buck 301

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
5,944
Just wanted to gather opinions on this knife from a purely funtional standpoint.. I understand there are alot prettier knives out there. but from the perspective of a pure user how would you rate a usa made buck 301 Thanks.
 
Buck's slipjoints may not be the prettiest gal at the ball, but may be one of the more pratical. I love Buck' steel, I know people scoff at their standard 420HC, but when Paul Bos does the HT , it turns out pretty incredible. The 301 will be a great work knife, I would recommend one, think I got one somewhere ;) just not sure where. probably my truck
 
Its a first rate user. :thumbup:
like all of my buck stuff, it takes a good edge and holds it.

Peter
 
The Buck 301 is a great knife. My grandfather carried one for years and years- for as long as I knew him. I don't know how long he had it, but it was used very hard, and he swore by it. He lived on a huge farm and kept several horses and did a lot of heavy-duty work. He snapped the tip off of one of the smaller blades at some point and ground it flat so he could use it as a screwdriver. My Grandad loved that knife. Dad has it now, and I expect it will be mine someday.

My Dad carried a 301 for years too, and used it for farm work, and never complained about it. He carries a Kershaw Blackout now, and uses a cheapie "Coast" multi tool I gave him years ago. I think I paid $5 for that little multi-tool over 10 years ago at Wal-Mart- but he loves it. He's used it so much that it's all slicked up and pocket worn and actually looks beautiful. So much for "cheap Chinese junk".

I have a 301 and I like it very much. I was actually working on it last night- I've been modding a lot of my slippies lately- doing "final finishing" myself. I tell you what, the steel on that thing is some of the hardest stuff I've ever encountered on a slipjoint. I'm working on sanding the backsprings flush, and it's taking forever- even though they were mostly flush to begin with. Pretty impressive- the 301 is a hell-for tough knife. The only thing I don't like about it is the blades have pretty wimpy snap to them. But as a user, the 301 (the American version) will give you many years of hard service. I can't speak for the Chinese version, but I suspect it would hold up just fine.
 
Count me in with Pete and Durbin. I have a couple of buck slippies that have been serving well for 30+ years.
 
The Buck 301 is an excellent work knife. I have one that I bought in 2000 and has the 2000 date stamp. I used it for a few years then tried some others, but for the last year and a half It's been my edc.

The clip blade is used for general stuff like opening boxes, mail and many other things. The sheepsfoot blade has stripped the sheath off of many cat5, phone and fiberoptic cables at work. The spey balde I usually keep sharp and in reserve if my other two baldes get dull.

I usually carry it in a leather sheath that I had G2 make for me and I also pocket carry it some.

I can't find any bad things to say about this knife. :thumbup:
 
I bought one at an army PX in 1967, and used it hard right up till the mid 80's, when it went into semi-retirement. It still is a usable tool, andgetsoutinthefield now and then in spite of hard service in the army engineers. It does not have to take a back seat to any other stockamn as a user.

Buck steel is tough, holds a good edge for a good amount of timne, and is not hard to sharpen.

If you don't have one, then get one. Its a great everyday hard use knife. And next to Victorinox, the Buck family has one of the most ironclad warenttees in the buisness.

I have non-knife knut friends who have one pocket knife. Some of them are Buck 300 series that are in excess of 25 years old, daily users.
 
I wore one out using it. Good knife, and sturdy, but the blades didn't have the "snap" of some of my other knives. Go ahead and get one, it will serve you well.
 
The 301 is what made me a Stockman Fan.

What a Great Working Mans Knife.:thumbup:
 
I got one in trade not long ago;) and like it alot. It is a solid user, very well built with quality blades. It will probley last as long as I will if I don't lose it.
 
A little big for my tastes (I'd opt for the smaller 303, but that's just personal preference). As far as quality, durability, etc., I don't think you can beat the Buck 300 series knives with a stick. AND they're still make in the U.S.
 
I have a us made version and a china made version.. I havn't used either extensively, aas they seem a tad large for pocket carry, However the china version I have was given a convex grind on all blades by our very own siguy, and is the sharpest knife I've ever seen.
 
moonwilson said:
The only thing I don't like about it is the blades have pretty wimpy snap to them. But as a user, the 301 (the American version) will give you many years of hard service.
Click to expand...

The 301 is one of my favorites - three springs, good-sized handle, saber-ground blades. The only change I made was to dress down the sharp edges with fine emery cloth.

I actually contacted Buck when I bought my 301, because of the spring strength issue. After researching some threads here, I realized that that's the way they are made. I decided to keep it after my wife commented that she liked it, because it was easy for her to open.

thx - cpr
 
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