Buck vs. Spyderco - why the huge price difference?

J

jayjaygee

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Mar 13, 2023
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I'm not smart so the answers might be really obvious. But I can't figure out why a Spyderco like the Dragonfly costs so much more than a Buck like the Ranger Slim Select. They both have the same handle material, about the same blade length. The Buck has the steel I prefer (anything that can't be sharpened on a coffee mug I call a "silly steel"), they are both made in the USA, yet the Spyderco costs $103 more!

Is the steel the only difference? What do I not see here?
 
$100 more? Last I checked a dragonfly was under $100. What do I not see here?
Lol
A steel upgrade to something like s30v from 420hc or vg10 is usually gonna be like $50 more. The steel is a little more expensive, but it puts more wear on their machines than a less wear resistant steel.

Sometimes you’ll get G10 over FRN as well…
 
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I think it has to do with quality of materials. You generally get what you pay for. After looking at benchmade, then spydercos, spyderco is actually a very good value for what you get.

I think your comparing apples to oranges here. In my opinion anything Buck is something you purchase because you like the design or the nostalgia of it. Spyderco is for when you are ready for a knife to just perform and perform very well and don't mind the looks very much. Spyderco doesn't have the nostalgic look. But Buck can't even come close to touching the performance you'd get from a k390 dragonfly, or delica etc.

I'm at this point in my knife journey. A few years ago I tried s30v. It was a good improvement over 420 or any other bargain steel. But I've never quite been happy with it. It's too soft. Even s30v I find to dull to quickly. Most of the time from lack of edge strength and stability. The edge rolls or deforms a little, making the theoretical wear resistance worthless. I got a new leatherman and tried the 420hc again, much worse. That blade got dull from a stern look.

I am patiently waiting Christmas as I'm hoping it brings a couple of spydercos in 15v and k390. I have been reading and watching alot from shawn Houston (BBB), and he's always preaching on how much more important edge strength/stability is. I think he's 100% correct. My s30v would go way way longer before needing the stones again if the edge had actual strength. This is why I'm turning to very strong, hard, tough 65-66 Hrc tool steel blades. I want a knife that just does its dang job for once. No more getting dull in a day. If these steels perform like everyone says they do and youtube videos show, I'll be buying more of them. Heck I'll probably buy duplicates in case I loose one.

Can I politely suggest your way of thinking of sharpening is greatly limiting what a knife can be for you? I have had to change my sharpening methods over the years. I thought I was doing good with a spyderco sharpmaker. It was quick. But I needed it everyday, it did a crap job on s30v, lots of carbide tearout/fatiguing the edge. I then realized I needed to switch to diamonds to get the full potential. I did indeed notice a marked improvement in the performance of s30v once using diamonds. Glad I got it, I'll need it for 15v. You can get a dmt set (big boy lansky) for 65 bucks or so and it'll do all you need. Another thing shawn says that I so much want to experience Is a steel that just does its job so well you can sharpen it when you want to, not because you have to. Right now I have to sharpen because it's actually dull and I have to.

I would say you have to decide what you want from a knife. Is it the classic lines of a Buck? Or a cutting machine that stops for nothing?
 
I have bucks and spyderco’s. Some of my favorite knives. Buck normally has really great hollow grinds but overall I think spyderco has overall bettter fit and finish on their folders. Hard to beat the details on spyderco jimping.

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I could buy 7 of those bucks for one spyderco but I still wouldn’t have a spyderco 😳
 
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Well, if "silly steel" is your deal breaker, then I would suggest you stick with the Buck 420HC. Fantastic steel for EDC for 90% of what folks expect a knife to do. For the other 10% there is bladeforum.com.

At the end of the day, capitalism 101 says that whatever Spyderco can sell a knife at and move enough of them to turn enough of a profit to keep the doors open is the correct price.

I will admit, my dander gets up when people start tossing around prices and "worth". As an owner of a small business who does custom work and gets constantly beaten down about the price I charge compared to someplace like Amazon, it drives me up a wall when someone gets bent out of shape about cost.

