Vintage Buck Knives

321Bandaid

321Bandaid

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Hey, guys! I'm 100% certain there's already a thread on this, but I can't find it. I'm trying to figure out which year Buck knives were produced by who?? My understanding is that Camillus did some? Maybe others?? Could be entirely wrong. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!! 🙏
 
This isn't as cut-and-dried as you might think.

Schrade made the 300 series knives from 1969 through 1972-ish. Camillus made them from 1971 through 1985. There was a little overlap in the '71 - '72 era, I've never really seen a definitive break point, and I don't know which knives were produced by whom. The Schrade knives are pretty easily identified, but they don't vary any during their time., so a '69 might be impossible to tell from a '71 or a '72.

From 1986 onward Buck made them, except when they didn't. Even when Buck was making the 300s in house, Camillus continued to make knives with the Buck stamp. The Camillus made knives didn't have date codes. For example I don't think Buck ever made a Muskrat in house, so Muskrats made past 1986 would be Camillus knives. Camillus also made a lot of the Buck special offerings sold by Smoky Mountain. I wouldn't be surprised if they didin't make a few Buck knives up to the day they closed their doors.
 
Thank you, kindly! I'm trying to determine the who-what-when because, frankly, I've purchased several older Camillus knives but they just didn't give me "the fizz". Don't get me wrong! They're proper knives and certainly we'll made. I'm just trying to find a nice "Buck-made" stockman as I do not currently own a "Buck-made" stockman or any Buck knife to be honest. I'd just like to experience the manufacturing differences as I've noticed their are a ton of die-hard Buck fans... and I love a good stockman. 👍🏻

Looking at the vintage 301s (80s-90s???) Any recommendations welcomed! 🙏

Something like this:
1000023068.jpg
 
Not sure what you might be asking... The 301 is a fine knife, as are the 303 (smaller) and the 307 (HUUUUGE!). The 307 is always going to be a Camillus-made knife. I carry a 307.

As far as the 301 and the 303 go, if it has a date code on it, it's a Buck-made knife. It's hard for me to consider '80s and '90s knives as vintage, there are countless knives of that age out there ranging from relic to minty, and they tend to be reasonably priced. Sometime in 1989 the Stockman knives gained a third backspring.

The 301T4, pictured, was a limited production item, there were also yellow and jigged brown bone knives in that time frame. The Workman series knives had dark gray scales. They're going to be pricey.

Not a Stockman, but all of the 500, 700 and 100 series knives will be Buck-made. At least I can't think of any exceptions right at the moment.
 
dsutton24 said:
As far as the 301 and the 303 go, if it has a date code on it, it's a Buck-made
Click to expand...
Easier way to tell at a glance without opening a blade:
The Schrade and Camillus made 300 series ALL have long pulls.

Buck made 30x (with few exceptions, such as the 2018 Forum knife.) have Nail Nicks (as do the offshore contracted 37x and 38x knives.)
 
afishhunter said:
Easier way to tell at a glance without opening a blade:
The Schrade and Camillus made 300 series ALL have long pulls.

Buck made 30x (with few exceptions, such as the 2018 Forum knife.) have Nail Nicks (as do the offshore contracted 37x and 38x knives.)
Click to expand...

There are a lot of exceptions. The Muskrats are all Camillus made, and they have half-moon pulls. Ditto the 317, 322, 315, 331, and probably others I'm not thinking of. Not to mention the Chinese knives, they all have half moon nicks.
 
dsutton24 said:
There are a lot of exceptions. The Muskrats are all Camillus made, and they have half-moon pulls. Ditto the 317, 322, 315, 331, and probably others I'm not thinking of. Not to mention the Chinese knives, they all have half moon nicks.
Click to expand...
I did specify the 30x series knives.
I also pointed out the offshore 37x (371/373 stockmans ) and 38x (389 canoe) also have nail nicks.
I know there are others that start with "37" and "38".
I don't know if there is a 39x series of offshore Buck knives.

The 371/373 and 389 are the only offshore 300's I am familiar with.

The 317; 322; 315; 331; etc. are NOT a 30x series (301/303/305/307/etc) knife. The 307 has a long pull, and was never an in-house model.
Unless I am mistaken, the 31x, 32x, and 33x were/are all contract Schrade/Camillus manufactured models/patterns, not inhouse production? As far as I know only the 30x were manufactured inhouse after 1986 or so.
 
afishhunter said:
I did specify the 30x series knives.
I also pointed out the offshore 37x (371/373 stockmans ) and 38x (389 canoe) also have nail nicks.
I know there are others that start with "37" and "38".
I don't know if there is a 39x series of offshore Buck knives.

The 371/373 and 389 are the only offshore 300's I am familiar with.

The 317; 322; 315; 331; etc. are NOT a 30x series (301/303/305/307/etc) knife. The 307 has a long pull, and was never an in-house model.
Unless I am mistaken, the 31x, 32x, and 33x were/are all contract Schrade/Camillus manufactured models/patterns, not inhouse production? As far as I know only the 30x were manufactured inhouse after 1986 or so.
Click to expand...

Okay,, you win.
 
321Bandaid said:
I'm just trying to find a nice "Buck-made" stockman as I do not currently own a "Buck-made" stockman or any Buck knife to be honest.
Click to expand...
Buck introduced their date codes when production of the 300 series went in house in 1985.
If it has a date code it's a Buck made knife, and you can easily date the knife.
That red 301 pictured has a 1989 date code.
 
afishhunter said:
Easier way to tell at a glance without opening a blade:
The Schrade and Camillus made 300 series ALL have long pulls.

