BuckMaster 184

Triton said:
Well obviously if you snapped the rest it doesn't. Its probably not a good idea to break your knife if your life depends on it. If your point is that there are more durable knives that have been built before and since you are undoubtedly correct. However, with heat treating problems solved the Buck master is perfectly serviceable... although I suspect that very few of us that own one are going to need to go all John Rambo or even Bear Grylls with it. At this point these are more of a collectible , a bit of nostalgia perhaps rather than something we would take camping.
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I wasn’t making a point. not2sharp not2sharp said the Cold Steel ad was good marketing for Buck and I’m asking how so? They easily broke the blade of the knife but it’s being mentioned that it’s good because the handle didn’t break.

I’m asking how this is good? What good is the handle when the blade is busted easily?

I get that these are collectors items now and wouldn’t really be used but technically that’s what the original intention was.
 
Jsega51 said:
I wasn’t making a point. not2sharp not2sharp said the Cold Steel ad was good marketing for Buck and I’m asking how so? They easily broke the blade of the knife but it’s being mentioned that it’s good because the handle didn’t break.

I’m asking how this is good? What good is the handle when the blade is busted easily?

I get that these are collectors items now and wouldn’t really be used but technically that’s what the original intention was.
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I don't necessarily think the knife breaking in itself was good for Buck, but the fact that it was literally broken into pieces before the blade came apart from the handle is the highlight for them. At the time, a lot of hollow handled junk was designed and built so poorly that the blade could almost literally come flying apart from the handle under normal to hard use on the cheaper stuff.

This test (along with others) validated what many with actual thinking capacity had been saying, that if the knife is designed properly, the blade will break long before the blade/handle separate. Something that is still true today. Additionally, since the ad didn't technically say (as in measured and quantified scientifically, with inch lbs or newton meters etc.) how much force was required for the various breaks, that isn't necessarily all bad for Buck.

And one last point, on a complex grind like the 184, with substantial material being removed from the last 2-3 inches of the tip, there is no way that is going to be the most durable part of the knife, and is where I would anticipate initial breakage, especially given the rumored heat treat issue.

Sam😎👍👍
 
Big Bowie type knives offered by Cold Steel, especially the Trail Master, were the start knives in a realm of their own. I mean, the thickness of a Trail Master blade is pretty incredible, especially the more you go back before such knives were commonly available.
In any case, the Buckmaster is a cool knife, made by a respected American knife firm, and has it's place in history for collecting for posterity 👍
 
Sam Wilson said:
This test (along with others) validated what many with actual thinking capacity had been saying, that if the knife is designed properly, the blade will break long before the blade/handle separate.
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Thanks for the explanation Sam that others couldn’t provide. I have zero experience with any hollow handle knife, their previous failure points, or the reasons one may be better than another, that’s why I was asking that pretty simple question that not2sharp not2sharp couldn’t answer.
 
The specimen that I ordered off of the bay auction site and coming from Japan, has cleared customs, and DHL is again on the move to get it into my hands. It still lists the delivery for this coming Monday, but with it's last listed destination now only being about 100 miles away from my location, I have my fingers crossed for them to update for a tomorrow delivery 🤞
If they make me wait through the weekend for it to be delivered, well... That just ain't right! 😅

No doubt that Cold Steel upped the game for big robust Bowie style knives when he came out with such beasts as the Trail Master.
I have a couple of the Japan made San Mai III versions, and it is thick in oh so many ways!
Yup, Lynn Thompson lead the way with such all out tough knives 😱
 
Jsega51 said:
that’s why I was asking that pretty simple question that not2sharp not2sharp couldn’t answer.
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What's with the passive-aggressive hostility? I think it was clearly explained that while other hollow-handle knives of the day had integrity issues where the handle meets the blade, the Buckmaster did not.

He made no other inference, assumption, speculation or opinion regarding the knife overall. The handle didn't break - that's all. End of story. It was pretty clear (to me).
 
shane45-1911 said:
What's with the passive-aggressive hostility? I think it was clearly explained that while other hollow-handle knives of the day had integrity issues where the handle meets the blade, the Buckmaster did not.

He made no other inference, assumption, speculation or opinion regarding the knife overall. The handle didn't break - that's all. End of story. It was pretty clear (to me).
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The Buckmaster is practically a testosterone producing factory, even talking about it on an internet forum has the same effect as taking a bite out of Macho Man Randy Savage's dynabol-infused horse meat sandwich. It's bound to get a little test-y (💉💉 ) up in here.😎😎🤣🤣

Sam😎
 
shane45-1911 said:
What's with the passive-aggressive hostility? I think it was clearly explained that while other hollow-handle knives of the day had integrity issues where the handle meets the blade, the Buckmaster did not.

He made no other inference, assumption, speculation or opinion regarding the knife overall. The handle didn't break - that's all. End of story. It was pretty clear (to me).
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You‘re inferring that I meant that with any hostility at all, which it wasn’t.
 
Destructive testing is designed to break things. At 5/16" of 440C the Buckmaster was way too thick to bend. In normal use it wouldn't be a problem. There are a lot of Journey Smith knives that look like the one shown below, similar test, but these knives are designed to flex rather than snap. It's a 9.5" blade forged to 3/16 and made from 5160 spring steel. Also, none of the saw teeth or serrations which create street risers. Hint: keep your knives away from a vise.

