Would you buy a Chinese-made Buck?

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Yonose said:
I buy American branded knives made in Taiwan and Japan. For some reason I wouldn’t buy an American branded knife made in China if it were 1% of the cost. Nor would I ever buy a We or Reate knife. I would look into buying a Tibetan branded (If I found such a one were allowed to exist)knife similar to Himalayan imports, however.
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I agree.:thumbsup:
 
J Hubbard said:
Welcome Don. If you aren't happy of with the quality of the 375, send it on in and we will take care you.

Jeff
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I thank you for your kind offer. It would cost money to send it. The bottom line is that it does what I need it for which is what most people use a pocket knife for. My comment was just that having owned a much bigger buck knife I expected near the same quality and I did not feel that this represented that. I may be expecting more than I should. In any case I will use this one. I searched for a while to find a pocket knife that was the right size, did not have any attributes except 2 blades, was somewhat sharp, easy to open and not bulky. This knife is all that. Thanks again for the offer.

SIDE NOTE: The pocket knife I replaced was given to me by one of my sons. It has had decades of all sorts of use. I was going to tell you what it was but when I examined it closely, guess what? It is a BUCK. Very high quality and still very functional. It was just a little too long and little too bulky.
 
I have only one Buck knife that was made in China. It’s the large Texas fishpick that was on an offer for a chance to win a fishing boat. I can’t remember which catalog store. I was so disappointed when I got it and saw made in China but It is a good knife , fit finish is top notch, says 420hc and it does work and holds a decent edge. I do use it occasionally and can’t complain about it, I just don’t show it off like my USA Bucks. And I didn’t win the boat either so that’s as good a reason why. Lol

I just checked this knife again and I was wrong it doesn’t say 420hc at least not on the knife. Just China. I can’t find the package right now. Maybe it was advertised as such idk.
 
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Makael said:
Buck has local edge

Sun., May 31, 2009


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Nanci Brum, 62, of Post Falls, works in the heat treat department at Buck Knives in Post Falls on May 20. Buck Knives is focusing on producing more of its knives in Post Falls and reducing imports, which had crept up to 40 percent of production, but are now at 20 percent to 25 percent. (Photos by Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)

By Alison Boggs alisonb@spokesman.com(509) 459-5314
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The timing could not have been better for Post Falls-based Buck Knives to move production lines back to the United States from China. A renewed spirit of nationalism, driven by a deep recession and a desire to create jobs at home, is prompting more of its dealers to seek American-made products.

“We did not plan for that,” said CJ Buck, CEO of the 107-year-old, family-run company. “We were just trying to bring products into this factory because we have more control over what we build in this factory than in what we import. The cool part is that we are running into this recession-created national mentality that our dealers are responding to. I’d love to say we did it on purpose.”

Other North Idaho businesspeople say they see that type of commercial nationalism growing in the area – or at least becoming a hot discussion topic. In Spokane, the economic development organization Greater Spokane Inc. recently launched a “Buy Local” campaign to promote Inland Northwest businesses and jobs.

But some warn that a “Buy American” mindset can backfire when interpreted by trading partners as protectionism.

For Buck Knives, moving production lines back to the States was part of the company’s long-range plan. Following its 2005 move to Post Falls from California and two years of getting organized, its reliance on Chinese production crept up to about 40 percent of all knives.

Now imports are down to 20 percent to 25 percent, and sales were stronger than expected in the first quarter. The increased domestic production also has caused the knife maker to add 10 new workers to its 220-person employment base, offsetting some of last year’s layoffs. Though overall production is expected to drop below last year, domestic production should increase by about 20 percent, Buck said.

Dealers have noticed. In a normal year, Buck Knives’ retail customers will pick up three or four new products, Buck said. But this year, they’re adding as many as 20 from the company’s array of 65 new knives. “Our dealers are saying we would much rather pay that small premium and have a U.S. product than an imported product. We’ve gotten very good placement on these products so far.”

