Buck Brings it Back Home

I only think it is odd because, with American companies producing knives overseas to sell in America. The Japanese are making their knives here. And they sell them overseas. (As well as to the US.)


I have a couple of the new Bucks on my want list.
 
That new Vantage Pro looks nice for the money. Buck seems to be on a roll right now regardless of where a knife is made. Good job, Buck!
 
I know how excited I am. I love buck and the more they mOre here the happier I am. Keep it up Buck.
 
knarfeng said:
I only think it is odd because, with American companies producing knives overseas to sell in America. The Japanese are making their knives here. And they sell them overseas. (As well as to the US.)
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In addition to being flat out good business sense as was pointed out, many Japanese companies take a couple of Japanese business concepts very seriously.

One is the philosophy of constant improvement (can't think of the word) that dictates that everyone in the company from the floor sweeper to the Chairman constantly find ways to make the company better, more efficient and more productive in everything from little tinkerings to big shifts. Kershaw has always been famous for finding great little ways to improve things in house, as well as come up with great new product lines. Why mess with a good thing?

Second is a philosophy of responsibility to the community. (again forgot the word) Many Japanese feel that they owe the community that houses and nurtures them essentially a return on investment, and a thanks. As an example, a couple years ago Fuji announced that it would not discontinue film production entirely even though it would eventually be running the business at a loss; the reason was that the community that built Fuji by loyally buying its film for generations deserved mutual loyalty. Keeping manufacturing in Kershaw's largest market is very likely partly because of this.
 
it has always been vital for certain areas of industry to retain craftsmanship in order to keep a quality production going.
but many are now near fully automated and hardly require as much semi or skilled workers to function.
the way through would be to produce quality goods at a competitive price much lower than the adversary it seems.
and yeah, it pays to be patriotic.
Hopefully Buck Knives can deliver what the people want.
 
The new slippies are very nice. Nothing too fancy that would prevent them from being hard-use pocket knives, but just that certain extra amount of class. They also come with super-nice leather slip cases for them, the largest of which actually has a spring belt clip! :eek: :cool:

I had a slight complaint with them in that on the three-bladed models the small spey blade's tip peaked above the liners, but it's just about impossible to catch anything on it even when you try, and when it's in the slip case there's even less of a concern. Just be aware that it's only a cosmetic gripe, not a functional one. They're beautiful knives and I'm glad that they added them to their line. Hopefully we'll see even more next year. :D
 
I haven' t really taken a look at the whole 2009 lineup, but the Vantage knives look great!
 
The new line up is on my "to do" list to check out when I get home.

Really like that more of their line-up is made in the US now.
 
I saw that too. I have one of the china made wood handles slipjoints, and it's nice for a cheap knife. The US made version is only a few dollars more. I'm willing to pay a few dollars more for a US made knife.
 
wow, I just noticed the vantage series. There's a version with dymondwood scales and an s30v blade for just under $50. That displaces the spyderco native as the most affordable, US made, s30v knife. And I like seeing wood scales on a one-hand, clip-carry knife. Even if it is just dymondwood, it's nice to see something other than the "tactical" look.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I had a slight complaint with them in that on the three-bladed models the small spey blade's tip peaked above the liners, but it's just about impossible to catch anything on it even when you try, and when it's in the slip case there's even less of a concern. Just be aware that it's only a cosmetic gripe, not a functional one. :D
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That's an easy fix; VERY carefully file (or grind) down the kick of the blade. The "kick" is the part of the blade at the base (on a folding pocket knife blade) that contacts the backspring on the inside of the knife. Work it down far enough to drop the point below the liner, and that's it. Any more than that and the spring won't be flush on the back.

These knives look to be inexpensive enough to be modded without worrying too much about the cost. Buck's imported models weren't too bad, IMHO, but I'm really happy they decided to "bring this back home" so to speak.

thx - cpr
 
Oh, I know about the kick-grinding trick. It just irritates me a little that they come standard that way. When I was at SHOT I actually asked them specifically if that was something that was going to be corrected, but they said no. It's minor, but it still irks me. :o
 
There's a version with dymondwood scales and an s30v blade for just under $50. That displaces the spyderco native as the most affordable, US made, s30v knife.
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Actually, the Vantage Pro has the S30V and contoured Micarta for under $50. The Vantage Avid has dymondwood and Sandvik 13C26 for around $32. I have both and the Pro is currently in my pocket and as been since the day I got it. It caused a 1 month old TNT that retails for 3 or 4 times the Pro to go in the EDC box.

IMO, there is not a knife manufacturer making a knife for $48 that matches the PRO in design, feature, and quality of manufacture. Superb Knife.

Btw, the 13C26 bladed Avid was the sharpest knife I've ever purchased and I've got a lot of 'em. Thing is freaking scary sharp.

One other thing, the flipper system is very fast. The Native (and I owned one) ain't even in the same league with this knife.

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Ahh, I stand corrected about the scales. I must've gotten the two mixed up.

It does seem like a really great design, I just wish it came with the option of a tip down clip.
 
Really like the new designs. Unfortunately, I will not be able to try them for a while. Glad they are coming back to the good ol US of A though :)
 
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