Question for Joe Houser

[Rocinante]

Will Buck fix these if I send them in? What will it cost me?

This is a regular General 120 with a really bloody awful blood groove (with the one on the other side showing some scrapes also, but lacking the ugly gouge at the end). You will also note that the edge grind is not even.

This next one is a 120BR with a really lopsided pommel.

These are brand new knives and I will not mention who I bought these from (you can e-mail me if you need to know).

I'm beginning to wonder if the seller has bought up some Buck seconds or something.....because I had to return one about a month ago for similar flaws.
Can people buy and resell factory seconds from Buck?

I could send these back (to the seller, I mean) but I'm beginning to wonder if I'd get replacements that are just as bad. Am I buying fakes or seconds?

Advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Buckaholic]

I am curious...are they are stamped "FB" anywhere on the blade/tang?

 

[MikeSEA]

Until someone from BUCK comes along.

FYI, I don't believe that BUCK sells seconds without some indication on the knife and box.

I bought a 655 from a guy on ebay that he clearly listed as a "FB" (factory blem). It and the box were clearly marked. The knife actually has a small "FB" stamped onto the back side of the blade (opposite side of the normal tang stamp). And the box had a hand written "FB" in red ink on the label adjacent to the model number.

It was destined to be a user so as long as it was only cosmetic I didn't care.
But it turned out that neither he nor I could find anything obvious that you would consider to be a defect. So now ironically the only thing wrong with the knife is the little FB stamp. :jerkit:

I guess what constitutes a defect /blem is subjective, base upon who's making the call.

 

[Rocinante]

Nope, neither box nor blade show an 'FB' and the seller is selling them as normal. These are Idaho stamped blades, in fact, every 120 I've gotten from them is Idaho stamped. These two, however, have the defects pictured, which I absolutely don't regard as normal Buck workmanship.

 

[chickentrax]

This is a regular General 120 with a really bloody awful blood groove...

Now THAT is interesting...that groove was made with a ball-end mill bit...my 119/120 blood grooves were made with a grinding wheel...I wonder when/why they changed...

Here's a 120 with a lengthwise ground blood groove...

 

[110 Dave]

likely a engeneering change withthe new set ups..
like as not a great time to change processes..
end mill ... humm

 

[chickentrax]

end mill ... humm

Yeah; I got a bunch of them for gunsmithing...

 

[Rocinante]

Thanks for the info, guys.....I hope Joe can check on this tomorrow.

I suppose the first year in Idaho included a whole lot of new challenges for them......maybe both new equipment and new people.

I just hope they can do something about these knives I now own (if I choose to keep them).

 

[RAZORBLADES]

Nope, neither box nor blade show an 'FB' and the seller is selling them as normal. These are Idaho stamped blades, in fact, every 120 I've gotten from them is Idaho stamped. These two, however, have the defects pictured, which I absolutely don't regard as normal Buck workmanship.

I was just going to ask if it was a Idaho stamp,I think the quality products buck was known for are a thing of the past.Almost every new buck i've had in my hands has something not quite right about it,from bad blade grinds,loose blades,poor locks,overgrinding/polishing bent tips,just to name a few.I buy all my bucks from e-bay,the older the better imho.:thumbdn:

 

[Evil Eye Earl]

I was just going to ask if it was a Idaho stamp,I think the quality products buck was known for are a thing of the past.Almost every new buck i've had in my hands has something not quite right about it,from bad blade grinds,loose blades,poor locks,overgrinding/polishing bent tips,just to name a few.I buy all my bucks from e-bay,the older the better imho.:thumbdn:

I have several new Bucks and no problems,
quality is there on mine.:thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[chickentrax]

I suppose the first year in Idaho included...new equipment...

Maybe...maybe not...

Here's an Idaho 120 Pro with ground blood groove...

 

[RAZORBLADES]

I have several new Bucks and no problems,
quality is there on mine.:thumbup: :thumbup:

try measuring some new 110 blades,they are not even 3 3/4 ,what happened there???????My guess is buck was forced to do as other knife companies had to do to survive,make cuts somewhere!:jerkit:

 

[Rocinante]

Another mystery for Joe to unravel.

Who knows, maybe I'm buying fakes made by slave children somewhere in Asia.

I see there are two different types of Idaho stamped blood grooves, because mine looks like it came from a totally different Buck shop than Trax's does.

Apparently (during that first year in Idaho) two different types of equipment were used and I don't doubt that they were training new people, too.

I believe the quality and the quality control could both have had a few glitches as they came through the first year in Idaho.

But I believe they, rare as it may be among American companies, are committed to quality and integrity and I'm rooting for them (and buying the product in hopes of sustaining the dream).

 

[chickentrax]

try measuring some new 110 blades,they are not even 3 3/4...

My new [Idaho] plain-Jane 110's are 3 3/4"; it's the Custom Shop/premium steel 110's that measure 3 5/8"...Joe has commented that he doesn't know why there is a difference, but that he would look into it...[hint, hint]...

 

[Rocinante]

Ok.......here's another thing?!!?!!

What am I doing with a black-handled Idaho stamped 120 anyhow????

In checking the archives here, I find they were discontinued in 2003.

Idaho stamped would be 2005, right? That's two years after they were discontinued at an entirely different factory.

I realize they still make them for Cabela's, but this one has no Cabela logo on the blade.

Now I'm more confused.

 

[wh4f]

I have several new Bucks and no problems,
quality is there on mine.:thumbup: :thumbup:

I guess there is bound to be a few glitches somewhere but all of mine with the idaho and newer stamp are great!!
Especially the G-5 and Dorado!!!!!

 

[wh4f]

I see there are two different types of Idaho stamped blood grooves, because mine looks like it came from a totally different Buck shop than Trax's does.

Apparently (during that first year in Idaho) two different types of equipment were used and I don't doubt that they were training new people, too.

Either that or possibly they had blades left from before the move?
Just my .02 again but I really like the end milled blood grooves, they are more uniform (mine anyway) and not so rough cut like the older horizon grinds.
I really liked the machining marks on the false edge better also!
(IMHO)

 

[RAZORBLADES]

I'm not sure what exactly the problems could be ,i know i have some offshore buck pocket knives that put Idaho 110's to shame,so maybe it could be a result of leaving all the trained professionals back in Cali.If new folks are trying to copy the skiled labour crew Buck had back in Cali,it could take awhile to get to that level of quality.

 

[Rocinante]

Well.....for me at least, the quality has ALWAYS been excellent, which was why I was so stunned to get two in a row, both with that Idaho stamp, both with significant problems.

 

[RAZORBLADES]

I have never had a quality issue myself until the move .Since then i've seen too many bucks with issues to just overlook it.I look at my 2 dots and after years of use,not a single problem whatsoever,notta,nowadays,a nib buck can have problems before its even seen use.

I was a huge buck fanboy,with a signifigant collection to show for it,but i think now it is time to just keep what i have a start a new hobby.

The warranty bucks come with is called a "forever warranty",i'm still waiting on a warranty knife sent back last december,here it is April and still no knife.