Buck Factory Blem, Second, or ???

[TheFishman]

I ordered a Buck 539 over the weekend from a reputable online dealer. I believe that the 539 was discontinued in 2021. Buck currently is selling 539s as web specials. Several online dealers also have 539s available. The knife arrived last night and I noticed that the bevels were off between the two sides. The grind is a little messy also. I put a piece of tape on the knife to show where the bevel is on the left side verses the right. This knife will be heavily used by me so these “issues” do not matter to me. I have no intention of returning this knife to the place I bought it or Buck, but I do have a few questions.

Would you consider this a factory blem or a factory second? Buck used to mark their factory blemished blades with FB. From what I have read on this forum, Buck stopped doing this over 10 years ago and just marked the box with BLEM. Jeff Hubbard stated in a couple of threads that they started marking the blades again with FB in 2020. Since the date stamp on this blade is from 2017, could this be a FB blade but wasn’t marked FB since Buck was not doing that in 2017? Even though the knife has a 2017 stamp, the box has a build date on it from 2020. I know that the build date on the box can differ from the blade date stamp though. Again, I have no intention of returning this knife as it will be a user and is incredibly sharp. I don’t think the turkeys and squirrels that will see this knife up close will complain about the 1/8” uneven grind. I was more curious about how Buck handles older blades, their packaging, and if they sell large batches of blems to dealers. I thought they only sold blemished knives at the factory store.

 

[Old Biker]

I ordered a Buck 539 over the weekend from a reputable online dealer. I believe that the 539 was discontinued in 2021. Buck currently is selling 539s as web specials. Several online dealers also have 539s available. The knife arrived last night and I noticed that the bevels were off between the two sides. The grind is a little messy also. I put a piece of tape on the knife to show where the bevel is on the left side verses the right. This knife will be heavily used by me so these “issues” do not matter to me. I have no intention of returning this knife to the place I bought it or Buck, but I do have a few questions.

Would you consider this a factory blem or a factory second? Buck used to mark their factory blemished blades with FB. From what I have read on this forum, Buck stopped doing this over 10 years ago and just marked the box with BLEM. Jeff Hubbard stated in a couple of threads that they started marking the blades again with FB in 2020. Since the date stamp on this blade is from 2017, could this be a FB blade but wasn’t marked FB since Buck was not doing that in 2017? Even though the knife has a 2017 stamp, the box has a build date on it from 2020. I know that the build date on the box can differ from the blade date stamp though. Again, I have no intention of returning this knife as it will be a user and is incredibly sharp. I don’t think the turkeys and squirrels that will see this knife up close will complain about the 1/8” uneven grind. I was more curious about how Buck handles older blades, their packaging, and if they sell large batches of blems to dealers. I thought they only sold blemished knives at the factory store.

I have no idea what Buck considers a factory blem. Or how they mark or don't mark them, or where they sell them. But personally I wouldn't consider that a blem. I would say the the person edging it did hit perfection on that blade. But that is no big deal. I would just break out the Hapstone V8 and diamond plates and fix it. My experience checking knives with my laser goniometer and just sharpening with the Hapstone. It is a rare knife that has a perfect factory edge. Even the ones that look right to the eye usually are off. Either they having different angles on each side of the blade, and/or the angle varies from heal to tip of the blade. This applies to all brands that I have sharpened, not just Buck. So I expect that any knife I am going to use to have to fix the edge to my liking. Either right out of the box or down the road a bit, depending on how lazy I feel when I get the knife.

Now that is just my opinion, and I don't expect it will be shared by everyone.

O.B.

 

[Boattale]

I see nothing on that knife that says blem or 2nd to me.

 

[jbmonkey]

that seems right from my memory Buck marking them with laser etching with a fb on the blade....then they stopped marking the blade and marked the boxes only.

I dont know what they're doing now......id guess box still....

I had heard some bad resellers would buy them at the factory sales and resell them as regular unblem models. don't know if that's true but seem to have read it before.

