The issue of "worth" is an interesting one to me. I should say from the outset that this is highly personal territory and that you should pursue which ever course gives you the most satisfaction.
The best book on "quality" and the making of things that I've ever read is Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Crudely summarizing, quality is that which produces peace of mind for the user. Quality is as much about us... who we are and our hopes, dreams and expectations for the thing as it is about the thing itself. Quality might be an aging Honda that needs to be maintained, or a new BMW that is only serviced by the dealer. Depends on the owner and what produces the most peace of mind for them.
Over the years I've done a lot things that demand a lot from equipment and I've had the good fortune to take some of those pursuits quite far. I group equipment of all kinds into 3 main groups: junk, competent, and premium.
Junk is almost always to be avoided. It has the appearance of being a thing, but it fails under normal use. A bike shop in Burlington, VT used to host a "Huffy Throw" contest in which mechanics would throw a Huffy as far as they could, earning points for the number of parts that would fall off. Huffy bikes were junk.
Competent stuff works. I have a North Face backpack that I purchased in 1984. I've rebuilt the suspension on it but it still carries a load well. I've used it multiple times a year for nearly 30 years. It's competent.
Premium stuff is the best you can buy. It almost always performance better. Not always. Almost always. And the effect of diminishing returns kicks in. The difference between junk and competent stuff is huge but the difference between competent stuff and premium stuff is less.
I find Buck's 420HC to be competent. Ditto for carbon steel. I would imagine that most people consider S30V to be a premium steel. There's a good discussion about the technical differences between the two in the Steel FAQ (sticky in the Maintenance Sub-Forum) by Joe Talamadge. But, I suspect the technical details are less important than the basic distinction between competent steel and premium steel.
As a rule, I prefer competent equipment over premium equipment. I learned as a pro ski instructor that I ski better when I ski without worry about destroying skis (hitting rocks in thin snow wrecks them). The saying is, "All skis are rock skis". When I owned a pick up, it was a Ford, not a Lincoln. I'm more at peace with a pickup that can be used and scratched.d I prefer to own my truck, and not be owned by it.
I view knives in a similar way. When I plunge a blade into something nasty, I want to be confident that it is up to the task (I don't want junk) but I don't want to cringe when (not if) I damage it (I don't want premium stuff in general). I can maintain my 420HC blades easily, I don't cry if they get bunged up and I know they can be replaced. But, that's just me and how I have peace of mind. Different people will see it very different.
I think the question is, which gives you the most peace of mind? Having something that is competent and replaceable or having something that is among the best that money can buy? We're talking knives here, not cars, so it's not like premium costs are likely to bankrupt you. The issue is, which will make you happier?
Hope something here helps.
. But has anybody had a 112 (not sure if the make s30v for it) or a 110 have a new s30v blade installed . In other words can i send a older buck to Idaho with 440hc and have it upgraded with s30v. Is it worth it? One last question "about" how much does it cost and should i just buy a custom for around a $100.00 instead. Thanks for your time and Have a great weekend.
In case you didn't notice, I only have the one oak handled custom with pins/rivets. I PhotoShopped them out for the second picture so you could see the difference.