Why did Buck discontinue the 830 Marksman?

T

TheFishman

Joined
Aug 23, 2022
Messages
285
I stopped by the pawn shop yesterday and picked up a Buck 830. I am not sure what I am going to do with it, but this is now the coolest knife I own. It is a fidget spinner for grown-ups. I cannot stop playing with it. The 830 Marksman predates my interest in Buck knives. In researching old reviews, it seems like this was a popular knife. It has been a BOTM four times since 2018. Any idea why Buck discontinued this model in 2020?

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I very much like mine, it's probably the knife I pick the most when I want to carry a larger folder. My guess is the lock turns some people off. I did have to loctite the screw in the pivot as it kept loosening up and once fell out in my pocket.
 
Xr6x said:
My guess sales must not have been good enough.
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I tend to think the opposite. The Marksman was highly acclaimed by all of the knife world, not just by us Buck fans. Buck easily sold all of the different variations, SFOs, BOTMs etc. they made. They most likely could have been selling tons of them today if they would have continued production. Maybe there were problems with the collaboration contract with G and G Hawk. I'm trying to think of any Buck collaboration that lasted any length of time beyond the initial offering.
 
I have one Marksman and I love it! I would buy another off Buck's website with an engraved blade in a heartbeat.

I think Buck should do with the Marksman what Spyderco did with the Delica, Endura, Endela, and Dragonfly: make another size or two. Imagine a roughly 3/4 size Marksman. Something between a 2.5 and 2.75" blade. I love it as-is, but there are a lot of people who can't carry something over 3" to work, or even in their city or state. People who don't think a larger folder looks right with suit pants. People who make a lot of money and feel compelled to collect the whole set. And then there are people like my daughters - the small pockets in their little kid jeans won't fit a Marksman so they carry something more the size of a Dragonfly. A lot of dudes would buy a lot of smaller Marksman's for their sons' and daughters' first ball-bearing flipper. The list of people and use-cases goes on. The balance between mechanics and aesthetics of the Marksman might not scale to the Dragonfly size, but it would certainly hold to a 3/4 size. Please, Buck!

My one and only (lonely) Marksman happens to be in my pocket today, as it has been more and more often the past several months. I try to baby it since it wasn't the most common configuration sold, so I really only carry it to the office. I just can't let it sit on the shelf collecting dust!

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I'll admit, I gave it the scoff as a weird gimmick.

But handled one at a gun show last year and was impressed. Not impressed enough to pay what they wanted, but impressed nonetheless.

It's just another Buck in a long line of Bucks that I haven't yet added to the collection.

The list is so long... So... Very... Long...
 
I would buy one.

I waited too long when they were in production.
 
Same here, I emailed Buck a while ago (year or two?) and the reply was "no plans to resume production" on the Marksman.... maybe that will change if there's enough interest???
 
When the 830 and 831 Marksman was in production it wasn't near as popular as it is now. The BOTM have shown renewed interested in the model. We don't like to say never. Look at the 124 Frontiersman we didn't produce it for 10 years, and since we brought it back can't build them quick enough. It was brought back as an "LE" and still bares that in the model number.
 
Marksman is my favorite "modern" Buck knife. The only thing I didn't care for was the aluminum handle. It just wasn't refined enough IMHO. Too blocky and mechanical feeling. Sure, it's fast. Really fast! But the handle was just not very appealing.
I took matters into my own hands...
3D design, 3D print, and I had something to test feel. It's a layout seen in a couple of Buck's other folders, so I just worked it out for the Marksman.
Now this was an early 3D printer and the tech is miles ahead these days, but you can see where I was going.

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Here's one I did while bored in the shop one day. Crude... yep! Unrefined... yep! Easy in the hand and smooth as butter... yep!
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I still reach for my orange G10 SK version occasionally when I feel like a large folder, and I should have one similar to the red, white, and blue on in 3 color camo G10 somewhere. I thinknits with my carpentry tools for when I'm in remodeling mode. If I come across it, I'll bring some images.

Buck Knives Inc. Buck Knives Inc.
Think more F35 and less F15 on the handles and it'll be a winner again!
 
Buck Knives Inc. said:
When the 830 and 831 Marksman was in production it wasn't near as popular as it is now. The BOTM have shown renewed interested in the model. We don't like to say never. Look at the 124 Frontiersman we didn't produce it for 10 years, and since we brought it back can't build them quick enough. It was brought back as an "LE" and still bares that in the model number.
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My son has one we got from Insipid Moniker Insipid Moniker and it’s one hell of a great knife! I’d like to have one myself. It’s lots of fun to play with, but it’s no gimmick. It’s one tough sumbish.
 
I'm in the "wish I'd bought one when they were available" club. Maybe one of these days...
 
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