For the money , do you think anything beats the Buck 110?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wolverine666

Wolverine666

Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Messages
6,642
As an edc , what (if anything) beats a Buck 110 when you consider everything from materials to fit and finish to lock mechanism? Seems like alot of knife for $65 (the original 110 with 420HC , brass and ebony wood). I had one back in the late 80’s as a teen. Just deciding if I should pick up a new one or if I should be looking at something else in that price range.
 
Wolverine666 said:
As an edc , what (if anything) beats a Buck 110 when you consider everything from materials to fit and finish to lock mechanism? Seems like alot of knife for $65 (the original 110 with 420HC , brass and ebony wood). I had one back in the late 80’s as a teen. Just deciding if I should pick up a new one or if I should be looking at something else in that price range.
Click to expand...
Cold Steel has a number of knives in that price range and below with equal fit and finish, better lock reliability, higher end blade steel with good heat treat, better ergonomics. (Even AUS 8 or 8Cr13MoV will hold an edge better than 420HC. To say nothing of AUS 10) 4034 steel is roughly equivalent to 420HC.

Not to knock the 110. Everyone should have one. I've had mine in 440C since ~1970. But it's no longer the gold standard for performance at a reasonable price.
 
knarfeng said:
Cold Steel has a number of knives in that price range and below with equal fit and finish, better lock reliability, higher end blade steel with good heat treat, better ergonomics. (Even AUS 8 or 8Cr13MoV will hold an edge better than 420HC. To say nothing of AUS 10) 4034 steel is roughly equivalent to 420HC.

Not to knock the 110. Everyone should have one. I've had mine in 440C since ~1970. But it's no longer the gold standard for performance at a reasonable price.
Click to expand...
Yes , Cold Steel. I forgot about them. I’ll be checking them out tonight. Also , the Ontario RAT knives with AUS8 and G10 I just remembered too.
 
knarfeng said:
Cold Steel has a number of knives in that price range and below with equal fit and finish, better lock reliability, higher end blade steel with good heat treat, better ergonomics. (Even AUS 8 or 8Cr13MoV will hold an edge better than 420HC. To say nothing of AUS 10) 4034 steel is roughly equivalent to 420HC.

Not to knock the 110. Everyone should have one. I've had mine in 440C since ~1970. But it's no longer the gold standard for performance at a reasonable price.
Click to expand...

donkey12 said:
I love the buck 110. The one issue for me is wearing a belt and sheath, I just dont always wanna do that. It's a great knife. I like the heft of it. A spyderco endela or pick your model are sweet too. Much lighter with lots of steel options.
Click to expand...

I concur with both of these sentiments. I can carry a large Cold Steel folder in my pocket more comfortably than any smaller, classic 110 and if it's not comfortableto carry then I'm not going to carry it. Similarly, if I'm going to carry a knife in a sheath then I'm going to carry a fixed blade that i can reliably draw, use, and re-sheath with one hand rather than any folder.

I've extensively carried a 110 during my youth and thoroughly enjoyed it, but I've moved on and think a CS Voyager and/or Bush Ranger have surpassed it in nearly every way.
 
Last edited:
I'll never knock a 110. It's the knife that introduced me to my love of knives.

For the money, though, I have to say the Cold Steel Air Lite owns that spot in my collection now.

YpuyDLM.jpeg
 
Wolverine666 said:
As an edc , what (if anything) beats a Buck 110 when you consider everything from materials to fit and finish to lock mechanism? Seems like alot of knife for $65 (the original 110 with 420HC , brass and ebony wood). I had one back in the late 80’s as a teen. Just deciding if I should pick up a new one or if I should be looking at something else in that price range.
Click to expand...
If you can get past the 420 HC blade steel (I think it's poor performance in above comments is more a reality that most "super steels" are no longer expensive as opposed to 420 HC being garbage) it is still a ton of knife for the money.

I primarily ran a Buck 110 in 420 HC for last years saltwater fishing season as a bait knife and it got dropped in sand and rinsed off in saltwater and it's doing just fine.

