BuckMaster 184

Here's something that is relevant to some of our Buckmaster 184 discussion we've had here.
It's a screen shot of a post put up by Joe Houser of Buck Knives about two decades ago, it pertaining to warranty returns of the Buck 184 'Buckmaster' model...

Screenshot_20220312-043506_(1).png

I thought that I had also read somewhere that Buck had also changed up the heat treating in some way to help lesson the blade tip breaking issue. But, now I can't find where I may have seen that.

Mr. Houser mentions that the heat treatment/annealing revamp was done to lesson the less frequently encountered tang area break.
So, I can see that they may have also adjusted the heat treatment early on for the slightly more encountered blade tip breaking issue.
 
Last edited:
Here is a Buck ad for the Buckmaster 2.0 that had been talked about for years now. Truth is, I don't even know if they ever actually went into standard production. While it may be a much better knife for real world use than the original Buckmaster 184 ever was, I really feel it lacks big time in curbside appeal. And, the cheap looking green zombie plastic handle scales... Yuck!

Version-1-FIXED-768x714_(1).jpg

Say what you want about the original Buck 184 'Buckmaster' knife, when having and seeing it in hand, it was not a knife one would say looks to be cheap. Gimmicky?... Okay. But cheaply made, or mickey mousey?... Um... NO!

20220310_173647_(1)_(1).jpg


I guess they made some of the first prototype(s) for a new Buckmaster 2.0 in a one piece hollow handled milled steel format, kind'a like the Chris Reeve one piece hollow handled knives, (and it's Asian made copies offered by Schrade), but the overall costs of the milling procedures required to achieve them, made it a deal breaker.
That may be so, but based on a picture that I seen of that one piece hollow handled prototype, it surely had all the curb appeal that the one they settled on does not.

Here is a picture of that first one piece hollow handled 2.0 version... Imo, there is so much more of that curb appeal thing going on here...

Buckmaster-2-crop.jpg

The one pictured in the ad doesn't do anything for me, and I wouldn't consider buying it. But, the picture above of the prototype that got axed, now that one I'd would have definitely looked into getting if it had become a reality.

I know that the original Buckmaster 184 is now mostly a sought after collector's item, and that the current market would likely not be strong for an exact remake of them... But, with that said, what would the likely MSRP price have to be today if Buck was to decide to reintroduce them? I know, it's a hypothetical question, and extremely unlikely to ever happen... But, what if?
It was said by Joe Houser that the tooling had worn out and was done away with after the final production batches of the originals. So, that would mean complete retooling, (but, of course, enhanced by some added new state of the art technologies).
So, if a reintroduction involved making them be the exact same patterned knives, except for now maybe being in their basic bread and butter 420hc steel, (and maybe with some optional steel choices at a premium price), and still incorporating it being American made and still having a forged blade, how much would Buck have to now sell them for?
Just a fun question 😊
 
Last edited:
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
….
So, if a reintroduction involved making them be the exact same patterned knives, except for now maybe being in their basic bread and butter 420hc steel, (and maybe with some optional steel choices at a premium price), and still incorporating it being American made and still having a forged blade, how much would Buck have to now sell them for?
Just a fun question 😊
Click to expand...
3 changes:
1) Go with 3V steel
2) replace the main sawback teeth with the grind used on the M9 bayonet (less hangups/binding)
3) add unique serial number

Price: MSRP $1500, street $1,250.

It would be a limited run of 2500. One hundred % US manufactured. Everything else as faithful to the original as possible. If it sells well they could do a second run in ceracote.

n2s
 
Last edited:
not2sharp said:
3 changes:
1) Go with 3V steel
2) replace the main sawback teeth with the grind used on the M9 bayonet (less hangups)
3) add unique serial number

Price: MSRP $1500, street $1,250.

It would be a limited run of 2500. One hundred % US manufactured. Everything else as faithful to the original as possible. If it sells well they could do a second run in cersmote.

n2s
Click to expand...

I would have to agree with your assessment on what the pricing would likely wind up being.

Thanks for your ideas and general input on this hypothetical Buck Knife Company endeavor 👍
 
Absolutely correct. Until the mid 1990s 'Made in USA" was a big fad. Since then the European fad has taken over, but even then you still see a fair number of Jeeps and Harley Davidsons on the road. Not quite as many Mercedes and BMWs though. Japanese knife collectors usually keep them mint shape and get top prices. Bark River has a good following in Japan.
 
