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Hashishiin said:
How is the USA made Buck slipjoint? Was disappointed heavily by Case, the biggest knife disappointment to date. I want a good slipjoint but do not wanna lust after a GEC. Is it good?
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The 301/303 Stockmans (currently the only Idaho made Buck Slipjoints in production. The others were discontinued a few years ago) are great knives. The 301 "large" stockman is one of my favorites. At 3.5 inch closed I find the 303 "medium" stockmans (and any other "medium" stockman) too small.
Buck's 425HC with BOS Heat treat is run harder than everyone elses.
The main "complaint" some people have against the Idaho made Buck slipjoints are "soft" or "light" springs. The pull on all three blades of the 301 is around a "3". (91/93mm SAK is a "5") For some reason there are some who don't like the light pull. For some odd reason they want the stiffest/hardest pull they can get.
A backspring's only job is to hold the blade closed when the blade is closed, and from flopping half closed between cuts when open. A nail-breaker pull isn't necessary. Buck's backsprings do their job. An added bonus you don't have to fight the knife to open it when your hands are cold and/or wet.
For what it is worth, the offshore made Buck 37x and 38x knives have a "5" pull, the same forever warranty, and more cover choices than the Idaho made knives. Oh, and more patterns.
Personally, I haven't had issues with the 420J2 blade steel Buck chose for their offshore slipjoints. It has a good heat treat and doesn't dull if you look at it crosseyed.

I have two 301's (one don't count: the 2018 BF Forum knife with won the vote spey/budding blade delete and cpm154 blade steel), two 371 (jigged bone and G10) and a 389 canoe. The latter three hold an edge at least as well as a SAK.
 
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afishhunter said:
The 301/303 Stockmans (currently the only Idaho made Buck Slipjoints in production. The others were discontinued a few years ago) are great knives. The 301 "large" stockman is one of my favorites. At 3.5 inch closed I find the 303 "medium" stockmans (and any other "medium" stockman) too small.
Buck's 425HC with BOS Heat treat is run harder than everyone elses.
The main "complaint" some people have against the Idaho made Buck slipjoints are "soft" or "light" springs. The pull on all three blades of the 301 is around a "3". (91/93mm SAK is a "5") For some reason there are some who don't like the light pull. For some odd reason they want the stiffest/hardest pull they can get.
A backspring's only job is to hold the blade closed when the blade is closed, and from flopping half closed between cuts when open. A nail-breaker pull isn't necessary. Buck's backsprings do their job. An added bonus you don't have to fight the knife to open it when your hands are cold and/or wet.
For what it is worth, the offshore made Buck 37x and 38x knives have a "5" pull, the same forever warranty, and more cover choices than the Idaho made knives. Oh, and more patterns.
Personally, I haven't had issues with the 420J2 blade steel Buck chose for their offshore slipjoints. It has a good heat treat and doesn't dull if you look at it crosseyed.

I have two 301's (one don't count: the 2018 BF Forum knife with won the vote spey/budding blade delete and cpm154 blade steel), two 371 (jigged bone and G10) and a 389 canoe. The latter three hold an edge at least as well as a SAK.
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Awesome! As for the "light spring", so long as it does not flop open, I don't care too much about that. Sure, a little "snap!" is satisfying at the end of a blade's walk. but it ain't the end-all-be-all. The steel is good, it's solidly constructed - that is good enough for me. This is exactly what I needed to know to make my decision, thank you. I think I will be much happier with a 301 than a Case Toothpick. I don't trust that 420J2 any more than I trust Tru-Sharp (I think I am done with the toothpick blade profile period)

The reason that I think people complain about things like what you mentioned is for the same reason people complain about blades, say, not "drop shutting". People don't have enough real things to complain about, so they nit-pick the action. Personally, I have had a Cold Steel XL Tanto "drop shut" and guillotine my finger before, if there was a little bit of stick, that wouldn't have happened. I personally don't mind a bit of stick, I thought a little stick used to be looked at as a virtue, you know? Of course, to each their own and I'm not criticizing anyone else for what they like, this is just my hot take on it.
 
Hashishiin said:
Wow, what's the lock on that Fox knife you have there? Have never seen that before.
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I forget what they call the lock, it debuted last year on this knife (the Radius)...it's a plunge style buttonlock but the button is mounted in the blade and acts as a thumbstud too.
 
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