Bucks of China

RedRockNv

RedRockNv

Joined
May 12, 2008
Messages
268
Reading a recent post about layoffs at Buck and the replies. I went on a rant about about buying Buck to support the company. Then (me being into my beers at the time of the rant) I began to feel guilty. So I went to the Buck site thinking to buy a nice wittler ( I live in the desert there is no natural wood to whittle) ( I install and reface cabinets so I cut wood for other people every day so why would I want to make more saw dust whittling.) Anyway I purchase a Buck Canoe 0389BRS-B. When I get it it is made in China. Crap. Now I am wondering if it is worth sending back to get my money back. I have loved Buck for many years and purchased many different models. Love my Alpha Hunter carry it every day. I have nothing against China (we don't have to buy their products) but I am pieved at Buck for not mentioning the fact on thier website ( I am sure that info would kill many sales such as my recent one.) Looking the knife over the fit and finish are fine opens smooth all in all for the money I am happy but just don't care to the one word (China.) I would rather pay the extra frieght and get something made in America by Americans. I have two new ( Ok one is from Busse the other purchased unused from a collection) Busse's and a used TOPS coming so please don't anyone tell me they are made in China. It is a sad day I have always loved my Bucks.
 
Is there a site, page, etc that lists which models are USA made and which are foreign/chinese?

I like Buck knives, just ordered another custom 110 in fact, but I'll boycott whatever models are outsourced to china.
 
As far as I can tell from the their product line, Buck has sourced knives from China, they have not outsourced them. That is, as far as I am aware, no knife models that are now made in China have ever been made in the US.

For instance, until they started having them made in China, I do not think Buck ever offered a canoe.
 
knarfeng said:
As far as I can tell from the their product line, Buck has sourced knives from China, they have not outsourced them. That is, as far as I am aware, no knife models that are now made in China have ever been made in the US.

For instance, until they started having them made in China, I do not think Buck ever offered a canoe.
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Right- Buck still makes their line of traditional knives that they have always made in the US in the US. The Chinese made knives are an augmentation to the Buck product line. And, they provide the user with a quality knife at an affordable price- face it, the person who buys a $15 knife is not usually the person who is going to spend $45 for something similar. Haveing a line of imported knives is not new for Buck- they've been doing it since the California days. I have an older Buck Gentlemans knife that was imported from Japan for example.
 
To be fair I went to the Buck website to look for some explanation for place of manufacture. There was nothing to tell me the knife was made overseas. To be fair they should state where the knife in question is made. I would only buy Made in the U.S.A. models.
 
RedRockNv said:
To be fair I went to the Buck website to look for some explanation for place of manufacture. There was nothing to tell me the knife was made overseas. To be fair they should state where the knife in question is made. I would only buy Made in the U.S.A. models.
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The information may not be well explained. But it is there.
If you open to the details page for the knife in question, for instance here:
http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productid=3118

You will see an American flag displayed in the lower right-hand corner of the page if the knife is made in the US. The spot is blank if the knife is not made in the US.
Frank R
 
As a European, I do not have a preference for American-made knives over other knives, be they Chinese or European. The one thing that counts for me is the quality of the end result. I think that these days a knife company that doesn't outsource at least a part of the production to a cheap labour country will have difficulty to survive (*), or they need to focus on the high end - but then it also means that less knives are sold (and less people are needed to make 'em). It seems that many customers are quite happy with the Spyderco Tenacious which is made in China as well.
Myself, I have only a few cheap chinese Magnum knives, and it must be said that I don't think that this quality/price can be beaten with western production. For my small "core" collection I have focused more on the >$70 knives, as I value quality more than quality/price. Most of these are made in Japan, a pure coincidence because I simply liked the design and apparent quality, but a Fallkniven is on the way to redress the balance.