KenHash said:
Absolutely correct. Until the mid 1990s 'Made in USA" was a big fad. Since then the European fad has taken over, but even then you still see a fair number of Jeeps and Harley Davidsons on the road. Not quite as many Mercedes and BMWs though. Japanese knife collectors usually keep them mint shape and get top prices. Bark River has a good following in Japan.
Click to expand...

I wonder what started the Bark River following over there? My guess would be Bark River' application of the convexed blade... More than anything, that convexing really sets the apart from most other US knife making companies. That uniqueness may play a big part in their liking the Bark River product.
 
I had never watched this Knifecenter video before. It was done during the 2020 Shot Show, and some minutes into it, it starts a thorough discussion about the planned/upcoming Buckmaster 2.0 diver's knife.
The knife still doesn't excite me, but definitely a worthwhile discussion to listen to if you are into knives and such.


They did mention that the handle scales won't be green on the production model, so that was a positive in my opinion 😅
 
Last edited:
I don't know that I understand the fixation with one piece design. Yes, it removes a possible issue, but it is a TREMENDOUSLY wasteful process, and I'm not sure what you get in the process in the way of a return. The knife is now limited on guard shape and potentially excludes some steel due to extreme costs or inability to have it produced in the size needed.

Additionally, testing and real world use showed that the Buckmaster handle/blade joint was more than sufficiently robust, so I don't know what is to be gained.🤷‍♂️

Sam
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
I wonder what started the Bark River following over there? My guess would be Bark River' application of the convexed blade... More than anything, that convexing really sets the apart from most other US knife making companies. That uniqueness may play a big part in their liking the Bark River product.
Click to expand...
I doubt that very much. Japanese knife makers have been doing convex grinds/edges for a long time. In the 1980s, Hattori, G.Sakai, Kinryu etc. were all making convex grind knives. Mike Stewart estabished Bark River in 2001. He has seen what the Seki makers were doing since his early days at Pacific Cultery.
Bark River knives are popular in Japan because they are "American". Buck knives are popular for the same reason.
 
KenHash said:
I doubt that very much. Japanese knife makers have been doing convex grinds/edges for a long time. In the 1980s, Hattori, G.Sakai, Kinryu etc. were all making convex grind knives. Mike Stewart estabished Bark River in 2001. He has seen what the Seki makers were doing since his early days at Pacific Cultery.
Bark River knives are popular in Japan because they are "American". Buck knives are popular for the same reason.
Click to expand...

Oh, I'm not saying that they would be particularly dazzled by convexed blades that they often still see being done in their own country. But, they may be appreciating that the Bark River made knives having convexed blades make them unique when compared to the other production knives coming in to their country from the USA.

Just a guess, of course 👌
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Oh, I'm not saying that they would be particularly dazzled by convexed blades that they often still see being done in their own country. But, they may be appreciating that the Bark River made knives having convexed blades make them unique when compared to the other production knives coming in to their country from the USA.

Just a guess, of course 👌
Click to expand...

Just as anywhere, there are some people who prefer convex grinds and there are those who prefer other kinds of grinds/edges.
There is a Japanese youtuber, Suzuki Kazumitsu (Wako) who is a hardcore knife guy/outdoorsman under the name "Virtuevoice".
He seems to hold Bark Rivers in high regard. I've met Japanese knife guys who have never heard iof Bark River. But everyone knows
Buck knives. The119 and 110 are probably the most commonly seen. Also, Fallknivens are also popular here as well.
I suspect you are barking(lol) up the wrong tree on that one.
 
W
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Here is a Buck ad for the Buckmaster 2.0 that had been talked about for years now. Truth is, I don't even know if they ever actually went into standard production. While it may be a much better knife for real world use than the original Buckmaster 184 ever was, I really feel it lacks big time in curbside appeal. And, the cheap looking green zombie plastic handle scales... Yuck!

View attachment 1764438

Say what you want about the original Buck 184 'Buckmaster' knife, when having and seeing it in hand, it was not a knife one would say looks to be cheap. Gimmicky?... Okay. But cheaply made, or mickey mousey?... Um... NO!

View attachment 1764451


I guess they made some of the first prototype(s) for a new Buckmaster 2.0 in a one piece hollow handled milled steel format, kind'a like the Chris Reeve one piece hollow handled knives, (and it's Asian made copies offered by Schrade), but the overall costs of the milling procedures required to achieve them, made it a deal breaker.
That may be so, but based on a picture that I seen of that one piece hollow handled prototype, it surely had all the curb appeal that the one they settled on does not.

Here is a picture of that first one piece hollow handled 2.0 version... Imo, there is so much more of that curb appeal thing going on here...

