Buck Strider Large Spearpoint 880
Strider makes “high-speed tools for hardcore individuals”. While I’m not a hardcore individual like some of my readers and commenters here, I do know what a quality made knife feels and looks like. The Buck Strider 880 is Buck’s production version of a Strider folder, designed and executed in collaboration with them.
While I don’t carry and use all my folders, the Buck Strider 880 was one of the ones I did carry. I even had a custom Kydex sheath made for it! The G-10 scales on the 880 are very rough, and give you great grip on the knife, but it also causes your pockets to shred when you clip or remove it from your pocket. There are a couple ways to deal with this without using a sheath… one is to sand down the G-10 in the area under the pocket clip, and the other is to stretch out the clip so there is less tension. I stretched out the pocket clip, but then decided to use a Sheath instead.
The Buck Strider 880 is essentially a Small Strider AR folder with what I would consider more EDC-friendly dimensions. The AR/GB sized folders from Strider, while very cool, are ridiculously sized for most people to carry daily. The Large 880 is is equivalent to the AR in terms of blade length – both are 4″ – but the thickness and width of the knife are scaled down. Additionally, the AR/GB models have a very pronounced guard built into the handles which is not present in this 880, which is one of my bigger complaints when comparing the two.
Interestingly, when I stop comparing the 880 to the original Strider AR, the faults are minimal. On its own, its a great, overbuilt knife that would be suitable for EDC as well as outdoors and camp use. The grinds are nicely done and feel of the knife is great. The finish is a bit rough, and there is some blade play on this knife but I sill think these were a great value for the $100-120 they were available for when they were around. I believe their secondary market value is a bit higher now.
The Paul Bos heat treating leaves a killer sharp ATS-34 steel blade that can pop hairs like the best thin blades from Spyderco. Very impressed with Paul Bos heat treatments, which are probably why even Buck’s 420HC blades are very good. For those that might not know, Paul Bos does all of Buck’s heat treating, and actually has a heat treatment facility on-site at Buck. The specifics of this have changed somewhat over the years so I can’t be sure how their arrangement works exactly.
Buck has done a great job with their collaborations including those with Strider like on this 880, and is much nicer than the Tarani collaborations that came out later, at least the ones I had owned. I really recommend the 880 if you can snag one in the low 100’s on the used market. Its a great user.
Specs:
Overall Length: 9.375″
Closed Length: 5.375″
Blade Length: 4″
Blade Steel: ATS-34
Handle Material: G-10
Weight: 5.75oz