Is there any PRACTIAL difference?

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afishhunter

afishhunter

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I just bought a new, new production "Made in not the USA" Schrade Uncle Henry LB7.

1) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between the Chinese(?) made Schrade knives and the Made in USA Schrade knives?

2) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between this knife and the much more expensive Buck 110? ($40 vs $80 and up)

Forgive me for asking, I have a feeling this may be a touchy subject to those on both sides.
 
No. For the average non knife guy on the street, not us persnickety knife knuts/sometimes knife snobs, it's fine. Consider this; next time you're in your local grocery store, take a walk down the kitchen implements isle. There along with the basting brushes, strainers, thermometers, and disposable foil baking trays will be kitchen knives. Usually made in a large Asian nation, thin blades, plastic handles, very questionable quality. These are perfectly serviceable for most of the people that have never heard of GEC, don't know what a Case knife is, and most importantly, couldn't care less.

We, the afflicted, the addicted knife knuts, probably make up less than 1% of the general population of the world. All those people, the rest of the humanity that knows nothing about knives except that they need them to process food to make dinner, only care that it cuts what they need to cut. The bulk of the people in the rest of the world use cheap knives made in that large Asian nation, and are happy with them. Because they don't care. That small 2.99 serrated edge paring knife will cut up veggies, trim meat, open packets of stuff to be poured on food. And that's all that is expected of them. They are not cult worship items to be revered by their owners.

A made in Asian nation Uncle Henry will get sharp if you sharpen it, it will cut things, so most people don't care. It will have some quality issues that may upset us, but the non knife owner won't care about some gap in the liners, or an uneven grind line, or even if it doesn't hold an edge well. He'll just use some pull through sharpener and go back to life as he knows it. Most of the rest of the world is used to mediocrity.

Practical difference?

It's steel, it cuts if sharp. I've went over other my sister in laws house and fixed dinner and Di doesn't like sharp knives. I've given up trying to convert her, she can't get over it. So I have one knife over there, a Chinese made dollar store kitchen knife of hers that I sharpened up on the front steps. Rough and crude but effective. It carved a pork roast well as it did other things. Sliced right down through meat and bread well. Most people on this forum wouldn't glance once at that knife, but it worked well once I sharpened it up like I saw all those Italian ladies with their old dark stained kitchen knives that they sharpened up the same way. Put a nice crude corse edge on the knife and go to it.
 
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For me, it comes down to how well a particular blade or steel will respond to attempts at sharpening. Most of that comes down to how skillfully the maker heat-treated it. The best of those will respond beautifully to most any decent sharpening tools, assuming the user's abilities are up to it. This is the single most important attribute in knives from the old Schrade USA, in their 1095; it sharpens easily to amazing razor edges, and holds them nicely. In the example of the Buck 110, Buck's reputation for skillful heat treat is also very good. Poorly-executed heat treat will often make a given blade a pain to keep sharp, or to take a decent edge in the first place. You can still get lucky with some of the cheaper ones, as it's basically hit-or-miss; but that's the difference, as better makers will show much more consistency in quality, in that regard. Makers of 'cheaper' knives might not pay as close attention to these things, and most buyers of such blades will likely remain blissfully unaware of what they're missing. I really didn't know what a good edge, or a good steel, or a good heat treat meant, up until a few years ago. Once it becomes apparent though, it's very hard to accept something less, after seeing how good it could be, if the maker paid attention to it. The 'practical' differences become glaringly obvious at that point.


David
 
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If you've not owned/used a better knife I doubt you notice any practical difference.

If you've owned/used better than I believe you would notice some differences in fit & finish, along with cutting ability.

But will it still accomplish most daily cutting tasks with no problems - yes.
 
afishhunter said:
I just bought a new, new production "Made in not the USA" Schrade Uncle Henry LB7.

1) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between the Chinese(?) made Schrade knives and the Made in USA Schrade knives?

2) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between this knife and the much more expensive Buck 110? ($40 vs $80 and up)

Forgive me for asking, I have a feeling this may be a touchy subject to those on both sides.
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You have no idea... :eek:

Since you have already purchased the knife, what you are looking for with your post? Are you asking if you made a mistake? Are you looking for validation? You can Google for reviews and you can get all you want to read, including threads from Bladeforums.

I have to say, I clicked on mykel's link and I was astonished to see how much time and effort was put into testing the two to compare. Wow. That was a ton of effort! I would wonder how the newer Schrades would fare now, as that test was about 7 years old. Things have sure changed a lot in the knife world in the last 7 years.

I think it would be great if you would use that knife for a while and come back here and let us know what you used it for, how it performed, and how it stacked up against your other knives.

Welcome aboard!

Robert
 
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midnight flyer said:
You have no idea... :eek:

Since you have already purchased the knife, what you are looking for with your post? Are you asking if you made a mistake? Are you looking for validation? You can Google for reviews and you can get all you want to read, including threads from Bladeforums.

I have to say, I clicked on mykel's link and I was astonished to see how much time and effort was put into testing the two to compare. Wow. That was a ton of effort! I would wonder how the newer Schrades would fare now, as that test was about 7 years old. Things have sure changed a lot in the knife world in the last 7 years.

I think it would be great if you would use that knife for a while and come back here and let us know what you used it for, how it performed, and how it stacked up against your other knives.

Welcome aboard!

