When did your love for Buck knives begin?

kyhunt

kyhunt

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I know their are lot of folks on here that love Buck knives, but I'm curious when it began for you. I have kind of made a circle back to bucks. When I was a young teen in the 80's I inherited a Buck 301 from my deceased stepdad. I had liked Buck knives before then but couldn't afford one. In high school I bought a 309 and carried it up through half my senior year when someone stole it during gym class. To me the holy grail was a Buck 110. When I was 16 I received a 110 for Christmas. I was the happiest kid in the world. That knife was also stolen a few years later out o my grandparents house. But I always had the 301. The 301 went with me to college (and wasn't stolen). In 92 or 94(I'd have to get out the receipt to double check) my parents asked my what I wanted for my birthday. I said I would love to have a new Buck knife. Well for my Birthday that year I ended up with a 703.:D That was my last Buck (and knife)until about 10 years ago when my wife bought me a new 110. Oh how happy I was. That got me back into collecting knives. I honestly considered myself mainly into Case knives( I know cuss word), until I did an inventory the other day and realized where my love really is. While I have an accumaltion of knives and not really a collection a large part is Buck. Sorry for long post but as I look back I realize that a Buck knife has been a part of my life for so long. In the past year after having many other knives I realize how much I like my bucks.Here is a list of my addiction.

9Case knives
2 Fallkniven fix blade users
2Esee users
11 Bucks (mostly users)(I do kick myself for letting a few go)
1 Boker
2 Bulldogs (1 user)
3 Queen
16 Barkriver (all users at some point)
3schrade Fixed blades (usa)
3shrade pocket knives(usa users)
1 eyebrand user
1 Western folder hunter
 
1979 or so. After years of drooling over the description, I ordered a Buck 110 from Herters Catalog.

I still have it.


Buck 110 by Pinnah, on Flickr

It more or less replace the old Ulster Boy Scout knives I carried as a kid.

Modified Ulster Camper by Pinnah, on Flickr

Somehow, I associated "boy" as meaning, "for a kid" and I didn't want to be a kid anymore.

While the big Bucks still hold a dear place in my heart, my tastes and needs have definitely swung back towards knives more like the old Ulsters. I've gone back to flat grinds and carbon steel for EDC use mostly. The 110 stays around for hunting.

The one exception is my Buck 500. It's in my EDC rotation still.

Buck 500 by Pinnah, on Flickr
 
In 1975 I bought a copy of The Gun Digest Book Of Knives, by Jack Lewis and B.R. Hughs. There was a great article on Buck knives in there. I bought my first Buck knife a short while later, at J.C. Penny. I wanted a 110, but all I had with me was $20, the 110 was $21, so I bought a 112 for $18. It`s been an ongoing affair ever since.
 
My Mom and Dad let me buy a Buck 525 gent with mallards on it when I was 10. Right before I turned 12 they bought me a 102 for my first year of hunting. 24 years later I still love my Bucks. I also scoured the Internet to make sure that all of my kids first knives were a Buck. It wasn't easy as it is now discontinued, but every one of them has a Buck 525 w/ mallards as their first Knife as well.
 
Approx 2.5 years ago i used to have a problem with gambling, I knew it was not good and needed something else to occupy my boredness. As soon as i got hold of my first 110 damascus i loved it. Studied them made some good friends over the forums. Ive never looked back plus not gambled either !

Collection now has a bit of structure too
 
Cool, these are all very interesting stories. I love to hear the history of how people starting their collections.
 
When Buck started doing some tacticals. My first three Bucks that got me really liking Buck are Buck/Striders in different colors (OD, Black, Tan). The Buck/TOPS are excellent. We are not hunters so even though I have many Buck hunting knives they just sit there.:D

Currently, my son and I really like and EDC the Buck Vantage Force - Pro (S30V).:thumbup:
 
When I was 10 or 12. I remember reading the adds in Field and Stream and Outdoor Life and wanting one. I couldn't wait till Iwas grown enough to go to hunting camp with my Dad.
When I finally got to go one of his buddys was strictly a Buck man. My dad was not a knife guy and used and abused his knives hard so he usually carried Imperials .Not knocking them I like them too.
Anyway buddy had a Kalinga for deer hunting and 311 Trapper for everything else. But the coolest was the day he showed me how to skin a groundhog with his 309 Companion. Not sure why I needed that skin but my Sabre barlow wasn't getting the job done. I've been a buck fan ever since. Even gave my Dad one. They last a little longer since he retitred
 
A couple of year ago:D I picked up the 309 for EDC. Wasn't really impressed with it at the time, but over time, the upside really shines through. I love how Buck manufactures in the USA and manages to sell a well made product for a reasonable (to me) price. The 300 series are my favorite, being strong, nicely polished, and snappily sprung. There are a minor flaws with each Buck knife, but I'm happy to live with them.

I'm after a carbon steel slip joint, just because. I guess Buck can't help me there.
 