While I like 420 HC, at $65 I think you might as well just pay the extra money and get one with upgraded steel. I own custom knives made by ABS JS and MS but I've been primarily carrying and using a Buck 110 in s30v and now magnacut for the last decade.

At $150 (Can be less if you order when buck is running a 10% or 20% off promo) a Buck custom shop magnacut 110 has to be the best value in knives at the moment. You get a magnacut blade and the rock solid 110 design with near custom level of fit and finish.

Not trying to make this into an infomercial but I'll end with this. Buck cares about their knives and the people that use them. If someone posts a knife in the Buck forum that's not up to snuff, I've seen on multiple occasions where a Buck representative will reach out and make it right. I've personally had great experiences sending knives in to be serviced that I've trashed the edge on.
 
Wolverine666 said:
Yes , Cold Steel. I forgot about them. I’ll be checking them out tonight. Also , the Ontario RAT knives with AUS8 and G10 I just remembered too.
Click to expand...

Only thing to mention about Cold Steel is to make sure you buy a model before GSM bought them. You can tell because they changed the cold steel logo on the blade when they bought them. You can usually find some models for under $100 still. I would highly recommend the AD10, any Recon1 model, and there are many many other Cold Steel options out there to choose from that use CTS-XHP, S35VN, and other high quality steels.
 
John Phillips said:
Only thing to mention about Cold Steel is to make sure you buy a model before GSM bought them. You can tell because they changed the cold steel logo on the blade when they bought them. You can usually find some models for under $100 still. I would highly recommend the AD10, any Recon1 model, and there are many many other Cold Steel options out there to choose from that use CTS-XHP, S35VN, and other high quality steels.
Click to expand...
Can you explain why you find the post GSM knives with the new logo are to be avoided? I’ve bought and used quite a few from both eras and have been happy with them.
 
The Buck 110 is an American classic and remains one of the best bangs for your buck (sorry:rolleyes:): that big solid brass frame is highly ergonomic -- doesn't hurt your hand after a lot of cutting like thinner ones. That said, you can get the 110 in quite a few configurations, G-10, S30V, CPM-154, and lots more from the Custom Shop. Like, nickel frame, Magnacut, elk grips...
 
For $65, I don't think anything "beats" the classic 110 but that's not to say that there aren't other "good" knives out there in that price range.

The only "problem" with the 110 as an EDC is that you'd need to carry it in a sheath attached to a belt everyday, which is not something that I'd want to do.

An Ontario Rat 1 for about $60 would be something I'd suggest you want to consider if you want to pocket carry your EDC instead.

Of course, there are many other options as others have mentioned. 🤷‍♂️

Good luck picking the knife that you like & serves your needs best. :cool:
 
I think a 110 is a great knife with a great price and options. Reading another thread and seeing the condition and outcome regarding a 110 that was sent in recently was pretty awesome. Buck took part in the forum conversation, and the knife was not only rejuvenated with new blade and cleaned up, but had a new sheath as a gift. Service like that is awesome and makes me want to buy another Buck just to be supportive.
 
el gigantor said:
The 110 is a classic. The Spyderco Endura 4 improves upon it in every way except nostalgia. Love both!
Click to expand...
I consider the endura to be the modern day 110 as well. Both innovative and influential.

The VG10 steel, FFG, 4 way clip and OH opening all defeat the 110.
jbmonkey said:
well the thinness of it isn't an improvement when using. the Buck 110 handle size and shape is a better user for actual use beyond opening Amazon boxes......
Click to expand...

The blades are about the same stock thickness. The FFG blade is an improvement to the shallow hollow saber grind, and it's even a better hunting knife IMO.
 
John Phillips said:
Only thing to mention about Cold Steel is to make sure you buy a model before GSM bought them. You can tell because they changed the cold steel logo on the blade when they bought them. You can usually find some models for under $100 still. I would highly recommend the AD10, any Recon1 model, and there are many many other Cold Steel options out there to choose from that use CTS-XHP, S35VN, and other high quality steels.
Click to expand...
I have post GSM Cold Steel knives and have found no quality issues. I have not tried any new designs, but the old designs are still being made by the same job shops as they were before the buyout and with the same alloys.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top