American Made Buck?

[Yo Mama]

I was looking at getting a Buck Stockman with 3 blades, but read they are made in China. I'd rather American made.

Am I correct that Buck's are made now in China?

What comprable knives are there for me to look at?

 

[DDeegs]

Some Bucks are made off shore and some are made here.
Case and Queen are American made for comparable knives


Dan

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Made In USA

Most of Buck's designs are made in Idaho, a few miles from where I live.

The knife you're looking for is a 301. This is the newer three-spring Stockman. Made right here.

The 30x and 31x line also includes a smaller stockman-type pattern called the "Cadet" (303), and a number of other traditional patterns (Lancer = 305, Companion = 309, Whittler = 310).

Their 37x and 38x traditional patterns are currently made in China. The quality control is good, and the knives themselves are well made. Just not made here.

Their 110 (and 111), 112, 119, 120, 105, 102, and so on are all still made right here -- including the 110 and 119 that Wal*Mart sells for that absurdly low price.

I have [strike]a few[/strike], uh, several Buck knives, and most of them are locally made. I have a few Mayo design patterns that are imports, but the quality is still good.

At their summer Factory Sale event, I spoke with some of their employees and was told that they are bringing ALL their production back to the US.

On the whole, I mostly buy the US-made Bucks, but their imports work just fine.

 

[Sav .250]

I found a list of what`s made where, when researching Buck knives on
google. Came across it by acccident. It`s a big list.

 

[Mike U.]

Yeah, don't let that "made in China" logo put you off. I have the Buck/Mayo Hilo and that knife is built waaay better than it's price reflects, IMO. Same with Spyderco's import line. Some pretty top shelf knives are coming out of China these days being imported by the big name companies like Kershaw, Buck, Spyderco and Benchmade. Stick with those names and rest assured your getting a very good product for the price.
Stay away from flea market "Made in China" knives or even Frost Cutlery's stuff. The American "Frost Cutlery" company anyway. You know the company, they are on late night tv offering you 'the deal of the century!' for the next 30 minutes 125 Frost Cutlery knives for $119.95! and so on...ad nauseum.
Now "Frost's of Sweden" aka "Mora" also make some incredible knives for not much money.

 

[Speedo66]

I have been disappointed in the quality too many times to knowingly buy anything made in China, be it tools or knives.

At this point I also have problems concerning their working conditions and loss of US jobs.

Now Swedish knives on the other hand, bring 'em on.

 

[HoosierQ]

You cannot beat a Buck 110 or a Mora. Great knives, great prices.

 

[SeekHer]

It isn't the finished product that I mind so much, especially from a big name maker like Buck, Cold Steel or any of the others... I do not knowingly buy China made goods because of the political situation and because the products are usually inferior...

What I dislike like with "China Made" stuff is that it's mainland China and NOT TAIWAN...I do not want to support the Communists especially the Chi-Com military, I do not want to buy products produced by slave labour and I do not want to buy an inferior steel...

The slave labour--political, social and military "outcasts" has been reported many times in the news... Amnesty International has filed multitudes of complaints against them...The World Court in the Hague and NATO have also filed/lodged/reported complaints and so far nothing has been done by either side...

Made in Taiwan is not made in China...

 

[Yo Mama]

And apparently Taiwan blades are great. My Kabars are made there now, and they are just amazing blades.

Oh, and I decided on the Case Stockman in a blue bone handle. Amazing, just love it!

 

[Beelzy]

The Bucks with the cool looking wood scales are Chinese, the Old School black micarta ones are still American Made.

 

[Doug S]

The Bucks with the cool looking wood scales are Chinese

That's not entirely true. Buck also has American made models with wood scales and a new Buck Anvil logo. The 301 comes with a leather belt pouch, and the 303, a leather pocket pouch impressed with the same logo. Pretty nice knives IMO. THat said, I'm not a fan of Buck Chinese knives, but my son has one of the Chinese Bucks and it's as well put together as any of my American made Buck knives, and better than many. I only have seen this one example, but if it's representative of the Chinese line, the only thing I don't like about it is the "tang stamp".

You have to go by the model number. Word has it that Buck is even going to halt production of the Chinese models.

 

[X-Rap]

I have to agree on passing Chinese made products when ever possible. That has in recent years become quite difficult unless you look at second hand.

When buying from China ask yourself if Americans would have bought from Japan or Germany in 1937 knowing what they know now.

 

[TimboKhan]

When buying from China ask yourself if Americans would have bought from Japan or Germany in 1937 knowing what they know now.

Hey, I am as big a proponent of buying American as anyone else, but the above statement doesn't even make sense, because you are basically saying in three years it's going to be WWIII or something equally horrible. I can't see into the future any better than you can, and while I try to stay away from Chinese products as much as possible, I also don't have any sort of personal policy that keeps me from buying products made from there.

Moreover, sometimes economy dictates foreign made purchases. Sitting not two feet from me is a Paul Reed Smith Singlecut SE, made in South Korea. I purchased it used for somewhere around 450 bucks, and they sell new for about 650. The cheapest I have ever seen an American made PRS guitar is well north of $1000, making them impractical for me to own. My South Korean PRS, on the other hand, was vastly more affordable and is a well-made guitar. In fact, it's probably the nicest guitar I will ever own! Guitars aren't knives, but I guess my point is that sometimes foreign made products are a solid choice in terms of quality and value.

In this case, when Buck brings the designs back to the US, I might be interested. They aren't particularly expensive (the Chinese trapper is something like 14 bucks on Knifecenter.com), but I would rather, and in fact did, spend my money on a Case that represents about a 45-50 dollar difference in price. That is a big difference in price, but I can afford 50 or 60 bucks for a knife.