Would you buy a Chinese-made Buck?

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Jammer Six said:
Not many Americans want to work in a factory. https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...eb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.0fafe4e2078c
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or with their hands. take the factory and robots out and its my industry every day. without cubans and other foreigners who understand work today eat today and see construction work as a prideful job.....no house or building would get built down here. its that bad. sure hope buck isnt suffering from the same labor issues. maybe they can add robots?
 
There's a generation, maybe TWO generations, of Americans-- many of whom have decided that they are above manual labor. They are too good to sweat. Many of them refuse to work hard even at non-physical jobs. They all want to be bosses and just go to meetings and drink Cappuccino and talk about productivity.

We need some years of hard times to educate them about work and the facts of life.

We'll probably get exactly that and not too far in the future, either.
 
I just bought another 371 and my first 373.
Before y'all start hating, so far as I know, no one in town sells the 301 or 303, and if they did, I could not afford them. (I am on a very low fixed income.)
The 371 was just under $20. It has the amber jigged bone covers.
The 373 was on clearance for just under $15, and has the wood covers.
I miss carrying a stockman. My 301's are in Florida, I am in Idaho, and will be for the foreseeable future.
The 371 has good fit and finish, the blades are as sharp as I would expect from Buck. The pull on all the blades is around a 6.
All 3 blades are well centered, as well.
The 373 is my first small stockman. I generally carry a 301/371 or larger 4 inch plus Rough Rider stockman.
However, the praise here for the 303 made me want to try one that size.
The main clip and sheepsfoot have a pull of around 5 to 5 1/2. The Spey is closer to a 7, I think. I'll try cleaning and lubing it, to see if I can get it a little lighter.
Again, the blades are well centered, and no gaps worth mentioning.
Over-all, I am happy with them. I'm not sure yet if I'll like the 303/373 size though. It is going to take some getting used to.
As for them being made off shore, they are still a Buck Knife, so I am supporting Buck with my purchase.
Next month I plan on getting another Buck 110.

EDIT:
I cleaned the 373, the Spey blade is around a 6 now.
I'm not worried about having to clean it.
Lets face it, there are plenty of threads here in the Buck Forums about new knives needing cleaned, as well as a ton of them in the Traditionals Forums for everything from GEC on down. No matter who makes them, once in a while a knife that needs a little cleaning makes it out the door.
Not a big deal.
 
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No. But nor would I buy a Victorinox made in Pakistan, or a Bear recurve made in Greenland either. In the end though so many things I (we) have are made in Asia if I can get something made here I will spend a bit extra to do it. Bucks are one of those things that are worth the bit extra in my eyes. If theyre going to make two lines I'll just buy the American.

Also when Buck contracted to Schrade and Camillus they were still American companies with American workers and hopefully treated they're workers well and in the end the money came back to American pockets.

Additionally I have no idea what goes on in China and too many times these manufacturers tell the original company one thing and do another. Who knows WHAT goes on over there.
 
Etna said:
Just curious. Was visiting the Buck homepage to look at some information about the Colleague, Nobleman and Lux. and there were some nasty comments about how Chinese Bucks are garbage and trash and general turnoffs.
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This is me personally, but it isn't just about the materials being used. I want my knife to be made in America, and by American hands. This is where I was born, and even if it's silly. I feel a deeper connection with the tools I'm using. If I buy something especially Knifes or guns I consider it an heirloom that may be given or inherited at some point.

I know that China can probably make good quality products if they want to, but they cant put the same kind of heart in our products that we will have.
 
Norwegians love Buck said:
This is me personally, but it isn't just about the materials being used. I want my knife to be made in America, and by American hands. This is where I was born, and even if it's silly. I feel a deeper connection with the tools I'm using. If I buy something especially Knifes or guns I consider it an heirloom that may be given or inherited at some point.

I know that China can probably make good quality products if they want to, but they cant put the same kind of heart in our products that we will have.
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Agreed
 
Mo2 said:
i would not buy a Chinese made buck. not that buck is the very best quality at all, but because generally when you out source to China, its to save costs and profit.
if WE knives was making them, it would be a different story, id buy that in a heart beat, as they have proven quality (same with only a few others like Reate).

id probably even buy one if it were made in Taiwan if the quality was there (for example spyderco Taiwan factory).

but if it a buck was stamped china, i wouldnt touch it unless i knew it was a quality product.

The other thing is... would it have the BOS heat treat? if not, no way hoe say

with all that said, i dont think Buck is anywhere near the best quality, and they dont provide high end steel types, but some of the steel they do have is often optimized by the BOS HT, which is better than the budget steel from china.
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Just curious what other brand knifes you like? I have a custom, and standard buck 110, the 301 stockman (not Chinese), and the Stockman from Case. I have a SOG, but im not a fan of thier style knifes unless I'm carrying for self defense.
 
As a great Iconic American brand I do have a hard time stomaching a Buck knife with a made in China tag. Just doesn't feel right. I don't tell others what to do, I might even recommend a Chinese made Buck to someone else in a different situation, but I myself wouldn't buy one for myself.

I Get the business end of it, it's crept in to nearly every market in our lives, but still, to me, a real Buck knife is made in USA.

