Big Surprise Tonight

Tanguay Custom Knives

Tanguay Custom Knives

Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
1,500
I've been a fan of Buck Knives all my life. I own several, and carried them at work, at war, and in the field for years. Still do. I've donated several (some recently) and have given them as gifts many, many times in the past. I wanted to pick up a new Buck pocket knife for a power plant operator on my shift who is leaving us at the end of this week. He recently had mentioned how his father carried one for as long as he could remember, and how he thought it would be handy to have one for himself. This young fella fishes and hunts too, but he's not what we would call a "knife guy".

I decided to pop into Walmart tonight (for the first time in months) and see what I could find for him. I saw a picture in the display case (no actual knives mind you) of a nice 3 bladed Stockman that I thought would work perfectly for him. I gave it a quick look, then bought it for just over $20.00. I thought that seemed kind of cheap. When I got it home, I opened it up to give it a good going over. Guess what I found: CHINA stamped on one of the blades! I was so mad I felt like throwing it out back into the woods. Guess I should've looked closer in the store. I would have never guessed Bucks were made in China these days. I guess its been a while since my last (slipjoint) pocket knife purchase.

I decided I'm not going to give it to him. It just doesn't feel right. It feels, well, cheap! I just went online and purchased an American made Case (at double the price) instead. It'll have to be a day or two late I guess. It really makes me feel bad to keep seeing this over and over again. Products that used to be 100% American Made being produced in China. I'm sure Buck has their reasons, but that's the last Chinese Buck I'll ever buy. Hell, maybe the last Buck, Period!! It goes back to wally world tomorrow.

To the people at Buck who made this choice, I am disappointed in you.

Scott
 
Hi Scott,

Sorry to hear of your disappointment. The same thing happened to me a few years ago when I got back into collecting knives again after many years departure form knives. Many of the company's I used to collect were gone or currently made over seas. Buck knives for the most part are still made in the USA.

They do make some knives over seas (China) to keep the price competitive in the big box stores like Walmart (The Bbox stores dictate the prices they will pay to manufactures). The 371 stockman in brown wood is made in China and has a MSRP of 29.00. The 301 stockman has the traditional black plastic handle is made in the USA and has a MSRP of 41.00. Knowledge is a useful and powerful thing....if you shop around you can find the USA made stockman for less than MSRP. A USA made Buck knife is better than a Case knife any day.....IMHO.

jb4570
 
jb4570 said:
Knowledge is a useful and powerful thing....
jb4570
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth!

Just caught me by surprise that's all. It won't happen again. That's what I get for shopping you-know-where! I know better too. That's part of what has me so pissed off.

I'm a knifemaker and custom knife collector, so I don't purchase many production knives anymore, (other than as gifts, or to donate to good causes), but I'll look close at any production knife I buy from now on.

Thanks for the info.

Scott
 
I think average Joes wont spend top dollar for american it's a shame but it is the truth. Somone has to sell them cheaper knives might as well be Buck.With there share of that market they can make cool U.S.A. knives fo us buck knuts
 
sad but most of us hard core buck collectors have had to come to grips and have decided that if it was nessary in order to contune to have a usa buck
them it had to be
many of us also were why that buck did not establish a Buck World or Buck Internationa trade mark as a seperat compnay spechlising in world class knives made round the world as a brand
to keep the usa knives as a Buck USA.
 
I really like buck knives...but I only will carry a buck made in the U.S.A. It is a sad reality that everything is going over to China. Even hard assests such as real estate to pay back national debts.
 
Tangua: When you return the stockman, consider exchanging it for a Buck 110. Still made in the USA and Wal Mart has them for $26.88. It would make a fine gift for a hunter and fisherman. :thumbup:

Keep that Case for yourself! :p
 
Question for those of your who buy or have bought a Chinese Buck ...... Is the company at least putting any sort of promotional or informational literature in the packaging to educate new buyers about their higher-end (read: U.S.-made) products? I would think that a solid percentage of folks who saunter in to Wal Mart and come out with a Chinese Buck knife would be prime candidates to later upgrade to a U.S.-made model. But they have to know about them, and they have to know where they can buy them.

Along this same line, I still think Buck ought to put a little ad for the 55 in each 110 and 112 that they sell. Maybe they're doing this now, who knows.
 
Scott...
I feel your disappointment.

Some moons ago, I bought a brother a Buck gift set. It felt cool to give a gift that I was proud to give.
When he opened it, on the other side of the tang (which could not be seen in the sealed package) was CHINA.

I was SO bummed...and, even though he didn't say so, I knew he was too .
 
this happened to me also but i didn't buy the import buck.

And i was looking to buy a Stockman also.

i bought another brand that was made in the USA.

i am now buying as many USA Bucks as i can afford because i think this company may end up like the other old US knife makers and i will not be able to buy those great USA made 110's & 119's in the future.
 
Messersmith said:
Tangua: When you return the stockman, consider exchanging it for a Buck 110.
Click to expand...

