Buck 303 but made in the USA...

S

SFW

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Aug 15, 2014
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My grandfather carried a Buck 303 forever. That's the knife that I remember him using when I was a kid. I picked one up a while back, but it's made in China and will not hold an edge at all. It is also VERY hard to actually get this knife sharp- though I can get all of my other knives extremely sharp. So, what made in the USA knife has a similar feature set to the 303? Thanks for the help.
 
I just pulled my 373 out of my pocket and took a look. Sure enough it is stamped "China" on the sheepsfoot blade. I hadn't noticed before.

OP what method are you using to sharpen it?

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Using honing oil and an Arkansas Soft stone. Same set up that all my knives get sharpened on.
 
The 303 was my first Buck knife of any kind. I got a (rose?)wood-handled Chuck Buck signature edition 3-spring 303 and I carried it for about a week straight. I couldn't believe such a stubby stockman could fill the hand like that. The blades have the newer-style grinds, once sharpened up they could slice with the best of them. The closed length is just a little smaller than I'm used to, which is why it probably doesn't get as much carry consideration as it could, but it's always in the running when I need a smaller multi-blade knife that can easily slip into a watch pocket but still handle some reasonably tough duty.







As far as I'm aware, the 30x series is always USA-made and the 303 itself among the models that Buck still makes themselves.
 
The 303 and the larger 301 are both made in the USA. The 301 is one of my everyday carries. Buck now has a complete line of Chinese made knivesthat are similar to the USA built ones but are lacking the blade quality
 
The giveaway, of course, is that the Chinese Bucks have a number other than zero as the middle digit of the model number.
 
I've owned a couple of the foreign made Buck 371 knives. As an enthusiast/collector, I have a surplus of knives and don't really have a need for a 371. But the 371 is not "bad". The build quality and materials seem similar to RR in my experience. I didn't have any problem sharpening them. A light touch on stones was best for final finishing. The factory edge bevels were uneven but the USA made Buck knives suffer from that problem as well. In general I prefer the 301 over the 371.
 
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