Buck Knives quality issues

T

Taz64

Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Messages
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I am new to this forum and was curious if anyone else has experienced quality issues with Buck knives. I had almost every model thay made 20 years ago and find that the new models lack the quality of the older ones. Specifically, the 300 and 500 series. The fit and finish is poor. I had to return a recent Buck Companion because a rivot was sticking out enough to catch a finger and the blades would not "snap" back into the body of the knife. Are there any manufacturer of quality slip joint pocket knifes still around? I like the spyderco VG-10 steel, but not the "tactical" look of most of their blades.

Thanks
 
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Case, Queen, Great Eastern Cutlery, and more.

knivesshipfree.com has good pictures and carries all those brands and more, my preferred site for looking at that style knife.

We also have a subforum here for traditional styled knives that you should check out.
 
I used to like KSF. However, I had two fraudulent charges on two seperate credit cards that I was able to trace back to the website. KSF was the only online charge common to both cards. I suspect an employee stole the credit card number and secuity code and provided it to someone else. So, I won't use a credit card with them again. I did buy a Buck Knight from them and noted a quality issue with the wooden scales. I initially thought KSF may be selling factory seconds, but this is a Buck issue not a KSF issue. This is part of the quality problem, I have noted from Buck. I just ordered a Case sodbuster Jr CV from Amazon, so I will what the quality is like. I will check out Queen and Great Eastern Cutlery.

Thanks
 
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Buck is widely known for their customer service (2nd to none). If there are any issues that you're not happy with, they will, at times, go WAY above and beyond to make it right. You might check the Buck sub-forum here on BF. Joe Houser (of Buck Knives) is the moderator. He's very conscentious of the opinions & questions of Buck's customers, and will treat your concerns with respect. Here's the link:

Buck Knives

The newer 300 series knives are known to have somewhat 'gentler' springs than others. This seems to be consistent, across the board, based upon comments from Buck knife fans. Some prefer it this way, others don't. I don't see it as a quality issue, but one that's either good or not, based on personal preference. More often than not, with any slipjoint folder, if the blades don't completely snap closed on their own, it's just a matter of cleaning out the pivot. Flush it out with WD-40 or something similar, then wash it thoroughly with hot water & dish soap. Dry it completely, then apply just a little WD-40 back to the pivot, to displace any residual moisture left behind.
 
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Long a supporter of Buck Knives, I learned recently that some of their knives are made foreign. I never knew that, thinking instead that ALL Buck knives were made here in the U.S.
 
Frankly, I have been unimpressed with the lack of response to my last 3 emails. Today, I mailed a small Vantage Pro to them because the locking mechanism will not engage unless the knife is "vigorously" opened. I have the large Vantage Pro and it doesn't have this issue. We will see if they fix the knife and how long it takes them. The last fixed blade I bought was the 105 Pathfinder. It had a burr on the back of the blade that I was able to remove with a ceramic rod. I have the 119 Special without issue. I want to buy the 102 Woodsman, but I am just not sure.
 
i picked up a 301 stockman about a month ago. the blades dont rub, scales are fit nicely, and all the blade came very sharp! :thumbup: i like it quite a bit and will pick up more versions of the 301 in the future.
 
I recently bought another Buck 110 that had some issues with centering, blade damage, and dull-ness. But at the very least Buck sent me back a new blade and a coupon. Better customer service than some others, cough cough.
 
I've bought over a dozen Buck knives since last year (on top of the dozen or so I already owned)
I've noticed no decline in their quality. In July I sent a badly mangled 110 my father in law found on his lawn to their factory. Buck fixed it up and installed a new blade. They are a great company and I am happy to support them.
 
Buck generally has excellent quality.A less than top notch knife will slip through from time to time.Case,Queen,or any production maker will have the same issues occasionally.Buck probably does have the best customer service of any.
 
Taz64 said:
Frankly, I have been unimpressed with the lack of response to my last 3 emails. Today, I mailed a small Vantage Pro to them because the locking mechanism will not engage unless the knife is "vigorously" opened. I have the large Vantage Pro and it doesn't have this issue. We will see if they fix the knife and how long it takes them. The last fixed blade I bought was the 105 Pathfinder. It had a burr on the back of the blade that I was able to remove with a ceramic rod. I have the 119 Special without issue. I want to buy the 102 Woodsman, but I am just not sure.
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I'm a big Buck supporter and have found little change in quality and workmanship between the knive available today and those I've bought 25 years ago. With only 3 posts, did you just register here to complain about how you feel about Buck Knives?
 
Seals said:
Buck generally has excellent quality.A less than top notch knife will slip through from time to time.Case,Queen,or any production maker will have the same issues occasionally.Buck probably does have the best customer service of any.
Click to expand...

I just had a knife replaced by BUCK. Great service.
 
No I didn't register to complain about Buck knives. How about read the post? Did you see where I indicated no issues with the 119? Have purchased 4 Buck knives from different dealers in the last 3 months. 3 of the 4 had quality issues. A 300 series, a 500 series, and one of the 100 series fixed blades. I am curious if other have experienced similar issues. With regards to the quality of the knives from 25 years ago they are clearly of higher quality.
 
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Colt6731 said:
I'm a big Buck supporter and have found little change in quality and workmanship between the knive available today and those I've bought 25 years ago. With only 3 posts, did you just register here to complain about how you feel about Buck Knives?
Click to expand...

No I didn't register to complain about Buck knives. How about read the post? Did you see where I indicated no issues with the 119? Have purchased 4 Buck knives from different dealers in the last 3 months. 3 of the 4 had quality issues. A 300 series, a 500 series, and one of the 100 series fixed blades. I am curious if other have experienced similar issues. With regards to the quality of the knives from 25 years ago they are clearly of higher quality.
 
I regret to hear of your experience, but I think it is very right of people to let the rest of us know about a bad situation.

I have a few Bucks and have been well satisfied with them, the Gen 5 Skinner is a particular favourite. One knife did need fixing, problems with the liner lock. Buck returned it to me quickly and very politely, I was particularly impressed as I live in the EU not the US, so their customer service is international. You should persist with those e-mails, i'm convinced you will be satisfied in the end.
 
I will see if they fix the knife I just returned. I am not here to bad mouth any company. I was just curious if anyone else had experienced the same issues. The Buck knives from 30 years ago were the best.
 
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