What would you rate the 300's series on the pull/snap scale?

C

cards94

Joined
Jul 23, 2013
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Just curious because I own a 301 that I'm happy with but curious what it rates on the pull/snap scale from the Buck pros.
 
Current ones, with the 3 backspring design "adequate", Older ones with 2 backsprings, "great"!
 
dogstar said:
I own newer 302 and 309. I'd put them right in the middle of the spectrum.
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I think the newer 301 has weaker springs compared to those two models because it's three separate springs on the knife.
 
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cards94 said:
I didn't know the older ones had stronger back spring.
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Whole different design, the older ones had the traditional 2 spring design, where the Spey and Sheepsfoot blades shared one spring. Buck redesigned them to the current design where each blade has its own spring and the layout of the Spey and Sheepsfoot blades are reversed.

Not entirely sure why, but since then, I've never found them to have to strong "snap" of the older style.
 
Bear Claw Chris Lappe said:
Whole different design, the older ones had the traditional 2 spring design, where the Spey and Sheepsfoot blades shared one spring. Buck redesigned them to the current design where each blade has its own spring and the layout of the Spey and Sheepsfoot blades are reversed.

Not entirely sure why, but since then, I've never found them to have to strong "snap" of the older style.
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Do you own a newer 301?
 
The current ones are right on the edge of being too soft for me - at best a 4 on a 1-10 scale. OH
 
Newer 300 series is a poor snap. The current China Bucks in the 300 series have a tighter snap than the USA series. Sad. I still only collect the USA series.
 
revnewk said:
Newer 300 series is a poor snap. The current China Bucks in the 300 series have a tighter snap than the USA series. Sad. I still only collect the USA series.
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Not much can be done about it and I don't see Buck changing anything soon but you never know.
 
I seem to recall seeing somewhere that they switched to 3 springs because the 2 blades sharing a single spring was breaking too many springs....
So a less snappy 3 spring setup would have a longer lifespan :)
 
DesertChris said:
I seem to recall seeing somewhere that they switched to 3 springs because the 2 blades sharing a single spring was breaking too many springs....
So a less snappy 3 spring setup would have a longer lifespan :)
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Interesting point. Maybe it was a design defect which kept breaking the springs, and than they turned to the 3 spring. Lots of other big stockman patterns out there that seem to be ok with a stronger snap and pull, so I wonder if Buck just ditched the two spring because of poor design?
 
DesertChris said:
I seem to recall seeing somewhere that they switched to 3 springs because the 2 blades sharing a single spring was breaking too many springs....
So a less snappy 3 spring setup would have a longer lifespan :)
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Entirely possible, plus with each blade having its own spring, the spey and sheepsfoot blades do not have to be crinked (slightly bent) to keep them from touching each other, which had to be labor intensive.

Have to agree with revnewk, I find the snap on the imported 373 and 371's to be better than domestic ones most of the time, which is odd, because they use the same newer layout of blades and springs.
 
Whether I actually know what I am talking about or not here is my answer to question.

Went to individual springs to save time and cost in assembly. Everything is the same and blades don't have to be hand "crinked" (bent) to fit in one blade well without rubbing. I bet if you take one apart and compare and measure, all the springs are the same dimension.
Bet if someone could measure opening effort (ounces likely) they would be the same for all blades. But the little blades may snap closed with more effect since they are smaller in size. This is speculation on my part. 300

300
 
Is Buck aware of the weak springs on the newer 301 and 303, or maybe it doesn't bother enough people for them to make a change? They would probably sell alot more of these I think if they made the springs stronger because I'm sure there are buyers who get the knife but return it because of the weak springs.
 
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