Chinese-produced Bucks

Kwon Kwang

Kwon Kwang

Joined
Jul 7, 2013
Messages
2,807
Hey everyone!

So far, all my Bucks are USA produced. I love them dearly, but one Chinese made Buck caught my eye: the 870 Bones. Normally I would look at a knife like this and think it tries too hard to be tacticool for my tastes, but something about it grabs my attention. A closer look at the design reveals that it's actually rather practical! I got the chance to handle one in-store and I really liked it. Solid lockup, felt good in hand, and it seemed pretty darn sharp. At the time, my knife budget was maxed out, so I didn't buy it, but I wanted it and never forgot about it.

Today I decided to pull the trigger and order one. What can you guys and gals tell me about your Chinese Bucks? How do they stack up compared to the American ones?

One thing that really piques my interest is that on the Buck website, the Bones is advertised as having a Paul Bos heat treatment. How is this possible for a Chinese produced knife?
 
I have a 371 Buck made in China that has been used in and around my desk for several years.
It mostly opens boxes that have knives in them. :)

I actually like the action on it better that the Buck 301 made in USA. My 301s all seem to have too light a pull.

I sharpen it several times a year and clean all the tape residue off it.

It's the only Buck made in China that I own and I like it just fine.
 
Kwon Kwang said:
One thing that really piques my interest is that on the Buck website, the Bones is advertised as having a Paul Bos heat treatment. How is this possible for a Chinese produced knife?
Click to expand...

I take a stab in the dark on this one.... Paul Bos (retired) does not personally heat treat the knives but rather developed and oversaw the processes used. Buck trademarked the name & logo. If what you are saying is true, could be that Buck directs the Chinese contractors to use certain heat treatment methods (as developed by Paul Bos).

Buck knives are heavily counterfeited in China, I believe the Bones model is also. China made knife counterfeited in China......
 
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Can't help you on the 870 but I'm carrying my 371 this week and it works just fine. I've got a couple of the offshore slip joints and fine them to a very good value.
 
I have the Canoe knife (389), and it's a fine pocket knife. The blades are a wee bit thicker than what you find on a Rough Rider or other Chinese-made Canoe knives. And I like the wood scales.
 
I have a 371 stockman and a 389 canoe. Both are great knives. As noted above, the pull on the 371 is a bit harder than on the 301 (which I also have).
I don't know anything about the "modern" knives Buck makes, have not tried one. I'm happy with the "old fashioned" 110.
 
I collect them but don't use them. What I have read though is that the ones using 420J2 instead of 420HC heat treat about 2 points lower Rockwell. I do not know how that translates into the real world. Here is every variation of the 389 Canoe I know of except Black poly Pearl. (need to update my picture someday).

 
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