302, 305, and 309 discontinued

bertl

bertl

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Larry Oden sent a copy of the 2018 Buck catalog with various notes, including this:


3. The USA made 300 series models now only consist of the 301 and 303. The 302, 305 and 309 models are discontinued.

Bert
 
309? That's disappointing to hear. The Companion is a great pocketknife.
 
wonder why? slower moving models...need the space and machinery/labor for other models?

interesting info. thanks for sharing.
 
One good thing is Buck made a lot of them over the years and we can get one if we want to. They join the ranks of many great models no longer made. .
 
I'm sorry to hear those three are discontinued.
Are the offshore versions still in production?
 
The 302? My favorite out of the lot. Why in the world would they do that? It does need a steel upgrade, but otherwise, it is a great pocket knife. They could do a shorter handle/same blade version of it.
 
Damn that sucks, all look like awesome knives and I could easily see a 302 or 309 in my pocket.
 
If the knife doesnt make sense anymore then they would stop production. Could be that dealers dont want to buy the model now and without the orders it gets cut. Too bad. Younger generations don't buy the 300 series. Different market I suppose. As much as I appreciate the series i dont carry them. Hate to see any of them get discontinued.
 
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DocT said:
The 302? My favorite out of the lot. Why in the world would they do that? It does need a steel upgrade, but otherwise, it is a great pocket knife. They could do a shorter handle/same blade version of it.
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My favorite too! I can't believe I didn't have a 302 sooner. Thankfully it was still being made when I found out about it. Isn't that the point? It would be a crime to discontinue any of these models. I don't care who is ordering or buying, you make them for the sake of history if you have to. They are BUCK! My fathers 305, the 309 he bought me, the 302 I now carry every day. Whats with this world. Gee whiz I'm irritated.
 
Makael said:
If the knife doesnt make sense anymore then they would stop production. Could be that dealers dont want to buy the model now and without the orders it gets cut. Too bad. Younger generations don't buy the 300 series. Different market I suppose. As much as I appreciate the series i dont carry them. Hate to see any of them get discontinued.
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Well said. Buck is after all a business and their main objective is to remain in business. Seems a safe bet that they wouldn't stop producing a model if there was demand. Like the old saying goes, you can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time but you can't please all of the people all of the time.
 
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Makael said:
Younger generations don't buy the 300 series.
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Well, there you have it.

Maybe what's needed in the 300 series is a tackty-kool automatic model.

Like old white men.......certain types of knives are just outdated and obsolete.

The world rolls on without us.
 
At least the 305 and 309 had a long run. The 305 dates from 1968 through 1917 so that is 50 years of production. The 309 started three years later, so it had 47 years of production. That is a longer model history than for most knives.

Bert
 
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Nothing stirs up collectors more than when a knife gets discontinued. I'm of the younger generation and have never owned a 300 series before, but hearing about this makes me want one now.
 
The 302 is one of my favorite Bucks. Sorry to hear it's being DCed. Also sorry the Glacier was DCed - carried one of them for a good while. Love the barlow style bolsters on the Glacier.

Now Buck needs to make a Buck Barlow (one actually made by Buck in 420HC) with the bolt shield on sawcut Valox scales. Always wanted one :-(
Rich
 
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There are other brands that sell traditional folders like hotcakes, so I'm not buying a lack of interest in traditional folders for a decline in sales. If anything it's a lack of interest at Buck to keep this series interesting and ever changing. I mean really, how hard is it to put new handles on or different steel. Maybe it's the China models muddying the water. I don't know. They will do what they think best. So will I.
 
USA slip joint page. These are the only ones in the book. I didn’t check the price book to see if the others are available, but will when I get a chance. The next page was China slip joints.
 
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