Buck made 30x (with few exceptions, such as the 2018 Forum knife.) have Nail Nicks (as do the offshore contracted 37x and 38x knives.)
Click to expand...
Technically yes but seeing that nail nick won't tell you the age and that matters.
Basically from '85-'99 or so Bucks slipjoint blades were at their best and that's what I'd suggest looking for, so the tang stamps should be payed attention to.
The grind profile was the best, F&F on the blades was the best, edge grinds were the best out of the box, they were just best then.


Basically the best thing to do is just stick to the standard 300 series .
The 301 302 303 305 & 309

BTW there's also the 700 series knives to keep in mind, they have the most Buck identity when it comes to slipjoints and were the 1st Buck slipjoints made in house. The primary blade grinds are angled for some reason and it's a different kind of look but they're very well made.
The 300 series knives are great, but so are the 700 series and they are uniquely Buck.
That would be the 701 Bronco, 703 colt, 704 Maverick, 705 pony, & 709 yearling.
If you want a more conventional stockman with a serpentine frame get a 301 or 303, but if you want a stockman that's made by Buck and is also undeniably Buck get a 701 or 703.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
Technically yes but seeing that nail nick won't tell you the age and that matters.
Basically from '85-'99 or so Bucks slipjoint blades were at their best and that's what I'd suggest looking for, so the tang stamps should be payed attention to.
The grind profile was the best, F&F on the blades was the best, edge grinds were the best out of the box, they were just best then.


Basically the best thing to do is just stick to the standard 300 series .
The 301 302 303 305 & 309

BTW there's also the 700 series knives to keep in mind, they have the most Buck identity when it comes to slipjoints and were the 1st Buck slipjoints made in house. The primary blade grinds are angled for some reason and it's a different kind of look but they're very well made.
The 300 series knives are great, but so are the 700 series and they are uniquely Buck.
That would be the 701 Bronco, 703 colt, 704 Maverick, 705 pony, & 709 yearling.
If you want a more conventional stockman with a serpentine frame get a 301 or 303, but if you want a stockman that's made by Buck and is also undeniably Buck get a 701 or 703.
Click to expand...
Thank you, sir! 👍🏻
 
321Bandaid said:
Thank you, sir! 👍🏻
Click to expand...
The 305 is my favorite Buck model and the only one I truly accumulate, but this will still give you an idea on how the in house 300 series blades changed over time as the changes applied to the entire 300 series.

Starting with the 1985 grey handle Workman series on the bottom, in order there's an '88, a couple 89's, a '90, a '98, an '03, '14, '15 , '17.

This is also most of the different cover options that have been available on the 300 series over the years, minus 2 types of yellow synthetics 2 different red synthetics I don't yet have and anything only used on certain knives, just in case you get a standard black one and decided to get another in a different handle material.
Examples from the mid 2000's+ are a little less consistent in blades because of tooling age and the best craftsman retiring...etc, the golden era of their slipjoints was was definitely '85 through 90's but I don't know exactly when they started to decline.
My '03 black delrin isn't bad at all, but still missing some of that earlier magic.

EDIT : I'll have to get a better picture focusing on the blades themselves tomorrow, I just noticed in my picture that you can't really tell very well.
Basically they went from an almost full flat grind to a very high hollow grind then to a hollow sabre grind around 2000.
 
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At some point, they switched the 700 series Stockman from the traditional blade position and moved the spey up front with the clip. I had purchased one of those, but found the F & F lacking. I returned it to Buck and they promptly replaced it with one that had excellent F & F but had the newer blade configuration.
 
buckthorn said:
At some point, they switched the 700 series Stockman from the traditional blade position and moved the spey up front with the clip. I had purchased one of those, but found the F & F lacking. I returned it to Buck and they promptly replaced it with one that had excellent F & F but had the newer blade configuration.
Click to expand...
Good call. The switch took place in mid 1986. These two 703's are both from 1986. The top knife is before the transition and the bottom knife is after. As mentioned above, they also added a third backspring when they made the transition.
 
afishhunter said:
Easier way to tell at a glance without opening a blade:
The Schrade and Camillus made 300 series ALL have long pulls.

Buck made 30x (with few exceptions, such as the 2018 Forum knife.) have Nail Nicks (as do the offshore contracted 37x and 38x knives.)
Click to expand...
Another of those few exceptions to add to the list is the September 2021 BOTM two blade 301 with long pull on both blades.

3CE735D6-2A34-4446-A0CD-6BF2141A9365.jpeg
 
321Bandaid said:
Thank you, kindly! I'm trying to determine the who-what-when because, frankly, I've purchased several older Camillus knives but they just didn't give me "the fizz". Don't get me wrong! They're proper knives and certainly we'll made. I'm just trying to find a nice "Buck-made" stockman as I do not currently own a "Buck-made" stockman or any Buck knife to be honest. I'd just like to experience the manufacturing differences as I've noticed their are a ton of die-hard Buck fans... and I love a good stockman. 👍🏻

Looking at the vintage 301s (80s-90s???) Any recommendations welcomed! 🙏
Click to expand...
321Bandaid 321Bandaid , I'll part with the two blade September 2021 301 Buck of the Month shown above if it looks like what you're hunting for. It's Buck-made, but not the traditional three blade stockman that you might be wanting. I bought two - carry one daily and this one is collecting dust in the closet.
 
Culprit99 said:
Another of those few exceptions to add to the list is the September 2021 BOTM two blade 301 with long pull on both blades.

View attachment 2594449
Click to expand...
That would be one of the few exceptions, like the '18 forum knife. 😇
Isn't that a "civilian" version of the forum knife?

I wonder if that configuration (maybe with different covers? will become a standard production variation or replacement for the discontinue 2 blade 301 size knife? (I forget which 30x number it was.)
 
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