Buck 303, Warranty and Customer Service

M

mudguard

Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
309
***Make sure to read until the end of the thread... In Summary: Buck reached out and resolved this issue with a great quality replacement. Thank you! ***

I own case, victorinox, GEC, Opinel, spyderco, etc... and many other knives that everyone here has or will come across. I have owned multiple Buck knives and like a paklite skinner and other pocket knives. However, this 2014 buck has disappointed me in the worst way.

While at a well known store I picked up a buck 373.. since in the back it said it was made of 420HC. It wasn't long before I found out that this was not the case. That in fact they use a "similar" steel out of china to make these pocket knives and then still claim on the packaging that it is made of 420HC. I found that it wasn't throught the website.. but I strongly believe that a customer shouldn't need to do online research to then find out the company straight up lied in the packaging.

I wrote to Buck and they were nice enough to exchange my knife for one with 420HC.. I payed for shipping and waited for a few weeks.

I did get a buck 303 with 420HC. However, this one had liners that were BENT! and I strongly believe that the main blade wasn't heat treated properly. This is based on the fact that I can make my other pocket knives shaving sharp but this main blade is smooshy while the sheepsfoot blade is a lot better. I obviously first thought it was me.. not buck.. but after 3 hours trying to sharpen the thing it just won't take a good edge.

I am very disappointed by this experience as it was a warranty exchange and I nicely asked to please open the item before shipping it to me to make sure it wasn't a dud.. It appears to me that the customer service person went into the dud bucket and picked one for me.

Here are a few pictures of the dud I got from Buck as a result of an exchange after I found out that my 373 wasn't made of the 420HC that the package said it was.. and the sole reason why I bought that one at that store and not a 303 through an online retailer (the 303's are not easy to find where I live).

Here is bad picture of how the liners are wider before the pins at the two extremes. They strangely open up about 1mm before coming back together to hold the pins so the one piece liner on each side is bent on both ends. This is the strangest thing I have seen in a pocket knife.. and I suspect it is to blame for the lack of snap on this 303.

IMG_0300_zps09aaa31e.jpg


IMG_0301_zps993d9cc8.jpg


I would send it back to Buck but at this point I am not willing to pay for the shipping anymore, getting a decent product from them has become a shore more than a simple buy and toss in pocket for ever kind of deal (which is what I was hoping for).

I don't post rants ever but this knife has really struck a nerve.
 
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Everyone one here on the Buck forum wants you to have gotten a good knife and been happy. We are sorry for your experience.

We all love to see multiple pictures of the problems as you see them. As sharp as you are able to make them would be great also. Maybe a few with blades open would be good. Everyone will get a good look at your issues and discussion will follow. I promise you that even Buck employees will see your photos, even if they don't comment. I realize your time is valuable, but this sort of thread is what these forums are for.

300Bucks, Moderator
 
I'll try to get better pictures but in the one above you can clearly see how the upper liner (the lower one does it too) has a curve to it.

300Bucks said:
Everyone one here on the Buck forum wants you to have gotten a good knife and been happy. We are sorry for your experience.

We all love to see multiple pictures of the problems as you see them. As sharp as you are able to make them would be great also. Maybe a few with blades open would be good. Everyone will get a good look at your issues and discussion will follow. I promise you that even Buck employees will see your photos, even if they don't comment. I realize your time is valuable, but this sort of thread is what these forums are for.

300Bucks, Moderator
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I though about sending it back but at this point I'm still paying for a pocket knife that should have been a one time payment kind of thing.. This knife was my attempt to carry a buck for a lifetime, but it just let me down. I am still hoping to some day find a good 303 to carry but I won't be unpocketing more money to try to fix an issue that wasn't my fault. I heard in the past that Buck had great customer service and while they responded promptly they really didn't deliver the quality product that I hear about in this forum and at this point I am not sure that me paying for a shipping back to them would actually end up with me having a decent knife to carry.

ItsTooEarly said:
I would still send it back... ITE ... ;)
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I think you went the long way around the barn my friend. I can appreciate why you would be angry but why didn't you exchange it at the well known store? If you purchased a new knife I can almost guarantee they would exchange it for you. That would save you money and you can inspect the knife before purchase.
 
I purchased it while on the road so I didn't have access to one of them. I did go the long way around for sure Doug.

