Any love for Buck Creek?

riversidedep

riversidedep

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Hello gentlemen. I was wondering if anyone would care to share their opinion on Buck Creek knives. I was going to do a search of the forums for Buck Creek, but it appears I'm a bit impaired in this area and I couldn't seem to get the search function to work.

I am a fan of the dotor's knife pattern, and a while back I purchased a Buck Creek doctor's knife specifically for using on food while I'm at work. I like the stainless blade for use with food better than the carbon steel blades on Case knives, which leave that funky metallic taste on apples and other fruit.

Anyway, I was fairly impressed with the quality of the knife. It has buffalo scales and the fit and finish is pretty good for an mid-$20 knife. It has been in my pocket every day for about five months now, and it serves its food-use purpose well. However, I can't seem to recall seeing any threads about this brand on the forums, and I just wanted to see if this brand is well-regarded or not. Thanks for any opinions.
 
the only buck creeks i'm familar with were the robust stocks from the 70s & 80s. not pretty but hell for performance. the carbon steel was well respected by many of us ole timers.ca'nt tell you about the newer patterns, except the early ones were made in only germany.
dennis
 
Mine's a user and sharpens up fast with a razor edge.
XXX
BUCKCREEK03.jpg
 
The only one I have is just like mhawg's with smooth plastic instead of jigged.

It is unused and says 'Hammer Forged' on the blade and there is a '94' under that. Not sure if that is the year or sequence #. It is a well made knife and on the other side of the blade the tang is stamped 'Made in Germany'.

Not much else I can say as I haven't used it.

Peter
 
This is a timely thread. I have really been eyeballing the Buck Creek half congress with the buffalo horn scales. I, too, have wondered about the quality.
 
I got a collector's set in '07 and the stag horn was very choice on all the patterns. The big stockman Diamondback dwarfs my Case XX.
 
I bought one of the newer stag whittlers a while back for my whittler collection. I think that is the only Buck Creek I have.
 
I only have one, the small swing-guard in stag. I would say the quality is just OK, maybe not quite what I hoped for in a German made knife, but then again, it is the least expensive of all the German brands. I'd rate it between a Rough Rider and a Case, but closer to the lower end.
 
I have 4 of the older ones 3 Stockmen and a Copperhead. I have carried the Copperhead quite a bit and it has never let me down. Overall quality is Good and the blades open fairly easy which is a big plus for me.
 
my buck creek is a german carbon steel copperhead it's hand made with some type of fiber optic like handle material. i wouldn't hesitate to say it is as good if not better than any case xx knife i have ever had. i paid 75$ for it(i think mine might be vintage though, and it had never been sharpened). i have never seen another one like mine anywhere in person in their catalog or on the net.
 
I appreciate the replies. I'm under the impression they are a pretty old company. I would have to agree they are not as nice as Case, and as far as German knives go, they don't seem to be as nice fit and finish-wise as other companies like Boker. However, for the money, I think they are darn nice. I don't have any experience with Rough Rider or Steel Warrior, which are both made in China I think(??), and don't know how they compare quality wise to Buck Creek, but for the money, I'll stick with the German made knife.
 
I began collecting Buck Creek knives a few years back before the newer looking ones began to show up on ebay. These 'older' ones were made in 1970s-80s as Dennis says above and were likely made in the Olbertz factory, same place as Schlieper Eye Brand.
roland
 
there isn't anything about any case knife past or present that even matches the quality of the buck creek i have. you must be buying new junky ones or something. all i know is i put mine through more work than most have nightmares about and it still pristine.
 
buckgen5 said:
there isn't anything about any case knife past or present that even matches the quality of the buck creek i have. you must be buying new junky ones or something. all i know is i put mine through more work than most have nightmares about and it still pristine.
Click to expand...

I can't speak to a comparison head to head but if I recall correctly, the older German (and some Japanese) made Buck Creeks were discontinued some time in the 80's before the brand was taken over by others. This is often the reason for the disparity in quality between knives carrying the same mark.
 
true. i feel all that matters when it comes to a knife being good or not is dependent on the construction and materials used. i'm not going to say there is anything wrong with a case knife, in fact i am quite fond of them but, as far as good construction and materials goes for a slipjoint knife it needs blades all made of carbon steel which is well known for it's edge retention(the applications for stainless is corrosion resistance use for surgical reasons and to be used on food), carbon steel back springs(because stainless loses its springiness), good handle material that is less apt to dry out and crack with age and use, strong pins(most use brass or nickel anyhow which isn't that strong for heavy use), a tight fit with no gaps, and brass bushings, washers, or liners, whatever you want to call them. with all these ingredient it makes a good knife no matter what the name is on it. i have found case knives, buck, schrade, camillus, boker, and other such brands all to produce knives of this quality. my personal opinion is that stainless is about worthless when it comes to the longevity of a knife. with carbon steel you can lubricate the steel to prevent cancerous rust but, there is nothing you can do to prevent stainless backsprings from losing their tension.
 
buckgen5 said:
my personal opinion is that stainless is about worthless when it comes to the longevity of a knife. with carbon steel you can lubricate the steel to prevent cancerous rust but, there is nothing you can do to prevent stainless backsprings from losing their tension.
Click to expand...

I am a big fan of carbon steel (forged 52100 and W2 in particular) but there are a lot of top flight custom makers, users and manufacturers that would take you to task on your point of view. I just don't think that it's nearly as black and white as it once was many years ago. Speaking for myself, I own and enjoy both.

That said, rather than hijack the OP's thread, why don't you start a new thread if you want to debate the topic here in the forum. I'm sure you'll get lots of interesting replies. We'll even make sure it remains civil. ;)

EDITED TO ADD LINK:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=781784
 
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I got my first Buck Creek a little while back and was quite pleased with the quality. As good as any RR and close to Case. A decent value I would say. I normally shy away from the blade etches and goofy handles but this one has grown on me and believe me it can handle hard work. Had it with me clearing bush a couple weeks ago and it did everything from cut sandwiches to prying debris out of a chainsaw. Holds an edge well. BTW it is stainless;)
buckcreek006.jpg
 
That is a "new" Buck Creek knife. I doubt it is made in the same place as the originals. I don't own any of the new ones to compare with my ~ 25 of the original ones.
To have significance, the originals and the newer ones need to be put into different groups and discussed separately, otherwise there will only be confusion.
This is not to imply that the recently arrived "Buck Creek" knives are inferior, or superior to the originals, just, different.
roland
 
My Buck Creek is also a "new" knife. I would be interested in comparing it to an older one to see what the quality differences are. The stainless blade on mine is fine for the use I put it to, which is use on food. As I said earlier, I specifically chose stainless over carbon steel to avoid that bad taste carbon steel leaves when cutting up apples. The knife is marked "Germany." Does anyone know if they are still made there, since it appears someone simply bought the company name and its no longer the Buck Creek of old?
 
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