BuckTool 360 (rough draft)

[supratentorial]

I wrote a rough draft of a review of the BuckTool 360.  I haven't had time to shoot photos and work on the fine details but I thought I'd share it with you anyway...

Buck has a long history of manufacturing high quality knives and won "Knife of the Year" at the 1996 Atlanta knife show for their BuckTool 360. The BuckTool 360 was the first "Leatherman-like" multi-tool manufactured by Buck. Although Leatherman already dominated multi-tool sales, Buck received a years worth of orders for the BuckTool 360 within a few hours of its release. Much of the popularity of the BuckTool is due to the genius of Splane Design, an industrial design and product development company. In order to avoid purchasing rights to use the patented designs of Leatherman, Buck contracted Splane Design to develop a "two axis hinge" multi-tool. The result was a uniquely styled tool that opened by rotating the handles in opposite directions.

The original BuckTool 360 featured the following tools:

* Needle nose pliers
* Wire cutter
* 1/3 serrated drop-point blade
* Serrated sheepsfoot blade
* Two Phillips screwdrivers (#1 & #2)
* Three slotted screwdrivers (#4, #6, #8)
* Can and Bottle opener

Symbols on the handles make it easy to locate the internal tools. The internal tools feature a spring retention and a secure locking mechanism. Although these features work well, they do have drawbacks. The spring retention mechanism makes it difficult (and slightly painful) to open the tools by the finger nails. The lock releases are also a bit stubborn and must be pushed deep into the handles to unlock the tools.

Later versions of the BuckTool included the BuckTool 360CL (added a pocket clip), the BuckTool 360F (replaced the sheepsfoot blade with a chisel tipped file), and the BuckTool 360WM or WorkMan (replaced the drop-point blade with a chisel tipped file and wire stripper). Other variations included black oxide (BuckTool 360B) or camoflauge handles (BuckTool 360CM). Buck also manufactured two smaller versions of the Bucktool, the BuckTool 350 and the BuckTool 355 or BuckLite, which featured the same "two axis hinge" design but lacked a locking mechanism.

The "two axis hinge" design works quite well but one drawback is that the handles tend to open when using the internal tools, especially when using the drivers to turn a fastner in a clockwise direction. This problem can be easily avoided by exerting a slight equal and opposite pressure on each of the handles.

As expected of Buck knives, the drop-point and sheepsfoot blades are razor sharp. Curiously, Buck chose to use a 1/3 serrated and a fully serrated blade. A plain edge drop-point blade would have been a better choice to complement the serrated sheepsfoot blade.

A pleasant surprise is that the BuckTool 360 features standard size (#4, #6, #8) slotted drivers and two sizes (#1 and #2) of Phillips drivers. Unfortunately the Phillips drivers on the BuckTool 360 are not full size drivers and are rather short compared to those on Leatherman multi-tools.

I have not had the opportunity to use the bottle or can opener (sort of outdated nowadays) but the can opener is razor sharp.

The overall fit and finish of the BuckTool is excellent and the nicely contoured handles provide an ergonomic grip for both the pliers and the internal tools.

(+)
Excellent fit and finish
Standard size (#4, #6, #8) drivers
Two common sizes (#1 and #2) of Phillips drivers

(-)
Spring retention mechanism makes it difficult to access the tools
Phillips drivers are not full size and are quite short
No ruler
Handles tend to open up when using the drivers

[supratentorial]

Here's a quick photo of the tool (more photos later):

[Grant Lamontagne]

I think you are going to make 665ae drool when he sees this!

Def

[665ae]

...grumble grumble...

You just had to use a pic of the 360 with the pocket clip...

...grumble grumble...

We need a drooling smiley!

[David Bowen]

I'm in the same boat,  I am a sucker for a pocket clip! Makes me go...

David

[J-sews]

Great bit of review and history there Supratentorial! (And congrats on scoring the 360CL, they're tough to find.)

An added point of possible interest: Although Buck was apparently able to avoid purchasing rights to the Leatherman design, according to the instruction manual HERE, the BuckTool design did borrow slightly from a SOG patent.

[supratentorial]

Neat!  I didn't know about the SOG patent stuff --my 360CL is new but it didn't come with the instructions.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Is that the sideways folding plier head patent from the ParaTool?

Def

[supratentorial]

Is that the sideways folding plier head patent from the ParaTool?

Def

From the wording in the instructions, it sounds like its just the pivot pins.  Splane Design takes credit for the "two axis hinge" design.

"Claims relating to the angle of the pliers handle pivot pins in U.S. Patent No. 5,267,366 have been licensed to Buck Knives by SOG SPecialty Knives and Tools"

[supratentorial]

Neat!  I didn't know about the SOG patent stuff --my 360CL is new but it didn't come with the instructions.

Uh... Actually it did come with the Instructions as well as a Registration/Warranty form.  Perhaps    I was a bit excited when I opened the box and overlooked what else was in the box.

[I'm Still Bison]

One thing I never could figure,is why Buck dropped the 360.Lack of sales,or other reasons?

[665ae]

One thing I never could figure,is why Buck dropped the 360.Lack of sales,or other reasons?

I posted that question over in the Buck forum on BF.  I'll post any answers I get here... I know there are a couple of Buck employees that are pretty active on there.

[supratentorial]

One thing I never could figure,is why Buck dropped the 360.Lack of sales,or other reasons?

I posted that question over in the Buck forum on BF.  I'll post any answers I get here... I know there are a couple of Buck employees that are pretty active on there.

Cool!  I look forward to hearing Buck's excuse reason.   

[J-sews]

I suspect they discontinued the 360, 355, and 350 for economic reasons, then put all of their hopes on the foriegn-made Navigator. On paper, it probably appeared that the Navigator would be more profitable, even with a lower MSRP price.

But then the Navigator project crashed and burned.