My Buck 309 companion arrived

D

dogstar

Joined
Jan 23, 2011
Messages
4,399
This little guy showed up today. Based on the good things I've read about Buck's 300 series, my expectations were high. My first impressions:

The good:
-It feels solidly made and will last a long time.
-The springs are sufficiently firm.
-Blades have good alignment, no rubbing.
-Surfaces are almost perfectly flush at the bolsters and back of the knife.
-The knife is long enough provide a firm grip.
-The small blade has no side play at all.
-Made in the USA

The so-so:
-Both blades had some black gunk near the joint that needed cleaning.
-Compared to my SAK and Camillus 91, the blades on the 309 are angular and lack grace.
-The liners have rough edges that need to be sanded.
-The blades are too dull to shave paper out of the box.
-The main blade has a hint of side play.

The bad:
-On the side opposite the logo, the central pin sits proud and has a sharp burr.
-The small blade has no taper at all, so the tip is quite obtuse. All my other slip joints have a tapered small blades that can make fine cuts.

I'm happy with this knife, provided I can put a good edge on it. The only thing that bums me out is the geometry of the small blade. I am tempted to re-profile the tip. While this is a good product, it raises my appreciation of what Victorinox is able to deliver for the same price.
 
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Glad to hear that you like it, the Buck 309 IMO is kinda an underated knife that definitly can hold it's own in the world of pen knives and peanuts. Buck (especialy the 300 series) slipjoints are hard to beat and I think you made a wise choice by choosing one:thumbup: .
 
Well, I've had a chance to sleep on it and carry the knife today. I guess I might have been too picky on a $25 knife. Overall it is quite well made and very easy to carry. The main blade took a nice edge and carved nice curls from a stick. The jury is still out on the pen blade, though.
 
I bought one in 1977. I have since started a home for unloved 309's. If you find that you can't tolerate it's many imperfections,i would give it a home. regards Henry
 
Henry, I will try my best to love this knife. I hope it will serve me for as long as yours has served you.
 
Well the knife, sandpaper, cardboard and I spent some quality time together and the pen blade has a nice edge on it now. I'm not good at sharpening and this blade has pushed me to a new level. After a little work, I think the little feller and I have bonded.
buck309.jpg
 
Buck 300 series pocket knives do not have the fine touch fit and finish of a good Case made on a Wednesday, let alone a GEC or Queen. But they will be there for the finish when things get rough.

They are kind of like the working pickup trucks of my childhood, before pickups got popular with the suburban set. Black painted bumpers, little or no sound proofing, and rubber floor mats for those muddy work boots. But they were tough no frills vehicles that you could count on if the road got rough, or there was no road.

In time, your little 309 will have a beauty all it's own, because of the memories of the things it did, and never letting you down.

Carl.
 
dogstar said:
Well the knife, sandpaper, cardboard and I spent some quality time together and the pen blade has a nice edge on it now. I'm not good at sharpening and this blade has pushed me to a new level. After a little work, I think the little feller and I have bonded.
Click to expand...

That's kind of weird, right? I am the same way. If I have a knife I am not sure about, I want to make give it a chance (unless I am SURE I don't like it) and I sharpen it and get the blades where I want them. This usually means a bit of reprofiling, a lot of sharpening, cleaning up any manufacturing residue and just handing and getting a feel for the knife while I work on it.

Once I get it reprofiled, sharp, cleaned up and oiled, I find I am pretty happy with almost all of my purchases. I have a tendency to compare the feel, fit and finish of new knives against my favorite knives, and sometimes that just isn't fair to them. And I need to keep in mind that my $25 purchase won't be as good (in most cases!) as Carl pointed out when comparing to my S&M or Queen knives.

Tough to beat a $25 dollar solid working knife, made in the USA that comes with a lifetime warranty. I can overlook a couple of small errors knowing that the knife is completely covered against any kind of failure when under reasonable use.

Bet the longer you have that, the more you will like that knife.

Robert
 
OH CRAP ! I didn't know you were actually gonna give it a chance!!!! I would have warned you! You may not be able to get it out of your pocket now! You may feel as though you have left a part of you behind if you try to go through the day without it. I can't get out the door without mine. AMOUR FOU ! regards Henry
 
LOL, of course I was going to give it a chance. And yes, it is becoming a daily companion (pun intended).

I know this sounds silly on Bladeforums, but $25 for me is a decent amount of money to drop on a knife. I don't believe in having drawer queens, nor do I want to carry an expensive knife that may be lost or confiscated. Other than a couple of exceptions, my inexpensive knives needed a little TLC to shine.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I appreciate it.
 
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Glad you got that small blade fixed up to your satisfaction. I bought a 309 a couple of months ago and didn't have any such issue.

To me, the main blade has a rather unique look to it, but, like cough <Spyderco> cough knives, I found the blade shape made sense once I started using it.
 
Not silly at all. $25 is a good chunk of money for me. That's why I tend to buy vintage knives (one of the reasons). I have spent more, but I hate to do it. Special occasions. Like the BF knife. Or if it is really worth it (sway back jack or something really old and special). Otherwise, well, I've been carrying my yellow peanut for almost two months now and it has gotten the job done and then some. I carry my buck 303 a lot, too.


dogstar said:
LOL, of course I was going to give it a chance. And yes, it is becoming a daily companion (pun intended).

I know this sounds silly on Bladeforums, but $25 for me is a decent amount of money to drop on a knife. I don't believe in having drawer queens, nor do I want to carry an expensive knife that may be lost or confiscated. Other than a couple of exceptions, my inexpensive knives needed a little TLC to shine.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I appreciate it.
Click to expand...
 
$13 was a whole lot of money in 1977. My wife absolutely freaked at the thought of me spending that much on a knife, when the one i had was still good. Sooooooooo, when we split, i went straight from the courthouse, to the hardware store. I had full intentions, to buy myself a Buck 307 "Wrangler", as a sort of F.U. to the ex. I went to the display, looked at the 307 and walked out with the 309. Immediately had second thoughts. Too much money, too little knife, wanted to take it back and exchange, but un-explicably couldn't ! Never been able to put it down. It gets backed up by others, but it is ALWAYS with me. regards Henry
 
Yeah, the main blade is a rather ugly ducking - but it's a very functional shape. I really do wish they would go with a slightly scaled version of the 303 main blade instead, which is a much more graceful shape - there's plenty of room for a deeper and longer main blade in the 309 frame (raise the 309 main blade up just a bit from closed and you'll see what I mean). Nevertheless, it's a great knife -- I've carried more 309s and for longer than any other knife (got a yeller Comfortcraft version in my pocket right now).
 
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