Buck Knives

[Dunc]

Over the last month or so I've been getting back into Buck knives , I've already got a 110 and I've added  its little brother the 55 and a Canoe to my collection and I should have a 112 Ranger with finger grooves arrive tomorrow 
  I can't wait , I just love these traditional lock back folders and Buck seems such a great company which make good quality knives at a decent price.

pics to follow

[kiak]

Buck is one of my favorite knive brands. I'm considering myself a fan
I have small but constantly growing collection:

Folders:
525 - very nice small knife. I gave it to my girlfriend;
three dot 112, Harley Davidson, 425M steel;
regular 112, 420 HC steel;
Waiting for another 112 with heavyly worn blade and for 442, that will serve as blade donor
regular 110;
Cabela's Alaskan Guide 110, S30V steel;
Vantage force pro, S30V steel.

Fixes:
Cabela's Alaskan Guide Vanguard, S30V steel;
655 Short Nighthawk, 420 HC steel

Pics will follow 

[Dunc]

I've been thinking about a Cabela's Alaskan Guide 110, S30V steel for years , I'd love to have one 

[kiak]

Think no more - get one It is a very beautiful knife and holds an edge like forever!

[Dunc]

 :climber:Can you post a pic of yours to tempt me 

[kiak]

Sure, I'll put pictures of all my Bucks.  But it will be later, when I get home.

[Dunc]

Ok I'll look forward to them 

[jerseydevil]

Bucks are great knives.  I only have two fixed ones, a 119 with a black plastic handle, and a 102 with a cocobolo handle, that is a beautiful little sheath knife.  In terms of folders I have the obligatory 110 of course, and a 486, the large Bucklite.  That is one of my favorite big knives to carry, so light and yet so sturdy.  I also have two larger Vantages, one in green Paperstone, the other black plastic.  For the money, the Vantage is hard to beat.  I just got a Strider today in a trade, haven't had a chance to play with it too much yet, but it feels great in the hand.  My 301 is one of my favorite larger slipjoints, along with the Chinese-made version, the 371.  When I get back from vacation I'll have to post some pics.

[kiak]

As promised, here are the pics. May be too many, but if the tread becomes heavy, I will remove them.

First, the little 525:



I made a simple sheath, marked with the first letter of my girlfriend's name 



I forgot to mention, that I also have 501 Squire:



It is a bit shorter than 112, but very pocket friendly.

112 Ranger, four dot, 425M steel:





110 Folding Hunter:



Alaskan Guide 110: 







Vantage force pro:



Alaskan Guide Vanguard:





655 Nighthawk:

[Flying Dutchman]

I too love Buck knives. Very traditional, long lasting, pass-down-through-generations type of knives that never go out of style. I have a small group as well:

Vanguard fixed blade
110
55
Vantage Select small & large
Trio

That's all for now, I don't know what my next one will be but I know there will be more!

[jzmtl]

I have a few buck cheapies, a 424 in pen cup, and a 285 bantam in pocket. They are what they are, uncomfortable smelly hard plastic handle and entry level steel.

I do regret not jumping on the $40 vantage pro wagon when they first came out, should've bought 2 or 3.

[Styerman]

Buck / Strider collabs . and Buck/Mayo collabs are good value for the money , if you can find them . IMVHO , the Buck/Mayo Wimea was one of the best factory collabs ever . Wish I'd bought a half dozen back in the day .

Chris

[Biru]

I've got an old 70's General that I've ruined over the years due to my crappy sharpening and cutting things with it on the trail that shouldn't have been cut. It's the hardest knife steel I think  I've ever sharpened.

I remember when I got it, it came with a bolt supposedly cut in half by the knife. I don't know whether that was a marketing gimmick or not.

I don't like it as much as my Camillus, but it's been a HECK of a knife.

[THE_LONGBOW]

I've got an old 70's General that I've ruined over the years due to my crappy sharpening and cutting things with it on the trail that shouldn't have been cut. It's the hardest knife steel I think  I've ever sharpened.

I remember when I got it, it came with a bolt supposedly cut in half by the knife. I don't know whether that was a marketing gimmick or not.

I don't like it as much as my Camillus, but it's been a HECK of a knife.

If the General is from the 70's it would be 440C steel. A tough steel. I would like to see the bolt if you still have it.

[powerring]

I do regret not jumping on the $40 vantage pro wagon when they first came out, should've bought 2 or 3.

I know what you mean.   I just bought a second Vantage Pro Small a couple of months ago because I liked them so much.  It's one of my favorite knives.   

