As the holiday season approaches, I get a little nostalgic… thinking back to those trips to the woods with my uncle and grandfather. As a young buck -Hiking, camping, and hunting in the fall was what introduced me to this world of survival skills, prepping, knife collecting and bushcraft. I still remember my first “good” knife… a buck 110, handed down to my by my uncle whom my mom bought a brand new Gerber Gator for hunting. I still remember Christmas Day when he opened his gift, he saw the Gator and immediately removed the 110 and leather sheath from his belt- saying “no need for two knives on my belt” and handed it to me. My mom freaked because before then I was only handling small Swiss Army knives being in cub scouts. I was 8 or 9 at the time and a near 4 inch lock back was too much for me in her eyes. So she put it up. I was devastated. A year later, after not having cut myself the entire year, she put the 110 in my stocking…. I proudly put it on my belt, tucked my shirt in (which I never did) and then we drove to my grandparents house for Christmas morning breakfast, where my Uncle would be to meet us. I couldn’t wait to show him I got it! We all opened presents together and the funny thing was, he had bought me the Buck 112 thinking that since it was a little smaller- my, Mom would let me have it. I proceeded to open the box put both knives on my belt…. anyway… if you’re still reading, thanks. The 112 ranger was gifted back to my uncle about 10 years ago to give to his grandson, who was about 7 at the time. Unfortunately, he never became much of a woodsman and plays video games alllll the time. I’ve since moved several times and hopefully have my old 110 somewhere, but I haven’t been able to find it in about 8 years. So recently I’ve picked up a new one. And wow. I’m blown away. The look, the feel, the shaving sharp edge. It’s all as good as I remember. The blade is perfectly centered and everything! another this I love about it, it’s not tactical. It’s traditional. In a world where everything is going so high tech, it’s nice to reach for something made so similarly to how it has always been made. From here I’m going to break down my review of this knife into categories… And this brings me to performance. Out of the box- It’s a scalpel! The knife comes ready for slicing wood, meat, leather, and paper with ease. It has a ridiculously sharp (albeit fragile) tip. I’ve used it to do some crazy feathering. And also some precise splinter removal. Nothing with game yet- but I just got it the other day. I can say from experience with my old one, it’s a perfect deer knife and a very adequate fishing knife. In fact, I use to love using my old one to open up white perch, and prep them for crab pots. The 420 HC steel is decent, super easy to sharpen with a diamond stone or ceramic rod, and holds an edge about as long as mora’s stainless. Overall performance for what it’s meant for 9/10. This brings me to design… The knife is about 7 oz which is heavier than most folders these days and heavier than most moras. That said, that is due to the traditional over built design that is elegant and functional. It’s not tactical. It’s not new age. It just works, plain and simple. And when you have the knife with you, and someone sees the sheath on your hip, with just a tiny bit of the brass booster showing, they know you have a buck knife on you. Even if you ask someone that doesn’t know what a “110 folding hunter” is, if you ask them to think of a Buck knife, they’ll think of this. Overall design gets a 7/10. (Points we’re only deducted because it does get a bit slippery when wet with fish goo or deer blood and can be somewhat hard to clean) This brings us to value…. These days, we live in a disposable society. We buy things that are a use once item and throw it away. We buy things built over seas that are priced low, meant to be used for a bit and not care if we loose it or break it because we can always buy another at a cheap price. That stuff adds up… what I can say is this Buck 110 is an incredible value for the money, priced from 35.00-60.00 US dollars in a typical market. The beautiful thing is that you only have to buy this once. It comes with a forever warranty from buck, which they DO stand by. (I’ve had experience with a separate model and I can honestly say they do stand by their stuff). This is an heirloom quality piece of kit and will last a lifetime. Value 8/10 Fit and Finish 10/10. Last but not least, the bonus category: cool factor. The Buck 110 is traditional, functional, and widely known as “The Buck Knife”. As long as Buck is a company- it will always be in production. It will always be made here in the USA by craftsmen that care about their product. And it will always look pretty damn close to the same one your dad or grandfather carried. They’ve been carried all over the world by all types of great outdoorsmen. They’ve been used in movies, they’ve been written about in books (Gary Pulson’s the River is sequel to the survival novel the Hatchet in which a young man survives with a Buck 110), and they’ve been collected, traded, bartered with, etc. The old ones are becoming highly collectible. The new ones will sometimes have special runs. Somehow, these get cooler with time and use and each one, although nearly the same as the hundreds of thousands that have been produced, becomes unique to the owner. Cool factor for me…..10/10. Thanks for taking the time to read this. I invite anyone who has a 110 to please post a story or a pic about theirs. As always, stay safe out there brothers and sisters! Y’all are the best community of folks there are so remember to take care of each other. happy holidays.
