NEW U.S.-made carbon steel Old Timer knives!?

The only update I have is that customer service got back to me, and told me they would “get with engineering” to see if they could get some questions answered.. still waiting to hear back. I’ll contact again Monday if I don’t hear from them first thing.

Interesting the verbiage they use on the site, as has been pointed out. So I’m curious to see what they say. I was pretty specific about asking where the materials are made, and where they are assembled - separately. Also who does the heat treat on the blades. Among a couple other questions we’d all like answered.
 
Fixall said:
features a 1095 high carbon steel blade handcrafted in the USA
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So I wonder if the knife is handcrafted in the USA or just the 1095 steel is handcrafted in the USA?
Hickory n steel said:
One of my first knives was a 34OT, and without the square bolster frame it's just not a 34OT to me.
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I thought the same thing, but then asked myself if rounded bolsters weren't an upgrade?
 
JohnDF said:
So I wonder if the knife is handcrafted in the USA or just the 1095 steel is handcrafted in the USA?

I thought the same thing, but then asked myself if rounded bolsters weren't an upgrade?
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I like the look of square bolsters more myself and it's how I know the 34OT, but I really just think the model number should change if the frame changes.

It looks like it could just be a modified B & S 547.
 
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I read this as “Made In The USA”…

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I’m not one to complain about more things being made in the USA (which is good), but that doesn’t mean these will be the same as the original schrades.

They sure do look like bear & son. They will probably be of decent build quality and that is good. The original old timers, even while simple, had a very nice aesthetic which I don’t think these new ones get down quite the same. The new ones look more sterile.
 
Still no reply. Reached out again, nothing. Doesn’t speak highly of their customer service. But maybe they are just overwhelmingly busy over in “engineering.”
 
Arathol said:
That doesn't mean the knife itself is made in the USA. It means "Assembled in China with US made parts".....:rolleyes:
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It actually does mean so, and you need to remember that there are laws and regulations regarding what can or can't say " made in USA " or whether it's merely " assembled in USA ".

If this doesn't mean " MADE IN USA " then GEC or Case knives must not be, maybe it means no knives have ever been made here.
 
I am happy to read this, but given how readily available LNIB USA old timers are for a very reasonable price, I’ll be interested in reports on quality. I am a 34OT fan (actually even more of an 834 schrade fan).

Neat to see the traditional market growing enough to attract some investment.
 
mnblade said:
It'd be nice to see Buck read the tea leaves and start expanding their line of U.S.-made traditional pocketknives. We can only hope.

-- Mark
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I keep hearing that they're just retooling the slipjoint production, but I still don't know exactly what that means or when things are supposed to resume production.
 
mnblade said:
It'd be nice to see Buck read the tea leaves and start expanding their line of U.S.-made traditional pocketknives. We can only hope.

-- Mark
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I keep thinking Buck is missing out on the resurgence of the slipjoint market. Maybe the money isn’t there, but I can’t help but think they could do well at the minimal by offering a new valox color, jigged bone, or stag handle material each year. Something this simple could boost sales.
 
mnblade said:
Any news?

-- Mark
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After two additional attempts to reach out (after not receiving an initial response to my inquiries), I gave up. For whatever reason it would seem that they either didn’t know or didn’t care to share with the public. Or maybe I asked incorrectly. Who knows.
 
I had some store points to burn, and I'd love to have a carbon steel cousin to my Buck 303 so I took the plunge. I couldn't find any reviews of this series on BF, so hope this thread necromancy is forgiven. Photos first:

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I really like the feel of this knife in hand, and it compares really well to my Buck 303. I don't have any other Old Timers to compare this to. Here are my initial thoughts. I was surprised by five things but overall very pleased.
First, I was expecting a brown bone. This is more like a harvest autumn or shade of pumpkin bone. As it happens, I like the color, but it wasn't what I expected.

Second, the main blade has a half-stop. I don't have strong feelings about half-stops, but some people do and might like to know about that.

Third, the spring for the main blade is larger than the frame of the knife. It's a little visible in the photo above. I tried to take a close up, but it isn't very clear. I don't think I've seen anything like that before.

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Fourth, the scales on this are pretty fat. I was expecting a slim two-spring stockman. It's actually wider than my 303, which is built like a tank.

Finally, there's a small spot on the spine of the main blade near the tip that looks burnt. It's so small that I have to squint, and wasn't actually able to get a decent photo. You might be able to see it in the one below.

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None of this detracts from a very pocket-able knife that I'm looking forward to carrying. I love the flat grind, and the super-thin secondary blades. The springs are just a touch firmer than this particular 303, but not quite as strong as some of my other Bucks. In other words, well within my comfort level. It's a great knife, but if I didn't have store points I probably would not have gotten it. Maybe if I saw it at discount.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I like the blades on that 34OT, but the bolsters are a deal breaker for me.
One of my first knives was a 34OT, and without the square bolster frame it's just not a 34OT to me.

As always these days a company tries and comes close but still fails because they just did it for marketing and didn't actually care.
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And to think... it was the bolsters that spoke so pleasantly to me. I just wish I could learn more about the 2025 offerings of the 34OT.
 
DirtDawg said:
And to think... it was the bolsters that spoke so pleasantly to me. I just wish I could learn more about the 2025 offerings of the 34OT.
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If you like round bolsters you like round bolsters.
While I do prefer square bolsters on such frames because it's probably what I'm most used to I don't have anything against the round bolsters, I just don't like a knife I grew up with being improperly resurrected on the wrong frame.
To me it's like if Chevy were to bring back the S10 as a minivan or something.
 
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