Doug_86 said:
I think you went the long way around the barn my friend. I can appreciate why you would be angry but why didn't you exchange it at the well known store? If you purchased a new knife I can almost guarantee they would exchange it for you. That would save you money and you can inspect the knife before purchase.
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mudguard said:
......I picked up a buck 373.. since in the back it said it was made of 420HC. It wasn't long before I found out that this was not the case. That in fact they use a "similar" steel out of china to make these pocket knives and then still claim on the packaging that it is made of 420HC.......a customer shouldn't need to do online research to then find out the company straight up lied in the packaging.
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What year was your 373? Did it come in a clam pack with 420HC listed on the back? I'm not outright convinced Buck lied.... it is my belief that the earlier ones were in fact 420HC and later changing to current use of 420J2. Do you think you could really tell the difference in use? You purchased a less expensive China Buck and they upgraded you to a USA Buck. No excuse for the quality of your replacement knife, s***t happens, but there is no question they'll make it right given the chance. /Roger
 
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Sorry to hear of the OP's plight. I just did a quick google search for the 373 "Trio" and the Buck website is the only one that lists it as 420J2 The "big river" site and several online dealers all list the steel as 420HC. to be honest I've got several Bucks with the 420J2 and I find very little if any difference between them and my others in 420HC. Still I like to get what I think I'm paying for.

As far as getting a less than perfect replacement I'd like to think that a call and or email to Joe Houser might get the situation resolved to the OP's satisfaction. Everybody makes mistakes and from my experience when Buck makes one they really do care about making things right.
 
I really want to support Buck but just because it says made in the US doesn't mean I'm going to cough up some coin. They better get their quality control act together or will lose my business.
 
Message sent Jeff. Thank you for stepping up. I'll update this thread with a proper review of a 303 once this gets all sorted out and my faith restored.... and that is why I like American companies. People.. Please keep supporting, we all make mistakes.
 
Thanks Jeff, I wanted to see a open blade photo to see if had been "pinched"......300
 
That is right Badhammer,

Before I talked to Buck customer service I asked if my 373 was actually 420HC like the packaging said or if it was the 420J2 that the website had in their description. They confirmed with me that ALL chinese made series are made of 420J2 and none have been made by 420HC. Which sort of gave me the weird feeling and the reason why I actually requested an exchange. I am sure 373 is a decent steel but when purchasing an item (food or knives) I always read the content/specs of what I am getting.. I wouldn't be happy if I bought strawberry jam and it was actually peach jam, I apply the same philosophy to my tools. I am very happy that Buck understood and looked into ways to fixing this mistake with me. This is something that most overseas companies (aka.. chinese) may not have done at all and this is why I prefer to buy products that support the north american economy (although others can be great products too).

Badhammer said:
Sorry to hear of the OP's plight. I just did a quick google search for the 373 "Trio" and the Buck website is the only one that lists it as 420J2 The "big river" site and several online dealers all list the steel as 420HC. to be honest I've got several Bucks with the 420J2 and I find very little if any difference between them and my others in 420HC. Still I like to get what I think I'm paying for.

As far as getting a less than perfect replacement I'd like to think that a call and or email to Joe Houser might get the situation resolved to the OP's satisfaction. Everybody makes mistakes and from my experience when Buck makes one they really do care about making things right.
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Open all the blades up flat out, look down at the open blade well and see if one or both liners curves inward. I have gotten several used 300s that exhibited this, I surmised they were stepped on while at least one of the blades was open to allow the free space so the liner could bend inward. In your photo I can only see the top liner. But who really knows ? only the 'stepee'....Could be something whacky on assembly, but who cares now, your getting a first rate, Jeff inspected replacement..... 300
 
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Just saying kudos to Buck for taking care of this in person so to speak. Stinks that you got a wonky replacement, but sounds like you're going to get a hand picked one this time around. I'd take a little headache for a hand picked upgrade any day, but ymmv. I keep kicking myself for not sending in the 303 I bought. It had really weak springs (maybe 2out of 10), and since I bought it off the company named after the river, I just returned it. Still got my eye out out for one though. Everybody puts out lemons, but if the company is willing to make you some lemonade and throw in a back rub, it's all gravy.
 
Agreed

Dale Gribble said:
Just saying kudos to Buck for taking care of this in person so to speak. Stinks that you got a wonky replacement, but sounds like you're going to get a hand picked one this time around. I'd take a little headache for a hand picked upgrade any day, but ymmv. I keep kicking myself for not sending in the 303 I got. It had really weak springs (maybe 2out of 10), and since I bought it off the company named after the river, I just returned it. Still got my eye out out for one though. Everybody puts out lemons, but if the company is willing to make you some lemonade and throw in a back rub, it's all gravy.
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