood. In my opinion, they are cheap looking, but if you want laminated wood handles that looks like they were dyed with Kool-Aid or melted down Lifesavers, they might be what you want. I can't say anything about the orange stuff because I've never seen one in real life.

You should also be aware that what you see on the build site doesn't always look like what you will get. They aren't photos, just artists renderings.

The oak and walnut options are both really nice, classic looking scales and are, along with the "dyed" materials, the least expensive of the lot if cost is a factor. The Koa Flame wood is expensive and worth it IF you get a nice piece. I have two of them that are beautiful and look very similar to the picture, but the third one that I ordered a year or so ago is just muddy looking and was a real disappointment. The nicely figured Koa may be getting hard to come by because the really nice ones that I have were made prior to 2002.

The antler (elk or sambar) options are another crap shoot and the luck of the draw. I ordered sambar on my first Custom and although it's nice enough, it doesn't look any different than the elk that I have and for sure not worth the extra that I paid over the elk. If it wasn't for the COA that came with it, I'd not have known that it was sambar.

I don't own any Asian Buffalo versions from the Custom Shop but I do have other Limited Editions or Buildouts with that material and they're really nice. I prefer the smooth but that's just my preference. The same I'll say about the rams horn, pretty nice but not something I particularly like.

I won't even get into the Paua shell version.
 
Thanks guys--I won't give anyone a hard time for speaking their mind... I really want to know what you think. So, keep the ideas--and unvarnished honesty--coming... thanks again.
 
Nice Koa (older):

KoaBG-42.jpg


Not so nice Koa (newer):

Koa110a.jpg


Walnut and Cherrywood:

NS110sa.jpg


Sambar:

2009CustomSambara.jpg


I just realized that I do have a jigged buffalo from the Custom Shop:

JiggedBuffCustoma.jpg


Two Cherry Kool-aid Customs:

2.jpg


Walnut again:

Custom110sb.jpg


Probably my favorite (other than the nice Koa), one of my oak versions:

5.jpg


Custom110sc.jpg
 
Plumberdv said:
Nice Koa (older):

KoaBG-42.jpg


Not so nice Koa (newer):

Koa110a.jpg


Walnut and Cherrywood:

NS110sa.jpg


Sambar:

2009CustomSambara.jpg


I just realized that I do have a jigged buffalo from the Custom Shop:

JiggedBuffCustoma.jpg


Two Cherry Kool-aid Customs:

2.jpg


Walnut again:

Custom110sb.jpg


Probably my favorite (other than the nice Koa), one of my oak versions:

5.jpg


Custom110sc.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, some big differences in the Koa. I think that I like the jigged buffalo and the walnut best... do you prefer with or w/o the rivets?
 
Those would be nice choices.

I prefer rivets on the wood handles and wish the walnut version had them. They just seem to blank without them. For the other materials, I'm up in the air. I've seen the antler versions with rivets that were countersunk in the handle due to the uneven nature of the material. That didn't look good to me. I like my jigged buffalo with out, but I think it would also look great with NS rivets.
 
Plumberdv said:
The Koa Flame wood is expensive and worth it IF you get a nice piece.
Click to expand...

Dave how right you are. I just bought the Koa Flame wood and must have got a bad piece. It appeared to have what looked like a burn from a circular saw in both sides of the scales. I was immediately upset with the knife, considering I just spent $140 on a custom shop knife. I contacted Joe and sent it back. Joe told me that the flaw was in fact a coloration in the wood and it was naturally ingrained in the wood. He had the custom shop put new scales on it and take care of a bit of blade play (so slight it was hard to tell) and it should arrive back to me on Saturday. I sent it back and it was repaired and sent back in less than a week, in time for Christmas. Thanks Joe
 
Having Buck make you a CS knife is a very personal thing. For a custom knife you have to pick what you like as it will be your knife!

Read what Dave said in post #3, you pick the options and you get what you get. Any time you buy a knife sight unseen you may be setting yourself up for disappointment, so keep that in mind. Take note of what Matt said in post #8, if you don't like what you get; send it back and have it fixed the way you want it; if you don't you are the one who will have to live with the disappointment and that makes it your fault so send it back!!!!

Now the photo's Dave posted of the walnut handle looks just as crappy to me as the Red handle looks to him......but, that's my opinion not his. So here is the CS NK's I like. If they pick a nice set Sambar is the best, Paua shell second, and KOA third. I don't have many CS knives as I mostly buy LE & SO knives.
here are a few photo's
IMG_3043.jpg

IMG_3053.jpg

IMG_3054.jpg

STDMCust110.jpg

DMSTCust110.jpg

CustomBG42KOA.jpg

BG42KOA.jpg

jb4570
 
Thanks JB4570; yeah, I really love the way your Sambar looks. The difference between yours and Plumberdv is substantial, and that worries me. I have not looked, but I wonder if there is a way to ask for more or less ridges/ texture in the Sambar when placing the order. I'll have to play with the website and see if there is a way to make such a request. Thanks for the pics, btw.
 
Aias said:
Thanks JB4570; yeah, I really love the way your Sambar looks. The difference between yours and Plumberdv is substantial, and that worries me. I have not looked, but I wonder if there is a way to ask for more or less ridges/ texture in the Sambar when placing the order. I'll have to play with the website and see if there is a way to make such a request. Thanks for the pics, btw.
Click to expand...

Aias,

Call your order in and tell them what you expect, you still may not get what you had in mind. But, you can send it back until you get what you want! I keep saying send it back because my second Sambar CS knife came to me just like the one Dave posted and I just lived with it and it still gives me heartburn.....I should have followed Matt's lead and had it made the way I expected it to be (remember what I said about sight unseen).

jb4570
 
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jb's correct. It's at least partially my fault that I'm stuck with two disappointing knives.

I did express that disappointment to Buck in both cases. In both cases I was told that due to the nature of natural materials, variations from what was pictured was to be expected.

However, in nether case did they recommend or even suggest that I send them back to be redone so I just dropped it. My mistake looking back on it, I should have been a bit pushier or contacted Joe about them instead.
 
I figure if you pay the money for a custom knife built to your specifications it should be built to your liking as well. It a pretty penny for a custom shop knife. If you can't get it your way it should be called a semi custom shop.
 
thanks so much guys... I want it done right, so I will take your advice to heart. So, I have narrowed it to: s30v, nickel bolsters w/finger grooves, rivets, and either jigged water buffalo or sambar stag--(engraving on bolsters). Sound good?
 
No rivets on the scales that you have narrowed it down too. No, No, No. Of course that is my personal opinion. Have a Great Holiday Season everyone. Ho Ho Ho
 
No rivets, huh? Does anyone know how the horn stays on the metal backing without rivets? Is it glued? Are the rivets functional or just aesthetic? Sorry if these questions seem all too simple, but I am more accustomed to the "modern" type folders which use various screws to keep the pieces together.
 
The scales are glued and they will never come off, High strength stuff. The rivets are a personnel opinion, but I think that rivets in horn have a tendency to either chip/crack the rim of the holes drilled in the scales or protrude farther than they should. You cant counter sink them at all and that may lead to an uncomfortable feeling in hand if its used allot.
 
Thanks mbjannusch, I understand, I just didn't want the glue to dry-up one day and have a scale unceremoniously fall off... so are the rivets "true rivets," further holding the scale in place with the glue, or is it just decoration?
 
They are true rivets but you need not worry about the glue giving out. That stuff is permanent and would need a chemical to break it free...
 
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