My grandmother gave me a Buck 301 Stockman for my 15th birthday in November 1970, I've been a Buck-man ever since. My second Buck was a 105 Pathfinder I bought at the APG MD PX in the fall of 1976; I still own (and occasionally use) both knives. OH
 
1977--my dad was stationed at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ... as per the base scout troop tradition, each new Eagle Scout received a Buck 112. No engraving and such, just a fresh new 112 off the shelf from the BX, presented at the court of honor. The thought of receiving the 112 was enough to motivate me thru some rough spots on the trail to Eagle. From the moment I opened that box, I was hooked.

As much as I liked that 112, it met its rival in the form of a Buck 102, which I purchased a year later at the Elmendorf AFB AK BX. The scout troop in AK camped and backpacked year-round, and I always had one Buck or the other on my belt.

Superb knives!

PS The Buck 112 is long gone, sorry to say. But I found a great used one, same era, on the auction site. Got it for a darn good price, too. I still have the 102, thankfully.
 
Many, many, moons ago, I saw a Buck ad in Field and Stream, while waiting for a hair cut. In the ad was a 110, which looked like the most attractive knife I had ever seen and it was many moons later that I finally bought one. Throughout my years of knife collecting, I have traded most other brands, but I have never traded a Buck. Why? Because they have never failed me and have never failed to impress me.

Nowadays, I have my collection of 2 dot 110 knives, along with the customs, not to mention my cherished Alpha Dorados. I have many different folders, but with a Buck on your belt, you are never under-knifed.
 
In 1976, at age 12, I purchased a Model 301 from Oshmans Sporting Goods store at the mall. I recall I paid something around $15.00 for it. I made pretty good money pushing a lawnmower. I carried that knife everywhere for the next few years, until sometime in the 80's when I got the "tactical" bug. My Dad was an "Old Timer" man, my brother carried a Case Sodbuster. I had to have that black handled stockman. That Buck 301 was stolen along the way. Some 2 or 3 years ago, I got bitten by the traditional knife bug and went out to my local outfitter and bought another. While not the same, with the new grind, 420 steel and all, it still gets the job done. I hit the bay and came up with an early 70's model with the long pull and 440 steel. It's got some miles on it, but it'll cut! I recently picked up a 309 for the watch pocket. Off the shelf quality is A #1. I have "prettier" knives, Case,etc. But the one riding in the front pocket is usually a Buck of some type.
 
J Buck you just raised a question for me. Where the old long pull Camillus made Buck stockmans 440? I'm just curious as I didn't know what steel they were made from.
 
kyhunt,
I can honestly say I don't really have a clue. I'm not up to speed on the nuances. I was pretty sure the Early 300 series were 440C. I could be wrong. Someone else will have to jump in here who knows what's what. All I know is I can rub it on a stone and I'm good to go.
 
1973 - Eddie Bauer, Chicago (Back when EB was a real outdoorsman's shop). Here it is 40 years later...

IMG_4136_zps0eee107e.jpg
 
I purchased a 107 in 1976. It is a good field dressing knife for deer. I enjoyed using it and have stuck with the brand ever since. DM
 
I was doomed from birth. My father was a Buck man and carried a 119 every hunting or fishing trip. When I was about 6 I decided to go to hunters safety and soon after started hunting instead of just tagging along. Wasn't long before I conned the old man into letting me have my own fixed blade. I stumbled though and ended up with a surplus Kabar fighter. To my surprise dads old 119 kept on cutting long after my Kabar was being touched up. Dad was worried that I couldn't sharpen a Buck so we made a deal. I had to learn to get that 119 razor sharp whenever it needed it and when I was good enough dad would buy me one. Ended up with a Vangaurd and never looked back. Even with the hundreds of knives I own a Buck rides on my hip when a large animal is on the menu!
 
First Buck was a 110 back in 1979 after reporting to my first sea command. Later my wife picked me up a 303 from the Buck factory store back when they were in El Cajon, CA. That would have been in 1988. A few years later I added a 112 to the collection and that's been pretty much it until the last 4-5 years when my collecting has really taking off. The little 303 is the only one of my first three I still have.
 
My father bought me my first Buck knife on my 18th birthday, a 110. On my card he wrote "keep this knife and you'll always have a friend". When i began my law enforcement career, the 110 was on my belt. I decided i didn't want to take the chance of losing my treasured 110 so i retired it. I bought an Oddysy and made it my EDC. I broke the tip on my Oddysy on night while working. That was the end of my Buck experince until about three years ago. A co-worker brought a box of knives to work from an estate sale. In the box was a 111 Classic with the bright banner. I bought it from him for $40.00. My Buck collection has ballooned to over 120 knives. I still have my first Buck, the 110 which i received over 35 years ago, as well as the Oddysy with the broken tip. My wife says "It's just a knife" but i know a bunch of people who disagree.
 
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