I don't think anyone has said something was wrong with buck knives, their generally low cost knives that cut. Problem is people then compare buck knives to other steels and knives and need a reality check.
No matter which way you cut it elmax out performs 420hc in every aspect except cost. Call it unobtanium or what ever, doesn't change that technology is advancing.
Is there something wrong with buck knives ? No there isn't.
This, all this.
See, some folks (cough cough Duane cough) seem not to understand the logical disparity in some iteration of these comments he keeps making thread after thread:
1. A lot of people use knives with basic steels like 420C. Since many people use these knives, that means that they're just as good as knives with better steel. Those "flavor of the month steels aren't better!"
2. There are a lot of products on the market today which are made of better materials, and at similar prices, but they aren't better than inexpensive knives with inferior steel!
3. "420C cuts stuff just fine, I SEENT IT, so clearly, Buck's steel is just as good as all the "so-called super steels", because I say so."
These are all incorrect, and by that, I mean objectively and logically incorrect.
Buck knives cut things well. But they're not the end-all, be-all of knives, and I'm sorry, but the argument of "Well, a LOT of people use them!" doesn't hold water either. People use what they can afford, and pay what they feel is fair based on where an item falls on their needs list. Is someone who's not a knife enthusiast going to spend hundreds on a knife when an inexpensive knife will accomplish their task? No. AND, you can't turn around and use that as some sort of logical argument that the inexpensive knife is just as good. I frankly don't care WHAT people are using out in the woods that folks have seen. Are you really going to tell me that Buck's cheap $14 caping knife is just as good as say, a custom made caping knife in a high durability, high strength steel? Of course not. Hell, 99% of the hunters I know will buy the cheapest knife they can find, use it til it's dull then toss it and get a new one. They will use what they can get their hands on cheaply, and in this case, it's Buck's caping knife, available at Academy or Dick's for cheap. I get that.
Everyone here (who's not a blind brandbagger) is going to agree that 420C won't hold an edge as long as something like Elmax, S30v (which hilarously, Buck themselves use. I mean, why would they offer it, if their 420C was the king ish?), M390, or so on. Paul Bos isn't a sorcerer. He can't work actual magic. Objectively, the knife made of better materials will cut, and hold an edge far longer than the knife made of inexpensive materials. Spyderco, Benchmade, KAI/ZT, CRK, etc., etc., etc. would all laugh in the face of someone making the claim that Buck's 420c was as good, as durable, and would hold an edge as long, as their products in premium level steels. That is false. But oh, cue the anecdotal "Well, I skint TEN deer with mah 110, and it was still shaving sharp!" stories that attempt to argue otherwise. :thumbup:
That doesn't mean the inexpensive knife (as an example, the Buck 110) is a bad knife. It just means it's an inexpensive knife. Many folks prefer those. And similarly, many people prefer knives made of better, more durable steels and materials. It is what it is. Anyone reading a personal slam on Buck in what I've just said is simply looking for something to have their feelings hurt over.
The bad logic, guys, come on, we can do better.