Cont
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You do know "staying true" to that whole Nationalism route would mean Buck Knives would stop buy the generic version of FRN from China on their Select Series and go with real Zytel from Dupont.I didn't seem go this route with their USA made 110LT's being sold under the name merely as "nylon" handle material.
 
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Not to mention that the article lies.

The "premium" for made in USA is not small.

I prefer goods made overseas, without the entitlement surcharge.
 
The “premium” is much smaller on a macro level, where manufacturing jobs enhance the economy where service sector jobs suck the lifeblood thereof.
 
Then pay it. I don't like being ripped off for any reason.

The best thing that can be done for American manufacturing is merciless, cutthroat, unfair competition.
 
Jammer Six said:
Then pay it. I don't like being ripped off for any reason.

The best thing that can be done for American manufacturing is merciless, cutthroat, unfair competition.
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Of course. Any workers who object to being charged 30% of their income so they can sleep on a cot in a company dormitory (where they can be woken after an hours sleep) should be taken away by police working for the “political” office at the factory.
 
Frotier76 said:
You do know "staying true" to that whole Nationalism route would mean Buck Knives would stop buy the generic version of FRN from China on their Select Series and go with real Zytel from Dupont.I didn't seem go this route with their USA made 110LT's being sold under the name merely as "nylon" handle material.
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I have no idea where they get that product
 
Frotier76 said:
You do know "staying true" to that whole Nationalism route would mean Buck Knives would stop buy the generic version of FRN from China on their Select Series and go with real Zytel from Dupont.I didn't seem go this route with their USA made 110LT's being sold under the name merely as "nylon" handle material.
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see Jeff's comment.......
 
J Hubbard said:
Our Nylon handles are made from USA made raw materials, not china nylon..
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What kind of nylon Jeff?

Being that you're not stating Valox or any patented material name I'm a little curious.Simply stating "nylon" on the 110LT sounds like you guys are using recycled plastics from anything and not something actual quality used for the firearms or automotive industry.

To add to that Jeff you guys were making the Bantam fully in China from 2007-2008/2009 then started making the blades here on USA soil.But the product does state it's currently made with USA and imported parts.So do Sanrenmu ship them sub-assembled with the generic FRN scales or are they already-assembled in China just minus the blade.

If I get a chance over the next few days I'll upload a picture of my new in box 442 Bucklite model.Those were believed to be USA made and were advertised as having Valox plastic scales.I'll have to check the blade's date code and production date on the box apparently but apparently you guys starting dabbling in Chinese manufacturing or materials on some level.This one says on the box label it was made of USA and imported parts.
 
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I avoid much of the Chinese stuff but they aren't off the table for me. I will say any older traditional style knife made by Buck I expect to be USA made and would be put off on anything else. The desire for older style made in USA is mostly that a part of the allure to older styles is the nostalgia and not being made stateside takes away from that a little. My experience with Chinese made knives really hasn't been bad but there is still so much about Chinese manufacturing that isn't clear making it tough to know who to trust.
 
Valox and Zytel are manufacturers names. There are many suppliers of plastics these days, so not using a brand name doesn't mean as much anymore. To jump from my non-use of those trade names to us using recycled or inferior grade of Nylon is not a good conclusion. We use a Glass filled Nylon that has properties equal to those trade names. Typically it is a nylon 66, but not always depending on what we need from the application. We would not degrade our plastics by using a % of plastic regrinds in the formula (this severely impacts strength, as we learned the hard way long ago.). Anytime we need to look at different supplier or type of plastic, we do a rigorous testing loop to ensure we are not losing anything by the switch.

Bantam handles are still made overseas, with locally sourced Nylon
I don't remember any 442 handles (or parts for that matter, maybe rivets) made from overseas parts. But that was awhile ago, so I don't remember off the top of my head). The plastic listed on the print Is Polypropylene
 
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