Prototype 830 Marksman?

[Culprit99]

Good morning, all!

Did I stumble across a prototype Marksman? They first appeared in the catalog in 2014. This one is date coded 2013. There are several other differences from my other Marksmans, as well. There is a star after the 154CM, and the blade is not marked G&G Hawk Collaboration. The pivot bolt is a hex head vice a Torx, same for the scale screws. There is a difference in the rectangle that adjusts the locking bar, and a difference in the finish of the locking bar. There are grinder/buffer striations on the blade that the regular production knives don't have. The grind of the tip is different when viewed from the thin side. The scalloped thin section of the locking bar is placed differently.

Has anyone else found a 2013 Marksman, or one with these differences?

 

[Tecate]

Interesting. Could be prototype, but with so many things being different like the lock bar, screws, blade hopefully it is not a knock-off. Did you obtain it fishing in the bay?

 

[Culprit99]

Interesting. Could be prototype, but with so many things being different, like the lock bar, screws, blade length could be a knock-off. Did you obtain it fishing in the bay?

I definitely considered it could be a knock-off, but with so many things being done exactly right, why would they make some glaring differences like leaving off a prominent blade marking, or moving the position of the scalloped section on the locking bar? The differences look more to me like differences from hand-produced production representative prototypes to full-rate production pieces off the finalized line with more automation, tooling, and fixturing and less handwork.

Buck Knives Inc. , can you give any input on this 2013 Marksman being a prototype, please?

 

[Tecate]

Your knock-off crashed the site. Just kidding. The 830 Marksman has a lot of parts they would need to fabricate for a knock-off, so you are probably right that it is not one.

Did the knife come in a regular yellow box?

 

[Culprit99]

LOL! Either that or we’re all over our picture limit again.

I bought it as a light user with no box.

 

[TheFishman]

My vote would be that it is not a knock off. I am not sure what it is, but if it was a knock off we would have seen more of them. I doubt a counterfeiter would go to the trouble of counterfeiting a knife and then only produce a small number of them. If they produced a lot, we would have seen them by now. There are some subtle differences, but usually counterfeit differences are more obvious. Cool knife no matter what.

 

[Culprit99]

Here's some cool news!

Joe Houser responded to my post about this knife elsewhere on the interwebs:

"If I remember right an asterisk after the steel type means it's actually 420hc and the knife was made as a salesman sample. That would be cool!"

How awesome is that?!

 

[J Hubbard]

Joe is correct. many time early samples are 420hc, but are marked with an asterisk to indicated that it is not the listed steel. This is usually early show samples. Many of the parts may not have reached their final design needs and will go through changes as the product evolves into a production unit.

Jeff

 

[Culprit99]

Joe is correct. many time early samples are 420hc, but are marked with an asterisk to indicated that it is not the listed steel. This is usually early show samples. Many of the parts may not have reached their final design needs and will go through changes as the product evolves into a production unit.

Jeff

Thank you, Jeff - that's a great piece of history! I'm super happy I stumbled across this Marksman.

 

[TheFishman]

Now that you know what it is, tell us how you stumbled upon it.

 

[Culprit99]

Now that you know what it is, tell us how you stumbled upon it.

I don't know if I should, or am allowed, to post someone's contact info here publicly, but I posted it in the BCCI member forum on the website.

I talked to the man I bought it from some more and found out that he bought the collection from a former Buck Sales rep, so I bought two more Salesman Samples with the star marking from him in two different models! I'll have to get pictures and post them. I haven't seen everything he has but it's over 150 knives.

 

[DeSotoSky]

Not addressing the prototype-sample issue but I will make another comment.
It is common to find knives with date codes the year before the first catalog appearance. Think about it, the catalog is planned and printed the year before. Buck doesn't wait until January 1st to start making new knife models. I have numerous examples in my collection.

 

[TheFishman]

I don't know if I should, or am allowed, to post someone's contact info here publicly, but I posted it in the BCCI member forum on the website.

I talked to the man I bought it from some more and found out that he bought the collection from a former Buck Sales rep, so I bought two more Salesman Samples with the star marking from him in two different models! I'll have to get pictures and post them. I haven't seen everything he has but it's over 150 knives.

No need for contact info. I was just wondering if it was from an auction, estate sale, pawn shop, or some place else. If the 535 you just posted about is from the same lot, you must have found some neat finds. Congrats.

 

[Culprit99]

Not addressing the prototype-sample issue but I will make another comment.
It is common to find knives with date codes the year before the first catalog appearance. Think about it, the catalog is planned and printed the year before. Buck doesn't wait until January 1st to start making new knife models. I have numerous examples in my collection.

That makes perfect sense - thank you.