Buck 373

T

troutbum243

Joined
Oct 4, 2023
Messages
72
I am an infrequent visitor to this forum but I am a long time Buck knife user, I am not a collector I simply use knives as tools. My vice/passion is fly fishing and I found myself in need of a knife to put in my sling pack for the rare occurrence when I did not have my 303 or 301 in my pocket. It needed to be serviceable and inexpensive so if or when I dropped it in the river I wasn't out too much money. I bought a Chinese made Buck 373 (new, old stock I think I spent about $16) I was somewhat reluctant because many on this forum have been very critical of the Chinese made knives, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of this knife. The fit and finish is as good or better than any of my US made Buck knives, snap is excellent and absolutely no wobble in any of the blades. I am aware that the steel is not on par with the 420HC used in US made blades but I recently used it very hard for a week in trout camp and it held up very well, sharpened very easily and quickly when I got home. If you don't like the knife due to the politics of China, ok I get it. If you don't like the knife due to xenophobia I get that too, but you can't dislike the knife due to manufacturing or quality concerns. If you have never had a Chinese made Buck in your hand you should do it, you may be very surprised.
 
I think you have the right knife for its purpose. I have several of the Chinese knives and they all seem well made. They don't have the super steel that some people think is necessary, but we got along without super steels for hundreds of years.

Bert
 
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303 and 373
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The chinese manufacturing debate has gone on for over a decade now. I think its pretty clear (civivi,cjrb,rough ryder,rosecraft etc) that China is manufacturing value and quality.
 
I have several sets of the Buck Chinese-made slipjoints. And in my gift tin knife combo collection, many of them contain various versions of Chinese-made slipjoints. They are not bad knives. I believe it is a necessary evil that Buck can offer a low cost product to their customers like Walmart, Farm&Fleet, Big5, Canadian Tire, Menards, Cabela's, Tractor Supply, etc. They can maintain a retail presence at those large chain stores, where they can sell their US-made ones too. I wonder what Buck sales and revenue and profit looks like with respect to large chain stores, independent knife dealers, Buck retail, Buck online sales, customs , special editions, and chinese-made vs US-made knives.
 
we all should know by know chyna can make good all the way down to junk knives. they have the machines and have learned the know how from many knife companies who have given them the insight to make knives for them. chyna is the new japan like it or not. just like Japan though their skilled labor costs are accelerating upwards and theyre having a harder time keeping the prices low on the better stuff. somewhere else is going to have to take over for the chyna machine for lower costs. Africa, s. or central America, other south east Asian countries, India, or a mix of all of them? Who knows....?

what it boils down to now is more about supporting American jobs in the knife making world. I'll pay more for that. I'll also buy an occasional chyna knife cause I'm interested in what's coming out of there to have a comparison.
 
I bought a 373 once when I was out of town without a knife. Back home saw Dad using an old similar knife and gave him the still like new 373. He edc'd it till he passed. Was proud of it and it held up just fine.
Found it when going through his things and gave it to my brother with how Dad came to have it.
Not a thing wrong with it.
 
I avoided buying the Chinese made Bucks for a long time, for similar reasons to those stated above. I would rather support American jobs.

However, I recently stumbled on a little 385 toothpick for a ridiculously low price, and bought it on a whim. It's a neat design (my first "toothpick" knife of any kind) but a bit small for my hands. I liked the shape enough that I picked up a gift tin with its larger brother, the 388 and a 375.

My daughter noticed the 375, and also the way that I casually slid it to the side, and asked if she could have it. She had never expressed interest in owning a knife before, and I really wanted her first Buck to be special. So I set out several of my smallest Bucks, including the 375 and also the smallest Bantam, my 055 and my 503. I told her to handle them all, and then choose. Much to my delight, she chose the 055 😊. Not that a 375 wouldn't serve her purposes, but the little 055 will probably last her a lifetime.

So far I like my Chinese 388. I will use it when I need a letter opener, or similar. For what it is, the quality is fine. But my main knife will always be an American made Buck.

YMMV, To each their own.
 
I try to avoid buying Chinese knives, but I have a few. My Chinese Bucks have been good knives.

Like many here have I have also implored Buck to bring back an American slip joint line. They tease us with a few models but apparently won’t comit to an entire line.

So that leaves Zippo, I mean Case, (which have always been disappointing to me). Or crazy overpriced small runs from boutique manufacturers. Not a lot of good options.

These threads drive home what was lost when Camillus closed their doors. Too bad Buck couldn’t have somehow absorbed Camillus into their business. Sigh…..
 
jbmonkey said:
what it boils down to now is more about supporting American jobs in the knife making world. I'll pay more for that. I'll also buy an occasional chyna knife cause I'm interested in what's coming out of there to have a comparison.
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Exactly this.
 
I didn't realize there are instances of a 373 with a 303 China blade for the G-10 handle as well. Another one I'll need to look for.
 
In those combo gift tin sets, I've seen 373s in red pakkawood, black pakkawood, faux stag, and burlwood. You see these as single knives on ebay once awhile. I think those came from these combo gift tin sets.
 
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