Buck 112 admirer / UK

B

bigeard09

Joined
Sep 8, 2016
Messages
284
Hello All at Blade Forums ,
My name is Mike and I live in the UK . Im 60 years old now but ever since I was a kid I always carried a sheath or pocket knife around with me , mainly to do what kids used to do with knives then , whittling away at some old piece of wood or just messing around . I still love owning various knives as a collection and I have a small collection of pocket / folding knives from some of the more well known manufacturers around the World . Throughout both my main career jobs in the British Fire Service and British Army Special Forces , I always carried a small knife for various tasks . Last year I bought my Grandson a Buck 112 Ranger knife for his 13th Birthday and had it appropriately engraved and I would like to think he treasures it until his time to pass it on . Ive got to say how much I admire Buck Knives in general but especially the iconic 110s and 112s , as they are so well made and are a true example of American workmanship ! So much so that I now would also like to own one . I prefer the 112 as it would fit better into a pocket or a nice custom sheath . In the UK you can only get the standard model , and in my opinion for all this is ok , I think such an iconic model deserves to be customised to make it into a personal work of art that can be passed down as a family heirloom !
I have made enquiries at the Buck factory in the US and yes they can customise one with an SV30 blade, Elk scales and engraving to the blade and bolsters , but the cost is quite high , and also unfortunately importing one from the US through British customs usually incurs quite high custom fees , There is also extra fees to pay for Elk being imported ! which makes the overall cost just too high for what I can afford . Does anyone on this forum know of another way that I can send for one from someone who customises Buck 112s without it being too expensive ? Ideally being ex British forces and someone who is interested ( and wears an MIA bracelet ) in the American POW/MIA issue, has there ever been a Buck 110 / 112 manufactured with the Badge engraved or mounted into the handle ?
If any member can help me out It will be greatly appreciated .
Kind regards .
Mike K
 
bigeard09 said:
Hello All at Blade Forums ,
My name is Mike and I live in the UK . Im 60 years old now but ever since I was a kid I always carried a sheath or pocket knife around with me , mainly to do what kids used to do with knives then , whittling away at some old piece of wood or just messing around . I still love owning various knives as a collection and I have a small collection of pocket / folding knives from some of the more well known manufacturers around the World . Throughout both my main career jobs in the British Fire Service and British Army Special Forces , I always carried a small knife for various tasks . Last year I bought my Grandson a Buck 112 Ranger knife for his 13th Birthday and had it appropriately engraved and I would like to think he treasures it until his time to pass it on . Ive got to say how much I admire Buck Knives in general but especially the iconic 110s and 112s , as they are so well made and are a true example of American workmanship ! So much so that I now would also like to own one . I prefer the 112 as it would fit better into a pocket or a nice custom sheath . In the UK you can only get the standard model , and in my opinion for all this is ok , I think such an iconic model deserves to be customised to make it into a personal work of art that can be passed down as a family heirloom !
I have made enquiries at the Buck factory in the US and yes they can customise one with an SV30 blade, Elk scales and engraving to the blade and bolsters , but the cost is quite high , and also unfortunately importing one from the US through British customs usually incurs quite high custom fees , There is also extra fees to pay for Elk being imported ! which makes the overall cost just too high for what I can afford . Does anyone on this forum know of another way that I can send for one from someone who customises Buck 112s without it being too expensive ? Ideally being ex British forces and someone who is interested ( and wears an MIA bracelet ) in the American POW/MIA issue, has there ever been a Buck 110 / 112 manufactured with the Badge engraved or mounted into the handle ?
If any member can help me out It will be greatly appreciated .
Kind regards .
Mike K
Click to expand...
hi , where are you from in uk ? i’m french and very often cross the channel to uk for my job ( i restore classic british cars in britany) i’m mostly go to birmingham and hinckley near leicester. i would be glad to meet you as a buck enthusiast!
sam
 
Buckfan22 said:
hi , where are you from in uk ? i’m french and very often cross the channel to uk for my job ( i restore classic british cars in britany) i’m mostly go to birmingham and hinckley near leicester. i would be glad to meet you as a buck enthusiast!
sam
Click to expand...

Just can't get a better offer than that. Good job Sam!
 
Thanks for replies Guys . Hi Sam I live in the North of England not too far from the Scottish Border lands
 
welcome Sir. can y'all import lockback folders? i habe a good friend in the midlands near birmingham and i often try to send him a 110, but he says dont bother wont make it through customs. not sure that is true......thats just what he says.

long story shortened.......some.of the dealers stateside habe their own customs made and might ship them for a possibly lower cost than factory custom. just a thought.
 
Such a shame on a 125.00 knife you have to pay double or more to the government for the right to own it..I'm surprised it's even legal to have much less carry ...
 
