Has anyone torn apart one of the new 301s...

dsutton24

dsutton24

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2018
Messages
2,107
... or know how they're constructed?

I've been buying the new acetal copolymer scaled knives, and I wonder about the shields. They look like a bronze medallion glued into a recess with a glob of epoxy over it. Is this right?

For what it's worth I'm not really a fan. Buck experimented with different shields in the past, and they went back to the anvil shields. The slick plastic scales feel cheap, and the plastic shield looks like it could be easily broken.
 
dsutton24 said:
They look like a bronze medallion glued into a recess with a glob of epoxy over it.
Click to expand...
I can't bring myself to tearing apart a brand new knife so I can satisfy my curiosity, at least not yet. Thirty-five years ago, more or less, Buck went to an integrated frame, which included a shield tower. I have one of the new 301s and your comment made me look at the shield. This is all speculation, but I'm not sure that the shield is a glued on medallion. The edges seem to be rounded a little, which I don't think would be the case for a glued on medallion. What is interesting, and not speculation, is that the shield reads "BUCK °" and I don't know the significance of that dot. Maybe in a few months I'll end up taking one apart. The first photo is the "shield tower" from a 1991 knife. The tower and the frame were all part of the sintered metal, integrated frame.

1 303 shield tower 1991 (3) copy.jpg2 303 shield 2025.jpeg
 
I hope they aren't glued in. I have a 301 that had a glued in shield. The operative word is had. I've never bothered to send it in.
 
It reminds me of the black and blue enameled shields which I'm pretty sure were glued in.
My guess is that they're either brass or a brass plated die cast pot metal, definitely not bronze.
 
I have a yellow 301 from a few years back. The shield popped out. It was glued in. I epoxyed it back in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top