View attachment 1764439

The one pictured in the ad doesn't do anything for me, and I wouldn't consider buying it. But, the picture above of the prototype that got axed, now that one I'd would have definitely looked into getting if it had become a reality.

I know that the original Buckmaster 184 is now mostly a sought after collector's item, and that the current market would likely not be strong for an exact remake of them... But, with that said, what would the likely MSRP price have to be today if Buck was to decide to reintroduce them? I know, it's a hypothetical question, and extremely unlikely to ever happen... But, what if?
It was said by Joe Houser that the tooling had worn out and was done away with after the final production batches of the originals. So, that would mean complete retooling, (but, of course, enhanced by some added new state of the art technologies).
So, if a reintroduction involved making them be the exact same patterned knives, except for now maybe being in their basic bread and butter 420hc steel, (and maybe with some optional steel choices at a premium price), and still incorporating it being American made and still having a forged blade, how much would Buck have to now sell them for?
Just a fun question 😊
Click to expand...
Woof! That 2.0 model is horrible! I do like the one piece picture you posted. Not sure what's up with the strange horizontal guard it looks like on both models.
 
Okay, so I stumbled upon this on youtube today. It's not a video, but rather an audio interview done on a podcast.
The interview mostly covers the Buckmaster 184 history, but it does also touch a little on the Buck 185, the M9 Bayonet, and the upcoming 2.0 Buckmaster.
It took place about 3 years ago, and turns out to be pretty informative.
It interviews a few fellows, including CJ Buck, Richard Neyman that wrote the authorized Buckmaster 184 book, and a retired Navy Seal named Tom Coulter, which was a part in conceptualizing the Buckmaster 184. Cool stuff... Hope you enjoy! 👍😊👍

 
Last edited:
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
A bit of info for you 👍
Click to expand...

Oscarmayer Food GIF - Oscarmayer Food Hungry GIFs



Buckmaster Wire Cutter Attachment

Do they happen to show the other side of the blade? It's going to be the only way to date it. Will this do? It's the only reverse side photo that was posted. The knife came from the late Tom Clinton's collection from way back when. Tom was a very highly respected dealer/collector of...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
​
​

​
Buckmaster Prototype Wirecutter Scabbard

Search - My Photo Gallery

Quarterbore's Discussion Forums
quarterboreforums.com
 
Last edited:
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
Okay, so I stumbled upon this on youtube today. It's not a video, but rather an audio interview done on a podcast.
The interview mostly covers the Buckmaster 184 history, but it does also touch a little on the Buck 185, the M9 Bayonet, and the upcoming 2.0 Buckmaster.runner
It took place about 3 years ago, and turns out to be pretty informative.
It interviews a few fellows, including CJ Buck, Richard Neyman that wrote the authorized Buckmaster 184 book, and a retired Navy Seal named Tom Coulter, which was a part in conceptualizing the Buckmaster 184. Cool stuff... Hope you enjoy! 👍😊👍

Click to expand...
That Buck 185 was my actual dive knife. It had a black rubber or plastic coating on the handle though,. Had and orange lanyard and worn on my right thigh, both wet suit and dry suit. Was always the machoest/coolest diver on the boat because of it,..LOL
Saw quite alot of action cutting fishing line on wrecks. No idea where is went now,,,,,but the photo brings back memories. Thanks.
 
I received my new Buckmaster 184 book today. After my initial skimming through it for about 15 minutes, I am really happy with it's contents. I was even quite impressed by noticing it was printed in the USA, a very nice touch!
👍🇺🇸👍

20220314_151402.jpg

Oh, by the way, I had sent an email to Buck Knives with a question about the Buckmaster 184 series knives. I asked if they had ever replaced it's 425m steel with the 420hc that had become their standard grade.

They were kind enough to send me a response.

Here is Buck's answer...

"The model 184 BuckMaster was made of 425M throughout its entire run."
 
Last edited:
This is picture in the book that compares a first factory production Buckmaster 184 to the SEAL PROTOTYPE #1 it was based upon.
I must say, the Buck factory really did a great job at very closely following the Prototype pattern.

20220315_041034_(1).jpg

The book lists my recently purchased specimen as a Buckmaster variation 6.1

20220310_173647_(1)_(1).jpg

The following combination of features are what distinguish it as a 6.1 variation...

* Forged blade having the Buckmaster name forged into it's fuller.

* Low profile pommel cap.

* It still using the long anchor pins, (with later variations going to shorter pins).
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top