I have a few of both knives,and I truly can't make up my mind which I like better. If you are into Buck 110 & Case xx knives which knife you like better?

I am 60 Years old and I still have the same buck 110 I bought when I was 15. I carried mine through 4 years as an EMT and 24 years in the Navy----still in great shape---I also bought each of my boys one when they turned 16. Definitely Buck 110 for me.

I love both of them but the locking 110 is the better overall working knife. I've owned, carried, and lost many, many Case XX's. My 110 is a tad over 20 years old.

Buck 110. I bought my first in 1974.

Gifted one of my sons after a couple decades of use with the first Buck 110 I ever had bought in the early-mid '70s.

Now with but 2 on hand:
-- #110 1999 Pete’s Custom Knife Shoppe Designer’s Choice: ram’s horn handles, finger-grooved frame, nickel-silver bolsters, BG-42 blade
-- #110-CEN2-0 2002 Charcoal handled Centennial limited edition, nickel-silver bolsters, 420HC blade


Pictured with a Zwilling J.A. Henckels stag handled lockback hunter limited edition

That's a tough one. I have both and no real personal preference. I've had these 3 bought between a period of from 25-35 years ago.
Top to bottom:
Case Hammerhead
Buck 110 Red Bone Damascus
Buck 110
- The 110's have a little blade play, mostly when closed. Pretty typical of Buck. The Case Hammerhead has no blade play whatsoever. Also pretty typical of Case.
- The blade bolster on the Case has a little more curve to it, and thumb rests slightly better for leverage on the Hammerhead than the straight blade/spring line of the 110's
- The handle on the 110s is wider/thicker than the Case handle.
- ^^^ none of that affects performance of either knife.
- Whichever one you get, don't store it in the leather sheath. Would take maybe several years, but some chemical in the tanning process of the leather will eventually corrode the brass. Especially on the Bucks in my experience.
I guess if I had to choose only one or the other, I'd go with the 110 first. That was my buying choice and I've never regretted it.



EDIT: In this picture, you can see the handle of the Case Hammerhead (on the left) is a good deal thinner than the 110's.
The Case would print less in the pocket but the 110s fill their belt sheaths a little better.

I don't have any experience with the large Case kickback folder & I don't personally I know anybody who has one.

I do have a Buck 110 that I bought in the late 70s & after years of hard use, except for being scratched up, it's as solid as it was when new. There's no blade or lock play, no gaps between spring/liner/wood, & I've kept the handles oiled with mineral oil, so the wood is still in good shape too.

I know plenty others with the same good experiences with the 110.

I didn't mean to insinuate the blades rattle on the Bucks LOL and you have to specifically look for the little blade play there is on the Bucks. It's not even noticed in normal use. The fact remains, the Case locks up and closes tighter. And that's not to mean the Case operation isn't smooth because it's just as smooth as the Bucks.

Hobbs,

I've had many other 110s including a damascus bladed number. Also had a Case but disliked the heel design. Pared things down to what I showed above.

As an aside that 1999 Buck Custom Shoppe number was obtained when I was a beta-tester for their designer site.

... and I find that same little blade play (not noticed in normal use) on my 112 Ranger bucks and same consistent tighter lock up and closure on the my Case Mako's. But like I said two posts ago, "none of that affects performance of either knife."
I will say I prefer the 112 Ranger over the 110 but that is a personal preference and nothing to do with quality. I prefer the Case Mako over the Case Hammerhead as well.

Top two are Buck 112s, bottom two are Case Mako. Standard and lite version of each.

OH, and I like the long pulls of the Case over the nail nicks of the Buck ... but who even uses a pull or nick on that size knife anyway LOL.

I think Buck has a greater following than Case in those particular size knives, so they obviously are doing it right, but there isn't anything wrong with the Case knives and they perform just as well as the Buck.

Case makes many more patterns and has more readily available handle material options than Buck, across their product lines.

I'm sure there's a slight difference in steel. Case won't even say specifically what theirs is but it's similar to Bucks 420HC while arguably not as good I've been told. The thing is though, neither the Case or Buck steels are high end premium steel. They are going to dull rather quickly compared to premium and you are going to sharpen them. They both can be brought to razor sharpness but the Buck may be a little easier to do so. On the other hand and just personal subjective observation and nothing scientific so I could be wrong ... but I can get a Case knife slightly sharper than a Buck but the Buck will hold that edge slightly longer than the Case. They're close enough to being the same, I don't really prefer one over the other but honestly, a slight "edge" to Buck if cornered for an opinion. OH, and Bucks steel was even better before they tweaked the composition slightly in the late 80s early 90s. Glad my 110s and 112s (standard ones) are from before then.

