Buck 373 Slipjoint

JD Mandrell

JD Mandrell

Joined
Apr 20, 2001
Messages
18,423
I picked up a Buck 373 medium size slipjoint today, nice fit and finish although I had to look at several in blister packs to find one with no gaps between the liners and backsprings. Something I noticed was that they have reversed the normal blade layout of a Stockman to Main and Spey on one end with Sheepsfoot on the other. Almost every Stockman I have owned previously was Main/Sheepsfoot and Spey opposing.

Anyone know why Buck's are different or do some others makers do this?
 
To muddy the waters even more, I checked one of my American Made 300 series Buck's and it has the normal blade layout.

Wonder why they reversed the Spey and Sheepsfoot blades on the Chinese Bucks?
 
It seems to me that maybe in a two spring three blade knife it may be easier to put the larger/wider blades on one end and crink them to a side to leave space for the thinner/smaller blade (the spey). In a three spring knife with all blades straight it's probably not so important, maybe it would be more balanced to put the main blade on one end with the middle spring and the two other blades on the other but then it would look like a whittler.

Is your 300 series Buck one of the older ones with two springs and crinked blades or one of the newer ones with three springs and straight blades?.

Luis
 
OK, I am having a brain anurysm I think!

I just checked all my Buck Stockman side by side and found I have.

301 Camillus Contract 2 spring crinked the blades are the "normal" Stockman layout.

301 Buck 2004 made 3 spring uncrinked and the blades are the backwards layout of the Chinese made one.

When I checked a Stockman earlier, it was the old Camillus contract knife.

So sometime in the past, Buck has changed the blade layout of the Stockman's?
 
TLC, thats interesting! I have a follow up question about the whole China thing. Buck gets several knives made in Taiwan. Why couldnt these be made in Taiwan also? Good quality and less political issues.
Maybe we can get Joe in on this.
 
guy g said:
Buck gets several knives made in Taiwan. Why couldnt these be made in Taiwan also? Good quality and less political issues.
Maybe we can get Joe in on this.
Click to expand...
I am also interested in hearing what Joe has to say about this. Jim
 
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