How would you answer?

JD Mandrell

JD Mandrell

Joined
Apr 20, 2001
Messages
18,423
OK...here is the question I have faced recently from friends, some of which are even knife people.

"Why in h**l would you carry a Custom 110 that you paid over $100.00 for, when you can keep it safe while carrying a $30.00 110 from Wal-Mart that is basically the same knife?"

My first thought to respond is that "because every one else can walk around with that one, while mine was made special for ME!"

How would you answer?
 
The same as I answer when asked why I use my custom Carson or Emersons. Just for the sheer pleasure of it and because I can. If I owned a Jaguar, I'd drive it, so why not use a custom 110 if you can afford to buy it?
 
Because it was made for me, exactly the way I wanted it to be and I enjoy the heck out of using it. It gets sharper and stays sharp longer than a regular buck.

I'm tired and that doesn't even make sense to me. Ah heck sleep and read it again in the AM.
 
No point in buying the nice ones to let them waste away in a drawer.
 
I cant afford to have a $100 buck or $350 for a sebenza just lay around.Today I'm carrying my small sebby AND my PCKS.
 
Actually,I get more people who ask why I would spend that much on a knife. I try to explain the virtues and usually I get a blank stare.
 
I like Dave’s Jaguar comparison, and a good knife costs a lot less.
As for when people ask why spend so much on a knife (usually the same ones that just borrowed it because they don’t even have one), I start into blade and handle materials, hardening processes, and overall quality. I usually still get the blank stare but they don’t ask again.

Remember, when you pay for quality, you only cry once.

S/F

Bob
 
My response to them would be because I can :D Seriously, most if not all non-knife people just don't get it when it comes to why I am the way I am with knives. It's a personal item that for me brings me all kind of memories. I carry a knife daily, but the real memories are made while I'm hunting, another thing I'm passionate about. I use my knives and then months or years later I say this is the knife I used to process that nice buck I shot that year. It could be any activity you may be involved in. Knives to me are like a favorite hat, jeans or boots. They just don't understand why we are the way we are. HA, too bad for them :D
Scott
 
X at 10 said:
Remember, when you pay for quality, you only cry once.

S/F

Bob
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Good one! The funny part is, I own 2 PCS's, the 25th, 40th, and 100th anniversary 110's, but don't even own a stock one.

maybe I should remedy that today!
 
"A cheap blade will sometimes break glancing off of the clavical when attacking the carotid sheath" usually shuts people up. I get wide eyed stares, not blank ones!!

John :grumpy: :grumpy:
 
I've never paid $100 for a knife. I've therefore never done any work or cutting with one, so I guess that I can't appreciate the apparently *great* difference between a $30 Wal*Mart 110 and a Buck Custom 110. As far as a $30 Buck 110 being a "cheap" knife, in quality or finish, well, I'd have to argue that the original knife, from which a legend was born, gives just as much pride in ownership as the $100 custom version. I'm still plenty satisfied with the Original.

Just my two cents, geothorn

"Knife people" are just sharper.
 
It doesn't really matter what the knife cost, $3 $300 $3000. If it gives you pleasure then that's the only justification needed. If people can't handle that, then that's their problem.
 
None of my friends even know what a standard Buck 110 is, or any other knife for that matter. The only knives any of my friends are interested is the steak knife or butter knife they're using to eat with......
 
Because... I enjoy it more when I am using it. Otherwise it will just gonna be another piece of furniture at home.

Also the custom factor, it's made for the owner, but for what? For using it, of course. :D

Then again, I agree with some other said too, while I like the custom 110 (will order one soon, probably), I am for sure another proud owner of the original one. I think that the feeling about a custom and an original 110 are somewhat different. Both of them are quality made, but I think the original 110 has more "historical/legendary" factor that I like about it, where the custom gets to me on its exotic materials and the custom factor. Not to mention the original makes me use it more care-freely because of the low cost of replacement. (Pretty much for about a tank of gas these days, when u think about it. :p )
 
Thanks all for the input, just for the record, I did not mean to disparage the stock 110's as being lesser than the customs. The whole story of why I ended up with a custom first is kinda silly, but I am nuts about a certain outdoor adventure movie, where a somewhat "normal" folding hunter with mammoth ivory scales is featured. I wanted something similiar but the closet to my price range was a custom 110 with Elk.
 
I carry one with a BG42 alloy blade because it has a tougher edge than the 420HC blade. I carry one with stag slabs because I love the look and feel of the stag. If I don't carry the knife I can't enjoy those benefits. I also take pride in being able to show off a classic knife that is a factory custom job. I would almost never get a chance to show it off if it stayed home in a drawer. My counter question would be, "Why would you leave such a special knife hidden in a drawer where it can't be seen and you can't use it?"

The fact that your sceptical friends asked their question shows that you had a chance to show off your knife. People would ridicule you even more if you tried to brag about a plain vanilla 110.
 
Jeff Clark said:
I carry one with a BG42 alloy blade because it has a tougher edge than the 420HC blade. I carry one with stag slabs because I love the look and feel of the stag. If I don't carry the knife I can't enjoy those benefits. I also take pride in being able to show off a classic knife that is a factory custom job. I would almost never get a chance to show it off if it stayed home in a drawer. My counter question would be, "Why would you leave such a special knife hidden in a drawer where it can't be seen and you can't use it?"

The fact that your sceptical friends asked their question shows that you had a chance to show off your knife. People would ridicule you even more if you tried to brag about a plain vanilla 110.
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Nicely put, and I dig your signature!
 
Thanks, PS the signature is virtually a quote from a military self defense manual (I think it was one of Applegate's).
 
Jeff Clark said:
Thanks, PS the signature is virtually a quote from a military self defense manual (I think it was one of Applegate's).
Click to expand...

Him or Jeff Cooper....gotta love the classics!
 
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