Over the last six months I've puchased seven Buck 110 Auto Elite and five 112 Auto Elite. I've done some customization on two of them (nothing that would void the warranty), and put several through the paces. The majority have only undergone initial testing, lubrication, and basic functionaliy and quality assessments before being put into knife Purgatory where they will exist until I bring one out now and again for any of various reasons.
I have no affiliation to Buck Knives, nor have I ever had. I am not compensated in any way for what I write, nor did I receive any pricing incentives. I paid the asking price for the 12 examples I'm writing about, without even knowing at the time of purchase, that I would eventually write this post. I woud have to say that these two models are functionally the best autos I've seen. They are precision made, symmetrical, consistent, snap open nicely, close nicely and feel solidly made!
I did get a dud that broke early on. It was returned for a replacement. Buck Knives has a great reputation regarding warranty service, and it's automated. You don't need to deal with phone calls, or any communication. You just print the form, fill it out, and put it in the box with the knife you want service on. You slap on a shipping label, and that's it! No proof of purchase, no receipts, no proof, no bull! The knife is all the proof Buck needs.
This is the best warranty in the cutlery industry: If any Buck knife fails due to a defect in materials and/or workmanship, upon receiving the knife at Buck Knives in Idaho, with the warranty service form enclosed, Buck Knives will either repair the knife to working order, or replace it with one of equal or greater value, at Buck's option, free of charge, for the life of the knife!
If the blade fails for any reason other than what is covered under the warranty, i.e. abuse, normal wear and tear, neglect, etc., Buck Knives will replace the blade for $10.00, or $15.00 for blades made of S30V or S35VN stainless steel.
So, for QC Buck is running 11:12, 92% on these two models. The S30V blade remains quite sharp in normal duty. I didn't try to chop a hole in mortar block, or cut steel wire, but I did open a can of ravioli! For slicing and/or chopping up food, rope, packing tape, wood, asphalt roofing, rubber, foam, plastic, cardboard, gauze, clothing; and thin, soft metal, S30V is great!
But I still had to dull the edge to check on sharpening. So, I was shaving down a 2x4 to fit under a lifting apparatus I built to move this bad-ass battery pack (140lbs.) off the floor, onto a table, so we could open it up and install new lead-acid cells in it. Unfortunately, er, fortunately, for the sake of dulling the edge, there was a tiny pebble grown into the wood, and wouldn't you know it, I hit it! Ater prying out the pebble, the tip was a bit dull, but not too bad.
Sharpening was easy with diamond. But in my system the final grits are sandpaper adhered to 1/2" plate glass. You can buy self-adhesive, wet-dry sandpaper. It lasts practically forever. So, the diamond stone worked pretty well, but the final grits to hone it shaving sharp--after the 1000-grit diamond I could shave hair--where you just have to graze the skin to shave off the hair, took forever, mostly taking off the burr! So, S30V is noticeably harder than steels I have more experience with.
If you going to use S30V and S35VN, you might not need to sharpen often, so you could send the knife in for sharpening. But if you do it yourself, you'll need diamond. Eventually I got it back to a factory-like edge, but mine is more polished than the original, so not as effective at cutting. A razor edge that's less polished cuts like a saw with tiny, tiny teeth. Whereas, a smooth razor edge cuts just by the sharpness, because it's polished, no microscopic teeth, and it dulls faster. That's why razor edges are stropped before each use.
I can't tell you how much fun it is to snap these autos open. It's a thing of beauty. It's just perfectly precision, every part clicking into place in a moment. Like stilettos you hear two distinct clicks, which together make a unique 'sound of a stiletto'. The Bucks have their own unique sound, it's just a snap, and not as loud as some other autos.
There is no blade play on any of the these 12 Bucks. But I learned a secret. Buck ships some of the 110 and 112 autos pretty tight. I have my own system of lubing new folders, to get the manufacturing dust out, and work them in properly. I use 'Slick 50' spray and 'Super Lube' synthetic grease. I soak the joint and moving parts in Slick 50 (not literally submerged, but two short sprays) and move the blade and twist it just lighly. That gets the lube up into the joint.
On the autos there's also the firing mechanism to lube. Then I lay it down on a pile of absorbent cloth, so I don't mess up the bench. Because Slick 50 is a drying lubricant (penetrates and then dries into a tough, semi-flexible lubricating bearing conformed to the parts involved) it dries after about a day. Then, I fire the opening mechanism a few times, and clean out the channel by stuffing paper towel into it with a small screwdriver, and moving it through the channel. This never fails to pick up the left-over manufacturing dust.
Then, I lube up the joint with Super Lube grease. It's synthetic, so it lasts forver, and it is immune to environmental breakdown. You have to relube maybe every two years for an edc. I do my edc that way too. It's the drying charateristic of the Slick 50 + the synthetic properties of the Super Lube that make this duo unbeatable.
One thing I miss in these autos, that is available on a lot of flippers, is one-handed closing. Usually my other hand is free by the time I want close it, but sometimes I have to set it down while it's open. Good way to forget, and lose a knife! But that's how the original 110s and 112s are designed.
I'm pleased as punch with these knives! They're almost like girlfriends, of course I would not tell that to a woman, because women hate competing with knives, guns, cars, electronics, computers, power tools, prettier females, poker games or any other things guys like. So, don't ever say, "Honey, I love you more than all my knives put together!" She'll hate the fact that you even have to think about it!
