Is bladeplay normal on buck slipjoints?

mongomondo

mongomondo

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I've always liked my Swiss Army Soldier and Cadet, well made, tough, and no blade play. I've been drooling over a Case Stockman with jigged bone but the price was a bit higher than I was willing to pay. I saw on Amazon that there was a Buck 301 Stockman for half the price of the Case knife so I bought it. From what I understand the 301 is made in the USA so I was expecting it to have high quality that would at least match my $12 SAK, but I was mistaken. The spey and clip point blades are dull, and all 3 blades have a ton of bladeplay. I looked on youtube and someone reviewed the exact same Buck knife and complained about the blade play.

My question is, did I get a dud or are these $30 Stockmans pretty much crap? Would I get higher quality from a Case Stockman?
 
Is blade play normal? Considering how often it happens, and how it usually does not affect function, I'd say yes. Is blade play desirable? Folks prone to noticing such things would probably say no.
 
I recently asked the same question, and have since bought enough Buck knives to comment. It's the norm in my experience. I've recently bought 4 301s (3 black scales, 1 Charcoal Dymondwood), and 2 Charcoal Dymondwood 303 Cadets. All of them have some side to side blade movement. The only Buck slipjoint that I bought that doesn't have any movement (none) is the Chinese 371 I bought for my son (go figure). I thought the new Charcoal Dymondwood knives, looking so similar to the wood scaled Chinese knives might be the same, but I was wrong. That said, I've gotten used to it, and don't notice it unless I'm forcibly moving the blade on purpose. All of the Buck knives I've purchased are put together very nicely otherwise. Except for a little side to side blade movement, my Buck slipjoints have noticably better fit and finish than the many Case knives I've bought in the same time period. I've come to realize that in these factory production knives, I'm going to have to accept some imperfections (except this doesn't seem to hold true for Victorinox). I think this journey of mine must have been very much like that of my wife, when she came to the same conclusion, and said "yes" to marrying me anyway.:o
 
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Thanks for the info, Doug. I guess I'm going to stick with Victorinox. Don't know why, but bladeplay is a big issue for me. I HATE wiggle. I might try that chinese Buck stockman though, it's even $10 cheaper than the 301.

Those Case jigged bone knives sure are lookers, I might get one anyway.
 
No matter what else I'm carrying, I always seem to have a Victorinox of some sort in a pocket. I like the bone Case knives also. My new favorites EDC (this week) are those Buck knives I mentioned above.
 
mongomondo said:
Thanks for the info, Doug. I guess I'm going to stick with Victorinox. Don't know why, but bladeplay is a big issue for me. I HATE wiggle. I might try that chinese Buck stockman though, it's even $10 cheaper than the 301.

Those Case jigged bone knives sure are lookers, I might get one anyway.
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Case is worth the money for sure. They've been doing a damn good job lately.
 
I have had three Buck pocket knives that were built in the last four years and none of them have had any blade play. A 309, a 303 and a 301. All three were very well built and solid users. The 301 is becoming a favorite. I still have the 303 as well but passed the 309 on to a friend.
 
I have an old Buck Camillus-made 303 and a new Buck-made 301.

If I grip the open blade of either knife with my fingers and try to wiggle it, it moves a bit. But neither moves when I cut so it hasn't bothered me with the 303 for the last 30 years and doesn't bother me on the new 301. It's just not an issue for me. YMMV.

My newish (within the last year) Buck 301 came fairly dull, but sharpened up as fast as any Case. And it holds an edge better than either my Case Tru-Sharp or my Case CV. (I have no idea how sharp the 303 was when I bought it new. That was a long time ago.)

But on the other hand, it's hard to go wrong with an SAK. I EDC'd one of those for a few years and it always did what I needed it to do.
 
Well,
Guess I should be involved in this thread. I wish I knew the all the truth and nothing but the truth. But, I am not all knowing........

First off, I will state from personal experience, reading and hearing - that the fit of SAKs are second to none and I mean NO other non-custom maker on planet earth.

