Whittler Buck

[Carl Smith]

can someone recommend a good size/style whittling Buck...thanks

 

[DonJGiles]

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/Buck-Whittler-Pocket-Knife-with-Gift-Box

 

[Carl Smith]

Thank you

 

[David Martin]

Carl Smith, welcome to the Buck forum. The 309 is a small knife but it may be just the tool for whittling. I don't whittle so I don't know what would be the right size. DM

 

[longbow1968]

Yep, I had the Bass Pro Buck 310 Whittler and while a nice knife, it may be a bit small for serious whittling. I think it is more of a 3-blade version of the 305 Lancer. A good knife though and probably the only Buck I have actually lost along the way.

 

[r8shell]

Yep, I had the Bass Pro Buck 310 Whittler and while a nice knife, it may be a bit small for serious whittling. I think it is more of a 3-blade version of the 305 Lancer. A good knife though and probably the only Buck I have actually lost along the way.

The 310 is a 3-blade version of the 309 Companion (in fact, they use the same blade and a few have 309 stamps) so not quite as small as a 305. I think anything in the 300 series would make a good whittler, with the combination of straight edge on the sheepfoot/coping blade, curved edge spey, and pointy tipped clip blade. It just depends on what size is most comfortable for one's hand.

 

[bucksway]

First thing that comes to my mind is a 307..Just a little more to hang on to.

 

[pjsjr]

When I started carving I was gifted a, now long discontinued, Buck Yearling 709. I was quick to change and acquired a dedicated carving set by Warren Tool. A small knife is very hard to use carving for an extended time.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Wow, I had no clue they even made this version of the 309.

The 309 is a tad narrow for a whittler in my opinion but its it's certainly better than whittling with a 305 would be.

I think I'd go with a 303 or 301 for a Buck, but I will add that Case has some options that might be better if you're not dead set on Buck.
Buck is great though and any models mentioned should serve you well.

 

[Old Hunter]

I used to whittle small Boy Scout items (letter openers and neckerchief slides) - my Dad was a whittler and had me and my brother whittling with him for a few years when we were Scouts. I found some of his old blocks and whittled one a few years ago - used a Buck 303 size knife (I used an old Frontier at the time) using the Sheepfoot blade is what worked for me. I have one of the Buck Whittlers that was a gift about ten years ago, I use it as a perfect sized Penknife - but too small for me for actual whittling. OH

 

[Lesknife]

I’ve used the 303 and 301 for whittling and they work very well. The 303 is the smallest size I can use well and it is plenty strong for whittling. On larger items I like using my 112 to remove the majority of material and then finish with the 301. For me a hand filling handle makes long whittle time more pleasurable. My old hands cramp up with a small handle if I stay at it longer than 15 minutes.

 

[David Martin]

Old Hunter, some nice work. What wood do you prefer? DM

 

[brownshoe]

Buck used to sell a whittling package, knife, stone and oil. I gave one to my Dad and he used it for many years and about 30 figures.

 

[Old Hunter]

Old Hunter, some nice work. What wood do you prefer? DM

David, thanks! I found a bag of maybe 30 - 35 rough-cut blocks my Dad had bought in the late 1960's, early 1970's when he was our Asst. Scoutmaster. I don't know what wood they are, I fished out a few and decided to work on one of the letter openers. In the picture you can see how it came "rough-cut" from the vendor and how one looked when I was done with my take on it. OH

 

[300Bucks]

These along with the Whittling set, as mentioned above, are about as specialized a whittler as Buck ever produced. The model 310 was carried for a while, a 3 bladed 309 scale size folder. 1992 to 1995, after 95 if you ordered a 310 you were often sent a 309 stamped clip blade with the 'whittler" styled secondary blades. Some came in wooden slide top Buck boxes. In this case the two smaller blades were classified as 'whittler desired" in design. Discontinued but can be found if you search for them. Look for a 309 with three blades.

1994

Or if you would order enough for a special run, such as a whittling club, you could have special tip ground blades replaced in factory models. Somewhere I have a 301 ordered by the club, I will have to take a photo.
Or if it worked for you better you could use one of Bucks 'Work-men' series model which would fit large hands well. They are discontinued but can still be found, I think they were often called a "Carpet layers knife". I bought most of mine when I found a big box of them in the plastic packs smoke damaged in a fire at a resale shop.

The 310 / 309 issue continued on for a few years and was confusing. They were dropped by Buck but Cabelas or Bass Pro offered them for the longest time.
300Bucks

 

[mbkr]

The 310 is still available at Bass Pro. I don't know if they're NOS or a recent SFO for Bass Pro/Cabelas. The one pictured on their website has a 309 blade and a date code of 2010

OTOH, the one I bought a couple of years ago at my local Bass Pro has a date code of 2017 and a 310 marked blade.

 

[David Martin]

300, was the screwdriver blade locking on your workman? I don't recall seeing that one. DM

 

[eveled]

sometimes you need to shorten or alter the blade. Wharncliffs coping and sheepsfoot blades are good for carving. You also usually need to thin them out. Longer handles with short blades are best for whittling.

I find 2 blade knives on the same end are the easiest to use and have the least hit spots.

 

[eveled]

Here is how those knives looked originally. I know they aren’t Bucks, but it will give you the idea of how to modify blades.

two identical knives became two knives with4 different blades suited for different cuts.

 

[David Martin]

It looks like carvers favor sheep foot blades. DM