Rough Edge EDC: Adding a couple of new knives from an old favorite company
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – If you read this space regularly, you won’t be shocked or surprised by this latest bit of news at all: I got a couple of new knives to add to my collection and everyday carry rotation.
What is new: I am rediscovering a brand that was near and dear to my heart when I was a kid and on into my years as a young adult – Buck, the legendary American knife-making company.
I carried a Buck 110, the company’s signature folding hunting knife, for years, before losing mine during a camping trip a number of years ago.
As I’ve gone down this EDC rabbit hole, I had previously purchased a Buck 102 Woodsman, a small fixed-blade, but had hesitated to replace my long-gone 110.
I love the look and feel of the classic 110 but with its wood handles and brass bolsters, it just seemed too heavy for everyday carry.
Anyway, I recently discovered YouTube channel Knife Delights. Tom, who is the creative force behind the channel, is known for his Buck collection and for refurbishing old knives.
After watching some of his content, I got excited about Buck again and decided to make an order and hopefully rediscover that old magic.
Based on his recommendation, I got a Buck 112 Slim Select.
The regular 112 is the little brother to the 110 but was still probably going to be too heavy for my needs. The 112 Slim Select, however, is made of molded nylon handles instead of the traditional wood and metal.
Also based on his recommendation, I shopped around a bit and instead of ordering it directly from Buck’s website, I purchased it from Chicago Knife Works.
In the process, I saved quite a bit – enough, in fact, to order a second Buck knife (more on that later).
When I got my new 112 Slim Select with black handles, I was impressed. It was a lot lighter than what I was accustomed to from Buck. It also had a more modern look and feel with a pocket clip and thumb studs on the blade.
It hasn’t left my right side since I got it last week.
The Buck website has the 112 Slim Select listed at $39.99.
I was able to get it for about $25 from Chicago Knife Works, which I hadn’t ordered from before.
It was enough of a savings that I ordered a second Buck knife from them – a 373 Trio, which is a small stockman with a wood finish.
The 373 Trio is listed at $30.99 on the Buck website. I got it for less than $20 at Chicago Knife Works and the two knives together came to $50 and change, including shipping.
I will certainly be visiting Chicago Knife Works again before making new purchases.
Back to the Trio. It is small – 3 ? inches closed. It comes with the three blades that all stockman knives come with – clip point, sheepsfoot and spey. But Buck came up with a huge innovation on its stockman knives – it places its sheepsfoot (which is a great utility blade) on the opposite side of the knife from the main clip point.
And more importantly, the sheepsfoot or utility blade is placed between the back springs for the other two blades, giving it that much more strength and stability.
Needless to say, I am thrilled with these latest additions to my collection and will be contemplating buying another Buck or two or three in the near future.
Here are some helpful links if you are interested in Buck or want to learn more about Chicago Knife Works.
Here are some helpful and informative YouTube channels dealing with knives and EDC. If you haven’t checked out Knife Delights and you love traditional pocket knives, check it out.
Note: Dave Burge is a web producer and digital reporter for KTSM.com. All gear mentioned or reviewed was purchased out of his own pocket, unless otherwise noted.
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