Buck!!! What were you thinking?

The more I think about Buck's selling of Taiwan/China made knives, and moving to Idaho to save dollars, the more I sympathize with them. The more my position on both issues softens. I have been influenced by what has been written here.

One of my favorite knives is a Nighthawk that Chuck Buck signed for me a few years ago at Jay's Sporting Goods in Clare, Michigan. It was during one of his church/sporting goods tours. He has the quality to 'make friends and influence people' as few others do. Buck is more than a brand name... it is a fine all-American family name as well. I guess the Buck family know what they are doing... struggling to survive in shark infested waters. I still hope the day never comes when a Buck family member has to sign a China made knive for me, as that is all the company offers. If they have to offer such price-point products to survive, well, that is just a fact of life.

Good luck in the coming new year, Buck Knives. When things are settled I'll show further support by ordering a PCS 110 with elk scales and a high polished blade.

Phil
 
Taiwan aside, I'd like to comment on my Approach. I bought it to hang off my rock climbing harness, probably to never be used, and to replace my Spyderco delica (more durable aluminum handle versus FRN). It was kind of heavy I noticed, so I switched back to the FRN delica. The linerlock lockup is excellent but why not a lockback to prevent halfway openings when the thumbstud gets snagged while climbing as this could be dangerous. The handle is good for making cuts away from you, but is very dangerous for push cutting. Lastly, I do prefer plain blades over serrated blades and I wish the option was there. To end the story, it ended up being my pocket knife instead of my climbing knife and now I LOVE IT. I can't believe a well renowned mountaneer like Peter Whittaker designed such a bad outdoors knife. I guess it doesn't matter because it is a great pocket knife.
 
”We were the laughing stock of the industry, competitors were taking bets on how long we'd last.”... “We were convinced that people would pay additional money to get additional quality. Eventually, that proved to be true."-Al Buck

some were down the line their competitors stopped laughing and paid up on their bets...

is it realy a diffrent world and if so what is diffrent...
 
I think that WilltheBarb hit the nail on the head.

It used to be that "Mom & Pop" hardware stores sold Buck Knives. "Mom & Pop" hardware stores are pretty much leaving the scene, giving-way to the national Ace Hardwares and local stores like Small's Pro Hardware. Now that the Wal*Marts, Lowes, and Home Depots have moved in, the smaller national and local hardware stores are getting squeezed. The old "bigger fish eats the smaller fish" kind of thing.

The "Mom & Pop" and local hardware store chains probably buy 50 to 100 Buck Knives a year for resale. The Ace Hardware chain maybe buys a thousand to sell. Wal*Mart...Wal*Mart probably buys a million Buck Knives a year for resale. Myself, I only bought nine Buck Knives this last year. As far as a 'good' Buck Knives' "customer" goes, I'm about the bottom level on that totem pole. Yes, I might have paid more for each of those Bucks than any of the resellers paid, but as far as the number of Buck Knives purchased, my quantity level is the lowest.

Basically, as a consumer, if I'm bummed-out about something I've bought, that difficulty would only create a little ripple in a small puddle. If Wal*Mart has a problem with something, well, if Wal*Mart buys a million of any single company's product, like Buck Knives, it would make Wal*Mart's opinions and decisions *very* important to that manufacturer. Did Buck Knives recognise that they needed to manufacture and import knives from Taiwan and China in order to stay in business, or to keep their prices low, to remain competitive, or did their largest customer, Wal*Mart, help them to see that they needed to?

Just another rhetorical question...
GeoThorn

Hopefully moving to Idaho will mean that Buck Knives can be All American again.
 
geothorn said:
Basically, as a consumer, if I'm bummed-out about something I've bought, that difficulty would only create a little ripple in a small puddle.
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But if we join together in an organization like the BCCI then our voice becomes louder and Buck will listen more carefully. We may still pay more, but after time. as membership grows, we will get more attention from Buck and perhaps they will limit their overseas knives to the Walmarts of the world.
 