As a collector I handle knives of past years more than I do current models. To be honest I have only bought a few limited edition 300 series knives in the last 5 or 6 years. All those have acceptable fit and finish on my inspection. That acceptable level is NOT the mountain top SAK level but a nice tight Case like fit. I would recommend that if you were to buy a new 300 series knife, I would do so in person so fit and finish can be inspected BEFORE purchase, I would do that be it SAK, Case or Buck. My new Bucks have always come sharp, not as sharp as I can make them but sharp for everyone else but Forumites.

I would hazard an attempted un-biased opinion, like I say I am a collector mainly of 70s and 80s Buck 300s, but my opinion is that why would a company with lifetime warranty have a quality control level that had customers sending back wiggly bladed knives ? What I have heard from several and various knife company people is that warranty work is the least cost effective work in their shop.

Building your manufacturing process for a planned percentage of failure is standard engineering planning, all companies have an idea what theirs will be.

If Buck is letting a lower quality increase in the percentage of that engineering plan then I will be getting off their boat.

What I am hoping for is that there is a silent majority effect, that there are a lot of purchasers of non-wiggly Bucks that are silent.

Fit and finish of Buck imported knives has been a hotly debated topic. Most often they receive glowing reviews from users. I have two imported two blade trappers, finish and fit are equal to any Case. I just want them to say USA...........I am a cold war child.
They are imported so the individual knife can meet the price point requirements of a hugh seller of Buck knives.

A person should not have to send back crappy brand new knives.
But, Buck will make it right in the end if you got one, but Yes, you shouldn't have to go to the expense and trouble..

I have a goodly number of really solid 300 slipjoints, most are old, most were made by Camillus, some after 85 made by Buck. My new limited edition Bucks are all solid. I have no experience with the new changed models. I never buy the first year when cars change design....

I would and will not accept anything less than a Buck to function equal to a Case. I hope that will occur or I am really gonna be miffed.

300Bucks
 
Every so often, I stop at my local knife shop and try out a Buck 301, and invariably, every one I've inspected has had side to side bladeplay, as well as weak backsprings, compared to a Vic SAK, the Buck 300 series just doesn't have any real "snap"

my Case Pocketworn SS Medium Stockman has nice snap, great walk-and-talk, and feels just as tight as my celidor SAKs, no wiggle or bladeplay

Still, in terms of overall backspring strength, nothing I have tried yet can compare to my humble Vic Soldier, the blade on that slippie has an incredibly strong, secure backspring and takes a good amount of effort to close, it's not gritty or binding, it just has a nice, powerful backspring

Pity really, I *WANT* to like the 300 series, I just can't get past the weak backsprings and slight blade wobble
 
About seven years ago I helped a friend that liked the three blade stockman design pick out a new 301. He was hesitant because of the difficulty of sharpening Buck's. He was used to the old CV blades I guess. In the end he purchased the Buck as that was the only model they had in a stockman pattern.

The sales representative stated that this was a new grind design they used as well as the steel? I could not say but that knife was one of the sharpest and tightest Buck's I have ever seen. A year later he let a guy borrow it on the job and warned him to be careful of the razor edge. This man slit his hand from the index finger to the palm clear to the bone. I guess that one was sharp or he just got lucky. He carried it everyday up to the accident and hadn't sharpened it.
 
MacTech said:
as well as weak backsprings, compared to a Vic SAK, the Buck 300 series just doesn't have any real "snap"
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I haven't seen any Bucks with bladeplay, but I was shocked when I bought a 301 from SMKW, and the springs were so weak. Great knife, no blade play, well made, but the springs were terrible. I finally stopped carrying it. I may try one more just to see if it's normal.

thx - cpr
 
Orca,
I am pretty sure you have seen this before over on the Buck foum, but again if any one has anything wrong with a knife that is a factory issue.....call 1-800-326-2825 ext 3 PST the warranty really is forever. Day one or day 1,000.
Yes, I understand the discussion is on problems that shouldn't be from out of the box.....I agree, but lets all also NOT be a part of the "throw it down" society. Lets hold people accountable for their products and their promises. Make the effort to grab their attention and say "What gives" and "fix my problem". Thats what improves quality and makes a reputation.

cpr my total negative Buck experiece so far is just some buffing grit in the pin joints. A little spray lubricant and then real oil and all was fixed. I would give Buck a shout and I am guessing you will get to say what you think and have your problem solved....
300Bucks (Don't work or ever have for Buck, just collect their old knives)

PS I guess I need to go buy a NEW knife and test the situation........
 
