Why Buck started to specify some sheaths are imported on their website

Tecate

Tecate

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I share this information not to bad talk Buck, but to simply share some information about a settlement involving Buck Knives. I noticed a little while ago that Buck started to specify whether the sheath included with some knives are imported on their website. I don't want to directly link the settlement article, but you can do a Google search for "Buck Knives ‘Made In USA’ $200K Class Action Settlement" and click the topclassactions link. The actual case can be searched by "Houriani v Buck Knives Inc".

I wish they would become just as transparent on their website with the specifying artificial wood materials too (Dymalux, Dymondwood, etc.). Maybe they could do that to avoid another settlement in the future. I have nothing against the artificial woods, and own many knives with Dymalux/Dymondwood, but buyers should know what they are buying. Most of us on this forum know what we are buying, but others may not.
 
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I don't see where the mystery wood issue exists, unless they just started doing it in addition to the sheath disclosure... here's the listing for a Vanguard from the Buck website indicating handle material as "Walnut DymaLux".

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caquino said:
I don't see where the mystery wood issue exists, unless they just started doing it in addition to the sheath disclosure... here's the listing for a Vanguard from the Buck website indicating handle material as "Walnut DymaLux".

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I do think they have done a better job with the common knives, but it still exists in the Custom Knife Shop under the Handle section: Oak, Walnut, Blue Wood, Cherrywood. Unless any of those are the real deal these days. People pay a premium for the custom knives and may be under the impression they are buying real wood handles.
 
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Tecate said:
People pay a premium for the custom knives and may be under the impression they are buying real wood handles.
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Technically it is real wood, even if it is a resin impregnated laminate.
It's not like you're getting some painted wood grain abs plastic.

But I get what your saying though, only because I understand how demanding many people can be in the knife world today.
 
My 112 I ordered from the custom shop I thought was going to be solid Walnut but it was dymalux walnut. I’m not upset and the outer layer does look to be walnut grain wood but you can easily see the layers from the sides. I’m happy with it and actually glad that it will be more weather resistant than solid wood. With that I know a few people who thought they were getting solid wood and got a full set of knives to display only to find out they were dymalux. They were very disappointed so I can definitely agree that the discription should say exactly what the materials are and country of manufacture or origin.
 
Buck has compounded the problem in that at one time a walnut handled 55 or 113 had a true walnut handle. Read that to mean NOT a resin impregnated laminate handle.
They were referred to as walnut.

They currently use a resin impregnated laminate product on the "walnut" handled knives.
They changed the product, but not it's description.

That's misleading.
I'm not saying they are doing it on purpose.
They did however purposely change the product, and failed to change the description of it.

Buck has admitted that there is a lack of communication between marketing and product development.
At least that was the reason they gave me on a knife I purchased that involved this very problem.
And that was the explanation they gave me for the discrepancy.
It's no longer a valid excuse to continue this practice after it was brought to their attention, unless of course that is their intent.
 
Buck has a history of somewhat deceptive advertising—possibly due to sloppy work, possibly by design.

“…AN IMPORTANT ENGINEERING BREAKTHROUGH…” was the main point for a 1972 Buck advertisement that promoted a “…new line of hand-crafted pocket knives…”. Those pocket knives made up the 300 Series, which included the 301, 303, 305, and 309 originally produced under contract by Schrade. Without actually saying so, this ad announced that Buck had terminated the contract with Schrade and switched to Camillus. The general public didn’t know that early 300 Series knives were not actually made by Buck. Good advertising tells people what a company wants the public to know and ignores other things. Maybe the longest lasting effect of the ad was the phrase “…an important engineering breakthrough: a tough stainless steel pivot pin and bolster that won’t rust, corrode, loosen or break…” A quick glance at this sentence might lead to the conclusion that the new bolsters were made of stainless steel, but it doesn’t actually say that. My interpretation is that the pivot pins are stainless steel, and that the bolsters won’t rust, corrode, loosen or break. It does not say the bolsters are stainless steel.

I have tested the 300 Series knives (Camillus), and Buck never used stainless steel bolsters on the 300 Series.

Bert
 
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Tecate said:
I do think they have done a better job with the common knives, but it still exists in the Custom Knife Shop under the Handle section: Oak, Walnut, Blue Wood, Cherrywood. Unless any of those are the real deal these days. People pay a premium for the custom knives and may be under the impression they are buying real wood handles.
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Oh... ok, did not know that.
 
I feel this class action suit is a money grab. I see this all the time...lawyers get paid well and rest get coupons, a handful of dollars or nothing if they don't do the paperwork to get in on it. sometimes the suits are legit. class action to me feel like there is one winner and thats the lawfirm.

this one feels like someone poured over any mistake and saw dollar signs to me. it feels like a bs suit. sorry for my language there.

the settlement is very low dollars which kinda reflects it's nonsense. I figure Buck did the math of fighting and lawyer costs vs. this 200k and it was the lower of the two options.

I've been in business lawsuits and it can run for 5 years or longer and legal cost can easily hit half million without even getting to trial.

that aside the wood issue and marketing language should be corrected and clearer..dont disagree on that topic......
 
The Houriani lawsuit seems like a tempest in a teapot and a subsidizing of the legal profession. I didn't see any negative mention about the quality of the Mexican sheaths. Maybe this goes to political beliefs rather than product quality. I wonder how many of the class action plaintiffs will buy a new knife to get a $10 discount. I have never checked, but do American car manufacturers state that many components are not made in the U S?


Bert
 
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