The famous Buck 110

Model 110's can currently easily be found in 420HC, CPM 154, S30V, and 5160; All for less than $100. Obviously the 420HC will be by far the least expensive option. If I recall correctly, the Buck has used a dozen (or more) different blade steels in the 110...though some are hard to find.
 
Great info. Yeah, I am glad to hear good things about their customer service.



Of course. I just prefer to keep those sharp and ready and pray I don't need to use them. I'm too young to carry a concealed firearm, so they fulfill a self-defense role. Yeah, I'm beginning to think picking up a normal 110 first may be a good idea.

Stabby-type things don't really need to be all that sharp. We're quite fragile.

I wouldn't carry around a brick like a 110 as a utility supplement. If you really feel the need for a secondary utility knife, I'd get something like a zdp-189 Dragonfly 2. Holds an edge and weighs nothing.
 
Stabby-type things don't really need to be all that sharp. We're quite fragile.

I wouldn't carry around a brick like a 110 as a utility supplement. If you really feel the need for a secondary utility knife, I'd get something like a zdp-189 Dragonfly 2. Holds an edge and weighs nothing.

Yeah, it is a bit heavy, haha. I guess I've never really minded the extra weight. I actually almost bought a dragonfly at Academy. It was H1 though, so a different purpose. I'd just like to try that steel out.

Yup, try the cheap base model, and if you like it, upgrade to Cabela's Alaskan Guide version in Bos-treated S30V, with nice cherry wood and brass handles, with a black DLC coated blade. Super Sexy! Even when I'm not in the mood to carry it, I take it out just to look at.

FYI, unless you can get it on sale, it will be right under $100, shipped. I found mine on a Christmas sale, for $80 shipped a few years ago.

Actually saw one of those about a month ago. I really love how good the blade coating looks with the brass and cherry wood. It's just beautiful. Yeah, I believe it was around 100 or so.

Ive got 4 Buck Custom Shop 110's from about two and a half years ago. All 4 came in perfectly fine shape. This was just a touch before they added G10 as a handle option. Ive got the stag handle which is thick its very impressive, Ive got the waterbuffalo its polished black bone with brass, American Oak w/nickel and Indigo wood with nickel. At least two and a half years ago I believe these knives were assembled by hand not slammed together by machines like regular production models. The action on my CS models is light, smooth and easy. You dont have to fight with the pressure of the lock bar like you do on the production models. 3 of the 4 have the CS finger grooves which are closer together than the production finger grooves. Ive got average sized hands and the CS finger grooves feel much better than production 110's.

You can choose between black or brown leather sheath and a black cordura sheath which is actually very good its got vertical and horizontal belt straps on the back you can wear it either way. The CS knives come in a nice black box with a authenticity card signed by the person who built it. My stag/brass model has the polished serrated blade in 420HC it and the other 3 CS knives all came sharp as hell and with even edge geometry.

Personal favorite is actually the indigo wood/nickel/S30V one. It is much lighter in color than it looks on the Buck site its gorgeous. The American oak would be second favorite it also looks totally different than on the site the color is lighter but grain structure very nice. I did the no visible pin option on all of them.

I also unfortunately blew 240 bucks on the Lochsa 110. Despite being made of top materials its a horrible knife. There is zero thumb access room beneath the thumb studs. Its not a CS knife it is slammed together by machine like regular production 110's. At first the action was so stiff it was like un springing a bear trap. About a quarter of a gallon of lube later it is livable. The G10 on the Lochsa is some of the best I have ever seen. Idk if the CS G10 is the same stuff or not I hope it is. The brushed nickel bolsters are beautiful. The clip is perfect and perfectly placed. The S30V blade was perfect at first but when you close a Lochsa just under a quarter inch of the tip smacks into the butt end bolster. On Youtube there is a guy named The Apostle P he has a channel that is awesome. He is a veteran pro edger. Hes got two or more videos about the Lochsa and how he had to dremel down to the frame through the G10 beneath the thumb studs in order for them to be usable. Also goes into details about how he had to take 2mm off the inside of the butt end bolster to get the blade to stop smacking into it whenever you close it.

To sum up-I still believe in the Buck Custom Shop all 4 of mine were worth the price. I see they also now have a black palm wood handle option. I cannot tell by the photos if it has what appears to be texture or if its a polished over smooth pattern or not. The elk handle option is a hell of an option. The elk on mine must be more than 3mm thick at the middle of each side and the scales have tons of texture. Unless you must have a polished blade get the S30V option. BOS heat treated 420HC is nearly as hard as regular S30V. My CS BOS treated S30V blades I swear are harder than S35VN and more like tool steel hardness. The only thing that worries me is that I see the CS offers multiple models now which means they are busier than ever. When I got mine only the 110 and 112 were customizable so Idk if that will affect quality or not. The blades on all 4 of my CS knives came with centered blades and action so easy if you work on technique you can thumb push and swing the blades open. Do NOT buy a Lochsa. Mine is now just a $240 paper weight.

Awesome info! That's pretty interesting considering that I was also wanting the indigo wood with nickel. It just looks gorgeous. I'm really glad to hear you had good luck with them as well. And I will definitely be getting s30V. I still don't have a knife with that steel and I'm dying to get some experience with it.

Something from Cold Steel, is going to be stronger and lighter if all you want is a defensive blade to carry and not use.

Definitely. I actually have one in rotation for that purpose.
 