I don't know if blade play is NORMAL in Buck knives. In my experience, I've never had a Buck with a loose blade. However, a decent slipjoint knife should NEVER have a loose blade, imho. NEVER.
 
300Bucks said:
Orca,
I am pretty sure you have seen this before over on the Buck foum, but again if any one has anything wrong with a knife that is a factory issue.....call 1-800-326-2825 ext 3 PST the warranty really is forever. Day one or day 1,000.
Yes, I understand the discussion is on problems that shouldn't be from out of the box.....I agree, but lets all also NOT be a part of the "throw it down" society. Lets hold people accountable for their products and their promises. Make the effort to grab their attention and say "What gives" and "fix my problem". Thats what improves quality and makes a reputation.

cpr my total negative Buck experiece so far is just some buffing grit in the pin joints. A little spray lubricant and then real oil and all was fixed. I would give Buck a shout and I am guessing you will get to say what you think and have your problem solved....
300Bucks (Don't work or ever have for Buck, just collect their old knives)

PS I guess I need to go buy a NEW knife and test the situation........
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you said - This is a swamped month for us - two birthdays, several Scouting events, a road trip, etc. so the warranty call have to wait. My 301 still gets some use, just not as much as it normally would. I've had dealings with them before, and they're stand up folks. :thumbup:

thx - cpr
 
mongomondo said:
I've always liked my Swiss Army Soldier and Cadet, well made, tough, and no blade play. I've been drooling over a Case Stockman with jigged bone but the price was a bit higher than I was willing to pay. .......My question is, did I get a dud or are these $30 Stockmans pretty much crap? Would I get higher quality from a Case Stockman?
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Hey mongo,

There are some fairly expensive slipjoints that have blade play. For example, i think some of the Schatt and Morgan line have had blade play in the past. Blade play that are really bad are a problem. As long as the spring is not weak, it normally a good user. We have had a long discussion about this issue below. In fact some people like a slight blade on their knives. See thread below.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621038

God Bless
 
Folks,
I am not a cheerleader for anything but the environment, heck I only wear my St. Louis BBcap if they make it to the series, so since we have been beating Buck knives a little on blade play I thought I would show and tell of todays postal delievery.
Received the new model 300 series, American Made, set of four knives 301,303,309 and 305. These are the new Dynawood scale, intergal bolsters,liners and new design sheild. I am forced to report the only wiggle around these parts is my crappie fishing pole. These newbies are rock solid. Only possible critism was some buffing compound pinched out when I opened one blade. These were ordered over phone from dealer that works with Buck Collectors Club members.
At first introduction I was pre-disposed to not like there looks, but here, in hand, they have grown on me. Not bad for under 30 "Bucks" each in cost that is.........Just FYI, I like other brands of knives also just don't spend too much of my funds on them. 300Bucks

 
300

I remember that Buck medium stockmens where made with SS bolsters and liners with three slots. Do you know if make them?

Thanks

God Bless
 
Just bought 3 of the new Dymondwood knives. Two 303, and a 301. All of them have some movement. None of them rattle with the wind, but I can move them if I want. It's hard to believe that my 6 Buck (300 line) knives (all purchased recently), which all have some amount of movement, are unusual.

I'm not complaining, I really like the new Dymondwood knives with the leather pouches, and wouldn't mind buying more. I really like the 301 clipped to the belt, but I've been carrying the 303 in it's pocket pouch more often it seems. The snap in the 301 seems a little weak, but the two 303 have a lot of snap in the springs.

300 Bucks,

Nice picture. It definitely makes me want to buy more.

From what I understand "Dymondwood" is a trademark name, and is some sort of impregnated wood laminate. Can anyone tell me if this is correct?
 
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