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Buck Factory visit

Nix · 257 · 9111

au Offline Huntsman

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #90 on: August 08, 2019, 01:53:03 AM
Lovin this post - Nice mix of history/nostalgia, adventure and MT curiosity

Hey Nix - I know you took out the detailed memories / questions
However it would great to see a one line or one phrase summary of each of the questions/memories

I guess not too easy now you are on the road.- Anyone else fancy filling in the summary, if OK with Nix?

Loving the idea of a bike trip - Apologies if I missed this but - How far to the factory? - and How many days is the trip?


us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #91 on: August 08, 2019, 02:14:45 AM
I jotted the questions down, in a rough way;




I’m signed up for a tour tomorrow morning, so I’ll ride over to Post Falls early tomorrow.

:tu;


Feel free to add extra questions.....


us Offline Rapidray

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #92 on: August 08, 2019, 05:19:40 AM
I’m a bit of a burger fan, as you guys know.

I couldn’t pass up a chance to stop at a local burger joint that was started in 1907 and is still a local institution.

The original place:

(Image removed from quote.)


Today the seating is expanded, but the menu is pretty much the same.

(Image removed from quote.)



A simple burger with spicy mustard. Simple but good. And only $3.30 for a small taste of history. 



(Image removed from quote.)
They don’t serve fries and they don’t take debit cards?? For $3.30 I would give it a try.  :cheers:


us Offline Rapidray

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #93 on: August 08, 2019, 05:21:34 AM
I jotted the questions down, in a rough way;

(Image removed from quote.)


I’m signed up for a tour tomorrow morning, so I’ll ride over to Post Falls early tomorrow.

:tu;


Feel free to add extra questions.....
Looking forward to your post and photos tomorrow!  :cheers:


us Offline Sos24

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #94 on: August 08, 2019, 06:47:18 AM
Safe travels and enjoy.

Don’t forget to find your 112 Slim Pro before you leave.


england Offline Dunc

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #95 on: August 08, 2019, 08:42:44 AM
Looks like your off to a great start  :tu:


ie Offline McStitchy

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #96 on: August 08, 2019, 11:53:06 AM
Great pics and burgers  :like:

BMW R1200 GS ?
Great touring allrounder.
Love that boxer sound, puts out some good torque too.

Good you didn't pick a swim suit. It would take up valuable space, you know?  :pok:



us Offline VICMAN

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #97 on: August 08, 2019, 12:46:19 PM
Heading out of town, the mountains baptized me with a short cloudburst. I was wet and cold for a little while, but then it warmed up as expected (100°F at one point).
......

Nice bike Nix! :like: :tu: :tu:


us Offline VICMAN

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #98 on: August 08, 2019, 12:49:01 PM
I’m a bit of a burger fan, as you guys know.

I couldn’t pass up a chance to stop at a local burger joint that was started in 1907 and is still a local institution.

A simple burger with spicy mustard. Simple but good. And only $3.30 for a small taste of history. 


Cool burger joint!

That burger looks good! :cheers:


hr Offline styx

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #99 on: August 08, 2019, 03:22:18 PM
I suspect that I'll return from the trip with a 119 in my saddlebag..... :facepalm:

Naturally I'll try to avoid anything like that, but.....at the factory....119......yeah,...it's going to be hard.......  :facepalm:

if you don't will you really have been there?

can't wait to hear what they say
Solving problems you didn't know you had in the most obscure way possible

"And now, it's time to hand this over to our tame race axe driver. Some say, he can live in the forest for six months at a time without food, and he knows of a secret tribe of only women where he is their God. All we know is, he's call the Styx!" - TazzieRob


us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #100 on: August 08, 2019, 04:28:51 PM
if you don't will you really have been there?



Haven’t finished my coffee; don’t give me an existential crisis quite yet. 

I am very excited for today’s tour!


us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #101 on: August 08, 2019, 04:30:23 PM
Great pics and burgers  :like:

BMW R1200 GS ?
Great touring allrounder.
Love that boxer sound, puts out some good torque too.

Good you didn't pick a swim suit. It would take up valuable space, you know?  :pok:

Good point, Matt, but we know how FastBill feels about public nudity.......


ie Offline McStitchy

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #102 on: August 08, 2019, 05:00:29 PM
 :rofl:   :dwts:


us Offline Butch

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #103 on: August 08, 2019, 08:10:03 PM
Excitedly waiting .............. :ahhh
Shoot low sheriff, they're riddin' shetlands
SAKMC unit number BR549
137% Redneck
I would like to apologise to anyone I have not offended. Please be patient, I will get to you shortly.
Just a small personal observation.  ...........I would not be at all surprised that when God created the Earth & the heavens, that the SwissChamp was the tool he used. .............. :hatsoff:



us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #105 on: August 08, 2019, 10:56:19 PM
Excellent visit to Buck.





I’ll be posting more, later.  :tu:


england Offline Dunc

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #106 on: August 08, 2019, 11:06:50 PM
Excellent visit to Buck.

(Image removed from quote.)

I’d so love to be there , have a great time buddy

I’ll be posting more, later.  :tu:


us Offline David

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #107 on: August 08, 2019, 11:30:31 PM
Excellent visit to Buck.