In my opinion Buck would have done well to make a secondary brand name to go with their Chinese made budget lines. Like Spyderco/Byrd, Boker tree brand/Boker plus(arbolito/magnum), Zero Tolerance/Kershaw, Redwing (shoes)/Irish Setter, etc. They could've similarly made a new seperate label, with maybe a "by Buck" included, to correlate but still differentiate between the country of origin. Would be nice also if they used the outsourcing of manufacturing to drive down costs, to make improved versions with higher grade materials, without breaking the bank, (but still under a different moniker, - but "by Buck")
 
strategy9 said:
As a great Iconic American brand I do have a hard time stomaching a Buck knife with a made in China tag. Just doesn't feel right. I don't tell others what to do, I might even recommend a Chinese made Buck to someone else in a different situation, but I myself wouldn't buy one for myself.

I Get the business end of it, it's crept in to nearly every market in our lives, but still, to me, a real Buck knife is made in USA.

In my opinion Buck would have done well to make a secondary brand name to go with their Chinese made budget lines. Like Spyderco/Byrd, Boker tree brand/Boker plus(arbolito/magnum), Zero Tolerance/Kershaw, Redwing (shoes)/Irish Setter, etc. They could've similarly made a new seperate label, with maybe a "by Buck" included, to correlate but still differentiate between the country of origin. Would be nice also if they used the outsourcing of manufacturing to drive down costs, to make improved versions with higher grade materials, without breaking the bank, (but still under a different moniker, - but "by Buck")
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Pretty good point and I have to say it's not a bad idea at all. I'd have to wonder if introducing a new brand would add additional costs that would make it not worth it to Buck. Things like marketing, new packaging, retooling for different blade stamps....things like that. I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about in that area, but it's just a thought as to why they don't do that. Instead of trying to make mass produced quick sell items at a cheap price, I think they should offer more options of the products they already sell a lot of. For instance, if they made 501's with jigged bone, delrin, and different woods on their regular production line, I would own every single one. Same goes with 112's, 110's and the 300 series....
 
If there's no difference in the knives, there's no reason to call them something else.

The name "Buck" is your guarantee of quality. You either buy it or you don't. The address of their factory is up to them.
 
If quality is the same I'd pay somewhat extra to buy home made, how much extra I don't know. I can't buy a US made tv or phone. If I can at least buy
 
I have a Chinese buck knife because son gave it to me as a gift. I didn’t say anything because he did not realize my feelings about the subject. I prefer to buy American. I suppose I’ll be more adamant about my ‘buy American’ sentiments when the knife fails me in a critical situation and I can attribute that failure to where/how it was made.
 
VorpalRain said:
There's a generation, maybe TWO generations, of Americans-- many of whom have decided that they are above manual labor. They are too good to sweat. Many of them refuse to work hard even at non-physical jobs. They all want to be bosses and just go to meetings and drink Cappuccino and talk about productivity.
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As a teacher I can blame this on our female dominated education system. Everybody needs to go to college. I don't mean this to be a sexist thing but most women nurture and coddle and most men kick 'em in the ass and tell them to get at it.

I teach construction but hardly any students come to me with any tool/building skills or thought process and critical thinking skills needed to go right at class. In a district of 5 high schools, I am the only one. I'm also the only one who carries a buck knife on his belt and has a picture of John Wayne and a dinosaur on his wall. :)
 
kossetx said:
As a teacher I can blame this on our female dominated education system. Everybody needs to go to college. I don't mean this to be a sexist thing but most women nurture and coddle and most men kick 'em in the ass and tell them to get at it.

I teach construction but hardly any students come to me with any tool/building skills or thought process and critical thinking skills needed to go right at class. In a district of 5 high schools, I am the only one. I'm also the only one who carries a buck knife on his belt and has a picture of John Wayne and a dinosaur on his wall. :)
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surprised in a good way anyone is still teaching construction or trade skills in high school. what state?
 
They have these classes going on here in Spokane. Great to see
 
I'm a bit late to this thread and rather new to the forum but have enough years under my belt to consider myself experienced. There were a lot of good points made on this topic but to answer the original question, no, I'd rather buy the knife made in the US. For me it does have to do with a bit of American pride but more to do with nostalgia. You can't buy an Old Timer or Uncle Henry made in the US anymore, unless it's used or old stock. But at least you can get a Buck that is. If having some Bucks made in China helps the company subsidize its profit margin, and allows them to keep some of the knives made here then I'm all for it.

I thought I read an article some time back that discussed Buck moving from California to Idaho. If I remember right, the move allowed Buck to be able to keep production in the US for several models. Had they not done that they may have had to move all production overseas just to stay in business. I would love to have the option to buy a recent production Schrade still made in the US and let those that don't care buy the imported ones for less money. Danner boots are similar, some still made in the US while others are imported.

40 years ago I don't think you saw too many people with more than a few knives. They were tools that were used, sometimes abused, but rarely given a second thought, by most but not all. Then disposable income came along for more people and we started collecting them And started to appreciate and admire quality. As others have said, if the Chinese products can be made at the same quality and there are no other options, so be it. Until then I'll stick with what I can get from the US. I will say that I do have a few knives from Europe, but if they were not of good quality I wouldn't own them.
 
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