[Biru]

I don't have the bolt, and I was wondering: Do any of you Buck fans know how long they did that bolt thing? One thing I will say is that the sheath that knife came with is one heck of a sheath. All these years and it's still in pretty good shape. I'm going to post a pic in a bit.

[Biru]

Here is is with the original sheath. I've put the Camillus USAF knife beside it for comparison. I wish I had taken better care of the Buck. It's cut small trees and even barbed wire. Over the years and thanks to my poor care it's lost about 2 or 3 mm of blade width.

I got the Buck around 1974-ish. If I recall correctly, it cost me $35 with the shipping. It arrived during a blizzard and I had to hike to a convenience store where the postman left it as he couldn't get into our neighborhood. Funny, I was a young kid then. Nowadays I wouldn't allow a kid that age to do that.

[THE_LONGBOW]

Biru
I will email the Buck Knives historian and see if he knows when they did the bolt thing. He can be slow at emails but I will let you know as soon as I find out.

[JRB65]

I remember when I got it, it came with a bolt supposedly cut in half by the knife. I don't know whether that was a marketing gimmick or not.

About the time when I bought my first Buck (112), I read about a random test that they did at the factory: cut a bolt in half (chop it the way you'd baton firewood). There even was a logo showing just that...

This must've been the late eighties or early nineties.
They didn't recommend the public to try this, by the way

But this is the first time I've heard about them including an actual bolt with a knife

[Biru]

Thanks, Longbow! Some years ago I'd read that Buck stopped emphasizing the bolt thing because people kept ruining knives trying to duplicate that test. Honestly, I can't think of a sales pitch with less relevance to me. In all my years I have never once given thought to cutting a bolt with a knife.

I'm certain there was a bolt with the knife- though with my memory I could be wrong. I knew nothing about Buck (I was a young kid then) and when the knife came, I recall being perplexed about why the bolt was in the box (there was a card in there explaining the whole bit). I only bought this particular knife because I had recently become enamored of E.R. Burroughs' "Tarzan" series, and this knife seemed much like Burroughs' descriptions (though a Ka-Bar would have been more likely). I ordered this knife from a catalog. Like my Star Trek and Planet of the Apes toys, this post has me wishing I'd kept the original box and accessories. The sheath has been a real wonder. The only real problem with it is that the leather belt loop is getting soft. I'm toying with gluing some nylon along the inside to beef it up.

I've never been happy with this knife in the woods. It's a heck of a knife, but it's unwieldy, doesn't carry well (much like a sword must carry), and is HARD to sharpen. On the other hand, with this blade length if I'm ever attacked by a lion, his a-- is MINE!" 

[Biru]

I emailed Buck customer service as well to see whether my recollection is correct. Hopefully I'll hear from them or Longbow may hear from his contact.

[THE_LONGBOW]

Biru
Yes from what I have heard warranty returns due to people trying to cut bolts were extensive. So it put an end to the promotion. How ever the knife/bolt logo was used until recently on some knife shields.

As you most likely know there are several "grades" of bolt steel hardness. A soft grade bolt would be very easy to cut with a hard steel knife, but reverse the situation and the results can be a ruined knife blade. 

[Biru]

I haven't heard back from Buck customer service, so I'm guessing their moms told them not to talk to psychos...

At any rate, my admittedly shaky memory still says there was a bolt in the box. However, Raquel Welch's phone number was probably on a card wrapped around the bolt as well. Being a prepubescent geek I just didn't remember that part. 

Have a good weekend guys!

[THE_LONGBOW]

 I got an email from the Buck Historian here is his reply on the knife cut bolt.

I think I may have gotten an email from the 120 guy. I’ve never heard of Buck doing such a promotion and I’ve never had anyone else mention that they had gotten the same thing. I really don’t think it was something that Buck did. You can cut a bolt in 2 but I always heard that although it works, it can put a small ding/dull spot on the blade.

Maybe some one did a demo of bolt cutting before they sold it to you. 

P.S. the person who sent the email is a Buck family member.

[Biru]

I got essentially the same thing from Buck. I'm guessing it was a faulty memory. At any rate it was my understanding that the bolts were cut by a blade blank and not the finished blade (if indeed this spiel was ever true). I chalk it up to a childhood spent in the '70's. I didn't do dope, but I certainly spent enough time around it! 

Anyway thanks for the trouble. Remind me to tell you about how- as a boy- I met Howard Hughes and he left me a will...