Looking for a knife like my Dad carried..

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soddy

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May 23, 2013
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I posted in the Wanted to Buy section, but my post isn't really getting a lot of traffic so maybe folks don't check that very often. Hopefully this isn't against the rules to post here, but I'm looking to find a knife like my dad carried. We can't find his original (he died right at a year ago), but we think it's either an Old Timer 108OT, a Buck Cadet, or a Case Small Stockman. I know I can probably find these used on an auction site that shall remain nameless, but my problem is that I don't seem to have the time to make sure I win one. Any ideas?

Thanks a ton, and again, if this is against the rules, I apologize!
 
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Buck Cadets and Case Small Stockman patterns are still current production. You should be able to find them new from a number of vendors.

Size-wise, I find that the Case 6344 pattern medium stockman is very close to the Buck 303 cadet.
 
Are all Bucks still Made in the USA? I originally thought that he had carried an Old Timer 108OT, and those are now made in China, and I know whatever he carried was Made In USA, so those are harder to find.
 
Do you remember if your Dad's blades were shiny? Bucks are all stainless, as far as I know, Case could be stainless or carbon, and Old Timers were usually carbon, though Schrade did flirt some with stainless in their last years. (The new Chinese Schrades are stainless).
 
I do remember that they weren't very shiny at all, but they weren't rusted or badly discolored. Could have been CV, or stainless (just dulled stainless). He probably bought the knife in the 80's sometime.
 
soddy said:
Are all Bucks still Made in the USA? I originally thought that he had carried an Old Timer 108OT, and those are now made in China, and I know whatever he carried was Made In USA, so those are harder to find.
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Buck traditionals with a pattern number of 30x (301, 302, 303, 309, etc) are US made using 420HC stainless steel. The similar patterns with 37x and 38x as the model numbers are made offshore, and may use a different grade of steel (420J2 for example).

All Schrades are now made overseas and have no direct relationship to the original company. Taylor Brands bought the Schrade/Uncle Henry/Old Timer brand names and now manufactures knives under those names.
 
The Case small stockman is a pretty tiny knife. Not the same size as the Buck Cadet at 2 5/8 vs. 3 1/4. The 108OT is a bit closer to the Case at 2 3/4. I own a small stockman, but not a 108, but have had the other small Schrades (jack and single blade) and they seemed bigger than the Case. Part of it is the Case is pretty thick for one reason or another and that makes the relatively small 1/8 length difference more noticeable. Also, Case is not the greatest at squeezing blade length into a frame.

This is not a criticism, but I think subjectively most would say the Case is a wee thing while they might just call the Buck and Schrades smaller knives. If Dad's knife wasnt a "wee thing" then it probably wasnt the Case.
 
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I could be wrong about a "small" stockman, now that I've looked at the lengths and have seen a thread comparing the buck and case. If it were a case, it would have most likely been a medium stockman.
 
If you do try that un named site just place a bid that you are comfortable paying and let it go. If you win they will send an email saying that you have done so.

Just a thought.
 
soddy said:
I know I can probably find these used on an auction site that shall remain nameless, but my problem is that I don't seem to have the time to make sure I win one. Any ideas?
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Please don't take this as snarky, because it is not meant to be. You don't need to "snipe" the auction at the last second to win. Put in a high bid early and let it ride. Even if someone is sniping manually or programmatically, if you are willing to go higher then they are, it's yours. The three possible knives you are going for are pretty common, so there is no need for someone to snipe above an earnest but high bid.
 
After giving this some thought, I think I'll just save my pennies and wait to find a 3 blade stockman style knife I really like. If I can't remember the exact one, I'll at least buy one I like.
 
The small stockmans in the Schrade Old Timer line, 104OT and 108OT, were produced in large numbers over many years. As such they are quite common on that unnamed auction site. Two hints:
1) Use the "Buy It Now" filter to find examples that don't require bidding and waiting.
2) And look for the "USA" on the tang stamp to ensure you're getting an original just like your father had. The tang stamps varied over time, but the originals always included USA.

Wish I knew more about the Buck Knives...

The Case Small Stockman is a current production item and available at hundreds of dealers. And they are still made in the USA at the exact same factory where your father's knife would have been. My "go-to" dealer for Case knives is (non dealer member reference removed) because I pass by there often and prefer to inspect Case knives in person before purchasing.
 
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Soddy, There is no need to bid on a Buck 303 (Cadet) or Case 6318 (Medium Stockman) - they are current USA made, standard production items, and available from many Blade Forum dealers as well as Hardware Stores, mail order, etc. USA made Schrade Old Timer's takes a little more effort to find, but they made thousands of them as recently as ten years ago; some are for sale everyday on the auctions. Good Luck finding what you want. OH
 
If you are looking for a relatively small US made stockman pattern in a budget price range, then Case has a rather broad range of selections, both in shape, handle materials, and colors, and options in steel (well, between their Tru-Sharp stainless and CV carbon). Their Delrin handled models will be the least expensive, and are available in jigged brown, jigged blue, jigged red, smooth and jigged white, and smooth Yellow.

The Case product names can be misleading. There are fully 6 patterns that Case calls "Medium Stockman" that range between 3 1/4" and 3 3/4" in size. They also have two Small Stockman patterns, both 2 5/8" long.

If you visit the Case web site and search for the Stockman pattern, you'll get plenty of options to look at. http://www.wrcase.com/sidesearch/index.php?q=stockman&Submit=Search

If you want something not as small as the Case Small Stockman, then the Buck 303 Cadet is a very capable and sturdy knife. The Case 6344 Medium Stockman is similar in size (3 1/4" long) but being a 2-spring knife is a bit lighter and slimmer. I've got both the Buck 303 and Case 6344 and they are both good knives.
 
You folks have run this up the flagpole enough I started to not get involved. But, its talk about a Buck.

Here is a pic of a 303, 309 and 305 made in the USA by Buck but with brass bolsters which were a catalog listed version(s). Other scales are available such as black sawcut Delrin. Sounds like the blades may have been too dark for Buck stainless. Were the bolsters slanted or straight.

Hope this is helpful in some way. 300Bucks



Here's a over-view of some of the plain versions over time, anything look correct.
 
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soddy said:
Are all Bucks still Made in the USA? I originally thought that he had carried an Old Timer 108OT, and those are now made in China, and I know whatever he carried was Made In USA, so those are harder to find.
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No most bucks well I would say about half of there merchandise is china made
 
Soddy, any knife stores around you? That would be the best approach so you could handle them in person and spend as much time as you like. I would pass on Schrade (current production) and Camillus (current production).
 
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