buck 301 stockman springs

H

hankist

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Aug 15, 2007
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i have a large buck stockman made in usa(301)- it was made early in 2010 and it seems to have weak back springs- they hold the blades closed and open but seem to have little tension compared to other brand knives- is this normal?- i called buck and they said i could send it in but i don't really want to if nothing is wrong- its not like one blade is tight and others are weak or vice versa- they all 3 are close to the same- has anyone else noticed this? or do i have a lemon- i am always hearing people talk about hard snap and strong springs and this thing opens and closes with less pressure than any other good name brand knife i have- please, give me feedback...
 
The various slipjoints I have all have different spring tensions. My GEC have more tension then my Case, my Queen have more than my Buck 301, etc. I will say that across the board my Bucks have lighter springs than most of my other makes with the possible exception of Case. If your spring is holding the blade open and closed I don't see the problem.
 
I find that Buck slippies do have a lighter pull on them than most other brands out there. But with my 52 year old hands, I consider this a plus as there are some brands out there that are almost impossable for me to open.
 
I'm also wondering if this is 'normal' for the newer generation 300 series knives from Buck. I stopped into a 'Sportsman's Warehouse' store a short while back, and looked at a 301 at their knife counter. Nice looking knife, and I like the fact that the newer knives use a separate backspring for each of the three blades. However, the one (important) thing that put me off it was, the pull was noticeably 'soft' for my tastes. I was rather disappointed by this. I know it's a personal preference thing, so long as there's enough holding tension to keep the blade fully open/closed under 'normal' use. But it was a bit of a let-down for me.

I have an older 307 large stockman (4-1/4", I'm guessing '80s vintage, with 2 springs), and it's got some pretty good snap. I might take it back to the store to compare with the new 301.
 
thanks guys- that's what i needed to hear -i guess nothing is wrong with it- saves me the hassle of having to send it in...
 
I've noticed my 70's 307 has firm spring as well . My red handled 'Chairman of the board', 301 had good spring too . We have three in-house experts on the 300 series and models . They will be along this afternoon and will have better insight on these models . They are worth waiting on . Tin Sue is one and he's on here . DM
 
STDK said:
I find that Buck slippies do have a lighter pull on them than most other brands out there. But with my 52 year old hands, I consider this a plus as there are some brands out there that are almost impossable for me to open.
Click to expand...

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Wait until you get into your 60's and have some arthritis issues!

Some of the boutique brand of slip joints out there are impossible for an older person to open. I don't know where this idea that a knife has to have thumb nail busting back springs comes from, but it's horse hockey. The dynamics of the use keeps the blade open while cutting, not spring pressure. I had an old scout master when I was akid, that told us to avoid any knife that was hard to open, because sooner or later you were going to have to open that knife with cold and/or wet hands, and a cut in the field from fighting with your own knife is bad business.

To me, Buck slippies and Victorinox sak's are the gold standard of what a knife should be. Both are great working knives for the real world.

Carl.
 
jackknife said:
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Wait until you get into your 60's and have some arthritis issues!

Some of the boutique brand of slip joints out there are impossible for an older person to open. I don't know where this idea that a knife has to have thumb nail busting back springs comes from, but it's horse hockey. The dynamics of the use keeps the blade open while cutting, not spring pressure. I had an old scout master when I was akid, that told us to avoid any knife that was hard to open, because sooner or later you were going to have to open that knife with cold and/or wet hands, and a cut in the field from fighting with your own knife is bad business.

To me, Buck slippies and Victorinox sak's are the gold standard of what a knife should be. Both are great working knives for the real world.

Carl.
Click to expand...
I agree whole heartly--Some of my slippies I have to carry a dime with me just to get the blade open. Buck is with the game plan.
Harold
 
Ex = has been. Spurt = drip under pressure.

In order to become an instant ex-spurt, I took out an assortment of 301s, old and new and wiggled the blades. If I knew where it was (I think I have one somewhere) I would have gotten out a gun trigger scale and worked out a pressure test.
I skipped that to save time.

The older ones from the ancient past (70s,80s and 90s) seem a frogs hair stouter than newest ones.

Several Dymondwoods felt OK, as did a red chairman of the board scale. The new yellow scales with blue shield were again just a tiny bit less. (one example in 301, seemed OK in two 303s) The new single blades (currently half price of what I paid) snap fine.

I do have a few of all models, that are 'less' than normal, some are used so who knows what the deal was.

Unless your are certain you are going to send it in for trade-in, take it to the sink and dish soap it and run hot water on it a spell, a good spell. Open and close blades while doing this. Then dry it with cloth AND hairdryer and re-oil well. There is mysterious black stuff (buffing compound) that will effect action of some brand new knives.

Thats the best I can do as I am weak in the spurt area having spent 5 days hunting/camping without shaving and have gotten depressed my beard is starting to be mostly white..........and don't anyone say I could change my name to 300Claus....I don't do no Ho Ho Ho.

300/ch
 
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I bought a 301 back in April of '08, and had the same issue. I kept mine, and it gets some heavy use these days, and works just fine. I do wish the springs were stronger, but it serves me just fine as it is.

The Buck 307's made by Camillus that I've seen have monster springs on them.

~Chris
 
I've bought 2 301's , one last year and one a few months ago. They are identical including spring tension. Yes , they do seem a bit light compared to others ( old Schrades for ex.) I don't mind. Usually over time and grime build-up some slippies get pretty stiff. I've had Victorinox's that I took to the jungle ( Phils.)and could not open in a week unless I took pliers ! Better a bit easy than too hard , Imo.
 
jackknife said:
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Wait until you get into your 60's and have some arthritis issues!

Some of the boutique brand of slip joints out there are impossible for an older person to open. I don't know where this idea that a knife has to have thumb nail busting back springs comes from, but it's horse hockey. The dynamics of the use keeps the blade open while cutting, not spring pressure. I had an old scout master when I was akid, that told us to avoid any knife that was hard to open, because sooner or later you were going to have to open that knife with cold and/or wet hands, and a cut in the field from fighting with your own knife is bad business.

To me, Buck slippies and Victorinox sak's are the gold standard of what a knife should be. Both are great working knives for the real world.

Carl.
Click to expand...


Too true.
 
I remember when I was a boy my first knife was a small slipjoint and it was so hard to open.:eek:I love how smooth Buck 300s are.:D
 
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