Bucks from China

I bought several of the Chinese made 300 series knives. I love 'em. They are put together nicely and the steel is easy to sharpen. I prefer USA made but the USA 300's didn't really have what I was looking for.
 
I have a few of their Chinese 300s, and have had more of them over the years, and I have to be honest, they are made better then the domestics!!
I know the argument "It's an import, there's no way it's made better then the US ones!! My US ones are perfect, blah blah blah." I say go to a big store, like Bass Pro, that has both and handle both to find out which one is made better.
Not only are the domestics better, but they are less expensive as well!! AND they offer a wider variety of patterns. They also carry Bucks lifetime warranty.
I have given away Domestic Bucks.
I've LOST imported ones. Those I will not be giving away on purpose.
My favorite is the Canoe pattern. A slim, comfortable, tank of a work knife. Check them out. It won't break the bank if you are disappointed.
Chances are, you won't be disappointed.
 
I have a Buck Colleague. It's a small framelock. At the time I bought it, it was listed as having a 440A blade, though I actually suspect it is a similar Chinese alloy. I measured the blade hardness at 58HRC, so the hardness is right up there where it should be.

Fit and finish is very good. Lockup is absolutely solid. No wiggle in the blade.

Very satisfactory.

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i own both the buck nobleman and colleague (paid $20 for both).and there both from china.i love them.when i go on college campus its an acceptable knife to have.

and we're talking about buck knives here. you can beat the balls off their knives and they dont care.its under warranty.buck always does quality control, and replacement.
 
I appreciate the thread and the responses... I have noticed some of the patterns that are imported and liked the looks, but wondered how the quality fared. There are a couple small ones I would like to try.
 
dude if youre looking at cheap buck from china try the nobleman and colleague you can get both at walmart for 20.and i dont notice a difference in quality.same quality as vantage pro.which is awesome.
 
I have 371, 373, Bantam 286, bought my daughter a 382 mini trapper and I had a Nobleman that I gave away in a contest earlier this year. Agree with Voltron, all have exceptional fit and finish. The 300's are the only knives that have had a direct US comparison and I find them to be absolutely tight with no blade play in any direction period. The difference is in the steel. Even the models that used 420hc were not supervised under Paul Bos or directly by Buck on an ongoing basis to my understanding, although they should have been ht'd to Bucks specs. Newer models have 420j2 or 440a which I havent found to be as good.

The Bantams are among the 1st to come back home and I have a USA 285 medium which is exact in fit and finish as the 286 but I know it has the proper Buck 420hc steel. In fairness, the 286 import has been my camp knife and has given excellent service-sharpens to shaving with a few strokes on croc sticks. I use it when it will get wet or may get lost...no big deal, its an import.

All that being said. Buying the import supports Buck with better profit margins that keeps them profitable and allows them to continue to offer premium USA blades.........but I would still like all fixed and folders to be USA...gadgets like multi tools, box cutters and things with lights can remain in the Orient.

Just IMHO:)
 
imafritz said:
I have 371, 373, Bantam 286, bought my daughter a 382 mini trapper and I had a Nobleman that I gave away in a contest earlier this year. Agree with Voltron, all have exceptional fit and finish. The 300's are the only knives that have had a direct US comparison and I find them to be absolutely tight with no blade play in any direction period. The difference is in the steel. Even the models that used 420hc were not supervised under Paul Bos or directly by Buck on an ongoing basis to my understanding, although they should have been ht'd to Bucks specs. Newer models have 420j2 or 440a which I havent found to be as good.

The Bantams are among the 1st to come back home and I have a USA 285 medium which is exact in fit and finish as the 286 but I know it has the proper Buck 420hc steel. In fairness, the 286 import has been my camp knife and has given excellent service-sharpens to shaving with a few strokes on croc sticks. I use it when it will get wet or may get lost...no big deal, its an import.

All that being said. Buying the import supports Buck with better profit margins that keeps them profitable and allows them to continue to offer premium USA blades.........but I would still like all fixed and folders to be USA...gadgets like multi tools, box cutters and things with lights can remain in the Orient.

Just IMHO:)
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+1 on the USA Piece. Buying import knives = Americans losing jobs.
 
personally i love buying american, and im proud to be american.but were doing it to ourselves.you cant expect to buy a knife at a low cost when labor costs are out the ass.
just saying.

and like imafritz said it gives the company money to pay for american labor and money to improve.

and its been said a million times but buck is a good company and their quality is always in check.
 
I have a 373, but the only reason I bought it was I got the Camillus folder cheaper as a package. The Camillus ended up being worth more than what I paid for both. The Camillus was dated to the mid 60's.
 
EnduringEagle said:
+1 on the USA Piece. Buying import knives = Americans losing jobs.
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Everytime we have this, it ends up being polictical. Personally, I think Buck is doing the right thing. It is starting to bring back knives from China. It is only making knives in China for the price point customers.

It seems all the knife makers, no matter who they are have some of the value knives made in China. I think Buck seems to be one of the few that are sticking with the made in "USA" for most of their product line.

So, the Buck made in China is getting less and less, but they still want some knives in that area. I have no problem with that decision. Customers in a K-Mart, Walmart type store expect one type of knife, a customer from a gun shop expect another type.
 
I've got a buck colleague and a nobleman. Nice little knives, fit and finish are ok for the price. I think the steel is 8Cr13MoV.
And to make things even worse, I've got the SanRenMu lookalikes from both knives, just for comparison. (in fact I got the chinese chinese first, and then decided I also wanted the american chinese) I guess they come from the same factory. The only reason I prefer the Buck's is the name on them, fit/finish are equal.
 
I will not be buying Idaho Bucks.:thumbdn:























Yes, it's ridiculous to buy something based on the piece of dirt the factory stands on.
 
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