Buck-made in china

S

sbuster

Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
12
I love Buck knives and I have several. I was given a Buck 373 Stockman made in China. It looks like a very good knife but is it? Is the quality control as good in China? Any ideas?
 
I have a Buck Glacier made in China and it is as good as US made Bucks.
The Glacier is in 42oHC, some of the other Chinese Bucks are in 420JS (which IMHO is serviceable but not as good as 420HC).
Rich
 
Last edited:
Why most people so disappointed about China as a manufacturer? They provide the quality that you pay for: if it's some branded stuff they use high quality materials so the price is higher as well. The same with low quality materials.

For example, Gerber Kukri machettes also being produced in China and imported to the US through Canada, where it is rebranded to Gerber. But their original mnufacturer is Fiskars (finnish manufacturer of hatchets, axes, knives etc...) That's how it works...Current marketing realities urge manufacturers to create parts of their products in countries where workforce is cheaper. That allow them to save quality I believe.

...or maybe people just confused about the US brand doing stuff in China and ship it back :D

As for Buck Knives, I have 110 Hunter folding knife and I love it...it lives for 36 years now
 
Last edited by a moderator:
sbuster said:
I love Buck knives and I have several. I was given a Buck 373 Stockman made in China. It looks like a very good knife but is it? Is the quality control as good in China? Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I'm curious, you have this knife in your hand and think it looks like a very good knife, but you go online to ask other people, who don't have the knife you want to know about, if they think it's a good knife?

If the people here had told you it was a bad knife, what would you have done? Would you have ignored your own appraisal and gotten rid of it?
 
sbuster said:
I love Buck knives and I have several. I was given a Buck 373 Stockman made in China. It looks like a very good knife but is it? Is the quality control as good in China? Any ideas?
Click to expand...

I do know that Buck had their 371 Stockman produced at the Ganzo factory. Because Ganzo turned right around and produced this knife as their 725M model. You pay more for the Buck name and get 420J2 steel...pay a lot less for the generic name of Ganzo and get 4116 steel.

Ever seen a Sanrenmu 723? it's the Buck 327 Nobleman. The faux bolster look is just reversed and the model# is made from the same set of #'s. Who can say which company developed that knife first.
 
Last edited:
The Chinese Bucks arent bad, they just use a lesser steel. I had a 373(?) Trio Stockman for a while and the only real complaint I had with it was that the steel didnt hold an edge very well. The American Bucks use a very well heat treated 420 HC but the Chinese ones use 420 J2, which is not very good. It also doesnt have that famous heat treatment. I had to resharpen mine about every day if I used it because the steel was soft and the edge would roll. It was quick to resharpen though.
I have seen a few of them and they were all nice though (fit and finish wise). If you like the knife then use it.
 
Not all Chinese Bucks are 420Js; my Buck Glacier is 420HC, just like the US made Bucks.
Rich
 
Jordan Brickman said:
Why most people so disappointed about China as a manufacturer? They provide the quality that you pay for: if it's some branded stuff they use high quality materials so the price is higher as well. The same with low quality materials.

For example, Gerber Kukri machettes also being produced in China and imported to the US through Canada, where it is rebranded to Gerber. But their original mnufacturer is Fiskars (finnish manufacturer of hatchets, axes, knives etc...) That's how it works...Current marketing realities urge manufacturers to create parts of their products in countries where workforce is cheaper. That allow them to save quality I believe.

...or maybe people just confused about the US brand doing stuff in China and ship it back :D

As for Buck Knives, I have 110 Hunter folding knife and I love it...it lives for 36 years now
https://wildproofgear.com/the-best-8-folding-buck-knives/
Click to expand...

That site is so wrong, there's too much to even talk about. If it's yours, I'd take it down.

For example even Buck wouldn't say the 110 is the best Buck for fishing, as is claimed there. The site says "420HC is perhaps the most popular choice when it comes time for a manufacturer to select the steel variety for blade construction." Except for Buck, most manufacturers don't choose 420hc.
 
Chinese Bucks are not bad at all,I have the same stockman and its iretty good,yes the steel is little softer but its fine,holds edge equally as swiss swis knife which is fine for most purposes,and is super easy to sharpen.
 
My experience is limited in the China made stuff. I have 2 folders and the seem fine to me. Don't know what steel is in them but seem a bit softer, less durable edges than my 301 USA made knife. The 301 is kind of my folder I turn to for abusive practices.
 
Frotier76 said:
I do know that Buck had their 371 Stockman produced at the Ganzo factory. Because Ganzo turned right around and produced this knife as their 725M model. You pay more for the Buck name and get 420J2 steel...pay a lot less for the generic name of Ganzo and get 4116 steel.

Ever seen a Sanrenmu 723? it's the Buck 327 Nobleman. The faux bolster look is just reversed and the model# is made from the same set of #'s. Who can say which company developed that knife first.
Click to expand...
Where do you get your information from??????????????????
 
I have had a number of 303s and 373, pass through my hands, in the last few years, (probably most before 2018) some have been really well made and others made on Friday by the bloke who forgot his glasses and caught his bus home early. I've had more Made in China, (cheaper) than made n the USA. All of the Chinese knives where wooden handled all but one of the USA knives black handled. Most were handled in a retail setting Returned or exchanged. More USA knives where returned: Really terrible grinding of the small blades usually the sheepfoot. Or, Spey blade obscuring Sheepfoot's nail-nick, or spey-blade nail-nick below liner. Chinese knives tended to be brought back because the blade didn't open fully or snap closed. We didn't sell many compared to SAK so the number that were unsatisfactory is quite high. What's more I only worked in that store part-time to help out a family member.

Generally a good one made in the USA or a good one made in China is a good knife.
The difference

The Chinese knife:
  1. Feels blockier - has squarer edges.
  2. The clip bade tends to be a little slimmer.
  3. The grinding on the blades is better and finer.
  4. The steel is softer & doesn't keep an edge quite as long as the USA knife.
  5. The bolsters are seperate pieces from the liners, on the USA knife Liners and Bolster are one piece.
  6. Tang and spring don't generally mate so well often showing a gap.
  7. Nail nicks sometimes too close to fulcrum, awkward and seems a bit random.
I tried to get some illustrative photos but something is a bit, skew-whiff.
 
I have the Buck Duece and Solo, both made in China. I'm very pleased with the quality of both.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top