Stockman Identity?

[drei3ree]

I don't know much about this one. I'm not even sure it's a 301...The only marking is the Buck anvil stamp. What is the handle material, was it made in 2002, what's it worth in unused condition? Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[bertl]

What is the length of the knife when closed?

 

[drei3ree]

I don't have it right now, but about 3"

 

[MT_Pokt]

303 Polypearl. Great little knife in the unusual greyer color. Value is subjective. I've bought and sold them for <$50, but haven't done so in a long time.

 

[DeSotoSky]

They were a WalMart issue. I've seen 2002 Anvil and 2003 date codes. The knife shown is the dark poly pearl and not seen as often. They are commonly a white poly. There are a few rare ones out there with white on one side and dark on the other. I have never noticed them to bring a premium and personally value them as any other 303 Cadet.

I just did a quick search and found a write up by 300bucks from 2009.
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/mini-history-of-303-polypearl.661628/

 

[DeSotoSky]

Has anyone ever noticed a parallel between discussion of a particular knife here on the forum and the appearance of some on eBay? People read about a knife they did not know about here on the forum and immediately jump to the bay to find one.

Bet a Pepsi that some 303 poly's will show up there in the coming week.

 

[afishhunter]

Bet a Pepsi that some 303 poly's will show up there in the coming week

Pepsi ... ew.
Mountain Dew is the only way to go.
I'll not take your bet since you're probably correct.
Those that show up on ePray will no doubt be over priced, as well.

 

[drei3ree]

Thanks for all the replies! So, it's a Cadet 303, Polypearl made in 2002. They also made these in 2003. There were two main colors: white and black, but sold twice as many of the white. There are rumors of a rare gray one, but I'm gonna guess that's just faded black. Do I have it right?

 

[MT_Pokt]

Do I have it right?

Kinda...

Based on information I gathered; primarily from Craig (300Bucks) and other reading here and in BCCI Newsletters (IIRC):
-Buck didn't differentiate between the three (or is it two) hues of Poly Pearl. There was only one model number and catalog number for the Poly Pearl 303s.
-There were no individual production numbers for the different colors so the ratio between hues sold is unknown.
-Some had 2 colors on one knife. I had one of these and moved it along to someone here a few years back.
-There is speculation that either early or late in a batch of handles, the color gradually changed from light to dark.

Armed with all that knowledge & speculation; I limited the example in my 303 collection to only the most likely color, which is the lightest of the 3 as that is the one accepted as the standard.

In my opinion; while they're cool and different, it's all Poly Pearl much like it's all ebony. As far as manufacturing is concerned, it's all the same. To a collector though, they're all different.

My $0.02...

Someone will correct me if I'm mistaken (which happens more often than not).

 

[Hickory n steel]

Pepsi ... ew.
Mountain Dew is the only way to go.
I'll not take your bet since you're probably correct.
Those that show up on ePray will no doubt be over priced, as well.

You speak my language.
I once bought something from Walmart that was a lemon as was the replacement, after the second lemon I just took the store credit and got as much Dew as I could.
It was only about $20-$25 worth but I was much happier with it than the POS that I had originally purchased.
( Gotta cut back now with my stomach condition, but still love the stuff )

I'll bet he could be on to something in a way at least.
Someone Google's a knife before listing it and we're the top result.
Either they ask for a value without reading the rules or they just see lots of interest in here in the particular mod and decide to just hike the price based on that.