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Got my Buckmaster knife today, straight from a knife vendor in Japan. This knife is just all kinds of awesome 👌

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I paid a pretty penny for it, but it's the forged blade variant that I wanted, and it's condition is pristine, which is really the condition I wanted it to be in 👍

Love the look of it's forged steel blade... Heck, love the look of the whole thing! 😁

In my opinion, this may be the absolute coolest knife I have ever owned 😁
 
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Stelth said:
I think the Buckmaster was 425 modified....not 440C.
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Yes, Sir, they were made with 425 Modified stainless steel... Well, at least the first ones were. It seems that Buck used 425m as their main steel to about 1985. So, I don't know if the Buckmaster was switched to their 420hc after that year, 420hc steel being what they replaced the 425m with. Hmmm... Dunno 🤔
 
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Jsega51 said:
Nope, genuinely wasn't aware it was a thing for those knives to snap at the tang so apparently. Guess I followed the thread wrong and misunderstood what people were saying. Shame on me lol.

(I still don’t think a survival knife made to anchor stuff down should snap easily though haha)
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Jsega51 Jsega51 As a small footnote, and very respectfully my friend, I will just add this clarification. More so to any who may read this later and misunderstand, than directed to you.🙂

I don't think it should snap easily either, and the serrations on the clip grind made a bad situation worse. But it would still be considered a win (even if not a complete W) because the blade gave out before the handle connection, which was the hot debate at the time. Even if you lose the tip, you still have a knife, or the most important part of one. But if the blade comes apart from the handle, you are left with something nearly unuseable. The blades breaking wasn't desirable, but a better and more desirable outcome than the two pieces separating completely in the field.

And while plenty of people snapped the tips off of these, the unknown part of Cold Steel's test was just what constitutes "hand pressure" or whatever. Since there was no video (that I'm aware of), it is anyone's guess how accurate those tests were, insofar as hand pressure varies greatly from man to man.

Sam😎🤙🤙
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Got my Buckmaster knife today, straight from a knife vendor in Japan. This knife is just all kinds of awesome 👌

View attachment 1763177View attachment 1763178View attachment 1763179View attachment 1763180View attachment 1763181View attachment 1763182

I paid a pretty penny for it, but it's the forged blade variant that I wanted, and it's condition is pristine, which is really the condition I wanted it to be in 👍

Love the look of it's forged steel blade... Heck, love the look of the whole thing! 😁

In my opinion, this may be the absolute coolest knife I have ever owned 😁
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Congratulations! I wonder how many of them there are still in existence!
 
Triton said:
Congratulations! I wonder how many of them there are still in existence!
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Thanks!

Well, I guess they did make over 110,000 of them. That said, I too wonder how many made it through without getting beat to heck. It was the Rambo era and all 😅

I really don't see them much at gun shows and such. Maybe people just don't want to let them go, I don't know 🤔
One thing is certain, they really do keep going up in value, so they do have a strong secondary market following. Their price increases have been steady over the years, but seem to have really jumped up within the past two or three years.
The bay seems to always have at least a half dozen or more of them for sale, but conditions vary greatly. Many list them as being "near mint" or "like new", but their pictures usually show otherwise. Even the ones that are far from new, do usually have pricey start bidding prices, or pricey buy now prices.
Variant, condition, and if with original paperwork and box, have a lot to do with price.
I do get it though, it's a collector thing... And the Buckmaster 184 has a very interesting history to them, and... it's an American history thing to boot! 🇺🇸

Of the specimens that are out there, one has to wonder how many were kept in unused and properly maintained condition.
If not kept in a somewhat climate controlled environment, rust can be a thing on these knives, especially they having a handle with all that knurling that can retain corrosive salts and dirt. Yup, it's a shame to see a knife that was never used, but that has all sorts of tarnish, dings, and scratches from improper care and/or storage.

While the specimen I ordered didn't have it's original box and paperwork, it is obvious that it was owned by a collector that kept it and it's sheath in mint unused condition. I was willing to pay hundreds more for that condition, and did so.
I would not personally have paid hundreds of more dollars if it had had it's original box and paperwork, but would have paid a little more for that, (maybe $75 to $100 more).

Again, I do get the collecting thing and prices rising so high on certain sought after goods. I myself really enjoy my hobby of collecting all sorts of "interesting objects", and know that this affliction is not at all rare. And, hence that competition with others to purchase the same goods, and it causing those good's prices to go up like crazy 😱
 
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PK Jimmy: You mentioned your Buckmaster came from Japan. I have the Buckmaster 185 LT on alert on my eBay app. Most of the ones that come up for auction are from Japan. I wonder why so many Buckmaster variants are there?
 
Stelth said:
PK Jimmy: You mentioned your Buckmaster came from Japan. I have the Buckmaster 185 LT on alert on my eBay app. Most of the ones that come up for auction are from Japan. I wonder why so many Buckmaster variants are there?
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Not sure about nowadays, but Japan had a fad for collecting/owning Americana.
For instance, they used to pay big bucks over there to order old Levis jeans👖

With Rambo being such an iconic American film, I could see them maybe having included collecting such things as survival knives. With Buck being such an iconic American brand, even more reason to maybe hit the collector's radars over there.
Here is how someone discussing this subject on another site put it...

“There is a certain Japanese passion for American culture which started in the 70’s and boomed in the 80’s and 90’s. Especially when it comes to clothes and fashion,”

I don't have a definitive answer to your question, but just my guess on why you see such things being offered to us over here. I mean, especially if that Americana fad is over with now, I could see them selling these types of items to the country that likely has more interest in them 🇺🇸
 
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