 

[Your Name Goes Here]

that seems right from my memory Buck marking them with laser etching with a fb on the blade....then they stopped marking the blade and marked the boxes only.

I dont know what they're doing now......id guess box still....

I had heard some bad resellers would buy them at the factory sales and resell them as regular unblem models. don't know if that's true but seem to have read it before.

If you do a search on the bay there are around 15 sold knives manufactured in 2022 & 2023 that do not have the "fb" on the knife. And about 30 total knives, sold in the last three months, that can be found in a sold search - buck "fb". Most are sold by one seller, listing them as fb knives.

Only the boxes are mark "FACTORY BLEMISH" or an "FB".

"I had heard some bad resellers would buy them at the factory sales and resell them as regular unblem models." - this is a complaint I have with Buck no longer marking the knives. Intentionally or not, boxes lost or thrown away, later sales of the knife can lead to honest mistakes or deliberate deception. And possibly dissatisfied customers with Buck's fit & finish. Easily fixed by etching the blades once again.

Just my opinion but then, I'm just a guy on a forum, I'm sure Buck has a good reason for no longer etching the blades (psst, its sales).

 

[eveled]

Funny how some blemishes are impossible to find on the “fb” knife, yet some first quality ones have blatant blemishes that slip through . Lol.

 

[TheFishman]

Only the boxes are mark "FACTORY BLEMISH" or an "FB".

The last statement I read was from 2020. I guess Buck has stopped marking the blades again. It looks like a few sellers on the auction site are honest about what they are selling.

I used the knife yesterday to skin a squirrel and it was like cutting butter. I have other Buck blades in D2, 420HC, 154CM, and S35VN and they are sharp, but there is something different about this one. This is my first S30V blade. It is definitely a keeper and I am thinking about ordering another one for the kitchen.

One other question, would you consider the handle ebony or walnut? The seller and another online dealer with current stock list it as walnut. The 539s Buck is currently selling are listed as ebony. It looks more like ebony than walnut to me.

 

[Buck Knives Inc.]

The last statement I read was from 2020. I guess Buck has stopped marking the blades again. It looks like a few sellers on the auction site are honest about what they are selling.

I used the knife yesterday to skin a squirrel and it was like cutting butter. I have other Buck blades in D2, 420HC, 154CM, and S35VN and they are sharp, but there is something different about this one. This is my first S30V blade. It is definitely a keeper and I am thinking about ordering another one for the kitchen.

One other question, would you consider the handle ebony or walnut? The seller and another online dealer with current stock list it as walnut. The 539s Buck is currently selling are listed as ebony. It looks more like ebony than walnut to me.

Those are Macassar ebony scales. The 539 was a wonderful hunting knife and it does look like the person who edged the knife started a little to close to the choil. We sharpen all of knives by hand and although I can not add the material back on I can blend that in if you wanted to send it to me directly.

We did stop marking blades with "FB" as it was an extra process that added cost to a product we don't sell at full price. Selling factory blemishes are great for our customers who are going to use the knife and if there was a warranty or material issue those would be scrapped and never sold. When we sell a knife with a blemish at the factory we point it out to the customer where it is. It is impossible to regulate auction sites and people who might be dishonest about our products. We consider knives sold on auction websites as "used" and fit and finish can't be warrantied since we can't confirm that is how it left the factory.

 

[TheFishman]

Those are Macassar ebony scales. The 539 was a wonderful hunting knife and it does look like the person who edged the knife started a little to close to the choil. We sharpen all of knives by hand and although I can not add the material back on I can blend that in if you wanted to send it to me directly.

I appreciate the offer, but I am fine with the way it looks. I am impressed with the way it cuts which is the reason I bought it.

The store I bought it from has been selling the knife for roughly half of the current price on the Buck web site for a few months. Therefore, when I saw that the bevels were off I started wondering if the knife was half off because it was a factory blem. I have heard of people buying FB knives in person at the Buck store, but I didn't know if Buck sold large lots of blemished knives to retailers. With the 2017 date stamp on the blade and box from 2020, I was more curious than anything.