Buck 316 spiral punch - history?

T

the pup

Joined
Mar 26, 1999
Messages
49
Hey y'all - just bought this piece on e-Bay for $56.00:
28445812.jpg


This is all the seller gave in the way of production history:

"I think this is the 1st version -- They have been discontinued for about 5 years. The spiral punch version is hard to find. This one is MINT in the box with papers - closed length is 3 7/8""

I am interested in finding out about other configurations/versions (including handle materials) as well as years of production, relative rarity, price range, etc. I appreciate your help.

Thanks!

tite lines,
Billy 'the pup' Cochrane
www.vintageknives.com

[This message has been edited by the pup (edited 02-18-2001).]
 
Hi Pup,
Welcome to the wonderful world of the 300 series. I love this series and have collected a nearly all of the them.

The one you have is the Rancher and is actually #319. It is discontinued but relatively easy to find. Even on Kodiak island here a local store is selling them for $40. I think the worth of a 319 is in the $40-$50 range IMO.

There are a number of wonderful style knives in the 300 and 700 series such as:
trapper
small trapper
bird knife
muskrat
small and large stockman
small pen knife
there are more. There are even some yellow and red handles knives that I believed were made exclusively for Smokey Mountain Knife works.

Interestingly a number of these knives were not even made by Buck but were made by other companies over the years. Not sure when and what models Buck actually produced but you can buy a Ka bar, Camillus and and Buck and swear they were the same except for the tange stamping. They probably are.

Perhaps Larry and Vern can shed a bit more light on this subject.

Nonetheless, I love the 300 series, after you get them sharp, they keep a good edge, are relatively inexpensive to collect and come in a number of different models.

These are also called Hammer and Nail knives, I believe. My favorite in the unnumbered yellow Barlow.

Cheers!

------------------
~Greg Mete~
Kodiak Alaska
Buck Collectors Club-Lifetime Member
JKM-Chai
KnifeKnutt@aol.com

[This message has been edited by Kodiak PA (edited 02-19-2001).]
 
Do the ones you see still in stores include the spiral punch? That's really why I bought this one - it's a feature that very few companies include. I am thinking about having it rehandled in bone. If you have 'em up there with punch for forty bucks I guess I overpaid! Can you date this one by the box?

Best,
Billy
 
If you can obtain a Jan 2000 issue of KNIFEWORLD, there is a pretty complete article on the 300 series that I submitted. The spiral type punch came first and later the punch was smooth. By the way, this is the model 319 Rancher.

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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose".
 
OK! I'll try to get a copy. Failing that I'd appreciate any more info on the length of the first versions production run, relative scarcity, and the model year on this one that you can give. When I get it in-hand I'll be able to read the tang stamp, provided the date codes were used on this series. Do you have copies of your article that you could mail me if I can't find it? I'd gladly pay postage, copy costs, and a premium for you. Information has value!

Best,
Billy
 
Billy,
I have copies. Email me your fax # or a mailing address. The 319 was a contract knife made for Buck by Camillus and no year marks were ever used on the contract knives.
The knife debuted 1975 and was last in the catalog in 1990.

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"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose".
 
Thanks Larry and Greg! Your responses have been really detailed and interesting and I greatly appreciate that. Larry, I am really looking forward to seeing your KW piece! I like assembling production history information although I have not yet gotten anything published except on my own site. Joe and Vern were enormously helpful as I put together a short history of the 531/32/35 series from 1988 Sawby thru 2000 BG42 for my site. I pulled a lot of the information for that piece from the archives of this board, too - posts here serve a great purpose even long after they are archived. So anyway I guess I will hold off with questions about which steel this early 319 might have etc etc till I see the KW piece but hey Greg how about a photo of the yellow barlow? And by bird knife do you mean something on the order of an upland game piece with gut hook and muskrat?

Best,
Billy 'pup' Cochrane
 
It is interesting to "listen" to you guys; the enthusiasm is evident. The 319 was only made by Camillus, Schrade never made it. I'm almost positive they were all 440C . I still have a few put away from the 70's

Vern Taylor
 
He all:

I read Larry's article regarding the 300 series. It was very well done. We're quite lucky to have Larry and Vern here teaching us.

Thanks for the article Larry. What else have you written?

smile.gif



Greg
 
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