Try Cooper and Clad. They have Buck 110's and other models in a variety of different steels. I just bought a 112 in 5160 carbon and the prices aren't that out of line for a short run knife
 
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I've got an old 110 in 440C that I bought in 1979. I carried it for work for about 6-8 years. It's still in good shape (carried a lot, used a little). It's a classic and it was a great knife in its day.

I would never carry it today, given that I have better and lighter alternatives now. It is just too much of a brick, and requires belt-sheath carry. I had already replaced it with a lighter alternative back then, the Gerber Bolt Action (which I also still have).

If you want one and don't mind the weight on your belt, I'm sure they are still good knives. The old 110 I have will still cut stuff today. They also double as a fist-load if you ever get to where you need to defend yourself (with the blade closed).
 
If it were me and I didn't want a 110 in 420HC, I would choose the Cabelas Alaskan Guide Series (AGS) 110 in S30V if you like the black coating. It is a pretty nice knife actually and you can look at them at a Cabelas store if one is in your general area rather than looking at pictures on the internet. I have the Cabelas Vanguard 192 in the AGS. Nice knife and has added touched that I really like over standard 192's in addition to better steel.

All that said, the 110 in any form is not a knife I would choose for self defense. Knife designs have moved past the 110 for defensive purposes.
 
If you really want something with a strong lock, great grip and a great blade I'd rather go this route than a 110 any day. It isn't as cheap but if you can't carry a firearm, why not.
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I've bought 3 buck 110s in the last year. Two were from "big box" and one from "big river." All were centered, had almost zero blade play, and had fit/finish way way above the norm. All in all, I couldn't be happier given the great price of these.

I've also found that of all my knives, I can get my 110's the sharpest. It takes an absolutely insane edge when I convex it on the KO Worksharp.
 
Funny, I was visiting a neighbor earlier today and drooling over three Custom Shop 110s. All three had David Yellowhorse scales which I could take or leave but the quality of the blade finish was outstanding. One had a drop point blade unlike anything I have ever seen on a 110. Beautiful.
 
The 110 is the Wild Turkey 101 of knives. Unapologetic. Not for everybody. As common as it is beautiful.
 
Several QC factors have came to arise in Buck Knives I've noticed...

*Blade Craftsmanship:
Some of their blades look fine and some you'll notice vary drastically on things like the spine swedging being too shallow or blending into the straight spine portion...rounded off looking.I bought a Bucklite MAX that looked good but the edge had a slight recurve to it.I lost it after a few years of ownership and bought a few replacements and blade wise looked totally different...the defect on my original had better swedgework.So at that point I was very confused as to what the MAX's blade was 'supposed' to look like.

*Edge 2X geometry:
Buck is getting very sloppy with this as it's one of the things that probably saved them from taking the fall with Schrade and Camillus as far as stainless steel blades and obtainable sharpness through basic silicon carbide stones from a hardware store.Buck ranges now from thin/shallow bevel work to very uneven edge geometry work on their blades.A few times I've sent a newly purchased knife back to be re-ground properly and both times they didn't seem happy about it.Then again you might get a Buck blade that comes out perfect in the edge work but it's something they need to stay on top of.

Buck is very hit and miss on their quality.In my opinion I wish Schrade USA survived...their knives were an honest dollar and had better designs.
 
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I also wish Schrade survived. But who knows what is in store for Schrade knives in the future. They have been improving.

I honestly was never a Buck knife person. I have a couple 110's, and the Cabelas 192. That's about it for me. I like the 110 (one standard 420HC and one damascus and stag), but I don't use them. I always preferred the Schrade USA stuff.
 
Well the 110 model and aside from my view on their QC is a functional knife.But so many companies were perfecting in craftsmanship and design wise over the 110.Schrade and Camillus were thickening the tip by not swedging so deep.That texturing of the sawcuts on the 7OT and stag texture of the LB8 was worth praising.Kershaw had spine jimping and a finger guard built in on top of the finger groove design.The competition were flush cutting the handle pins.I got into Buck several years after Schrade closed shop but always had a love for Kershaw's fixed blades as well,Buck survived and became convenient to find.In my hometown I never saw Buck Knives as most of the local businesses carried Schrade,Imperial,Camillus and Kershaw being the most expensive.But I think Buck got cocky and tried to fill the shoes of Schrade Cutlery in terms of mass production and cost factor and they just can't.
 
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`I carried one for years on my tool belt at work as a linesman. I used it daily and cut about everything you shouldn't cut with a knife but it held up well. I did have to sharpen it a lot and when the blade started getting a bit thin I replaced it. Last year I had one made in the custom shop for my grandson's graduation present with S30V and stag and it has held up well. I bought a plain Jane a few months ago and sent it to Glennbad to put stag covers on and it was well centered with no blade play. So I guess all my experience with them has been positive. My only real complaint is they are as heavy as a boat anchor and with todays choices of super steels, titanium frames extremely durable light weight scale material outside of nostalgia there are much better choices available. And that's from an old guy that collects traditional knives.
 
The 110 that I have now is about 10 years old. I went to Walmart and got the kid at the counter to pull out 5-6 boxes. I took each knife out and grabbed the one with the most crisp walking/locking and alignment. There were differences even back then........... Then a few months ago I did a quick eyeball at the local Wally 110's again. What I saw saddened me. Pretty much every blade in the clam packs were skewed visibly to one side or the other, just hideous alignment. If I ever get another 110 it will be from the Buck custom shop. The closest replacement for the 110 that I found was the Cold Steel Lone Star. I'm keeping my old 110, but not buying another off the shelf. You should be able to find a Cold Steel Lone Star discounted somewhere for the same $. A superior knife in many ways. To each their own.
 
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