Robert
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+1 :thumbup:
 
Even "back in the day" (1970's) I did not see any real differences between the Buck 110 and the OT7/OT8 and the Uncle Henry LB7/LB8. In high school, the "average" shops student had a Schrade on his belt, the "richer" dudes had the Buck. (it was legal then to carry a knife when I was in school - we were not crazy/insane/nuts back then.)
I have garbage knives (Gerber and TacTek) a couple "good" knives by CRKT, Cold Steel and Opinal. I prefer high carbon steel blades (I am old, after all). I have little use for a fantasy knife, and no use for a wall hanger (be the wall hanger a blade, gun, or bicycle).

Anyone know where I can get a Camillus 1760 or 1763 for under eBay's inflated prices? A motherless poltergeist stole the one I had.
 
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The buck has a good warranty should something happen with it, I an not sure about the schrade. I have a 110 and it is a great knife for my use --hunting. It hold it's edge. They cost the same as what you paid for the schrade unless you are looking at a custom 110.
 
afishhunter said:
I just bought a new, new production "Made in not the USA" Schrade Uncle Henry LB7.

1) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between the Chinese(?) made Schrade knives and the Made in USA Schrade knives?

2) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between this knife and the much more expensive Buck 110? ($40 vs $80 and up)

Forgive me for asking, I have a feeling this may be a touchy subject to those on both sides.
Click to expand...

afishhunter said:
Even "back in the day" (1970's) I did not see any real differences between the Buck 110 and the OT7/OT8 and the Uncle Henry LB7/LB8. In high school, the "average" shops student had a Schrade on his belt, the "richer" dudes had the Buck. (it was legal then to carry a knife when I was in school - we were not crazy/insane/nuts back then.)
I have garbage knives (Gerber and TacTek) a couple "good" knives by CRKT, Cold Steel and Opinal. I prefer high carbon steel blades (I am old, after all). I have little use for a fantasy knife, and no use for a wall hanger (be the wall hanger a blade, gun, or bicycle).

Anyone know where I can get a Camillus 1760 or 1763 for under eBay's inflated prices? A motherless poltergeist stole the one I had.
Click to expand...

Street price for standard Buck 110 is a little under $40.
Street price for imported LB7 is about $20

If you were unable to differentiate between 440C and 440A back in the day, then I doubt you would notice any difference today no matter what the performance of the steel. There is far less difference in performance between Chinese alloys and Buck 420HC than there was between 440C and 440A.
 
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My only semi-educated guess is that the made-in-China knives being sold today with "Schrade" written on them are probably fairly decent user knives, more than acceptable for those not afflicted with knife nut-itus. After all, both Rough Riders and Buck's Chinese-made knives get a fair bit of respect around the forum, and I wouldn't be totally shocked if someone told me they were all produced by the same Chinese company. I'd still opt to buy an older knife made in the U.S. by the actual Schrade company, but that's just me.

-- Mark
 
afishhunter said:
I just bought a new, new production "Made in not the USA" Schrade Uncle Henry LB7.

1) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between the Chinese(?) made Schrade knives and the Made in USA Schrade knives?

2) Is there any PRACTICAL difference between this knife and the much more expensive Buck 110? ($40 vs $80 and up)

Forgive me for asking, I have a feeling this may be a touchy subject to those on both sides.
Click to expand...

I'm a little bit confused by that last part. A Buck 110 typically goes for right around $40.
 
JKLnHYD said:
I'm a little bit confused by that last part. A Buck 110 typically goes for right around $40.
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Least expensive I could find online for a "standard" not custom 110 without finger groves was $80, higher for the limited edition/custom jobs and those with finger groves. And yes, I did look at the buck website. I suppose "they" the owners of all the websites stated inflated prices to me.
 
afishhunter said:
Least expensive I could find online for a "standard" not custom 110 without finger groves was $80, higher for the limited edition/custom jobs and those with finger groves. And yes, I did look at the buck website. I suppose "they" the owners of all the websites stated inflated prices to me.
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Well since your Google-Fu is weak let me help you with a link to a Bladeforum sponsored dealer.

KA-POW http://www.knivesshipfree.com/buck-knives/traditional-folders/buck-knives-110-folding-hunter/ $48.30 for a Buck 110.

So if you paid around $40 for the Chinese made Shrade I'd definitely take the Buck 110 for $8.30 more. Known American company with a good warranty, and good heat treat.
 
Depends on where you are shopping I suppose. I looked at both eBay and a couple of online retailers that I frequent before I posted my earlier price statements. (The Buck website always lists full retail. Street price is almost always lower.)

Knifeworks has a BF dealer membership, so I will list them as an example
http://www.knifeworks.com/buckfoldinghunterwoodgrainhandle-1.aspx#.VFWgvBb4JW4

KnifeCenter has a BF dealer membership, so I will list them as an example
http://www2.knifecenter.com/item/BU...rsary-blade-dymondwood-handles-leather-sheath

Like I said. About $40.
I looked on eBay and cited "By-it-now" prices for the Schrade.
 
Please no one post more prices. Posting prices is not standard practice on this forum. I posted prices with links only to prove that I did not lie in my earlier post.
 
Moderator(s) please close this thread. I did not mean to cause problems with my first posting/thread. Thank you. I'll leave quietly.
 
Jack Knife, I just wanted to let you know, your comment was the best I have read that covers many knife topics.

Succinct, simple, and realistic.
 
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