why do you collect knives, esp buck knives?

110 Dave

110 Dave

Joined
May 6, 2004
Messages
8,151
here is a question for you guys ..
why do you collect knives in general ?
and why buck knives? i dont admire most other brands
but a randal and gurber can catch my eye..

my first "folding hunter' was admired by all the
grown men every time i used it in 1967..
and i have always had one ever after to use

i like taking them out to clean and check out and
look for little things like size of the blade stamp..
Bucksway calls this playing Barbie knives..
the extrema is showing them off at shows
dont know why, cause they are neat?

do any of you guys take them out or
are they always stashed away

ahhh... the simple things ...
my knives do give me some sense of normality
and buck knife collectors are a nice class of folks ...

what about you guys ?
what do your knives do for you ?
 
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I'm not a collector, would give me too much credit. I'm more of an accumulator since there is no direction to the pile of knives I have.

I have leaned hard towards Buck in the last years since I really like the company and for me they have a balance of product which interests me. I like that there are some new models every year, but not 100 new models each year.

They keep leaving me wanting for more at the rate they create new product which for me is great.

Plus, I like that they are family owned still and a US company.
 
I have over a 1,000 knives in my 40 years of collecting. I started collecting Bucks after getting a 110 at Wally world, and I was impressed with the quality and value it offered. I now have about 125 different Buck knives. In the last four weeks I have bought about 20 different Avids ( my new EDC). Now why do I collect knives in general? I don't know. I was a kid who loved knives from about age 8. I dated a girl once who did a Astrological chart on me because she believed in that stuff, and she stated I was drawn to metal and needed it in my life, so I can blame the stars!
 
I started "collecting" knives a few years ago, but really didn't pay much if any attention to Bucks until I found this forum. I came here to ask the age of a 111 Classic that my Mother in Law gave me back in the '80's. At that point, was like millions of others and had no idea that Buck made all the different models and variations that they do. Of course, I had seen the 110's, 119's and a few of the little slippies at the hardware store, but that was it.

I visited a real high dollar knife shop yesterday that has literally hundreds of knives from custom knife makers and realised that I was really out of my league there.:eek:

For me, the Bucks are a great product and I can afford to collect them. Hell, there were single knives in their showcases with price tags equal to the entire worth of my "collection". There are plenty of Bucks out there that I'd like to have, can afford and that's why I collect them.:thumbup:
 
I like Bucks because they are affordable, not the same knives with an endless color of dyed bone handles, and they are a great solid product. But best of all, they are not just built for show, if you use them they actually perform like a knife should.
 
Value and the fact that I can use them/lose them also helps with Buck for me.

In general I like knives because they are a simple tool that works 99.9% of the time in a complex techno world I really appreciate simple!
 
Well dave that’s a great question and if it could be answered we all would be geniuses. As for why BUCK well let’s try for some Company guidelines, USA made, great value, fantastic product and very useful. Awhile back I found a Nighthawk at WW for about $19.00 it was serrated, short and I did not need it, want it or have a use for it but in no way was I going to pass it up and it moved home with the boot boxes full of the other BUCKS. So I am not able to answer your question but I do like the type of people we are.
 
"That's a kids knife",

my wife said when I came home with my first Buck 119. That's roundabout
10 Years ago. Then I bought some men's knives and started to collect them.
First I collected mainly Pumas. But when I got to know that Puma sells their
knives a lot more expensive in Germany than in the United States I stopped
collecting Pumas and similars, sold a lot of them and cast an eye on the Buck
knifes. The prices for these high qualitiy knives seems to be o. k. The growing
of my Buck collection is documented here in the Blade
Forums.

Best,
Haebbie
 
ohen cepel said:
I'm not a collector, would give me too much credit. I'm more of an accumulator since there is no direction to the pile of knives I have.

I have leaned hard towards Buck in the last years since I really like the company and for me they have a balance of product which interests me. I like that there are some new models every year, but not 100 new models each year.

They keep leaving me wanting for more at the rate they create new product which for me is great.

Plus, I like that they are family owned still and a US company.
Click to expand...

Ohen,I know other Buck collectors/members that are mostly of this flavoring as well. My collection is well defined to 1961-81 models. But I'll buy the Club knife, the special project models and some for gifts to family and friends.
I care about and like the Buck family and other collectors and enjoy being a part.DM :)
 
My first Buck was a 120, back in 69, because I couldn't afford a Randall #1. 120's were in all the best department store sporting goods departments. Got the first 110 at the Ft. Bragg PX and the rest is history - evolved into a passion.

I have other folders but the 110 is classic and the one that is always with me. They look (and work) the way a knife should.
 
Dave verrrryyy good question.

Well I was influenced by my father who was/is a Buck man. He always has carried Bucks as far back as I can remember. My first Buck was a 121 he gave me around the 5th grade or so. He followed that really quick with a 301 stockman and a 103 skinner later after I killed my first deer. I bought my first 110 when I was around 14 and a 317 the following year (back when a 14 year old could do that). I don't know, Buck makes a fine knife and I have a history with them thanks to my father.

Also, to me knives are tools (and I like tools in general) but knives can be simple or works of art but all knives are "purposeful" and I like things that do work. Or maybe I'm just a little O/C.
 
Well the whole why do you collect knives is hard, I really don't know, but why buck. They aren't really expensive and they are nice quality. I like the traditional looking knives not the tactical lookers I own both and buck makes both and I'm sure alot of other companies do too, buck is the first I'v come across and they just stick. Spyderco and benchmade all iv seen make tactical looking knives, I'm just not into that right now. Maybe sometime in the future.
 
