The BuckMaster Book : History of the BuckMaster

I received my book yesterday and read it cover to cover,I have been an avid Buck 184/185 buckmaster collector for 25 years and offer my Congratulations to the author an excellent work covering the complete history of the Buck 184 Buckmaster from its Phrobis beginings to the end of production with segments on the Buck 185 and M9. Great photos lots of information and above all real interesting reading and inside information never before released from inside the Buck camp. If you collect the Buckmaster or just like it its an eye opener and above all just great reading .
 
Cool book for sure! In his research Rich got to hear some behind the scenes stories about the begining of the 184. This stuff would have been lost but now its all in the book. Nice job!
 
If you collect Buckmaster knives, you really need this book. And if you don't collect Buckmaster knives you should have a copy for your library anyway. The amount of detailed information in this book is outstanding.

Rich started this project as a group of technical data sheets for the various models of the 184 for the BCCI site. He and I had been corresponding for a while sharing information and he sent me a copy of what he had prepared. When I saw what he had done I commented to him that he should really consider publishing a book. I would gladly buy a book with the information he had at that time and I assured him that many other people would also. Let me tell you, what I saw then is NOTHING compared to the final product. Rich went over and above with this book. He tracked down many of the people who were involved with the Buckmaster project at the very beginning, back in the days of Phrobis and Qual-A-Tec. He interviewed the key players and in addition to the technical and historical information there are many, many humorous and enjoyable anecdotes. But the best part is the photographs. Tons of them, many in color. Stuff you've never seen before. Other stuff you've never even heard of before. Another interesting touch that is available in the limited printing hard cover (only 184 copies to be printed) is hand autographs of thirteen of the people involved with the Buckmaster project. Kind of like each one's personal seal of approval.

I don't know how to put this any clearer . . . Buy the book, you won't regret it.

http://www.thebuckmasterbook.com
 
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Rich Neyman contacted me about a year and a half ago through a add I had placed on Ebay and introduce himself. Even though we have never met in person, because he is one of those people who has a warm and genuine heart, we immediately connected over the phone and I have grown to consider him one of my closest friends. When he told me about his plans to put a book together on the buckmaster I was immediately on board. I remember listening to his ideas and really getting excited about the project. To be completely honest, at the time I wasn’t sure what to expect. While the subject of his book was, of course, personally interesting to me as I had lived through it, I could not have envisioned the final results. Rich pursued this book like an investigative reporter, chasing down leads, digging through piles of old documents, and finding photos and stories long forgotten and almost lost. These hundreds of hours of research in conjunction with the hundreds of personal hours of experience with the Buckmaster through his own extensive collection combined with his personal relationships with C.J. Buck, Joe Houser, Paul Bos, and many others, has culminated in a world class research work that will forever stand as the definitive work on the 184 and all of its morphological transformations. But lest anyone get the idea that all of this research has produced a dry collection of facts and photos let me assure you his unique humor and love for fun has had a powerful influence on this work. His inclusion of funny stories, fun trivial anecdotes, and light hearted writing style has helped to create a work that is not only vast in scope but just really fun to read. Don’t be too surprised if you find it one of those books that you just can’t put down. Thanks again Rich for the BuckMaster Knives, the authorized book on the 184 & 185. And God bless you. Rick MacDonald
 
Rich and I had so many conversations over the months and each time he would come in with some new information he dredged out of somebody and that would prompt me with another memory of some interaction or event. The Buckmaster started as a special project and became the most popular introduction of a new product since the Folding Hunter and only beaten a decade later by the #360 Bucktool.

It is a fun read. I was one of the proof readers and Rich was always gracious to incorporate changes, rearrange pictures so they would be closer to where they were being referenced on the page etc...

As I said in the forward...there were so many things I did not even know as Rich found the "Phrobis" side of negotiations and perspectives on things. Really interesting.
 
I cant believe I had my Buck Factory guest badge on. Thats me on the Left :D

:)Here is some BuckMaster Trivia for ya.:)
Both of these knives are First Generation BuckMaster
PROTOTYPE SEAL TEAM SIX Knives,
FROM the modualer set made for SEAL TEAM SIX by PHROBIS LTD. (Specifically Robert and Rick MacDonald by hand)
They were both heat treated by Paul Bos.

The one I am holding sports a 10.5 inch blade and the one CJ has is a 12 inch blade.

Also this is the VERY First picture I have had ever taken with CJ and I together ;)

4dcbfb7b73a62_image.jpg
 
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Today I got my book, I can't believe it!!!
I'm another Buck collector, and this is my dream book!!
I recommend it, I agree with survivaledge, If you are a Buckmaster collector you must have this book.
 
Leandroco,
Welcome to the forum! I hope you'll give us some of your impressions of the 184 book once you get a chance to read it.
 
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