2018 BF Traditional Knife

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Don't sweat it - people are just marking time until we get some official news - then the real fun begins.

I have taken a renewed look at Buck following this thread. Interesting to reflect on how the company positions itself in the market. It seems to have a real following among deer hunters. I will be spending more time on the Buck forum reading up on the history of their classic patterns. The 103 Skinner has really caught my eye.
 
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Good gravy! On to Page 35 before I even knew this thread existed. Pages were racking up faster than I could read them, but I really wanted to read everything before commenting. Now that I'm caught up, I'll throw my opinions in the ring like everyone else.

I don't mind the idea of a Buck for the forum knife. I would like to know what other options are available before getting my heart set on something already. That being said, my preference for handle materials is towards stag, horn, bone, pearl, or wood. I'm not a fan of micarta, or acrylics. Of the photos shown so far in this thread, the burl wood looked really eye catching. However, burl is unpredictable, and I imagine that out of 250+ knives, someone would get an amazing example, and someone else would get a rather drab example (and feel slighted.) For that reason, probably stag is a safer choice.

Buck has a history of doing a lot of small specialty runs for groups/clubs. They seem to be very accommodating. I know they created the NKCA Club knives in 2001, 2007, 2011, and 2013. Those ranged in quantities between 200-1100. They also did a lot of specialty knives for particular knife shows in the 1990's and 2000's, which all were under 100 piece orders. I like the idea that they are open to conversation and willing to work with the customer.

The Manly knives to me are just not traditional looking. They may be great knives (I don't own one), but I can't see them being a popular choice for the traditional subforum knife.

Lastly, to me the forum knives are more collectible than anything else. I know many people carry them and use them lightly. I personally have a hard time using a collectible knife. I have many Buck knives that I consider my "user" knife, for dressing out game, or skinning, or cutting meat, etc. If this Buck is chosen for the forum knife, I would look at it often and enjoy it, but I can say I won't be skinning an elk out with it. But that would be no matter which maker/model is chosen.
 
I just sent messages to Otter as well as robert Klaas to ask if they'd even be interested in such a production. Hartkopf doesn't have an e-mail adress and very bad web-presence so I didn't send anything to them.

I asked about what patterns they have, material choice and if they'd produce a pattern they not have in their repertoire at the moment
 
OK Klaas got right back to me. They said they're interested and asked if we've taken a look at their patterns(they have Stockmann, trappers, something that reminds me of a buck 110 and other stuff)
They also asked me to call them. I'll see when I can do that and ask about materials etc.
 
Regarding pull strength -

I mentioned earlier that I wouldn't mind a Buck 501 or 503. To my knowledge, we've never had a locking traditional BF knife. My hands are starting to get arthritic, even in my relatively young age. But my issue with strong pulls isn't the strength, it's my finger (thumb) nails. I like strongish pulls, but I don't like it when they chip, split, or otherwise break my thumbnails. It's not necessarily a matter of pull strength, but also depth of the cut. Of course, pinchable blades are always appreciated.

In that vein, I would reiterate the possibility of a small lockback (a 112 would be too big/heavy for my preferences). Of course, I'd rather have the GEC 92 or 74 Zulu/tribal spear, but I'd be very happy with a 501 or 503 in a "supersteel".
 
SV-97 said:
OK Klaas got right back to me. They said they're interested and asked if we've taken a look at their patterns(they have Stockmann, trappers, something that reminds me of a buck 110 and other stuff)
They also asked me to call them. I'll see when I can do that and ask about materials etc.
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In terms of Robert Klaas, I had some contact with the company about five years ago, via Papa Andi @Humppa who got in touch with them on my behalf. A UK dealer was selling their Sodbuster patterns as Solingen-made and carbon steel. They are neither of those things. Klaas were unequivocal in saying that the man is a liar, but said they could do little because the Robert Klaas name was licensed out, seemingly without a great deal of care, and many of the knives were made, firstly in Italy, and later in the Far East, commissioned by a US 'agent', who simply used the Klaas name. The only Klaas knife I've had since came in a 'job-lot' bought at a market. It's also a Sodbuster style, quite large, in cheap stainless, and a piece of junk. I don't know if others have different experiences, but I really don't think the Klaas knives of today are comparable to those of the past :thumbsup:

Edit - Here's the response Andi received (took me a while to find as it's 6 years ago):

"The knife you´ve asked about is made under contract from an amerikan importeur in Italy. The statements of each retailer, this knife has is made in Solingen is just plain a lie.

We can´t give any information on the used steels."

Klaas seem to be rather careless about whom they allow to use their name :(
 
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Jack Black said:
In terms of Robert Klaas, I had some contact with the company about five years ago, via Papa Andi @Humppa who got in touch with them on my behalf. A UK dealer was selling their Sodbuster patterns as Solingen-made and carbon steel. They are neither of those things. Klaas were unequivocal in saying that the man is a liar, but said they could do little because the Robert Klaas name was licensed out, seemingly without a great deal of care, and many of the knives were made, firstly in Italy, and later in the Far East, commissioned by a US 'agent', who simply used the Klaas name. The only Klaas knife I've had since came in a 'job-lot' bought at a market. It's also a Sodbuster style, quite large, in cheap stainless, and a piece of junk. I don't know if others have different experiences, but I really don't think the Klaas knives of today are comparable to those of the past :thumbsup:

Edit - Here's the response Andi received (took me a while to find as it's 6 years ago):

"The knife you´ve asked about is made under contract from an amerikan importeur in Italy. The statements of each retailer, this knife has is made in Solingen is just plain a lie.

