Question about the 373 Trio

C

coyotebc

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Jan 26, 2005
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A couple of weeks ago I bought a new 373 at Wal-Mart (in Canada), the blister pack said it was 420HC.
The date code on the blade is 2010.
On Buck's website it states that the blade is 420J2.
Does anyone know when they switched from 420HC TO 420J2 as it is my understanding by doing a search here that in 2010 420J2 steel was used.
Thanks in advance
 
A check of the catalogs show that they were listed as having 420HC blades in 2008, and changed to 420J2 in 2009. It's only a guess, but perhaps they were still using up the old blister packs in 2010.
It's also used in the Silver Creek Filet series (mod. #'s 220, 223 and 225) as well as the now discontinued Gamut (mod. # 460.)
 
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I hope they just weren't using the old blister packs, as that would be false advertising (I believe)
I wish I kept the packaging, but I didn't the only reason I bought the knife was because it said 420HC.
I only bought the knife because I was looking at trying out traditional folders again after using larger folders for the last 10 or 12 years (or more)

I personally don't think I would buy a knife made of 420J2 steel except for dinner ware
Most of my Bucks are US made, so I never thought about it before.
I may head back to Wal-Mart this weekend to check out another trio package to see what it says
 
I have the 371 in 420hc and the 373 in 420j2-I have used them both reasonably hard and found both to perform and sharpen about the same. I would still rather have the 420hc of course.
 
I just figure that most of the buyers of that series of knives know little or nothing about knife steel and really don't care. They are looking for an entry level knife at a cheap price. Having the name Buck attached to it, just makes it more attractive.
 
Okay, so I just stumbled upon this mystery myself. This weekend I picked up a Buck 373 from Walmart (in Canada), and the package says 420HC. Based on the tang stamp the knife was made in 2011. Did anyone ever find an answer to this? Is Buck just using old (and now incorrect) packaging? That would be disappointing on a number of levels.
 
gcconspiracy said:
Okay, so I just stumbled upon this mystery myself. This weekend I picked up a Buck 373 from Walmart (in Canada), and the package says 420HC. Based on the tang stamp the knife was made in 2011. Did anyone ever find an answer to this? Is Buck just using old (and now incorrect) packaging? That would be disappointing on a number of levels.
Click to expand...

I haven't seen anyone from Buck address that subject here.
 
I really wish Buck didn't add the offshore knives under their name,it made a lot of confusion all over the board,folks here now think ALL buck knives are made in china and they are junk.Its hard to explain to them that only some of them are made there.Why did they bother with the offshore knives in the first place?They always managed to make them in the U.S.A before ,when they were located in Cali ,Where things were more expensive than anywhere else,they still were able to make the knives there.I have a few of them that friends got me because they know i like buck knives,but i don't care for any of the china buck knives to be truthfull the quality is far from any knives made in the usa with the buck name on the blade.
 
RAZORBLADES said:
I really wish Buck didn't add the offshore knives under their name,it made a lot of confusion all over the board,folks here now think ALL buck knives are made in china and they are junk.Its hard to explain to them that only some of them are made there.Why did they bother with the offshore knives in the first place?They always managed to make them in the U.S.A before ,when they were located in Cali ,Where things were more expensive than anywhere else,they still were able to make the knives there.I have a few of them that friends got me because they know i like buck knives,but i don't care for any of the china buck knives to be truthfull the quality is far from any knives made in the usa with the buck name on the blade.
Click to expand...

If you'll check the facts, you'll see that Buck was having knives produced offshore in China and Taiwan two or three years BEFORE they left California. I'm sure that it was just an effort to maintain their bottom line and stay in business.

I have a few of the Chinese made slippies and as far as I'm concerned, the quality of fit and finish is there and equal to or sometimes better than the USA made ones. I'm not the only one with that opinion but if the "China" on the blade turns you off, you're right to not buy them. :)
 
Just contacted buck, and they seemed to indicate that, despite what the packaging clearly said, the blades were 420J2 steel. Seems wrong to me that they should be able to sell knives with inaccurate specs on the packaging.
 
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