Buckmaster 184, talk me out of it?

M

ml100

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Jul 19, 2005
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Should I get a Buckmaster 184 in mint condition for a reasonable price?
Help, can't decide!
 
Those are really cool knives from the Rambo era, I'd go for it. BUT if you're looking at it from the usability perspective, I would go for a Chris Reeve WAY before I'd pay for the Buckmaster unless it's an insanely good deal.
 
Thank for the reply.
Anyone here who really uses the Buckmaster? How does it hold up?
 
aside from being one of the ugliest knives ever produced I seem to remember it had a tendency toward the tip breaking other than that it was pretty well built like a tank. and weighed about as much as one.
and i should say beauty is in the eye of the beholder so if you want one get that sucker.
 
My father has one but I have never really understood how the handle is attached to the blade in a way to make it strong enough for the "abuse" the knife was supposedly designed for. Does any one know about the joint of handle and blade?
TC
 
I have one and love it. It's hands down the coolest knife I own IMHO. Sure it's not perfect but I like it and to me thats what counts. I believe as to how the handle is attatched is like this. The tang has a threaded extension and the handle screws on it like a big nut and bolt. Then epoxy was pured down into the handle jsut enough to cover the threads and make it water tight and lock everything together.
Although many talk about hollow handle knives being weak at the tang handle junction I've never seen or heard of one breaking at that point. (not counting flea market knives although honestly I havent seen one of those broken either)
I say if you like it go for it. If you change your mind later I doubt you'll have too much trouble selling it.

Edited to add: I do remember Joe Houser saying they had a few broken tangs { 3 or 4 I think)on the very first Buck Masters and they started anealing the tangs and didnt have any more problems.
 
I have one of these. I got it for Christmas when I was 14. First serious knife I ever owned. Don't be scared about the hollow handle on it. It is very tough.
I used mine hard for many years and never had any problems with it.

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I'd say you'd be a fool to buy it. Just PM me with the info on the buy, and you will be relieved of your worries.
 
somebody please tell me again what the little spikes are for, i was told years ago but i forgot.
 
The spike are for hanging loads. Seeing that the knife was designed for military the spikes could hold their gear by suspending the knife from trees, piers, etc. They are able to hold a lot of weight, but I don't recall how much. I took a pause for a moment and found a patent online that says they (grappling hooks is what they called them) could hold up to six hundred pounds. Check Buck-184.com.
 
thanks guys, I did remember one more told at a gun show, it was used by scuba divers to anchor themselves to underwater structure in current to hold a position.
 
Upstream said:
I'd say you'd be a fool to buy it. Just PM me with the info on the buy, and you will be relieved of your worries.
Click to expand...

PM not possible, and your e-mail not available. Still, would be interested in your opinion. I could get the 184 at a price of about 200 $.
 
ive had one since it came out,years ago. i brought it camping once & found it real heavy when its on your belt,almost like a brick.also ,if you dont use the leg tie downs,it tends to tilt sideways & its real annoying.you would be better off with an older cs trailmaster,chris reeve type fixed blade,fallkniven,sog,or something else for the 200.00+ the buckmaster might cost...........
 
I've heard over the years that these were made for the SeALs. However, I knew two SeALs in the 1980's, and after seeing the knife in some mall stores in around 1986, I asked the guys about them. One guy didn't have much experience with them, the other didn't really care for it at all. In his opinion, it was way too heavy, and absolutely mauled your hands if you did any serious cutting or chopping. Apparently, he thought the knife was designed to be used while wearing gloves. He said some folks in his platoon would carry them, but only because they were issued. (?) Not sure on that point. Most of the guys he knew at the time either carried a Ka-Bar, or something like it; if they carried hollow-handled knives, it was usually something like a Randall diving knife.

That's what I remember from years ago. There may be some SF folks lurking in the forums here who have more experience with it from that time frame.

I'd buy the knife if you want a nice momento from the 1980's "Rambo" era, but I wouldn't use it. There are other knives you can get today that would serve you just as well, and with the popularity of 'bug-out-packs' on other threads, I don't know that you'd really need the hollow handle anyway. That's just my opinion; I'm not into hollow handled knives myself.

thx - cpr
 
If want to buy it, then buy it. If you don't like it you at least have the assurance that you will be able to sell it fast and probably profit. The thing about buying knives that you are not able to handle is trial and error. I have bought knives online, like the LMF II, which is probably just as heavy as the Buck 184. I didn't like the weight and ended up selling it.
 
On another note. If you want a hollow handle you can do a lot with a CS Bushman. I can't speak for the Chris Reeve hollows. I have never owned one, but I know that they are one tang like the Bushmans. That is what I would look for in a hollow handle.
 
while i havent got the real thing, i got a replica of it
DSCN1469.jpg

i think it has a high coolness factor
but found it quite cumbersome and really unhandy to use

i stopped carrying it on my trips
 
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