I think that they are the among the best of the department store knives. 420HC is considered "low end" steel today but I have read on knife nut forums that Buck heat treats 420 better than anyone else. I tend to agree. I will give you a real world example of how mine performed that surprised me a little. Last season, I killed two doe whitetails in one evening. My 110 was nice and sharp when I started on them, it would cleanly slice newspaper which is sort of my litmus test for sharpness, and it would shave. Anyway, I dressed, skinned and quartered both animals with the knife which included cutting through the sternum but I cut the feet and heads off with a saw.....never have taken the time to learn the trick about cutting legs off at the joint with a knife. After the first deer, the knife would still still attempt to shave arm hair....sort of dragging on it, but certainly no longer "popping it". After the second deer, it was in need of some TLC as it was getting dull enough to be noticeable but it was certainly still cutting. That is not bad for a knife that can be had at wally world for $40
Before I went out again, probably 8 to 10 minutes on my Arkansas stones and the knife ready to go....and that was taking some pains about the process. As Blackheart said, they are very easy to re-sharpen with most any kind of abrasive which I like. So, I really don't see how you go wrong for the price point and lifetime warranty, considering what some knives cost these days. Also, for $100ish you should be able to find one with higher end steel if you want to go that route.