(Image removed from quote.)


I’ll be posting more, later.  :tu:

 :woohoo:   I can hardly wait!    :D

 :popcorn:
What? Enablers! Are you serrrrious? Where? I dont see any.
Hold Fast


us Offline Butch

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #108 on: August 08, 2019, 11:39:52 PM
Excellent visit to Buck.

(Image removed from quote.)



I’ll be posting more, later.  :tu:

 :drool: :drool: :drool: :ahhh :ahhh :ahhh :popcorn:
Shoot low sheriff, they're riddin' shetlands
SAKMC unit number BR549
137% Redneck
I would like to apologise to anyone I have not offended. Please be patient, I will get to you shortly.
Just a small personal observation.  ...........I would not be at all surprised that when God created the Earth & the heavens, that the SwissChamp was the tool he used. .............. :hatsoff:


us Offline Sos24

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #109 on: August 08, 2019, 11:41:26 PM
Glad you enjoyed it.


be Offline Top-Gear-24

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us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #111 on: August 09, 2019, 12:58:32 AM
I’ll try to cover the visit over the course of several posts.





Sadly, visitors are not allowed to take photos during the shop tours.  I think it is a safety issue. There is a lot going on and they don’t want people distracted.

So, the only shot of the workings of the factory was from a window overlooking a small bit of the shop in the second floor museum area.




Yeah.....not much to see there.....


However, there is a good video about making a 119 on Youtube. This video gives a good feel for the shop and the noise levels.




One of the things I learned on the tour was that the Buck 119 “Special” was first made in 1942.  Hoyt Buck started making these in his basement to supply to US service personnel during WW II. He made his first knife from a file in 1902! So there was a fair bit of experience behind the design.


us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #112 on: August 09, 2019, 01:15:48 AM
Before I try to talk about other aspects of the visit, I want to talk about the one thing that most impressed me: the people.

The tour group, about a dozen of us, walked past dozens of stations in the factory.

Each station was manned by people who seemed enthusiastic, very skilled, and happy. The whole shop had a happy and energetic feeling.

While everyone was concentrating on his or her assigned task, when I caught someone’s eye, they would flash a nice smile.

And it was great watching people working with their hands.

Much of the process is automated, but at each stage there is a genuine person involved in that task. The sense of pride and craftsmanship came through, even though I could barely hear over the noise of the machines.

Automated, yes, but very human, too.



us Online SteveC

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #113 on: August 09, 2019, 01:31:45 AM
 :like: :tu:


us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #114 on: August 09, 2019, 01:34:13 AM
According to the guide, employees are able to move from one station to another and develop their skill sets. E.g. go from polishing to grinding.

Some employees find a niche, say blade cutting with the laser cutter, and will just stick with that. But employees are free to shift to different areas and so will move to different tasks.

The custom shop guys all have a lot of experience in various tasks before they move to the custom shop. I watched one guy in the custom shop cutting scales from elk antlers and his sure hands told the tale of his skill.

(Apparently the elk comes from shed antlers collected by Boy Scouts in Yellowstone National Park.)

The exception is Danny.

I didn’t get to meet Danny on this visit, but I’m going to find a way to at some point.

Buck has a “Forever Warranty”.  If you find a Buck in the woods and it had a broken blade, send it in to Buck. It’s still covered by warranty.

The warranty department will try to fix it. If it can’t be fixed, it will be replaced.

The warranty department is Danny. Just him. And he’s been working at Buck for 43 years. 

I think that fact right there tells you pretty much what you need to know about Buck.

On the wall outside Danny’s shop area he has a collection called “Hard Luck Bucks”. These are a dozen or so knives and tools that were sent in for warranty work. (It killed me that I couldn’t take a picture for you guys!)

The hard luck knives looked like they had been chopped with an axe or blown up with dynamite. You’ve never seen such obvious abuse.

OK, next post will have more pics, promise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


us Offline Blackbeard

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #115 on: August 09, 2019, 01:52:36 AM
 :like:


us Offline Sos24

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #116 on: August 09, 2019, 02:31:36 AM
Interesting info thus far.  Thanks for sharing.


us Offline Rapidray

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #117 on: August 09, 2019, 03:06:56 AM
Very nice history and on the people who build the knives!  :popcorn:
 :cheers:


us Offline Nix

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #118 on: August 09, 2019, 03:42:21 AM
Hoyt Buck was apprenticed as a Blacksmith at age 13.  He was an experimenter, looking for ways to heat treat steel. His reputation for making good knives grew and he was making and selling knives art time in the early 1900’s.

In the 1930’s Hoyt was making knives by hand with an anvil and forge in the basement of a church where he was a pastor.

So the anvil became part of the Buck logo.




I was tickled to find Hoyt’s original anvil, and a later one, sitting out on the floor of the upstairs room they called the “museum”.




And....






It was hard to read the stamping on the anvils, but I believe they were H&M Armitage Mouse Hole anvils.




us Offline David

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Re: Buck Factory visit
Reply #119 on: August 09, 2019, 03:52:47 AM
Great history and those anvil's are cool!    :like:
What? Enablers! Are you serrrrious? Where? I dont see any.
Hold Fast


 

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