Southard or BBS Domino?

Rasco

Rasco

Joined
Jan 3, 2014
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Really on the fence here. Extremely tempted to pull the trigger on one of these.
BBS has their Blue G10 CTS-204P Domino on sale right now for $205
BHQ has all black Southard for $240, same steel.

I gotta imagine the flippage is similar on both models, yeah?
I've never fondled either, so it really comes down to ergos, practicality, and yall's opinions.

I imagine the Domino handles a bit like a Manix 2, probably a bit smaller?
From what I can tell from specs, both knives have very similar dimensions, at least in terms of handle space, although the Southard looks bigger to me for some reason.

Anyone have both and feel like posting some side-by-side pics?
 
IMO, the Southard flips better than the domino. You can use either the flipper or the spyderhole on the domino. I have not been successful using the hole on the southward. The domino is a great slicer. As you can see from the pics, I've used the crap out of both knives :)


 
The Domino has very similar ergos to the Manix2, so if you like the M2 you'll like the Domino. I've held the Southard a few times and don't like it at all because the ergos don't work in my hand very well...just doesn't feel right for some reason. I also prefer the FFG blade of the Domino, but there are lots of avid Southard fans so it may or may not work for you based on your hands. I can tell you that you'll like the Domino for sure though if you like the Manix2, so maybe grab it first (It's also an exclusive in 204P and will eventually be gone), and augment it with a Southard at a later date because it should still be around for a while.
 
Funny, I actually was in your situation yesterday! I had to go with the BBS Domino. Regular Dominos in XHP go for around $199, so for $10 extra, at $209 I went for it. I haven't handled either, but I've done a lot of research on it. The Domino supposedly flips much harder, and much easier. The Spydie hole is also easier to access on the Domino. It also has a steel lockbar insert, and a better pocket clip. And blue G-10. :) The Southard seems like a great knife, and I plan to get one some day, but there's a lot of things I love about the Domino. Also, it'll be cheaper!
 
I've had both, the BBS Domino, and the Southard. To be honest, my domino had an extremely weak detent. The flipping action sucked. However. On my roomates BBS Domino, it was incredibly fast. I wanted to return mine, but they don't do returns. I sold it and did the detent mod at his request and it was much better.

Now I've had about 14 southards come and go. Usually it was because I've been trying to get a higher end knife.

But out of the two, I'm getting the Southard once more here in a few days.

I love the Domino, and it is an absolutely fantastic knife. It cuts better, and flips faster, than the Southard. Plus it has a forward choil (if you like those.) But like many have said, it feels like a smaller manix. Or a beefed up Sage. At heart, its a Spyderco. Function over Form.
But when you can have both function and form, that makes a knife different. Thats why I like the Southard. IMO, it has both function and form.

But I'm just weird like that.
 
MRMknives97 said:
Funny, I actually was in your situation yesterday! I had to go with the BBS Domino. Regular Dominos in XHP go for around $199, so for $10 extra, at $209 I went for it. I haven't handled either, but I've done a lot of research on it. The Domino supposedly flips much harder, and much easier. The Spydie hole is also easier to access on the Domino. It also has a steel lockbar insert, and a better pocket clip. And blue G-10. :) The Southard seems like a great knife, and I plan to get one some day, but there's a lot of things I love about the Domino. Also, it'll be cheaper!
Click to expand...

That's the prevailing logic in my mind right now.
Plus, I would get a little satisfaction out of knowing I scored a BBS exclusive for a reasonable price.

Like Ajack, I would probably end up with custom scales on either one, and a big part of why I'm taking a second look at the Southard is because of ShepardCC's pic he posted the other day :

618708361588179


I've never seen a Southard looking so sexy :) If I got the Domino, I'd very likely be swapping out the blue G-10 for something red or red & black.
But as of now, I'm leaning toward the Domino. I love the ergos on the Manix 2, so it sounds like the Domino will be the better fit.
I'll let you know how it goes come payday :P
 
MRMknives97 said:
Funny, I actually was in your situation yesterday! I had to go with the BBS Domino. Regular Dominos in XHP go for around $199, so for $10 extra, at $209 I went for it. I haven't handled either, but I've done a lot of research on it. The Domino supposedly flips much harder, and much easier. The Spydie hole is also easier to access on the Domino. It also has a steel lockbar insert, and a better pocket clip. And blue G-10. :) The Southard seems like a great knife, and I plan to get one some day, but there's a lot of things I love about the Domino. Also, it'll be cheaper!
Click to expand...