We can´t give any information on the used steels."

Klaas seem to be rather careless about whom they allow to use their name :(
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I think they actually bought the name hen&rooster from someone, which probably was one of those your buddy got. But I don't have any experience with them yet. I have two of their knives incoming (one premium one not so much) to check out their quality etc. They still have a (the?) factory in Solingen that you can visit etc.
I'll likely call them this evening. I can ask where they'd be built.
 
Are Eye Brand/Carl Schlieper knives all German made? I know they do a lot of 30-50 piece specialty runs for knife clubs, but also some larger contracts like the 2006 NKCA knife with 450 pieces. I have one of their 2008 made large congress pattern knife with American Elk handles. It's quite nice.

I'm just throwing out potential other options. Not saying I have a preference.
 
Rookie82 said:
Are Eye Brand/Carl Schlieper knives all German made? I know they do a lot of 30-50 piece specialty runs for knife clubs, but also some larger contracts like the 2006 NKCA knife with 450 pieces. I have one of their 2008 made large congress pattern knife with American Elk handles. It's quite nice.

I'm just throwing out potential other options. Not saying I have a preference.
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All the eye brand knives are made by Friedrich Olbertz GmbH & Co. KG in Solingen. They have a website and also dealers in the US, but I'm not sure I can post the links here.....but a simple google search will also do the trick.
 
SV-97 said:
I think they actually bought the name hen&rooster from someone, which probably was one of those your buddy got. But I don't have any experience with them yet. I have two of their knives incoming (one premium one not so much) to check out their quality etc. They still have a (the?) factory in Solingen that you can visit etc.
I'll likely call them this evening. I can ask where they'd be built.
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It was actually me who got the knife, Andi offered to help as German is his first language, and he was interested too. I have one on my kitchen table, which is absolute junk. I would hope the German-made knives are better :thumbsup:
 
Planterz said:
... I'd be very happy with a 501 or 503 in a "supersteel"...
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Me too. The 503 was my first locker, back in the late 70s. And the 303 was my first decent knife, back in the early 70s. I still have the 303, but lost the 503 when it slipped out of my pocket one day. So I'd be in for either, for nostalgia's sake, even though I'd prefer a bigger knife like the 301 or 501. I'm actually a little bummed about the three spring/thick blade design on the stockman and would definitely prefer a pimped out 501, 503, or 112 in that order.
 
I like that Buck is in the mix here. I still have my old 110 from 1972. I don't carry it much but I will be sending it off to Buck soon for the spa treatment. My little 309 in brass and rosewood is the Buck I carry most. Good snap and about a 5 on pull. I had a 301 and a 303 but gave them away because the pull was so soft. Fit and finish were nothing to brag on but they were decent users.

As far as selecting a Buck for a 2018 forum knife, I'm more intrigued by something a little more pocketable than the 110/112, and with generally better fit and finish than the 301/303. How about a 55 in copper and cocobolo with a cpm154 or s35vn drop point blade and a pinned shield? Buck has already used copper on the 110 so maybe that would be something they would tackle.
 
Travman said:
It is cool when a new pattern is introduced with a BF knife. In 2014 the 77 pattern was introduced with the stag forum knife. Also, in 2016 the 35 pattern was introduced with the BF Harness jack forum knife.

So how about a larger Pemberton? GEC’s version is a great looking pattern? Imagine a 3.5 to 3.75 inch closed version of this.
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Great idea!
 
Ok just got off the phone with Robert Klaas (over half an hour, oomph).
First off I inquired mainly for trapper and stockman patterns.
Here's a few points I noted down:
  • 100% handmade in Solingen(more on that later)
  • Steel is pretty much locked to 1.4034 or 440C on some models
  • Possible materials include: Micarta, Wood, Stag(Deer Stag)
  • Some woods are on a protected list and would make them rather costly to use
  • Minimum is ~100, no maximum
  • As an example price a two-blade mid-size trapper (~10cm closed) with custom tang-stamp and stag handles would be around 90€ (of course with increased number of knives comes lower price)
  • If we can decide us to june getting them in 2018 should be no problem
  • Delivery is usually in a cardboard box (damascus knives in wooden box) and they produce leather slips (veg-tan German sourced) as an option
  • If direct delivery to the US is wanted we need either a reseller from Germany (If we want Hen&Rooster or something on there) or a custom tangstamp (like "Handmade in Germany for: Bladeforums - Stainless" or so)
  • Custom shield with logo etc. is an option (I think they only use shields with stag handles)
Example picture trapper
klaasmesser19-751.jpg


Example Stockman
klaasmesser725-1-241.jpg


As for production: They're 100% handmade in Solingen, mainly directly at their manufactory. They outsource stuff like heat-treat or lasering to the general "Solingen-Ecosystem" (Pretty much the whole town is knife business)

The guy on the phone was very nice and if we have further questions we're free to ask him.

Also they're starting a run of trappers and stockmans in the near future which we could jump onto.

Opinions? :D
 
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