I like them both and thankful for the opportunity to own them both.

the long rectangular pulls do look great. and my 110 does have a small bit of blade play when closed.

I guess I think of Case XX knives more as the classic non-locking folders: stockman, trapper, toothpick, peanut, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
I guess I think of Case XX knives more as the classic non-locking folders: stockman, trapper, toothpick, peanut, etc.

[off topic]
Perhaps my favorite Buck knife is this Buck 302 Solitaire folder (no half-stop), "One blade to rule them all". At least I find it to be the most useful and less obtrusive around the house for everyday things than a 110 or 112. Think of the Solitaire as a Buck 301 Stockman but with just the main blade.

Funny thing is, I have a Buck 301 Stockman. The blade steel on this Solitaire seems better and fit and finish is impeccable. Maybe Buck just went the extra mile with the Chairman series. Dunno.
[/off topic]

quote:

Originally posted by Hobbs:
I will say I prefer the 112 Ranger over the 110 but that is a personal preference

And my favorite Buck is the sadly discontinued 532. Have a few custom 532s.

^^^ WHOA !!! NICE
And I thought I couldn't love the 500 series ... except the Buck 500 ('bout the same size as a 112). I stand corrected. Beautiful :O

EDIT: I have a 500 and a 502. Thought I'd love the 502 based on "old timers" talk of carrying one from the 60's forward. Almost as fervent and devout a following as the Buck 110 crowd. I just don't feel it for the 502. But that 500 I have is awesome and it's just a standard production one.

Those 532s remind me of a Copperlock with that release halfway on the handle. While the blades are very different, the 532s and Copperlocks (Case) are very similar handle profile wise all round. Similar but different LOL. Very Nice !!!

EDIT: Those two in the middle. Why did Buck choose to put the shield on the Mark side of one and the Pile side of the other? Were they SFOs or something? (can't make the shields out at all but they look similar)

quote:

Originally posted by Hobbs:

EDIT: Those two in the middle. Why did Buck choose to put the shield on the Mark side of one and the Pile side of the other? Were they SFOs or something? (can't make the shields out at all but they look similar)

Agreed weird. One to the right is the 1998 Master Series with BG-42 blade. The other is the 2002 Centennial. Both limited editions. Go figure.

The 532 is what I consider to be Buck's best gentleman's pocket knife. The 1998 custom fossilized bark Mastodon ivory handled BG42 blade 532 gives my 1999 Small box elder inlaid Sebenza BG42 and 2002 William Henry T12RB Redwood burl Spearpoint 154CM a run for most favored.

I have a Buck 110 but prefer the Buck 112 with the shorter blade. I had one that was stolen years ago. Perfect size.

And then the Buck 110 has a "mini me". My Buck 55 is shown with a Case Pocket Worn Old Red Bone Lockback.

I can't decide which of these two I like best either LOL. But as I type this, the Case is in my pocket, so there's that I guess.

I know I don't care much for the Dymondwood on this particular Buck 55. The scales don't match but at least the Pile side is darker and more uniform.
The "Pocket Worn" feature of the Case is a little more "worn" than I would have liked. The corn cob jig is too smooth.
It is what it is and luck of the draw. I ordered both these knives online and didn't get to cherry pick.

All that said, they are both great little utility knives and a joy to carry and use.



... another comparison shot. This time with a Case Mini Copperlock ...

And finally, Buck 110 shown with a Friedr. Dick (German maker of Chefs and Butchers knives and tools) ... Chef's utility folding lockback in High Carbon Steel and (well handled and used) Olive Wood. No blade nick or pull.

Maybe not a very good comparison. Apples and Oranges and all ... hey, they could handle that.

The rest of the story. Will a Buck 110 take heavy abuse and come back? ... you betcha. This is the same 110 in all my other pictures. Just views not previously shown. I foolishly used it as a hammer once ... maybe a couple of times. I carved my initials into the handle to help deter it from walking away on the job. And the camera doesn't pick it up well and over the years I've polished most of it away, but the tip is discolored because I heated it up to a high temp ... maybe more than once ... when I felt some something I was working on needed warming encouragement. Wouldn't have done ANY of that with a $500 Sebenza ... not that it couldn't have handled it