That is a shame that u have to pay so much for a knife & customs would seize it if someone sent u one from the ststes.:(
 
Someone may be traveling to the UK at some point and could bring such a knife with them in their check in luggage, I suppose. I would guess it is legal to mail such an item once in country.
 
Thanks for your replies Guys ,
Regarding jbmonkey : Your friend is half right , A knife from the US would be allowed into the UK with all the right trade details on the package etc , but the cost in UK custom fees is downright ridiculous . I sent for a knife from a US company before and was charged almost 40 % of the original cost . I am interested in what you say about other custom companies in the US might send them for a cheaper amount and if that is so I would like to be put in contact with some of them ? I contacted Buck in the US and they were going to charge me around $36 for postage and another $56 to send for an Elk handled model and another possible $30 for something else which I cannot remember , some kind of US Tax . Then I would probably be charged UK Customs fees for bringing it in from the US , and this makes the whole deal just not worth it ! It is absolutely crazy and makes a mockery of the special relationship between the US and UK .
Regarding DocT : Yes you are probably right , If I knew someone who would bring one from the US in for me in their main luggage and then post it to me once in the UK , but that is quite a long drawn out operation that entails a little Trust !
My only other opportunity is to buy a second hand model with a decent unused blade ( preferably SV30 ) and play about with it trying to re- scale it with some nice custom scales , but theres not that many people in the UK selling Buck 112s . Or I could buy a standard model from a UK dealer and try it out customising in the same way, but I would have to be carefull not to damage a new knife .
But come what may , I intend to have a nice quality customised Buck 112 Ranger somehow .
Kind regards .
Mike
 
I'm interested in this as well, since I have the same problems.

I have at one point looked into mail forwarding services, but never actually used them. This is where you pay to have your stuff shipped to an address in the USA, they repackage it and send it to you in the UK.

However, it may provide some relief for you because the taxes are calculated over the amount after postage and other costs have been added. If Buck wouldn't add so many costs because they would send the knife to a USA address, that might save you about 50 dollars worth of costs.

Don't take my word for it, though. Do your own research!
 
Thanks Lodd , I will look into this . I notice youre from the Netherlands , I have been numerous times and have friends there . I was actually trying to do some research to see if there were any Buck dealers in Europe who might have access to the customised Buck 110s / 112s . I could not find anyone in Holland or Germany , I was going to try Scandanavia ?
Cheers
Mike
 
I haven't any luck finding any buck customs in the Netherlands at all after about 1,5 years of searching. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a 112 (and later a 110 and a 105) with elk handles from Copper and Clad (who is a paying member/dealer here, so I can mention the name). I did get hit by 35% - 40% tax + customs handling, but the shipping was around $35 IIRC, so that saved about 140$ as compared to your scenario. Copper and Clad has their own runs and my experience with them has been good so far, but ultimately they don't offer the same level of custimisation as the buck website does. Also, you have to be patient because shipping at that rate may take some time.

The availability of standard Buck models is OK(-ish) in the Netherlands, although not all of them are available. The only time I've seen limited editions sold is by Adola (the importer for the Netherlands) which only sells to private persons once a year at the Dutch Knife Exhibition. The prices are very steep and the knives have suffered as a result of being in storage too much. (I think the Lochsa was € 550 or € 750 or something and the action was atrocious because of dirt inside the knife). That would be my other suggestion, visit knife exhibitions and shows.

Sometimes some limited editions or anniversary editions are available from the German version of the 'Big River' website. Otherwise, I'm not very familiar with with options in Germany. However, maybe fellow forumite Haebbie can help you out. Haebbie is German and I think he/she owns some Buck customs.

On the off-chance someone from Buck is reading this: Would there be a business-case for establishing a channel for customs via importers such as Adola? I'm sure there is a way to reduce costs and taxations somehow, because I'm not seeing the same kind of costs with the regular models. Maybe an escrow kind of construction? Just thinking out loud.

That's all I've got for now.
 
Hey Lodd ,
How about if someone in Europe could replicate what Mike is doing on his Redrummd Knives sit e by replacing the scales with " Real " polished stone from around the world , now they really are works of art and the best Ive seen
 
I'm sure there are people that could. Possibly even people that could do it with elk scales, which you can often buy at shows and exhibitions. I don't know anybody though, but I'm pretty sure you can find them at said shows or exhibitions.
 
Yes Lodd , I will have to get myself round to a show or exhibition some time to see . You would think that someone on the UK knife forums would see a niche for these scales ?
Mike
 
I prefer Sambar stag to elk antler for two reasons. I think the Sambar has better color and texture. Sambar has better mechanical properties (a denser core). The color/texture thing is personal preference. The physical properties thing is not.
The availability of Sambar vs Elk might be better in Europe.
 
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