Buy it or don't. Only you and your wallet can determine if the price is agreeable. No one on the net can persuade or dissuade you to spend or not spend your money.
 
Different business, different product, different scale, different target market, etc...

Decide for yourself as a consumer, vote with your dollars, and things will sort themselves out

As John Prine said, "That's the way that the world goes 'round"
 
Knives&Lint said:
Different business, different product, different scale, different target market, etc...

Decide for yourself as a consumer, vote with your dollars, and things will sort themselves out

As John Prine said, "That's the way that the world goes 'round"
Click to expand...
Agreed. Also, to clarify for OP, the VG10 or H1 the Dragonfly can come with are both sharpen-able on a ceramic mug bottom. And Japanese production is more expensive than it used to be.
 
I think that sticking with fewer models/steels has to be cheaper overall than constantly coming up with new ones just from a materials and tooling perspective aside from R&D.

I am a Spyderco fan but also think that Buck knives are an extremely good price and that people would still buy them at an increase.
 
jayjaygee said:
I'm not smart so the answers might be really obvious. But I can't figure out why a Spyderco like the Dragonfly costs so much more than a Buck like the Ranger Slim Select. They both have the same handle material, about the same blade length. The Buck has the steel I prefer (anything that can't be sharpened on a coffee mug I call a "silly steel"), they are both made in the USA, yet the Spyderco costs $103 more!

Is the steel the only difference? What do I not see here?
Click to expand...
The correct price tags, for one thing.
An understanding of manufacturing realities, for another.


The Spyderco is $40.00 more.
The Buck 420HC blade can be stamped out in bulk, then finished.
The VG10 blade must be individually machined from start to finish. That's a much more expensive process.
 
I have a bunch of both Bucks and Spydercos and appreciate them all. The designs and materials vary, but they're all reliable and do what they're designed to do: cut stuff. Scale and place of manufacture has a good deal to do with the manufacturer's cost, which is reflected in the price. Then there is the knife nerd factor (Guilty! 😁 ) where some addicts will pay a premium to get something new or different, such as, say, a Custom Shop Buck 110 with stag grips and M4 steel... (I hope🎅 is listening; I've been really good this year.)
 
The Slim Select knives are economical tools that are sold as a solid value. To that end, there are some compromises. The pressed-on thumb stud can come loose and there is that little nub where the blade meets the rocker bar that would have been ground away on the other Buck knives. The Spyderco puts more into materials and construction and the cost reflects that. Is the Spyderco twice as good as the Buck? That depends on what the customer values. That's why we have choices.
Alberta Ed said:
a Custom Shop Buck 110 with stag grips and M4 steel... (I hope🎅 is listening; I've been really good this year.)
Click to expand...

I've never been that good, not for a whole year.:)
 
Zornhau said:
The Slim Select knives are economical tools that are sold as a solid value. To that end, there are some compromises. The pressed-on thumb stud can come loose and there is that little nub where the blade meets the rocker bar that would have been ground away on the other Buck knives. The Spyderco puts more into materials and construction and the cost reflects that. Is the Spyderco twice as good as the Buck? That depends on what the customer values. That's why we have choices.


I've never been that good, not for a whole year.:)
Click to expand...
Sometimes I lie ;) .
 
The 2 knives makers shouldn't be in the same class. not sure how you're even comparing the 2.
 
Spyderco Dragonfly is not made in the US. It is made in Seki City, Japan. VG10 is a different type of steel and a bit higher quality in its ability to be run at a higher hardness and take and hold a relatively fine edge.

The blade shapes and grinds are also different, so they are not exactly drop-in replacements for each other.

If I were comparing same to same, it would be between Spyderco and Benchmade products - Dragonfly/Delica vs. Mini-Griptilian.

Buck makes fine knives (I own several of them, only one Spyderco) but the 420HC/nylon handled products are not quite at the same level as the Seki-made Spydercos.
 
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