Who NEEDS anything other than a Buck 110?

L

Lavan

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
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Was gonna ask who owns one, but thought the bandwidth could be entirely dedicated to that for a month and a half.

What makes me ask is I hired a "handyman" to do some work and he carries a Buck 110.

I still have mine from the '60's. Just dragged it out and looked at it again.

Other than being the toughest knife to sharpen I have ever owned, it would still serve every purpose I have for a knife.

Even heavy enough for an anchor if a boat started floating out to sea.

I have noticed an "infestation" of knives in my knife box (a neat old Gerstner oak TOOLBOX) over the years. But even though I get rid of some, the Buck stays.

I'm afraid I spent unneeded money on knives "just for fun" (which ain't "BAD") but could have just kept using the ol Buckaroo.
 
Mate, I think you've stumbled on the simple genius
of the 110 design which is why it still draws new
fans/users yet today.

The 110 is probably the best "do it all" design
ever made. While intended for hunting the design
is so robust it will take abuse endlessly. Many
will disagree but for the money nobody makes a
better knife.......nobody.

As to being hard to sharpen.......
That's the 440C steel they used then. Held an edge
better than most moderate steels still today. When
ever I get one in trade I can always sell it for
a premium....always. :D

So, like you, my 110's are mine for the duration.
 
Nobody "needs" anything other than a Buck 110, or a Mossberg pump, a Timex, a Ray-o-vac D cell, a corded phone, an "89 Corolla...etc. But it's fun to spice up your life if you can afford to do so. BTW, I'm not slamming the 110 - carried one for over 20 yr's. (great knife, but heavy, requires a belt pouch, and I don't care much for lockbacks, given the alternatives).
 
I need a knife that makes clicky noises with minimal effort, so that would an axis-lock, arc-lock, or balisong. I like one-handed closing knives which would be an axis-lock, arc-lock, liner or framelock, balisong, and some lockbacks like the Native.

I think the 110 is one of the best overall folders out there and can handle most cutting chores (I whittle and carve better with a wharnie, but I'm not good at it, so a bellied blade, like the 110, would give the same results), but my need is for the clicking sounds.
 
Alot of people NEED a knife you can open and close one-handed.
As a sound tech, I have to be holding something while cutting
tape or zip-ties all the time. And leaveing an open knife on
top of a live hopping speaker or stage is a bad idea :eek:
 
I need to carry a knife in Dockers or shorts, without clanking through doorways or wearing suspenders to keep my drawers up. The 110 does not meet this need.
 
I have to agree with the most recent posts. I have
a 110 (which I love) that I used to carry every day, but
it's too heavy to carry in a pocket, and a belt pouch isn't
an option in warmer weather, when I'm wearing shorts.

That's when a Delica or Endura with a clip is "the"
solution...
 
Me. Why? From my personal experiences with the Buck 110, 120 and other variations:

I'm tired of having lint in the lock back bar preventing me from closing it.

I'm tired of the brass and rose wood weight.

I'm tired of having to use two hands to open it.

I'm tired of the ripped in my pant pocket lip from the Bandit I had to install to help open it one handed.

I work in an enviornment that doesn't allow for a belt sheath, and the lack of a pocket clip means I will have a hard time carrying it.


But to each his own. There's a reason I've owned about a dozen of them over my lifetime. :D
 
The 110 is one of those knives that perhaps through sheer accident of design, or as a natural result of profound thought turned out to be something which has and continues to capture the imagination of several generations.

The point of the 110 story is the simplicity of design and elegance blended with a touch of harmony can be a winner. Looking at the 110, one is apt to sometimes scratch one's head and think where lies the secret of its success. Perhaps its secret is being extraordinarily ordinary.

:)
 
Sure, the 110 is a great knife for the money, and I carried one for a long time. That was years ago, though, and it wouldn't happen today. Reason? First, it's just too damned heavy. I simply can't justify the weight of the thing. Second, too much blade play. Yeah, I know, you'll hear people say that a correctly functioning lockback will necessarily have some blade play. But I'm not buying it. My SOG Tomcat has zero, I repeat, zero, bladeplay. Third, the 110's lock disengages too easily. The lockbar ends right where you hand naturally pushes during hard use of the knife, and this can cause the knife to close unexpectedly (this happened to me). The Tomcat had the lockbar at mid-handle, and so, in my opinion, is a much safer knife.
 
I agree.

The Buck 110 was the only style of knife I carried through out my 20's. I had several, and never a failure.

After carrying everything else as a knut, I had a chance to buy another 110 recently. It's their Ionfusion series, and they are better than ever. Even the leather sheath is of the same quality.

The trouble with the 110 is that if it's a guy's FIRST knife, he might stop looking. He might never become a collector.
 
I might be able to flick a 110 open (there's enough exposed steel for me to grap hold of it), but its lockback makes it impossible to close one handed.
I have nothing against lockbacks, I just prefer how the newer lockbacks allow one hand closing.
 
but it's a tad heavy. And I'm not too keen on the nylon sheath. If I ever get around to getting a nice open top leather piece I might carry it more often. I can't imagine closing it on accident, the lockbar on mine is STRONG. And as light/strong/handy as my Spydie Rescue is, FRN will never look as good as wood/brass to my eye.

Frank
 
Ichabod, tell the truth...the 110 you had during your 20's was chosen because it was (and still is) a part of the biker culture, not necessarily because it was the best choice. An excellent tool, at a good price no doubt, but it's part of an identity above all. Your recent purchase was likely very sentimental, for that reason.

My 110 was given to me by my Dad when I was 16 and passed my hunter safety course. Never used it for hunting. Never used it, period. Never will, as you might imagine. At the time, my Dad was riding and carried his 110 in a sheath I made for him. At 16, I did not think strapping the 110 on my 160 lb. frame was appropriate, so it stayed in the box. I always carried smaller knives, never went hunting, and so the 110 stayed in the box. I take it out once in a while to marvel at it's size and mass, but that's about it.
 
And exactly what has this got to do with need? I don't need a lot of the things I buy.

You are right though, the Buck 110 I bought in 1965 is still with me today, and I still think it is a superb knife.
 
a great knife...........a bit on the heavy side after all the changes the industry has been thru for the last few years!
 
RH,

You're probably right, peer pressure was probably an unseen factor. However, where did this loyalty come from? If bikers, construction guys, cowboys and hunters couldn't make the knife fail, then that's a great endorsement.

Honestly, I do not remember what knife was used among my friends in that 'second place' category.

Even as biker status symbol, mine stripped wire (I was a Harley mechanic from '72 until '74), it prepared food, it whittled and made fuzzy-sticks. It never skinned a deer, that was my fault. I didn't want blood inside a folder. Many did field dress deer, and it works fine.

(RH, I also wore Crawford House Frye Boots, another biker symbol. My feet stayed dry and warm, so it wasn't that bad.)
 
I've carried a 110 or clone since mid-70's and still do. My wife just gave me a new finger groove model for Christmas. I use the bandit to open it one handed and it locks up tight with no blade play. I can close it one-handed too. I love the blade geometry, have no problem sharpening it and it does everything I ask it to do. I have no desire to replace it. It's kind of like a blade version of a Winchester '94, it just keeps on taking care of business.
Bob
 
nothing wrong with the old 110. Ive owned many in the past, none now, but its a mainstay as far as utility!!
 
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