Will we ever see a Buck 300 Series Cap Lifter?

I know very little compared to the collectors here and I too hope they respond and fix any mistakes in my understanding of things!

I'm happily surprised that Buck did a pen knife with scissors (and in the saw cut Delrin I associate with Buck). Reminds me a bit of the Case Peanut with scissors. If they could do that they could a cap lifter you would think. I think both are great ideas.

Have you ever seen a 3 blade Camillus Cub Scout knife? Main spear blade, cap lifter/driver blade and awl. If Buck were to do a cap lifter and since they have done one with scissors, maybe they could do a 3 blade stockman type knife:
- clip main blade
- cap lifter/driver blade
- folding scissors

I suspect more of Bucks customers drink beer, turn the occasional screw and trim beards than castrate cattle. I could be mistaken in that though ;)
 
I found a picture of the Camillus Cub Scout. That's a nice looking knife. I would be okay with a 3 blade stockman type knife. A 301 or even a 303. I would have more use of a can opener for food (to go with the beverage), but scissors are handy too. I'm happy to say I have no use of a spey blade. I fear others may be getting tired of my thread and want to use one on me though :eek:
 
Ok, maybe I've popped too many caps already.... but how about cap lifter option for the 110 in the custom shop... instead of a blade. Just a thought.
 
Jeff O said:
Ok, maybe I've popped too many caps already.... but how about cap lifter option for the 110 in the custom shop... instead of a blade. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I was gifted a Craftsman tool, a full size screwdriver handle attached to a bottle opener. It had great novelty value and sparked fun conversation. I still have it, it works well and it's fun to use. I'm sure someone would buy a Buck 110 cap lifter as a single or a two blade option. The gift giving season is approaching and some people are so hard to shop for.

Thanks for the laugh Jeff O. :D
 
For comparison, here is Case's new Mini Trapper Cap Lifter. It's 3 1/2" closed which is the approximate length of a SAK or Buck 303 and has three handle options. Buck can compete with this. I think the Buck 300 series clip blade trumps this skinny clip blade too.

I still prefer the 4" Buck 301-302 for the base frame on a Buck cap lifter, primarily because I LOVE my 302, but also because the length would provide better cap lifting leverage and it would set itself apart from the competition.

case-mini-trapper-cap-lifter-rotator.jpg
 
I'd like to see Buck expand the 300 line to include a carbon steel bladed Whittler model. Maybe some different scales also like smooth Camel Bone ,in blue or oily creek.
 
Since thread is still kickin'.
If you want one bad, and don't want to pay someone to modify a 301, THEN....

Since the older Camillus contract Buck 301s have two springs. Shop for a Bay cheapo with good clip blade and sheepsfoots.
cut or grind off the spey blade on the far end. And then carefully, grind and file the sheepsfoots into an opener, don't heat it up and ruin temper. The offshore and new 301s are three spring and who would want the third blade unless maybe you ground it into a pen. Trace a opener somewhere and see if it will fit on sheepsfoot and outline it on blade with sharpie...use hand files or a dremel with slow/cool hand only. If you have to have sharp blade open working on this, wrap it in masking tape. Then you have a prototype, you can take photos and post here and traditional. Maybe even send photo to Joe Houser. Would make more impact than just some words here. I think I could do it easy but I can't drink because of med I take. Just don't show your creation with a bottle of Bud Light with cold frost on the bottle. Pizza and ice tea, a anchor around my neck. ha 300

PS I had a good blade but beat up scale 303 and I tried tracing out a cap lifter with fine marker but I just don't think the sheepsfoot on a 303 is big enough. Will look for a old 301 round here. I remember having one with a missing shield.
 
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Thanks 300. I would rather Buck just make one for me (and everyone!) but it may come down to me paying for help or giving it a try myself. I was hoping this thread would become water-cooler talk at the Buck factory and then a caplifter would suddenly appear on their website. Silly me.

I have a few recent purchases to compare with a 303 blade. The shape of the Case caplifter would fit the blade best and the length of the screwdriver on the old Craftsmen is a possibility. I think the modification would need to go down into the tang where there is more metal and it's thicker. I only have a 3 spring 303 for comparison right now. Whichever blade is on the clip blade side on a 2 spring is the one I would want to modify.

Keepin' the dream alive. Someday, someone will thank me. :rolleyes:

Buck%2BCap%2BLifter_zps1yvqynn5.jpg
 
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I hate to be disparaging but it seems to me that the 300 series is pretty much Buck's forgotten step-child. They seem to be happy with the way things are and people are customers are more interested in modern folders.
 
The world rotates around the sun and life moves on. Clips and tactical looks is what is selling. Older style folding "in the pocket" or sheath are not the hot sellers. There are still many folks that carry a 'pocket' knife and many that are required by their workplace to have a small one at that. I will admit to being a Vantage user, but still carry folders in a sheath that hangs inside my pocket on a cord that is attached to my belt. Like an old dog I would appreciate a bone being thrown my way of a new nice stockman once in a while. The black sawcut model scales are setup to be hot pressed on the liners. The wooden scales have to be riveted on. Likely, anything new would have to meet one of those methods. Buck and Case produce all knife models in great numbers to keep costs per unit down, someone like GEC makes a great many variations but does so in small numbers and largely by hand processes. Also at greater per knife cost. As a election candidate says, "It's all about the money." 300
 
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Don't get me wrong. And I'm not saying that you are 300, I just want to clarify. I would love to see some new Buck 300's. I bought two of the BCCI Buck 300's. I just don't think it is going to happen. I'm at a bit of a loss in understanding the popularity of having a cap lifter.
 
