Buck 841 Sprint Pro vs. Para 3

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Pcexbird

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I've narrowed my choices down to these two knives both in S30V, uncoated with a similar size.

I like the ergonomics on both knives. But had a couple questions for folks who own one or both of these knives.

Comparing durability (I'm not particularly well versed in micarta and am unsure how it holds up compared to G10) Is the ball bearing assist in the 841 Sprint as reliable of a system as the P3 mechanism? Does the patented heat treating process used on the Buck contribute to a better overall blade quality vs the Spyderco?

Speaking of a factory edge, with both these knives being S30V which of these two knives has the sharpest factory edge?

There is an average price difference of about $40-$50 higher for the P3. What justifies the extra cost of the P3 vs the Buck?

Do either of these knives have a standout feature I'm missing?

Which of these two would you prefer and why?

https://ibb.co/KyrnSyB
https://ibb.co/6rxt9nv
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1) I don't own the Buck 841, but I looked it up and I don't think it is a "assisted" knife(meaning you initiate the opening, and the blade will spring out on its own rest of the way). But it did mention it has ball bearing and it's a manual 'flipper' knife(a blade with flipper tab)

2) Micarta vs G10, just totally personal preference. Some say Micarta has a 'warmer' feeling, but both are synthetic material that is long lasting.

3) In terms of factory edge, I think that could be difficult to conclude, since it could vary knife to knife, grinder to grinder.
After owning more than dozen of Spydies and more than a handful of Buck folders, I feel overall the Spyderco products do have better fit and finish. Many of my Buck folders come with uneven grind from side to side, or completely messed up grind/tip(for the inexpensive Vantage, but consider the price, I'm not complaining)

4) Para 3 does have a compression lock which is pretty secure and easy to use, I would personally favor that than the liner lock on Buck 841. However, having said that, the traditional Buck lockback is one of the best in industry, but that's a different story.

5) Maybe point 3 and 4 are the reasons for higher price in Para 3?
 
I bought a single Sprint Pro and several para3. Still have the para3s and not a single sprint pro.. the buck just felt cheaply made to me- which was a disappointment. I wanted something like a vantage on bearings. It certainly wasn’t that. Spyderco knows they can charge more so they do is my take
 
My Para3 LW has been great, and they say that the regular Para3 is better than the P3LW
 
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You'd be very disappointed in the Buck, very. It's not even worth 1/4 of the asking price and in no way compares to any Spyderco IMO.

I bought one, too embarrassing of a trinket to even give away much less sell, trust me on this.
 
Para 3 in G10 is going to be more robust than the Bugout and Spyderco's S30V tends to perform a little better than Benchmade's.

I like the Bugout. It makes a great gym shorts knife. But if I had to pick one, I'd take the Para 3 if you're okay with the poor clip placement on it (I like tossing a deep carry clip on them)
 
MarkN86 said:
I stopped by a knife shop and checked out a Buck Sprint Pro, I can't remember if it was CF or Micarta. I looked at the blade stop on the inside of the handle, the stop pin slams into the end of a cutout without any steel reinforcement. I know CF and Micarta are pretty strong but I'm not certain it's going to hold up to an extended beating. I've always wondered how they would hold up over time but I haven't really seen any information on their longevity so far.

I have the Para3 LW and they are known to have an inferior action to the regular Para3, and the action is so good that it can fall open with the compression lock disengaged without having blade play, and this is on washers instead of bearings. Spyderco's heat treatment is exceptional and their geometry cuts very well. Spyderco listens to customers and continually improves their knives. They are some of the best knives in the industry for these reasons. I never question whether any Spyderco knife I order is going to be any good or not, I trust that the quality will be there. That's worth the extra money to me.

I'm not so sure I'll ever buy one of Buck's modern designs sight unseen again, I've had too many problems with them. I still trust the classic line and the fixed blades, as well as a few of the really exceptional models. It's really a shame, there are a lot of really nice knives ruined by sloppy build quality or small design issues.
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ya got that wrong. the Buck has steel liners where blade stops sit at. it doesn't sit on the Micarta or nylon or carbon fiber. I can't upload pic right now software being weird but im looking at steel liners right now where blade stops sits on all three versions.

Buck does a great job on s30v heat treating. I prefer it over spydercos, which isn't bad either.
 
jbmonkey said:
ya got that wrong. the Buck has steel liners where blade stops sit at. it doesn't sit on the Micarta or nylon or carbon fiber. I can't upload pic right now software being weird but im looking at steel liners right now where blade stops sits on all three versions.

Buck does a great job on s30v heat treating. I prefer it over spydercos, which isn't bad either.
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I must have been mistaken on the stop pin. I remember looking at that and thinking it was really strange that it would stop on that material, but I have not been able to find any close up pictures of the inside of the pivot. Id really like to see it again if anyone has any pictures, I'd like to at least make sense of what I thought I saw.
 
jbmonkey said:
Buck does a great job on s30v heat treating. I prefer it over spydercos, which isn't bad either.
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This I too concur, Buck may have some QC issues here and there for the fit & finish. But their heat treat has always been great, even the 420HC, easy to sharpen and reasonably decent.
 
MarkN86 said:
I must have been mistaken on the stop pin. I remember looking at that and thinking it was really strange that it would stop on that material, but I have not been able to find any close up pictures of the inside of the pivot. Id really like to see it again if anyone has any pictures, I'd like to at least make sense of what I thought I saw.
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it's hard to capture, but I think this nylon standard version showed it best. see the steel liners are cut out and thats where the stop pin sits on both sides on blade when open. these are good quality little American made knives for the price points they sell at.
 
Fwiw I have not owned that specific Buck however have owned buck folders and a great number of folders in general including a great many loved benchmades ....as for a smaller edc the para 3 (added TI scales) ranks right up there with my small Chris reeves 21 and inkosi for me the buck or bugout wouldn’t compare
 
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