Buck 55 Folding Hunter : A Small Knife With Big Possibilities

USA –  A while back I did a review of the Buck 110 knife model, which for a long time has been my everyday knife, and it does all the chores I can ask of it and has held up without fail.

But there are times when carrying a knife of its size isn’t always convenient, especially during the warmer summer months, but I would be darned if I would be without a blade of some kind. So I decided to go with the 110’s little brother, the Buck 55 Folding Hunter Knife for a while to see how it lives up to the name.

Buck 55 Folding Hunter Knife

If you look at the Buck 55, it looks exactly like the 110, only shrunk. To put it plainly, it seems someone made the bigger knife Hobbit size. The blade on the 55 is 2 3/8,” and the knife is only 3 3/8” long closed. Compare this with the 110 having a blade that is 3 3/4” long and is 4 7/8” closed. But the real difference is the weight; the 55 weighs only 1.9 oz. while the 110 weighs 7.2 oz. The 55 is nice if you want a knife you can drop in your pocket and carry all day long without wear and tear on you.

So carry it I have, I put the 110 away for a few months and have been toting the little 55, and you know what, I like it—a lot. I have done everything I would normally do with the 110 with it’s smaller sibling, and it does it well. One thing I will tell you about the 55, is it’s sharp, deceptively sharp. The first time I used it I almost carved off a finger had I not been careful.

The blade of the Buck 55 is made from 420HC, and it holds an edge like you would expect on a more expensive knife, I know because with all the work I have done with the 55 I haven’t even begun to dull it yet. It’s hard to list all the everyday chores I have done because I use a knife so often it’s hard to remember them all.

I know I have cut rope and cloth for making scrap rags, opened bags of soil and more things I can’t remember. I have even used the 55 to clean some large fish. I had a harder time doing that, not because the blade wasn’t up to it or because of how sharp it is, but it was just too short compared to a regular fillet knife. If you had nothing else though, it would get the job done if you take your time. When I used it on a rainbow trout though, it did as great job as you could want it to do. The little Buck 55 Folding Hunter Knife works for about everything you can think of when you don’t need the bigger knife.

For years I carried a Schrade Uncle Henry folding knife, and the Model 55 reminds me a great deal of that folder. It’s not huge, it’s not wildly exotic looking, it doesn’t have fancy cutouts in the blade and serrations, which is all that fine if you want it, but this knife doesn’t need it. For a traditional knife that you can appreciate, this is all one would ever need. If I didn’t have the Buck 110 and weren’t so used to it, I would probably carry the little 55 all the time. You could certainly do worse.

The little Buck 55 might get dismissed by some because of its size, don’t be in such a hurry to do so. It’s everything in a pocket knife you could need without all the frills and dressings you don’t. It’s a quality American made knife, and you get Buck’s Forever Warranty all in the bargain. The Buck 55 Folding Hunter Knife has an MSRP of $66 (less $ online), but you can shop around and find them for less. It’s well worth the money.

---

David LaPell

About David LaPell

David LaPell has been a Corrections Officer with the local Sheriff’s Department for thirteen years. A collector of antique and vintage firearms for over twenty years and an avid hunter. David has been writing articles about firearms, hunting and western history for ten years. In addition to having a passion for vintage guns, he is also a fan of old trucks and has written articles on those as well.