What makes a Buck a Buck? Made in a US Buck plant? Contracted to somebody else, on or off shore? Sold as a regular catalog item? Created and done as an exclusive SFO for a retailer?

In so far as the Traditional forum is dominated by discussions about GEC, it would seem that GEC has had a hit with their cap lifter jacks. And now, Case is following suit in a limited manner. Should Buck?

Where would it be made? (China, out of 420J2 I would guess.)
What common retailers would be the most likely to order a Chinese-made SFO from Buck? (SMKW comes to mind.)
Do those retailer have enough customers interested in opening bottled beverages that don't screw off? (No clue.)

My hunch is that Buck's Chinese suppliers can produce just about anything Buck asks for. I would bet that the tooling costs would be much higher in Idaho.
 
Higher in Idaho, yes, but a lot of folks will not buy a Chinese made knife. Now, if Buck moved to Taiwan, that would be a far different story. Most want American made knives like these. Of course, some do not really care as long as its cheap.
 
Most of the people I know who carry Bucks and are not collectors, don't drink beer that needs a bottle opener. Their beers come in a can or twist-top. Now the GEC crowd has got to be rich for those higher priced slipjoints, hence the "cap lifter" is popular with them :)

When did a bottle opener become a cap lifter? Remember when they were "church keys" a backhanded statement about the alcoholic nature of pastors :)
 
I'm really not a fan of the whole bottle opener on a slip joint. I always seemed to use it or the screw driver for twisting or prying something I shouldn't have and ended up loosening that end of the knife. I think I've effectively ruined every knife I've had with one of those.

Probably why you don't see it on too many knives these days. That and the screw top thing...
 
Actually most traditional folders on the individual for sale section here, sell really quick . Blink and it's gone.
 
It's frivolous. It's got a single purpose. It's rarely needed. It's not a real tool. It's only a small market. All good points. Yet, I still want one. And if it's built, I know they will come. They have to come!

I wouldn't be totally against Buck having the caplifter blade made offshore, then assembled here in a US knife with a US clip blade and stamped US. That's as far as I would go though.
 
My sense, and I could be very wrong, is that there are essentially 2 kinds of slip joint buyers today.

The first doesn't much care one way or the other that the knife is "traditional". It might look cool, fit a need even if that need is just an impulse purchase when at the hardware store, or it might be a gift either given or received and I think for this sort of buyer, low price matters and country of origin doesn't (not one bit). Taylor/Schrade, Rough Rider and Buck (imported and Buck/SMKW) all cater to this kind of buyer.

The second sort buyer cares deeply about the knife being traditional. The tradition of the manufacturer matters, brand loyalty matters and country of origin matters because country of origin is so directly tied to the manufacturer's traditional home. I think buyers of this sort are willing to pay more. Case, Queen, GEC and Buck (US) cater to this kind of buyer.

I would love to see an exhaustive list of the traditional slip joints that a) have been produced by Buck in one of their US plants and b) have appeared as regular models in their catalog (as opposed to SFO one-offs). I suspect that if we had that list in front of us, we would see that Buck US's native, in-house slip joint line has been a fairly small and tightly constrained product line, more like Queen and Canal Street's and less sprawling and verbose than either Case or GEC. When was the hay-day of Buck in-house slip joint production? The 90s perhaps?

I'm pretty quick in expressing my hopes for changes at Buck (more full flat and convex grinds, please) but phew... a more expansive US made slip joint offering seems like a lot.
 
GEC dealers are actually taking pre orders for one with a cap lifter , I think it's called the Beer Scout ? Oh well, I guess Buck doesn't want to expand their USA slip joint line.
 
pinnah said:
My sense, and I could be very wrong, is that there are essentially 2 kinds of slip joint buyers today.

The first doesn't much care one way or the other that the knife is "traditional". It might look cool, fit a need even if that need is just an impulse purchase when at the hardware store, or it might be a gift either given or received and I think for this sort of buyer, low price matters and country of origin doesn't (not one bit). Taylor/Schrade, Rough Rider and Buck (imported and Buck/SMKW) all cater to this kind of buyer.

The second sort buyer cares deeply about the knife being traditional. The tradition of the manufacturer matters, brand loyalty matters and country of origin matters because country of origin is so directly tied to the manufacturer's traditional home. I think buyers of this sort are willing to pay more. Case, Queen, GEC and Buck (US) cater to this kind of buyer.

I would love to see an exhaustive list of the traditional slip joints that a) have been produced by Buck in one of their US plants and b) have appeared as regular models in their catalog (as opposed to SFO one-offs). I suspect that if we had that list in front of us, we would see that Buck US's native, in-house slip joint line has been a fairly small and tightly constrained product line, more like Queen and Canal Street's and less sprawling and verbose than either Case or GEC. When was the hay-day of Buck in-house slip joint production? The 90s perhaps?

I'm pretty quick in expressing my hopes for changes at Buck (more full flat and convex grinds, please) but phew... a more expansive US made slip joint offering seems like a lot.
Click to expand...

I think buyer group #2 is who would buy this knife.

Buck would probably spend less money modifying an existing knife like this than it would developing something brand new, which they do quite often. Put this in the catalog for a year. Grab some of the market. Drop it if it doesn't take off.

You know, I see so many beautiful knives here. Special runs, some very expensive. I really don't see the difference.
 
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