Mike Kerins said:
But if we join together in an organization like the BCCI then our voice becomes louder and Buck will listen more carefully. We may still pay more, but after time. as membership grows, we will get more attention from Buck and perhaps they will limit their overseas knives to the Walmarts of the world.
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Hope so, I wouldn't bet one of my last bounced pay checks on it :( I would say its all down hill from here.
I hope I am wrong, it might just be my bitterness of them leaving ( will, have left) San Diego but their lack of catalog and web site notification of Non USA knives makes me wonder.
I love my 110's but I think they are gonna hit the foreign construction too. And if buck can make the 110 to suit China Mart why cant they make the rest of their stuff too....
 
W-mart now has the power to persuade manufactures to move overseas. i'm not saying they can do that with Buck, but they do have that power now. when old man Walton was alive, his motto was buy American. after his death, W-mart started this way of buisness. as long as the public is price driven, they will continue to enpower the W-mart type buisnesses. lastly, as long as a company (like Buck) manufactures more here than there, so be it. just remember, overseas production will work until Americans are not financially able to buy said products.
 
:grumpy: Hope ur listening CASE KNIFE COMPANY! I will not buy another Buck knife since u started letting the Chinx make them. And I dont need all the other replys stating why its a good, had to, or just think about the big picture. :( Ur history Buck! I'll buy knives that have the good ole USA engraved! Russell
 
i go to several of the knive outlet stores throughout the ozarks. if it says china, taiwan..etc. i wont buy it. its my money and my item after i buy it so i buy what i want. its harder and harder to find american made items so it takes me a little longer to shop.
 
joachim slim said:
i go to several of the knive outlet stores throughout the ozarks. if it says china, taiwan..etc. i wont buy it. its my money and my item after i buy it so i buy what i want. its harder and harder to find american made items so it takes me a little longer to shop.

205 Hope ur listening CASE KNIFE COMPANY! I will not buy another Buck knife since u started letting the Chinx make them. And I dont need all the other replys stating why its a good, had to, or just think about the big picture. Ur history Buck! I'll buy knives that have the good ole USA engraved! Russell
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yep i know how you both feel... was my first reactions also...
but how can you blame buck when the us govt conservative govt is buying overseas? how can you blame any busness that is trying to stay alive and grow when NAFTA has been in effect again from the consertive side of gov. ? and again why balme walmart fro buck trying to get bids to sell all there knives no mater were made?!?! i jest sold a USA made knife i bought at walmart!!
yes i reget that buck dont make all their knives here in the usa still and i realy do miss Packard, Nash, and Rambler and the Tucker never had a chance! And look at Dodge why don"t you! CAT was bought out for its patents!

i would rather have Buck makeing knives here in the usa still and sell some with its name on them from overseas then to have them fold and be a past realic of yesterday that i say i can only rember..
yea- knives by toyo in idaho ? no i dont think so ....... i mean would you still ride a harly d.? rember indian tryed to be usa only again and failed again...
what would you have ? not be able to buy a car with ford or chevy on it and have it like the gone plyumith with damler added on it...
what do you realy think on seconed thought after you are over being upset?
me i like buck and pay more for USA made and use them when i can and carry a throw away good anc cheep china buck to lose off the boat fishing... come on what say lets keep
Buck, at least they are still Americaian owned and make knives in the USA with Americian's working! ?
 
Gary007 said:
I wonder how true this would be for a Harley.
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I haven't gotten to the end of this thread yet, so if more have commented on Harley, my apologies...

I just sold my 1983 XR-1000 H-D (health), but it had Japanese electrics [Nippon Denso], Italian carbs (2!) [Del'Orto], and Japanese Bridgestone tires [not made in Buffalo!]

There were more, but I can't recall them all... :)

And just a quick comment on foreign made 110's...Has anyone noticed how many clones of the 110 exist??? My local Ace Hardware does not even carry Bucks anymore; they carry the cheaper ($25) 110 clone...It looks exactly the same, but not a Buck... :mad:
 
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