Where are the new 301's & 303's ?

Ace Rimmer · Saturday at 2:42 PM

I told the owner of the local knife shop that I wanted to get a new 303. A couple of weeks ago he told me that he thought he had some coming. I walked in yesterday and as soon as I came in the door he yelled "Get over here! Here it is!" Well, he had received only two knives, a blue 301 and a gray 303. I checked out the 303 and it looked and felt pretty good, exactly the size I was hoping for (similar to my old 703). I was hoping for a grenadillo or ebony, but this one is nice and I'm extremely happy with it (a bit giddy, to be honest). Great action and snap, all springs flush both closed and open, and very sharp (but read on...).
Well, here's a QC problem for you -- Once I got home I was checking out the blades: clip, shaves arm hair, check; sheepsfoot, shaves arm hair, check; spey, seems a bit dull, no problem I'll just... wait, what's this?! About a half or 5/8 of an inch in the middle of the edge wasn't dull, it was FLAT! Never ground to an apex. Sheesh. Got out my 220 DMT and started grinding. Man this Buck 420HC is hard... Took quite a while but I got it apexed. Continued to 325, 600, and even 1200. Good ol' Buck steel, took a really good edge, every bit as sharp as the other two. That little spey blade is sweet, might end up being my favorite and most used of all!

plb · Saturday at 3:26 PM

DrMegabyte said:
301BRS2. SHEEPSFOOT AND SPEY BLADES CATCHING ON EACH OTHER. REPAIR/ADJUST AS NEEDED AND SPA. *SPACING BETWEEN SPRINGS IS BELOW TOLERANCE GUIDLINES.

The way I read this, Buck intends to add more gapping between the springs, so that the blades have room to move more freely? I don't know if that is going to please those who dislike gaps. I wonder if those receiving repaired knives back have noticed increased side to side blade play?

Ace Rimmer · Saturday at 4:21 PM

plb said:
The way I read this, Buck intends to add more gapping between the springs, so that the blades have room to move more freely? I don't know if that is going to please those who dislike gaps. I wonder if those receiving repaired knives back have noticed increased side to side blade play?

The action of the 303 that I picked up yesterday is excellent. On the 301 that was available all the blades opened and closed with good action, but I did notice when opening the spey that it would briefly catch on the nail nick of the sheepsfoot so that I felt a little "click" as it snagged and then moved past.

troutbum243 · Saturday at 5:20 PM

Perhaps we have lost our perspective here; this is a knife designed to cut binder twine on hay bales not an instrument to be used in open heart surgery.

mbkr · Saturday at 5:41 PM

troutbum243 said:
Perhaps we have lost our perspective here; this is a knife designed to cut binder twine on hay bales not an instrument to be used in open heart surgery.

I don't care what the intended use is. When the spey can't be opened without opening the sheepsfoot first, that's bad.

jmh33 · Saturday at 5:41 PM

So it’s the wait and see choice!!
Pitiful!!
Will be a pass on this!!
Shame Shame

I will cherish my 301 that functions as it’s supposed to without a trip to warranty department to make it right!! May have it rehandled in the future.

John

SharpBits · Saturday at 6:52 PM

I’m not losing perspective. I paid $75 each for my pair and they didn’t function correctly nor did they look like properly fitted and finished knives. Nowhere near the Case delrin working knives series and those sell for less.

guy g · Saturday at 6:53 PM

troutbum243 said:
Perhaps we have lost our perspective here; this is a knife designed to cut binder twine on hay bales not an instrument to be used in open heart surgery.

IMO these should be as good as the ones they replaced.

rival22 · 2025-09-14T12:43:14-0400

troutbum243 said:
Perhaps we have lost our perspective here; this is a knife designed to cut binder twine on hay bales not an instrument to be used in open heart surgery.

I think this has become an issue across the knife industry as prices keep rising. The more you spend, the higher most people's expectations usually are.

I like Case knives, but they've been known for fit/finish issues for seemingly ever (seems better now). Having blade run or gaps in a $30 trapper is something that was annoying, but you accepted it. But at $75, most people get a little pickier.

SharpBits · 2025-09-14T12:47:03-0400

My two were worse than any of my “bad” Case knives. It really was amateur hour when my pair were made.

DrMegabyte · 2025-09-14T13:24:39-0400

SharpBits said:
My two were worse than any of my “bad” Case knives. It really was amateur hour when my pair were made.

A restatement of the old joke, but what do you call the newest, least experienced employee at the Post Falls factory? Knife Maker

jmh33 · 2025-09-14T18:30:56-0400

SharpBits said:
My two were worse than any of my “bad” Case knives. It really was amateur hour when my pair were made.

DrMegabyte · 2025-09-15T13:51:48-0400

DrMegabyte said:
Warranty Description:

301BRS2. SHEEPSFOOT AND SPEY BLADES CATCHING ON EACH OTHER. REPAIR/ADJUST AS NEEDED AND SPA. *SPACING BETWEEN SPRINGS IS BELOW TOLERANCE GUIDLINES.
301RDSBB. SHEEPSFOOT AND SPEY BLADES CATCHING ON EACH OTHER. REPAIR/ADJUST AS NEEDED AND SPA. *SPACING BETWEEN SPRINGS IS BELOW TOLERANCE GUIDLINES.
NO CHARGE FOR REPAIRS.

Both came back in the mail today, both are 100% free from any hangup on the Spey or Sheepsfoot blade! I'm a happy camper!!!

FranklinG · 2025-09-15T14:45:58-0400

DrMegabyte said:
Both came back in the mail today, both are 100% free from any hangup on the Spey or Sheepsfoot blade! I'm a happy camper!!!

That's great to hear!