That's the prevailing logic in my mind right now.
Plus, I would get a little satisfaction out of knowing I scored a BBS exclusive for a reasonable price.

Like Ajack, I would probably end up with custom scales on either one, and a big part of why I'm taking a second look at the Southard is because of ShepardCC's pic he posted the other day :

10882129_618708361588179_1904506387474510687_n.jpg

I've never seen a Southard looking so sexy :) If I got the Domino, I'd very likely be swapping out the blue G-10 for something red or red & black.
But as of now, I'm leaning toward the Domino. I love the ergos on the Manix 2, so it sounds like the Domino will be the better fit.
I'll let you know how it goes come payday :P
 
Also, since most are put off by the high price, and most don't like BBS, I'm sure this knife will become very rare, and hard to come by. It'll probably be something like their M390 Para 2. If the knife wasn't on sale, I'd likely go for the Southard. But for the price it's currently at I had to grab one. :)
 
If I were you I'd pay a bit extra on BBS, and get the Domino combo with the lil' matriarch!
 
The BBS version is on sale now for $10 more than I paid for the XHP one? AWW MAN!
 
I got my Domino yesterday, and without a doubt it is the smoothest knife I have ever handled. There was not a single flaw, except the lanyard tube made a very very slight rattling noise. I fixed this by using needle nose pliers, and pushing it into the lanyard hole, and twisted the pliers around, and now the lanyard hole tube is perfectly fit into the hole. I can flip the knife easily using every finger as well. I absolutely love the knife, and it is my favorite knife in my collection now. Good luck!
 
I prefer the Southard; have had several of both models discussed.
Personal preference; you can go either way and have a great knife and a good steel.
 
MRMknives97 said:
I got my Domino yesterday, and without a doubt it is the smoothest knife I have ever handled. There was not a single flaw, except the lanyard tube made a very very slight rattling noise. I fixed this by using needle nose pliers, and pushing it into the lanyard hole, and twisted the pliers around, and now the lanyard hole tube is perfectly fit into the hole. I can flip the knife easily using every finger as well. I absolutely love the knife, and it is my favorite knife in my collection now. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Damn, you are not making this any easier on me!
I'm trying to hold off til my mid-month paycheck, but .......
 
My recommendation is to try both in hand the handle egos of the southard are not for everyone, but it is a fantastic knife.
 
3rdGenRigger said:
The Domino has very similar ergos to the Manix2, so if you like the M2 you'll like the Domino. I've held the Southard a few times and don't like it at all because the ergos don't work in my hand very well...just doesn't feel right for some reason. I also prefer the FFG blade of the Domino, but there are lots of avid Southard fans so it may or may not work for you based on your hands. I can tell you that you'll like the Domino for sure though if you like the Manix2, so maybe grab it first (It's also an exclusive in 204P and will eventually be gone), and augment it with a Southard at a later date because it should still be around for a while.
Click to expand...

What he said!!! John :thumbup:
 
Southard > Domino.

I've bought dozens of different Spyderco models, and the Domino is probably the model I've liked least; I also own a variety of customized Southards, so I guess I may be a bit biased.

I found the Domino big-handled, clunky in the pocket and with a blade that is too tall and too short (edge length seems stubby for the bulk of the thing), all at once. I loved the scale, the fit and finish were Taichung fantastic, and it flipped extremely well--I just disliked everything else about it.
 
I had a BBS Domino as my edc for a few months, and I loved it. I never planned on buying it but I saw one in my local knife shop and flipping it for the first time had me instantly sold...however I flipped or tried to deploy it, the blade would fly out and lock securely. The quality and level of fit & finish was such that it felt like I was holding a piece of fine jewelry in my hand...truly an impressive production knife in every way. The design, while not the prettiest, results in awesome ergos and a knife that ultimately excels in the actual act of cutting things. IMHO in flipped better than any of the few southards that I've handled.

Unless you're wanting to abuse your knife, I highly recommend the BBS Domino. If you're looking for something that can take a bit more of a beating then I'd probably choose the Southard.

Or just get both ;)
 
I owned both and didnt really like either of them. I got rid of the domino because it was just too bully/heavy and bought a dice, which is perfect. Melts in your hand. The southards ergos are not good at all in my opinion. I ended up getting my southard chopped down into a mini which made it alot better. If you want the bigger blade and the better ergos i would go with the domino. If you like smaller blades too i would highly recommend the dice.
 
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