So, I like my girlfriend more than even my Buck 110 and 112 Auto Elite knives, and by a pretty good margin! But I don't think I could live without at least one 110 and one 112 auto. Not after owning them!
I have no affiliation to Buck Knives, nor have I ever had. I am not compensated in any way for what I write, nor did I receive any pricing incentives. I paid the asking price for the 12 examples I'm writing about, without even knowing at the time of purchase, that I would eventually write this post. I woud have to say that these two models are functionally the best autos I've seen. They are precision made, symmetrical, consistent, snap open nicely, close nicely and feel solidly made!
I did get a dud that broke early on. It was returned for a replacement. Buck Knives has a great reputation regarding warranty service, and it's automated. You don't need to deal with phone calls, or any communication. You just print the form, fill it out, and put it in the box with the knife you want service on. You slap on a shipping label, and that's it! No proof of purchase, no receipts, no proof, no bull! The knife is all the proof Buck needs.
This is the best warranty in the cutlery industry: If any Buck knife fails due to a defect in materials and/or workmanship, upon receiving the knife at Buck Knives in Idaho, with the warranty service form enclosed, Buck Knives will either repair the knife to working order, or replace it with one of equal or greater value, at Buck's option, free of charge, for the life of the knife!
If the blade fails for any reason other than what is covered under the warranty, i.e. abuse, normal wear and tear, neglect, etc., Buck Knives will replace the blade for $10.00, or $15.00 for blades made of S30V or S35VN stainless steel.
So, for QC Buck is running 11:12, 92% on these two models. The S30V blade remains quite sharp in normal duty. I didn't try to chop a hole in mortar block, or cut steel wire, but I did open a can of ravioli! For slicing and/or chopping up food, rope, packing tape, wood, asphalt roofing, rubber, foam, plastic, cardboard, gauze, clothing; and thin, soft metal, S30V is great!
But I still had to dull the edge to check on sharpening. So, I was shaving down a 2x4 to fit under a lifting apparatus I built to move this bad-ass battery pack (140lbs.) off the floor, onto a table, so we could open it up and install new lead-acid cells in it. Unfortunately, er, fortunately, for the sake of dulling the edge, there was a tiny pebble grown into the wood, and wouldn't you know it, I hit it! Ater prying out the pebble, the tip was a bit dull, but not too bad.
Sharpening was easy with diamond. But in my system the final grits are sandpaper adhered to 1/2" plate glass. You can buy self-adhesive, wet-dry sandpaper. It lasts practically forever. So, the diamond stone worked pretty well, but the final grits to hone it shaving sharp--after the 1000-grit diamond I could shave hair--where you just have to graze the skin to shave off the hair, took forever, mostly taking off the burr! So, S30V is noticeably harder than steels I have more experience with.
If you going to use S30V and S35VN, you might not need to sharpen often, so you could send the knife in for sharpening. But if you do it yourself, you'll need diamond. Eventually I got it back to a factory-like edge, but mine is more polished than the original, so not as effective at cutting. A razor edge that's less polished cuts like a saw with tiny, tiny teeth. Whereas, a smooth razor edge cuts just by the sharpness, because it's polished, no microscopic teeth, and it dulls faster. That's why razor edges are stropped before each use.
I can't tell you how much fun it is to snap these autos open. It's a thing of beauty. It's just perfectly precision, every part clicking into place in a moment. Like stilettos you hear two distinct clicks, which together make a unique 'sound of a stiletto'. The Bucks have their own unique sound, it's just a snap, and not as loud as some other autos.
There is no blade play on any of the these 12 Bucks. But I learned a secret. Buck ships some of the 110 and 112 autos pretty tight. I have my own system of lubing new folders, to get the manufacturing dust out, and work them in properly. I use 'Slick 50' spray and 'Super Lube' synthetic grease. I soak the joint and moving parts in Slick 50 (not literally submerged, but two short sprays) and move the blade and twist it just lighly. That gets the lube up into the joint.
On the autos there's also the firing mechanism to lube. Then I lay it down on a pile of absorbent cloth, so I don't mess up the bench. Because Slick 50 is a drying lubricant (penetrates and then dries into a tough, semi-flexible lubricating bearing conformed to the parts involved) it dries after about a day. Then, I fire the opening mechanism a few times, and clean out the channel by stuffing paper towel into it with a small screwdriver, and moving it through the channel. This never fails to pick up the left-over manufacturing dust.
Then, I lube up the joint with Super Lube grease. It's synthetic, so it lasts forver, and it is immune to environmental breakdown. You have to relube maybe every two years for an edc. I do my edc that way too. It's the drying charateristic of the Slick 50 + the synthetic properties of the Super Lube that make this duo unbeatable.
One thing I miss in these autos, that is available on a lot of flippers, is one-handed closing. Usually my other hand is free by the time I want close it, but sometimes I have to set it down while it's open. Good way to forget, and lose a knife! But that's how the original 110s and 112s are designed.
I'm pleased as punch with these knives! They're almost like girlfriends, of course I would not tell that to a woman, because women hate competing with knives, guns, cars, electronics, computers, power tools, prettier females, poker games or any other things guys like. So, don't ever say, "Honey, I love you more than all my knives put together!" She'll hate the fact that you even have to think about it!
So, I like my girlfriend more than even my Buck 110 and 112 Auto Elite knives, and by a pretty good margin! But I don't think I could live without at least one 110 and one 112 auto. Not after owning them!
