Interesting new - Buck licenses Remington name HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -(Ammoland.com)- Remington Outdoor C

The money questions are interesting. Buck has struggled with designing commercially successful modern folders to compete with Kershaw/ZT, Benchmade, Spyderco, CRKT, and the now established Chinese owned brands like Kizer.

This may cement Buck further in their core market of hunters, fishermen, and more traditional outdoorsmen. It doesn't expand Buck's market, but maybe they've decided to firmly hold their core market rather than keep fighting in a market in which they've struggled.

I don't see what is in this for Buck. Why would Buck want to pay Remington for the right to make Remington branded knives? I would think that anyone who was buying a knife would chose a Buck branded knife over the same knife with the Remington brand name. The Remington brand has zero cache.

I'd care to wager an awful lot of Remington branded knives get sold that its worth the price and maybe if Buck makes them they will be decent and not just junk steel stamped Remington. Which is my impression of them now. I maybe wrong though.

It's always bothered me to see fine old firearm company names on crap Chinese knives. When I go by the TSA outlet half the S&W knives in the bins are visibly falling apart. I think Remington needs the credibility boost of being associated with Buck, and I assume that Buck sees a proift in the deal.

IIRC back in the day they were being made by Camillus. They came up with some nice classic knives with a twist, like the one with a shotgun choke wrench. I sold mine with the 870 I never got around to using for turkey hunting. They were good steel, made in the USA, and priced reasonably. At the time Winchester Branded knives were the next higher niche pricing but since there were almost no firearms being produced it was mostly knife collectors buying them.

Getting teamed with Buck means made in the USA - hopefully - and a nice line of knives that are oriented a bit toward traditional gun users. Older buyers or slipjoint users will like them, they are not a small market - just not seen much in the overtly tactical and overblown marketing exposed to the public.

I know if I saw a knife with Remington stamped on it in a new counter, I would dismiss it as the bottom barrel of third world junk. Cant see why Buck would want in, especially given Remington's recent reputation. Maybe the can stamp Express on it too? I know just like Winchester, I wouldnt even look to see where it was made, or the quality. Im pretty sure Im not alone. Even the younger guys getting into guns at 16-24 years old and loving the idea of a 12 gauge are gonna look at the slightly cheaper, much more reputable Mossy's, and they sure arent buying a 700.

I may be out of touch a little bit, but I spend a fair amount of time on a large knife forum. The traditional slip joint seems to have started to grow in popularity among enthusiasts. It's not just a Case world out there. Great Eastern Cutlery has carved out quite a following of higher-than-average-priced-yet-fairly-affordable slip joints that are made here in the US.

Brands like Rough Rider have cornered a sizeable chunk of the market with inexpensive but surprisingly good quality slip joints. Honestly, my only knock against them is that I prefer a carbon steel over a stainless steel.

The older Winchester knives of the late 90s were made in the US. I thought i remember something about Queen making them or something? Great build quality. I dunno what they are doing now.

So, I could see this going two different ways: Remington sees a chance to make an affordable knife for the everyman (even the most expensive Buck slip joints don't crack $50 usually). They plan on building up the US-made brand to earn back some goodwill. Work the affordable quality for everyone angle and be competitive with a finer product than they were offering for only a few dollars more.

OR

It doesn't say where the knives are being made. The majority of Buck's slip joints are made in China. They aren't bad at all, but I have seen some frustration when people want to purchase a Buck slip joint and have to do a double take on where it was made. The ones made in the US are very well made but twice the price in some cases.

I've heard Buck has had a bit of backlash on the offshore knives. People buying a Buck usually want an American made knife like you get with Case.

It may be a win-win for Remington and Buck. Buck quietly rebrands its Chinese stuff as Remington. They can still be sold in Wal-Marts for under $20. It would leave you with knives in "Buck" packages as real-deal American-made knives and known at a glance that it IS a "Buck", but Remington could offer "Buck Quality" in the sub $20 pricepoint and most folks buying a knife at Wal-Mart for a Jackson aren't getting too bent out of shape on where it came from. However, they might trust the quality of the knife more if it had "Buck" somewhere on it.

Just a thought.

I hope they make traditional old Remington styles. I'd have to see how long the handles are on the sheath knives, like a RH-36 style.

I won't buy a current Remington gun or their .22 ammo, but a Buck-made knife in old Remington patterns definitely interests me. I wondered if Remington would find another maker after Camillus closed.