Buckmaster 184 Fail?

M

ml100

Joined
Jul 19, 2005
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It is often said, that the hollow handle may be a weak point in the design of the Buckmaster 184.
How many actually failed because of this? Have you ever seen a Buckmaster where the handle became loose?
 
the early production units were flawed in the heat treatment process.
and apparently there was caused for some concern about the structural strength around the tip area.
this was however corrected.
and no, i haven't seen a 184's handle come loose from the blade.
imo, the weakest design point was it's near massive size and excessive weight.
such physical considerations just made it all the more difficult for anyone to seriously parade about the 184 worn firmly on a drooping waist belt.
one thing stands solid though,
that it's still the finest 1980's wall hanger ever made!
 
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Only problem I see? It's an ugly knife and the most mall ninja knife Buck has made in my short lifetime.
 
^Just because it can be used as a grappling hook doesn't make it mall nin...uh nevermind
 
how do you hold the handle with the grappling hooks pointing backwards and in the way of your hand?
 
My mother bought my father one for his birthday when it first came out. And now that I'm a little more knowledgeable about what to look for in buying a knife I still think its one of the most awesome blades buck has put out to date. The one my father had was unfortunately stolen by people I grow up with and that he helped out a lot throughout the years. I'd still like to get another one back in the family again.
 
Charlie Mike said:
Only problem I see? It's an ugly knife and the most mall ninja knife Buck has made in my short lifetime.
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Aw, yer just mad 'cause you can't find a way to wave it! :p

I loved the 184, and in the 80's, a mall in Virginia Beach had one on display that I looked at every weekend. Buck was and is one of my favorite brands, and I remember the sales guy at the knife shop telling me that Buck really tested the 184 hard before release. The handles breaking or loosening up were never an issue, as far as he knew.

Apparently, not many service people (soldier types) liked the Buck because of the weight. It was nicknamed the "Anchor". (On the Nimitz, just one of our anchors weighed 60,000 lbs. The Buck 184 weighed a pound-&-a-half less. :D)

~Chris
 
orca8589 said:
Aw, yer just mad 'cause you can't find a way to wave it! :p

I loved the 184, and in the 80's, a mall in Virginia Beach had one on display that I looked at every weekend. Buck was and is one of my favorite brands, and I remember the sales guy at the knife shop telling me that Buck really tested the 184 hard before release. The handles breaking or loosening up were never an issue, as far as he knew.

Apparently, not many service people (soldier types) liked the Buck because of the weight. It was nicknamed the "Anchor". (On the Nimitz, just one of our anchors weighed 60,000 lbs. The Buck 184 weighed a pound-&-a-half less. :D)

~Chris
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I had one when I was in the USMC back in the 80's and it was HEAVY....

I didn't carry it that much because of the weight and the steel wouldn't hold an edge very well.
 
Thank for the replies.
Recently I missed one on an internet auction that went for as little as 170$. (mint condtiion with anchors and so on.)
 
yes, the grappling hooks were secured inwards alongside the handle.
but one wasn't meant to hold or use the knife then.
hooks threaded only when the blade was secured inside it's sheath.
and crazy as it sounds, rumour has it that one was meant to secure an end of a long cord on this handle thingy; with the other cord end tied firmly/anchored elsewhere as a means to ride out the undersea currents!
i suppose a frogman had to have massive thighs.
 
GIRLYmann said:
yes, the grappling hooks were secured inwards alongside the handle.
but one wasn't meant to hold or use the knife then.
hooks threaded only when the blade was secured inside it's sheath.
and crazy as it sounds, rumour has it that one was meant to secure an end of a long cord on this handle thingy; with the other cord end tied firmly/anchored elsewhere as a means to ride out the undersea currents!
i suppose a frogman had to have massive thighs.
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I though they were for snagging trip wires and barbed wire.
 
the designer sure had novel ideas for the hooks alright.
http://quarterbore.com/library/pdf_files/us04622707.pdf
but that's all in theory.
i suppose that's where the human mind shines;
ever the more capable of turning practically anything into something,
and to think it all began with a piece of rock.
bottomline is that the 184 is capable of hooking some pretty good figures.
 
I read an article in SOF magazine in the mid to late 1980s about this knife. They showed a snapped off tip. They recommended against it. So I told myself I will never purchase one. One day, I am in a shop that has one for sale...I walked out with it. I am a knife collector in adition to a knife user. What can I say. I grew up in the 1980s. Maybe.
 
I too have never heard of a Buck 184 failing at either the handle or any other part. It would be difficult to break any part of the blade, aside from the very tip, because the thing is literally a quarter inch thick. What an awesome knife to show your friends though.

All said and done, I think the Gerber BMF is a much better example of a 1980's knife that is well done: full tang, MUCH lighter than the Buckmaster, the handle material is legendary in the knife world, and it's just all around more practical.
 
BMF, was one big murther f@%$r.
i luved it it bits and entirely despise the hyperlon handles.
sorta the closest thing to arnie's custom jack crain knives.
i know i even saw an SOF advert highlighting cutlery shoppe exclusive called the predator; which was an insane 9-inch blade wonder!
funny how things have gone down hill since...no offence,
but the world needs a new arnie for a new round of impressionable near cult status action movie knives to make a come back :-)
 
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