A classic Trapper design that everybody's familiar with, so why am I reviewing it? Well, I wanted to review one of Buck's "traditional" knives made overseas, and this gives me the chance. This is the Buck Medium Trapper, model 382BRW, and it's made in China. As far as I know, the entire 300-series are China-made versions of American-made knives. Weight is 2.6 ounces, and the cost is typically around $15, although I found mine on close-out at a popular department store for $7.00
(The knife sohwn above is the American-made version; I don't have a photo available of this model.)
The Handle: The Trapper is 3-1/2" long closed and 1/2" thick. The liners, pins, shield, and bolsters are brass. The shield is on the left side (the side with the clip blade) and has the "classic bolt" logo etched on it. The handles are described as "wood grain" but no mention of what kind of wood. It looks like walnut on one side and mapel on the toher; they really don't match at all. The knife is comfortable in hand, and is a good size and shape for light-duty construction and even animal processing.
The Blades: Being a Trapper, this one has two blades; a clip point and a spey point. Both are made of Buck's 420HC with their proprietary Edge2X, heat treated to 57-59 on the Rockwell scale. Both are just under 1/8" thick, and both are hollow ground all the way to the top. Neither blade locks open, but both "snap" into place with no play. Nail nicks make opening easy. Both come our of the same end (the end closer to the shield) of the handle.
The Clip Blade: It's 2-3/4" long with a 2-3/8" cutting edge. The right side of the blade is blank, and the left side has BUCK over 382 stamped into the tang. It came pretty sharp, and didn't require a lot of effort to get a hair-popping edge on. It's the ideal general purpose shape, and it's my go-to blade in a Trapper pattern.
The Spey Blade: It's also 2-3/4" long with a 2-3/8" edge. The left side is blank, and the right side tang has CHINA etched on. It came very dull, and I had to go down to a medium diamond stone to get it right. For reference, I usually don't have to get any lower than a fine ceramic stick. The spey blade is my back-up blade, and it was originally designed to protect the sheep when you were castrating it. It processes game just fine also.
The Trapper 382 is a very good value from a very good company. No high-end steels or exotic wood in the handle; just plain old cutting ability. If you've got a Trapper collection, this is sure to be a nice addition for either work or display.
(The knife sohwn above is the American-made version; I don't have a photo available of this model.)
The Handle: The Trapper is 3-1/2" long closed and 1/2" thick. The liners, pins, shield, and bolsters are brass. The shield is on the left side (the side with the clip blade) and has the "classic bolt" logo etched on it. The handles are described as "wood grain" but no mention of what kind of wood. It looks like walnut on one side and mapel on the toher; they really don't match at all. The knife is comfortable in hand, and is a good size and shape for light-duty construction and even animal processing.
The Blades: Being a Trapper, this one has two blades; a clip point and a spey point. Both are made of Buck's 420HC with their proprietary Edge2X, heat treated to 57-59 on the Rockwell scale. Both are just under 1/8" thick, and both are hollow ground all the way to the top. Neither blade locks open, but both "snap" into place with no play. Nail nicks make opening easy. Both come our of the same end (the end closer to the shield) of the handle.
The Clip Blade: It's 2-3/4" long with a 2-3/8" cutting edge. The right side of the blade is blank, and the left side has BUCK over 382 stamped into the tang. It came pretty sharp, and didn't require a lot of effort to get a hair-popping edge on. It's the ideal general purpose shape, and it's my go-to blade in a Trapper pattern.
The Spey Blade: It's also 2-3/4" long with a 2-3/8" edge. The left side is blank, and the right side tang has CHINA etched on. It came very dull, and I had to go down to a medium diamond stone to get it right. For reference, I usually don't have to get any lower than a fine ceramic stick. The spey blade is my back-up blade, and it was originally designed to protect the sheep when you were castrating it. It processes game just fine also.
The Trapper 382 is a very good value from a very good company. No high-end steels or exotic wood in the handle; just plain old cutting ability. If you've got a Trapper collection, this is sure to be a nice addition for either work or display.