And while you're at it, tell Wal-Mart to stop buying products from China. :D

Plenty of U.S. made Bucks coming out of Idaho.
 
Guyon said:
And while you're at it, tell Wal-Mart to stop buying products from China. :D

Plenty of U.S. made Bucks coming out of Idaho.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I did!

When the lady asked why I was returning the knife I told her "Its made in China. I did not see that when I made the purchase". They gave me a refund, and I purchased another Buck 110 instead. Thank God its still made in the USA.

We're not perfect, but my wife and I try really hard not to shop at Walmart, Home Depot, other big-box stores, and chain restaurants on a regular basis. We both try to buy American whenever possible. It isn't always possible. I have a few Grizzly machine tools in my shop for instance. At the time, they were the best I could afford. Sometimes, its the only choice you get (take a look at the rice burners below in my sig line. When is the last time you saw an American made dirt bike???).

This topic really hits home for us. The big box stores and restaurant chains have really changed the landscape here in our part of Maine in the last five years or so. Our whole culture is changing along with the landscape. So many small family owned businesses have gone out of business around here its frightening! In addition, alot of the shoe, textile, and paper companies have moved out of our area and out of the U.S. altogether. Many of our friends recently found themselves looking for new jobs after 20+ years working at the same plant, factory, or mill. I just hope they don't figure out how to import electrical power from China, or I'll be looking for a new job too! Hell, most of the GE equipment in our plant was cast, machined, or wired in China. Most of that used to be done in Schenectady, NY and South Carolina.

Anyways, back to Buck knives and the topic of knives in general...My two cents, shop with your eyes wide open so you don't get fooled like I did. If you like American made cutlery, you should support U.S. companies whenever possible, or they will ALL disappear.

Rant secured.

Thanks,
Scott
 
Also watch for P.R.C. It saw it on a generic blade. It's the same ruse as offshore, imported, outsourced, New Schrade, and every other attempt to avoid spelling China.
 
Very interesting thread here Gentlemen.

I have to say that having product made in China was one of the most difficult decisions we have ever made. We tested the waters by importing fillet knives from Taiwan. Our "american made" fillet knives were almost twice as expensive as what owned the market and the decision was eliminate fillets or import them.

The quality we got surprised us. We then experimented with other products mostly in our Outdoor Recreation lines.

When Schrade went bankrupt in 2004 we had a huge opportunity to give Walmart a vast quality improvement for less cost. We began bringing in slip joints from China. We deal with 7 factories that each specialize in certain designs. We bring in about 30% of our business from China and 70% we manufacture here in Idaho.

Our bottom line was that the quality had to be good enough for the buck name and our forever warranty. The only place our import products do not compete with our U.S. stuff is in the heat treat. You do get what you pay for.

Right now the extra business we get hitting lower price points that would be unavailable to us without importing "is" creating american jobs. We employed about 240 before we started importing from China and now we are 280 and growing.

My biggest concern is that Scott felt duped and suprised.

We have added American Flags on all US made product in our catalog and on our website to highlight them. I will have a discussion with Marketing on in-store packaging as well.

Thanks for the chance to address your disappointment.

Believe me when I say there would be no heartburn here if no imported knives existed and we could go back to just competing against other US or European companies.

Taiwan, Japan and Korea are no longer competitive with us in our newly relocated "lean" factory. Only China can land product for about 30% less then we can build it. We are watching all that is going on in China now with great interest. Either way you will always be able to find Buck Knives made right here in our own factory in Post Falls Idaho.
 
CJ - thank you for this post, it certainly makes sense. I bought one of the skeleton-ized Buck (bones I think) and was surprised to find out it was made in China. The quality was good though...

How are guys addressing the Nighthawk rip-offs, or can you?
 
Thank you for your post as well CJ Buck. I'm glad to see you here taking an active interest in this topic. Thank you as well for addressing the packaging issue. Properly and clearly marking which knives are U.S. made vs Chinese would go a long way to educating the consumer as to which product they are buying.

I'm distressed to learn that the cost savings is 30%. When you are talking about the cost of a car, that's quite a bit. When you are talking about a pocket knife, that's pretty small potatos. I'm disappointed to learn that when those costs are passed on, a few dollars is all it takes to sway an American consumer to purchase an inferior Chinese made product. If the two knives were side by side, I can't think of a single person I know who wouldn't opt for the American made product (if they knew where each was made).

Gentleman, that is exactly the choice each of us Americans is going to have to make going forward if we want jobs for ourselves, children, and grandchildren. It will be many, many years (if ever) before the Chinese economy and way of life (inflation) drives their manufactoring prices up to equal ours. Considering each U.S. company has to deal with OSHA regulations, labor laws, the EPA and DEP, Healthcare, etc, etc. Even if China's inflation drives their prices up, there will be any number of underdeveloped countries chomping at the bit for a chance to take their place. Look closely at your next pair of shoes and see where they were made.

Food for thought men.

Scott
 
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