(*) however as a counterexample Victorinox is to my knowledge still made in Switzerland and they sport a really good quality/price ratio - but they compensate labour cost with high production numbers
 
Dagon said:
As a European, I do not have a preference for American-made knives over other knives, be they Chinese or European. The one thing that counts for me is the quality of the end result. I think that these days a knife company that doesn't outsource at least a part of the production to a cheap labour country will have difficulty to survive (*), or they need to focus on the high end - but then it also means that less knives are sold (and less people are needed to make 'em). It seems that many customers are quite happy with the Spyderco Tenacious which is made in China as well.
Myself, I have only a few cheap chinese Magnum knives, and it must be said that I don't think that this quality/price can be beaten with western production. For my small "core" collection I have focused more on the >$70 knives, as I value quality more than quality/price. Most of these are made in Japan, a pure coincidence because I simply liked the design and apparent quality, but a Fallkniven is on the way to redress the balance.

(*) however as a counterexample Victorinox is to my knowledge still made in Switzerland and they sport a really good quality/price ratio - but they compensate labour cost with high production numbers
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I will NEVER own a Chinese knife.When I buy a knife I want a quality tool.Most stuff out of China is junk.I try to limit my purchase of things made in China.They support N.Viet Nam and what they are doing in Tibet is unconscionable.I buy from US makers.
 
mmarkh said:
I will NEVER own a Chinese knife.When I buy a knife I want a quality tool.Most stuff out of China is junk.I try to limit my purchase of things made in China.They support N.Viet Nam and what they are doing in Tibet is unconscionable.I buy from US makers.
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Not buying Chinese Bucks in order to support the US economy is a fair enough reason given the current problems in our economy.

Not buying Chinese Buck knives because they are junk is not a good reason for the decision. There have been many threads documenting the quality of the Chinese Bucks. Every thread I have read has been extremely positive as far as fit & finish, design, and performance.
 
I don't like the idea of Chinese knives either, but all b.s aside, I think alot of them are actually well made....
As far as buying Chinese Bucks, it still helps the companies bottom line because they are still making money off of them..
 
I would never knowingly buy a product made in China. As far as I am concerned China has been our enemy since 1949. My father and his brother were both wounded by Chinese forces in Korea. This rule of mine also includes Taiwan since it is now under control of the PRC. I recently bought a RAT-1 folder without doing my home work and found that it was made in Taiwan. Since the seller has a no return policy, the knife is now sitting in the trunk of my car.
 
Honestly i try to only buy USA made knives to support the US industry. I realize the quality of a chinese made knife can be the same as a USA made knife. I would even spend an extra $10-$20 on a knife to make sure it is made in the USA. USA factories are a dying breed it seem. People don't understand the impact a US factory closing has. It not only costs the people in the on the line their job. It also creates less work in the area for the Electricians in the area that work to maintain and repair update the lines. As a whole it is less money in the area on soo many different levels. It can actually cripple a whole towns economy. It al roots from people trying to save a few dollars here and there. Greed in reason our country is in such and economic downfall.
 
I recommend that everyone who is genuinely concerned about this issue write an email or call Buck and express your concern. They will be more impressed if they are flooded by emails than if we just sit here and gripe about it. I'm going to ask them to provide me a list of what is manufactured in Idaho and what is manufactured in China so I can avoid buying a Chinese knife.

Here's a link you can use to contact them...

http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=company.contact
 
> Most stuff out of China is junk.

mmmh.
Many, many laptops.
iPhones.
iPods.
Several high end audio brands like Quad are now made in china.
etc.
 
I wonder how much of Buck's revenue comes from MIC knives. Think it would be a good thing for either Buck or the US economy if that revenue was cut off?

It seems to me that there are American workers at Buck who depend on the sales of those knives. Depending on how many they sell, maybe all of them do.
 
Teague said:
I'm going to ask them to provide me a list of what is manufactured in Idaho and what is manufactured in China so I can avoid buying a Chinese knife.
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It has been explained repeatedly on this and many other knife forums, that Buck's website does label knives made in America with an American Flag.

How much more do you need?
 
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