Buck 303 vs SAK pioneer (or another scout knife)

M

mudguard

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Aug 2, 2013
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I feel that these statements keep coming to my mind while carrying either of these two.. Anyone feels a similar way? How would you justify carrying one or the other?

too much...
too heavy..
too many blades...
too large of a blade..
 
Wow, two favorites. Both are bomb proof, backed by iron-clad warranties, and are great designs. I would go with the 303, personally. I like the smaller form factor of the 303, and it doesn't have a keyring nub that will dig into your hand. The Pioneer's blade is flat ground, which I love, but the extra quarter inch doesn't make a lick of difference to me. The extra tools are useful, but not enough for me to carry the Pioneer everyday. I do love both models, but the 303 wins out in my mind.
 
I love the SAK Electrician / Pioneer, SAK Cadet, and both the Buck 301 and 303. They are different knives, different sizes, different purposes. Only you can decide what you need.

The Pioneer and Buck 303 are sufficiently different that it's hard to make a direct comparison between them. If your day has more tool-like needs (prying, hole poking, screwdriving) then the Pioneer is it. If you're going to have a variety of cutting needs, then the 303 is more versatile. However, if the cutting involves food prep, the blade on the Pioneer is a better slicer due to the geometry.

For weekend jeans wear and handyman stuff around the house, I'd be tempted to carry both - 303 in the watch pocket and Pioneer in the back pocket next to my wallet.

If I had to pick one or the other for daily carry, and if I didn't have some other multitool I carried, then the added features of the Pioneer would win out.

My actual daily carry is the Vic Cadet. Just the right size, just the right set of tools.
 
I'd prefer the 303. If the calendar showed a bbq, or a hike, the SAK would come along too.
 
I never carried a pioneer. But I carried a Tinker on a daily basis for a couple of years a few decades ago. And I carried a 303 on a daily basis for at least a decade. So I reckon my opinion has some footing in experience. Theoretical, it ain't.

My opinion is that it depends on what you need.
When I carried the 303, I was a
Truck driver
Construction electrician
Paint store salesman
Formulation Chemist
Development Engineer
For those jobs, if I needed tools, I had them right with me, or at least in my toolbox. (When I was a development engineer I had my own toolbox with my personal tools right in the lab.) All I needed was a handy blade. And the 303 worked fine. Jeans or slacks, it was not a problem to carry.

When I carried the Tinker, I was a deacon in a church which met in an older building. We met half a dozen times a week. I found that carrying a knife which also had a flat blade and phillips screwdriver was pretty handy. There were lots of things that needed fussing with and I did not always have my toolbox with me. Again, I wore slacks or jeans and did not consider the Tinker to be too much to have in my pocket.

too much...
too heavy..
too many blades...
too large of a blade.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. Just depends on what you need.
 
Carry both. I usually carry a 91 or 93 mm Sak and a Case or Buck Stockman. But I'm retired and wear jeans pretty much all the time so I don't notice the weight.
 
I've always fancied a buck 303 in yellow delrin. A classic pattern if ever there was one. I've never owned a buck, but the 303 is the only pattern that has ever interested me really.

When I'm working I have a hefty Leatherman in my kitbag which stays in the vehicle, I find the pliers are one of the most used things. Up until I discovered Leatherman I always had an SAK tinker in my bag but it's not missed really, I still take one camping because of the cork screw amongst other things :)
 
The yellow ones may be hard to come by - they discontinued yellow Delrin on the Buck 300 series last year.
 
pmew said:
I've always fancied a buck 303 in yellow delrin. A classic pattern if ever there was one. I've never owned a buck, but the 303 is the only pattern that has ever interested me really.
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They also made the 303 with a faux pearl scales that looked try nice. Hard to come by, but they pop up on the great auction site now and then. I regret passing up on them while they were available.
 
I don't think I understand the original question: how to decide between two knives that are too big and heavy, or why carry either?
Anyway, if you think the 303 and Pioneer are too big and heavy, try a 307 and a Swisschamp for a while.
I love my 303.
 
I was looking at the 303 myself but it looks to be the same size as an Old Timer I have so I was looking at the heftier 301.
 
I love the look and feel of the 300 series bucks, but the thick grinds really don't slice very well, and I find the short stubby Spey nearly useless.
I also find the tools on a SAK to be very useful on a daily basis.
For me, the harder decision Is between an opinel no.8 and a SAK.
I carry a buck 110 on my belt daily anyway so the SAK has been winning lately.
Still hard to beat a well sharpened opinel.
 
BJE said:
I love the look and feel of the 300 series bucks, but the thick grinds really don't slice very well, and I find the short stubby Spey nearly useless.
Click to expand...

Is this really true, that the thick grinds don't cut well on this Buck and the Spey useless?:confused:
 
csisland said:
BJE said:
I love the look and feel of the 300 series bucks, but the thick grinds really don't slice very well, and I find the short stubby Spey nearly useless.
Click to expand...

Is this really true, that the thick grinds don't cut well on this Buck and the Spey useless?:confused:
Click to expand...

I have not found that to be true. The super hollow grinds on the post 2000 Bucks are anything but thick. I find the Buck hollow grinds to work well for slicing cardboard and such, but not for peeling an apple. So partly it will depend on your own specific use for the knife.
 
I carry a Farmer on my belt every day. Neither too much nor too heavy nor too many blades nor too large of a blade.
 
For cutting the Bucks are great. For slicing something in thin slices, then the blade geometry is not ideal for that due to the rather thick spine relative to the edge.

I love the small "spey" blade, if you want to call it that, on the 303. It is more like an extra sturdy pen blade. It has a distinct dropped point, and not a lot of belly, unlike many true spey blades. It's a great small utility blade.

A Buck 300-series isn't what I would choose if I were going to be working in the kitchen. It is exactly what I would choose if I were going to be doing handyman/light carpentry projects around the house or yard where I would want a sturdy workhorse of a cutting / piercing / scraping tool that I didn't need to worry about babying too much.
 
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