The 300 Series Information Thread

pjsjr

pjsjr

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
7,476
I hope I don't step out of bounds with this post.

I have a few of the 300 series, but have not been serious about collecting them, not sure if I will become so. So many Buck knives, so little time. I have gathered a few informative items for my own knowledge base.

After the interest shown in the 300 series, shields in particual, in today's Sunday Picture Show and 300Bucks' encouragement of someone doing so, I decided to start this thread. It's threads that I have found lately about the series, not just shields used.

Please add to this short list of mine with any information you may think useful. Preston

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/752697-300-Series-History-1966-to-1990 by 300Bucks

http://buckcollectorsclub.org/upload/member/newsletters/September 2003.pdf by Larry Oden

This next one I have only begun to investigate, there are many, but it seems to hold a lot of information and all in 'one' place. I don't know the author, sure someone will, so can't vouch for the accuracy.

http://iknifecollector.com/group/buckknivesgroup/forum/topics/buck-300-series-historical-information by Syd Carr
 
Thanks for doing this. The OP (Original Poster) over in the Sunday Picture Show Forum (SPS) needed a little jump start on some of our lingo and some basic Buck shield, age and other specifics. One and all can chime in and help anyone interested what the "deal" is.

BOZ, pictured a toothpick model that had a shield specific to Bucks contract knives made in China. The "old time" shields are only on American made models which I believe Desoto showed an example of in a photo. Here's a question from me: Do NOS and NIB both mean 'New In the Box" ?
300
 
To me (and this may be splitting frog hairs) NOS means "new old stock" - box or no box. NIB means "new in the box" and must include the original box. OH
 
300Bucks if any of this is not allowed, I apologize...I did a quick search for a schematic and glossary of terms that would show a '300 series' and could not find a Buck specific one. If one uses google or any search engine there are many sources and exploded views, or ask here. Preston

This one by AKTI was provided by Buck Knives...
http://www.akti.org/resources/additional-definitions/

300Bucks did this one that shows some construction details of the 300...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...w-about-300-pivot-pins-but-were-afraid-to-ask

I looked for a glossary of terms for slip joints and found this...
http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/content/miscellaneous-research-topics/knife-terms/
 
Yesterday on the SPS, a question came up about the "Camillus era" for the 300 series. Of course in addition to the Camillus era, there was the Schrade era for the 301 and 303. What follows is a list of the Schrade and Camillus contract knives. In 1985 Buck took over production of the 301, 303, 305, and 309. The rest of the knives were always made by Camillus, and a few of those were sold only by Smoky Mountain Knife Works. Camillus had a strong working relationship with SMKW. I think that at one time Camillus owned a 50% interest of SMKW. If there are any additions or corrections for the list, feel free to make suggestions.

Bert (edited to include some models that were omitted and to give model names. Thanks DeSotoSky.)

Schrade
301 Stockman 1966-1971
303 Cadet 1968- 1972
Camillus
301 Stockman 1971-1985
303 Cadet 1971-1985
305 Lancer 1968-1985
307 Wrangler 1971-1987
309 Companion 1971-1985
311 Slim Trapper 1972-1990
313 Muskrat 1972-1985
315 Yachtsman 1972-1998
317 Trailblazer1972-1989
319 Rancher 1975-1992
321 Bird Knife1978-1992
322 Congress 1995
329 Trapper 1988-1993
331 Small Barlow 1999
332 Granddaddy Barlow 1999
333 California Toothpick 1999
334 Millennium Trapper 2000
 
Last edited:
Here is a 1985 Buck along with a Camillus contract 303. Take a look and see if you notice a difference.

Bert

balance point 2.jpg
 

Attachments

  • balance point 2.jpg
    balance point 2.jpg
    12.9 KB · Views: 56
Last edited:
Thanks, bertl and DeSotoSky.

Bert, I don't know the answer to what your asking but, I'm asking...I have two 301s, a 1987 and a 1995. The liners are different material, the 1987's are brass the 1995's are nickle sliver. Also the blade orientation is different on them. Will you comment on that? I didn't find answers in the searches I did. Thanks, Preston
 
Preston, look closely at your 2 knives... the 1987 has 2 springs and the 1995 has 3. The liners changed from brass about 1990. The secondary blades are crinked (bent at the tang to bypass) and share opposite ends of the same spring on the 1987. The 1995 has 1 spring for each blade. /Roger
 
Last edited:
Thanks, Roger, yes the '87 has 2 springs, the '95 three. I see you edited your post about the nickle silver liners, I hope the photos show that they are NS, due to the dings and nicks in the liner and not the springs. Preston

This first photo shows the two, '95 on top...


Next is the liners and springs...


Then the blade configurations, I see what you meant by 'crinked'...
 
pjsjr said:
Thanks, Roger, yes the '87 has 2 springs, the '95 three. I see you edited your post about the nickle silver liners, I hope the photos show that they are NS, due to the dings and nicks in the liner and not the springs. Preston
Click to expand...

Yeah, Bertl already whooped up on me about that one.... ;o)
 
No problem, wish I didn't understand about getting whooped up on;). Preston
 
Okay, in Post #6 I asked if anyone noticed a difference between the two knives. They are oriented so the tips of the clip blade are facing each other, and if you look closely you’ll notice that the end of the Camillus knife sits higher than the end of the Buck knife. Not quite so obvious is that the other end of the Camillus sits a little lower than the Buck. If you push the far ends of each knife down, the clip blade tip of the Buck will sit higher than the Camillus.
I don’t have a good explanation, but I have a couple of ideas. I did measure the angle of the bottoms and it looks like there’s about a 2 degree difference. Obviously the balance point on the two knives is different, but I’m not sure if that is due to a weight difference or because of the geometry.
For anyone who has both a Camillus 303 and a Buck 303 (preferably a two-spring version) fool around and see if you have a good explanation.

Everyone is welcome to play this game.

Bert
 
Clearly we have too much time on our hands... but OK, I'll play with mine tonight......
 
Clearly we have too much time on our hands...
Click to expand...
- DeSotoSky

Sometimes in Wyoming, when winter keeps going on and on, you start to do strange things.

Bert
 
A slight difference in the distance from the end of the knife to the inflection point on the springs may explain some of this. The distance from the clip blade pivot to the inflection point on the springs is slightly less for the Buck than it is for the Camillus. I added another photo to the first post to show this.

Bert
 
Last edited:
Camillus 303 ??

I have seen mention of a Camillus-made 303 version described as having handle pins and the model number on the pile side. Despite a lot of searching, I have never seen one and think that model might be a myth. Has anyone ever seen one?

Bert
 
bertl said:
Camillus 303 ??

I have seen mention of a Camillus-made 303 version described as having handle pins and the model number on the pile side. Despite a lot of searching, I have never seen one and think that model might be a myth. Has anyone ever seen one?

Bert
Click to expand...

See if the one on top of the right column fits that description (you should be able to click and zoom in).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top