300 Series History 1966 to 1990

[Hickory n steel]

Very nice.
FYI, use the Hotkink for forums to post a full sized image.

 

[DirtDawg]

A day-trip to the St. Louis Zoo yesterday warranted a search through my Desktop Daily Carrying Knife Dispenser for an appropriately themed knife to go in my jeans pocket. How much more appropriate than a Buck? Buck 303 to be precise.

 

[kyhunt]

A day-trip to the St. Louis Zoo yesterday warranted a search through my Desktop Daily Carrying Knife Dispenser for an appropriately themed knife to go in my jeans pocket. How much more appropriate than a Buck? Buck 303 to be precise.

View attachment 2968465

The old 303’s with the long pulls are hard to beat in my opinion. Nice one there.

 

[Slice-and-dice]

New red Buck 301's have been out for several months from a couple of large retailers with 2024 or 2025 date stamps. Many comments have been rightfully made about blade crowding and rub and gaps in the backsprings. I have experienced these issues in numerous 301s I've purchased (including the standard black sawcut model versions made in 2023). However, these new red ones do NOT disappoint. True, my latest acquisition is a little "gappy" on the bottom side (see pic). But the blades are wonderfully ground, they move pretty freely, they are fairly tight and have decent snap. Im pleased! And the color is excellent. Recommend you pick one up if interested.

 

[Pt-Luso]

Buck 303 Cadet of 1988.

 

[Happy Hippo]

Buck 303 Cadet of 1988.

Nice example. Hardly used but yet the shield already has wear on it. I'm glad they stopped using that.

 

[Pt-Luso]

Nice example. Hardly used but yet the shield already has wear on it. I'm glad they stopped using that.

Thank you very much.

 

[Slice-and-dice]

Did I just acquire one of the rare 301s, noted by Craig in posts #1 and #31?

An unused, strong ink “BUCK” shield, no date code, with 425M, from the mid-1980s (probably 1985)!! Yessir, awesome knife.

 

[Slice-and-dice]

Got the last one on my list: 1988 Yellow 301 in its original box! Tough to find these excellent knives, which had the well-regarded 425M steel.. Needs a little clean up from storage but really nice in person.

 

[Slice-and-dice]

The amazing 301 red delrin addition from 1992. Still new in 2026.

 

[DirtDawg]

The amazing 301 red delrin addition from 1992. Still new in 2026.

View attachment 3124627View attachment 3124628

New? Oh No! That thing is just beggin' to scrape a gasket off a water pump. But it does look nice, I'll give it that

 

[piinnh]

Picked up a Buck 301 recently off Ebay and was thinking it was a Camillus contracted knife primarily based on the main blade swedge. After reading most of this sticky I am not sure. What got me thinking and worrying that it could be fake is the small size of the pins holding the covers on. I haven't seen other 301's in the forum that have pins as tiny as the ones on my knife. I also was suspicious that I could not find and pivot pins visible on any of the bolsters.
Attached please review the images I have included.
Thanks for your time and I look forward to your experienced input.
Piinnh