Ah the 110! The knife that just shouts "Adventure!!!". Although I have zero childhood memories with it, just as any fellow Bulgarian, I absolutely appreciate its history, feel, looks and how it has opened a new page in knife history. Easily my favourite folder. I carry it very often and have great joy using it, handling it or just looking at it. I had one years ago, gave it to my Father, but got the itch again and scratched it last year with a 50th anniversary model (2014). Excellent build and lockup, truly a knife to last a lifetime if used within reason and taken basic care of. I would love to try a drop point one, perhaps in nickel silver, also a 112. There is something special about these back lock knives.
I’d really love to see some buck 110 users post their well loved 110’s. I’m sure there are some great examples out there
Here’s mine. Made in ‘92 It’s actually my second one. My first from the 80s was lost in a forest somewhere on a hunt. This one processed a lot of animals. I stopped using it when I went to a fixed blade. Just got tired of cleaning out the mechanism of stuff after a day in the field. Still locks up tight though.
This one is my dad’s. He used it for hunting as well but when his health didn’t let him hunt anymore he used it around the house. It’s in the same shape I found it in his toolbox after he died. Doesn’t seem right cleaning it up, wouldn’t look or feel right. 1988 born 110 that definitely got used.
She’s a beauty. I think thats pretty similar to the one that the fella Gene Moe used to fight off a hungry Kodiak bear in Alaska. He was 69 years old when it happened. The bear tore at his arm and legs. When he wasn’t able to reach his rifle, he fought it off with his Buck 110 with finger grooves. He ultimately killed the bear and hung its hide on his wall along with his mounted and framed 110. I believe someone offered him 10k for it. He declined. Such a great story!
1988 is my birth year too! I’ll be looking for one from 1988 myself once the gas prices come back down if the ever do! Also I agree with leaving it as it. Never clean the fingerprints from a loved one off an old knife!
Never heard that story. Truly amazing that he survived that! I don’t think I’d sell any of it either. I love the knife with all the hair and fat still on it. I really like the finger grooves on the 110. They just fit right. The 112 finger grooves are a bit to small for me.
I’ve never tried either with grooves. But I’m sure that’ll be in the future at some point. For now the original is the perfect companion for me in the bush along with a decent mora and a folding saw. Or the combo of a Victorinox huntsman and a 110. Either combo has me covered. Just depends how far in I’m going, and what I’m planning to do. I am currently trying to EDC the 110 on a regular basis. I love how they look well worn and love the stories they tell with every scratch on the blade and ding in the brass. The hope is to pass on a well worn heirloom one day in similar way as I received my first one
I love the nice 110s and 112s they put out of the custom shop. Would like to get an iron wood or elk one. I got a blue wood 112 drop point from a company that did Buck runs with upgraded scales and blades. Those are some nice looking knives. A little bit fancier but still useful. But that’s another thread about 112s
Nice Bucks, Skip808! There was another story - an older gentleman used to kill a mountain lion with a pocket knife http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2002/cougar_attack_vancouver.html However looking at the front bolster's shape, it might be a Shrade, not sure.
Looks like a schrade LB7 Uncle Henry knife. I had one of those as a kid as well. They were a pretty good competitor to the Buck 110 back when they were crafted in the US and using a schrade + steel. These days they’re Chinese and use a 7CR17mov steel I believe which is quite inferior to bucks Boss heat treated 420 HC.., but I’ll tell ya what. If that cougar was attacking me, I’d sure be glad to have whatever pokey thing I had on my at the time to fend it off. I get that the ultralight hikers like going as low in weight as possible, but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to go in the woods with just a Victorinox classic Sd.
Yeah, having only a nail clipper in the woods ain't no good. You either carry or you suffer, simple as that. I remember a guy in Russia staying for a month in a remote cabin, having only a custom shop 110 and a large axe. The knife covered all of his cutting needs. Speaking of CS, these two would make an awesome pair.
Those knives would be for going to weddings and formal dinners. Very beautiful Bucks. Saw one with mammoth tooth scales once but the price was to steep for me. It tempted me for a couple weeks though.