What makes a Buck a Buck?

T

TheFishman

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Buck Knives has a factory in Post Falls, Idaho. Some of the knives Buck now sells are imported from China, while they have imported knives from Taiwan in the past. Buck also has contracted with Camillus, Sharade, and Wenger to produce knives for them that carried the Buck label. From 2017-2020, Buck partnered with Remington to produce knives for Remington. Except for the bullet knives that Buck produced in Post Falls, the other Buck produced Remington knives were made in China. I acquired this R40000 knife below this week. Even though this knife was made in 2018, it, along with a few other Buck produced Remington models, was still hanging at a store in Florida. The knife came extremely sharp, but I will have to see how well the 420J2 steel retains its edge. A couple of places online have the hardness rated at 53-55 HRC.

Now for the questions. Is this a Buck knife? Remington partnered with Buck and I assume Buck contracted with a plant in China to produce this knife. Does Buck maintain a plant in China or just contract with a Chinese plant to produce knives for them to Buck's specifications? I assume Buck knife makers designed this knife, and all of the Remington produced knives, but a Chinese company or plant actually made it. Therefore, should this Remington 40000 knife be considered a Buck?

I do not want this discussion to veer into a debate on whether Buck should make knives outside of the US. I simply want your thoughts on whether this should be considered a Buck knife and at what level of involvement by Buck constitutes making a knife a Buck knife.

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Some very good thoughts in your post but it’s simple for me personally. If it says Buck anywhere on the knife then it’s a Buck knife. If it doesn’t then it’s not.

I don’t consider the Camillus made Bucks to be Camillus knives nor do I consider the Remington knives to be Buck knives even though they might technically be.
 
GPyro said:
Does the Buck forever warranty apply to that knife?
Can you send it to Post falls and have them sharpen it for you?

Didn't think so.
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This is the back of the clam shell package with the stated warranty. I am not sure if Buck would sharpen it, but I assume that since it carries the Buck warranty that they would sharpen it also.

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if it has legitimate and authorized Buck name labeled on it, I call it a Buck, regardless of who made it where.

if Buck factory made it i still call it a Buck. even if labeled with a different name.

I didnt think Buck had their own Chinese or other foreign land factories, but I don't know. I always assumed they subcontracted.....but im all guesses on that.

that remington labeled knife I wouldn't call a Buck, but it appears it came through their manufacturing/distribution system......
according to the packaging.

all of this is debatable, and someone may have different opinions and I'm fine with that.
 
So is it one of these things that the warranty is good providing you kept the copy and proof of purchase....?

Is the warranty provided by Remington Cutlery?
Does bankruptcy effect that....?

Anyway...
It's a nice looking knife but I wouldn't call it a Buck. It says Remington on it.
Likely a well made one, but no.
✌

Tho I referred to the Cadillac Cimmeron as a Chevy, but I doubt anyone ever called a Cavalier a Cadillac.

😊
 
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Railsplitter said:
..... If it says Buck anywhere on the knife then it’s a Buck knife. If it doesn’t then it’s not.
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That definition is a little harsh too narrow. The first 50th anniversary 110's made in Dec 2013 did not have a handle shield or 'BUCK' on the tang.
I recall there was a similar discussion on the FB site a long time ago and I think the consensus was the deciding factor was the blade. I think the issue was about aftermarket custom knives needed to still have a Buck blade.
So I guess this knife made for Klein is not a Buck knife if Buck's name is not on it.
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I would call it a Buck if it was in the Buck catalog for sale. If not, I would add asterisks * noting it was made for or made by or assembled in. I try to give Buck at least partial credit for anything they take part in.
 
BuckShack said:
I would call it a Buck if it was in the Buck catalog for sale. If not, I would add asterisks * noting it was made for or made by or assembled in. I try to give Buck at least partial credit for anything they take part in.
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Special Factory Orders are not in the catalog...Copper & Clad, WalMart, Bass pro etc.
 
DeSotoSky said:
That is a little harsh. The first 50th anniversary 110's made in Dec 2013 did not have a handle shield or 'BUCK' on the tang.
How about the Cabela's 914 (Marbles Skinner), Bucks name was not on that one either.
I recall there was a similar discussion on the FB site a long time ago and I think the consensus was the deciding factor was the blade. I think the issue was about aftermarket custom knives needed to still have a Buck blade.
So I guess this knife made for Klein is not a Buck knife if Buck's name is not on it.
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It was not my intention to come off as harsh. Just sharing my thoughts as was asked by the original poster.

The way I see it, if Buck doesn’t want to call it a Buck knife then they must not want me to either.
 
I appreciate the discussion. It seems there is an exception to every rule you can come up with regarding this. Was it made by Buck in in the Buck factory? Does it have Buck imprinted on the blade? While the consensus on FB may have been the name on the blade, I am sure any Buck collector would love to have one of the early Phrobis M9s made by Buck without the Buck name on it. The Bass Pro 922 skinner doesn't have Buck's name on it. Buck has sold lots of items that were not made in the Buck factory with the Buck name on it over the years. I am sure plenty of Buck collectors have a Buck flashlight or Buck dart set.

I am not sure which way to lean on whether the Remington knives are true Buck knives. While Buck designed the knives, they did not produce them in the Buck factory and the knives were not marked Buck although the knives do have the Buck date code printed on the blade. The Remington knives were made for Buck though just like the imported knives now that have the Buck name on them. I pointed out on the Buck Knives Camp Kit thread how Buck essentially reused the Remington R10002 design and called it a Buck 834 for the camping set. These knives may have been made in the same factory, but one has the Buck name on the blade and handle while the other has Remington on the blade and R on the handle.

Either way is fine with me. I had a knife itch and scratched it by buying a $20 knife that had a connection to Buck. The one thing I like about the knife that I wish Buck would incorporate is the checkered handle. The handle is the reason I bought the knife. If Buck can produce or have a checkered handle knife produced for $20, can we get another Buck fixed blade with a checkered handle?
 
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This is an interesting conversation. I have several Remingtons that were made by Camillus AFAIK. The ones that are just rebadged Camillus patterns I tend to think of as Camillus. The ones that appear to be original designs, I tend to think of as Remingtons. Camillus made Bucks were Buck designs, and bore the Buck name, so they're Bucks.

OP I'd probably call your knife a Remington unless its a rebadged copy of a Buck design.

Of course, all this is just my opinion and I've rewritten this post 3 or 4 times, so its subject to revision on a whim ;)
 
For me if it says Buck ,if Buck made it or if Buck is willing to warrant it, it’s a Buck. But I’m not a strict collector.

I love my old flat grind, long pull Buck pocket knives that weren’t made by Buck. Honestly it wasn’t until coming over here years ago that I realized that. But to me it’s still a Buck.👍2ED97E75-13F0-42AB-93F7-8D0BDF875902.jpeg
 
Just to add a little bit more information for you to consider, Buck did give the Remington knives a catalog number. The number below is off a box on eBay. My clamshell package has it also.

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