I don't really collect them yet, though I have about a half dozen Buckys. They are all users to accompany me in the outdoors. Being retired now, I am considering taking up the hobby of building a real collection.

This knife, available for $5,700. you will not see in my collection. As others have already stated, Buckys are affordable.



Though this is a work of art, do custom makers afford the time and science to test and perfect their blades? Do they heat-treat as well as Buck's Bos treatments?
 
Because if I did not keep buying Buck's the great warranty would be worthless.

Anybody know how to get warranty work done on old Camillus or Schrade?

:):):)
 
I have an obsessive personality. I have a hard time doing anything in moderation, so eventually I burn myself out. My first go around with seriously collecting anything was guns. Vintage Winchesters and Colts.

One day I decided to get all the guns together at one time for some reason.
It really hit me that it had gotten way out of control. I had two big safes that were absolutely jammed, guns in the closet, guns under the bed and guns in drawers :D I realized at that time it was more about the hunt looking for new guns, because once I got one home and disassembled and cleaned it, it went into the safe and the quest was on for the next one...

For me I think the same thing really holds true with knives.
A while back I sold off a lot of my early Case knives because I wasn't getting the enjoyment out of them that I use to.
I have gotten better though because I try to just keep things that I will use.
I recently sold a few Bucks. Nothing wrong with them, I just knew I wouldn't use them. I still have a 110 and a 112 that I kept as users though and I like them..
 
I have always liked knives since I was really young. Bought my first Swiss army copy at 8 and kept liking knives since. I cannot explain it. I just like them. It is the one thing about me that has remained constant.
 
I had a non-descript Boyscout knife in the early 60's - then, I believe, a Western fb hunting knife - from S&H Greenstamps - and my Dad's old WWII KaBar went to college (AU - sorry for the sad performance to all of you Razorback fans!) with me in '66. Marriage, USN, that Western was lost in a move - as was my first 110. Back to college in '73 - with the KaBar and a SAK. A couple of oddballs - and more SAKs - and a Buck 301 & another 110 and you are within the last ten or so years.

My SAK collection grew - along came an eclectic mix of fixed blades - KaBars, Marbles, etc, a few Kershaws - another lost 110 - more Bucks - my first Benchmade. A common thread... dull an EDC knife/buy a new one. Accumulate butter knives. My collection of whetstones did masterful jobs on single edged wood carving and turning tools - disaster with a double bevel. Then I noticed a few Bucks I really wanted... Custom Shop Buck 110s... more Marbles... the quest for the ideal 'bushcraft' knife - discovered more Marbles - Bark River - Spyderco, including their 'Sharpmaker' - more Kershaw - suddenly, my butter knives were getting sharper! This last winter - my Dad's old Boker Tree Brand Classics diverted me. Most recently? Benchmade! I am an 'accumulator' of the first order!

Do I want to cull the herd? I should... but where to start? I still want more. It doesn't stop. Money woes? Definitely slows you down. At least they don't take up much room, need ammo to work, or require a Fed Form #4473 completed to purchase... yet! I am not alone - I know many who are in poorer shape! Misery loves company. Sadly, the quest is the 'thing'. I wanted two Benchmades - bought one Thursday - came home - my wife had secretly bought me the other one (She's a keeper!). That was too easy. I am sad today - the letdown after the acquisitions - and not having a clue what will be next. Pathetic! I should be appreciative of my good fortune - I am really blessed. Yep, knife gluttony is a disease.

Stainz
 
I've always liked knives for some reason. When I was a kid I would stash as many knives and other weapons on my body as possible then go walk around in the kitchen and see if my mother would notice! What's sad is about 5 or 6 years ago I was having a conversation with a long time friend and he said he mentioned how he used to do that same thing, without me even bringing it up!

My first knife was a cheap sheath knife from the now defunct Caldor store. The sheath strap broke the first day! I once bought a cheapo sheath knife from Popular Mechanics and dropped in the river behind my house one day, that still bothers me. I sometimes think I'd like to go down into the river bottom and see if it's there.

My first Buck was a 110 I got somehow, don't even remember how, I traded it later for a pair of nunchaku! I prefer Buck because they're a legend, strong Christian values and (mostly) made in the USA. I don't collect any other knives, won't buy any others and actually have been meaning to get rid of a couple others I have but won't carry now, a Case and some others. This past summer my police department celebrated it's 100th Anniversary and I was on the committee and we had a Gent model made with a logo for the event, it came out great. I was in charge of it and the PBA made a little money on it, but it was mostly just for me!
 
I guess I skirted the original question. I collect Buck knives because... they make the 110! Seriously, leave me with one pocket knife, I know I said a Vic SAK 'Farmer' was an ideal survivor's pocket knife... but... If you want a keeper of a pocket knife - for cutting - you can't beat a 110. And... no one can stop at one 110....


Stainz
 
Just collected a new 301DW and working to get the 301CW because I am drawn to BUCK.
Stainz that is great post, I almost fell off my chair from laughing.
334dave thanks for asking this great question. It is good to see I am not the only one that buys a new BUCK just to take it home and start the search for the next one, not even opening the box from the last group collected. Buck could probably place rocks in the box and I would never know because I am on to the next quest for a BUCK and still don’t know why.
Got to go to work, make money, I need that new BUCK # ???
 
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