Buck problems in the General forum

[Badhammer]

why have I just seen another thread about how crappy buck 110 knife is?? the guy has had it replace and then they gave him a free one because the one that they set him had the same problem.

My guess is it's for the same reason you will find similar posts in the ZT/Kershaw, Spyderco, Becker, etc. forums. You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time you will never please all of the people all of the time. In a couple of days you'll see three different threads about Cold Steel or some other brand. It happens. :frown:

 

[pinnah]

Reading the OPs post closely:

First 110 - blade play out of the box, returned to retailer

Second 110 - blade play out of the box, returned directly to Buck.

Third 110 - supposedly custom assembled by Jeff Hubbard, tiny amount of blade play out of the box but then worse blade play after cutting limbs (and then the tip broke off - user error imo).

 

[Plumberdv]

Good, I'm glad that you read it. I won't speak to issues arising after hard use because as I've said, I don't use them hard. I will say (again) that I've never bought a new one with those issues. Maybe I'm just lucky, who knows.

 

[richard thurman]

My guess is it's for the same reason you will find similar posts in the ZT/Kershaw, Spyderco, Becker, etc. forums. You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time you will never please all of the people all of the time. In a couple of days you'll see three different threads about Cold Steel or some other brand. It happens. :frown:

people come here and say how wonderful buck knifes are and they never have problems with them. that is what I have a problem with.
all knifes have some from the factory that dont work to good. I bought a bunch of kershaw leek ans chives that didnt open for nothing. I just retuned them and they sent new ones to replace them.

 

[sitflyer]

People who complain about Buck knives having problems are either run out of town, or ostracized. Some have had help come blazing to the rescue, and others scorned for " yet another Buck bashing thread". It seems like every one of these threads has the usual" I have bought X amount of Buck knives without a problem with any of them"!

I have had a few issues with some knives, and all but one were resolved by returning for warranty service. The exception is an AG 110 with vertical blade play. It had both side to side and vertical play, and after service came back with only vertical play. It won't go back again.

Interesting that there is a thread about a thread going on here! The OP was very wise to take his criticism elsewhere.

 

[machine26]

I don't have alot of experience with buck folding knives but I do have a 110 that developed significant blade play and lock failure after some use. Nothing major, just carving, cleaning squirrels, etc.

I didn't do a spine whack test on anything hard to induce lock failure, just my open palm. Was kind of shocked to see it fail like that. I just put it away in my knife drawer, I reckon buck might like it back to see any QC issues.

With that said, I enjoy their fixed blades. 119 and Vanguard continue to be a couple of my favorite knives.

 

[Plumberdv]

I'm not trying to say that there are never any issues with new from the factory knives, I know that there are.

What I'm saying is that I have bought and handled so many over the last few years that have no issues at all, that I don't believe that getting a bad one is as common as is being alleged.

 

[OHALLUM]

I think,(I know, you didn't ask me) that a lot of people, re: most reading on this forum have an unrealistic view about what a knife should be when NIB. If I was buying a Sebenza, I would expect near perfect fit and finish and no blade play and perfectly centered. If I buy a mass (emphasis on mass) produced knife for less than $40 and it was less than perfect, then I would not be too surprised if it was not perfect. Think of the thousands that are sold and people are satisfied with their purchase. No where to complain, other than to take it back to where it was bought for a replacement. Keep in mind that a little blade play will not affect the ability of the knife to cut most things that a person needs to cut.

If I broke the tip off of a knife, shame on me. The tip would not break just cutting a piece of wood, or a piece of rope, etc. Not a defect in the knife in my mind. I bought a China made buck stockman that was as perfect a knife in the fit and finish department as one could ever expect from a $25 knife. I am sure that Buck has something to do with the quality control over these knives. That is why I bought it in the first place. All this to say: Get real people, and do not expect a defect free knife when it is mass produced like the 110 is. If there is a problem, Buck will make it right to the best of their ability within reason. "Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes". Or, worked in their factory and can see what they are up against to keep up with production demands, and still make a profit. They are after all a for profit company.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[dogstar]

It seems like every one of these threads has the usual" I have bought X amount of Buck knives without a problem with any of them"!

If there were no "Buck quality control is crap" comments, I would not make comments like this. Also, it happens to be true. If there was something wrong with my knife, I would not hesitate to mention it.

 

[pinnah]

People who complain about Buck knives having problems are either run out of town, or ostracized. Some have had help come blazing to the rescue, and others scorned for " yet another Buck bashing thread". It seems like every one of these threads has the usual" I have bought X amount of Buck knives without a problem with any of them"!

I have had a few issues with some knives, and all but one were resolved by returning for warranty service. The exception is an AG 110 with vertical blade play. It had both side to side and vertical play, and after service came back with only vertical play. It won't go back again.

Interesting that there is a thread about a thread going on here! The OP was very wise to take his criticism elsewhere.

This is pretty true.

Hats off to 300bucks if he can have any influence.

 

[Bmurray]

What I keep reading around this forum no matter what brand it is, if someone has an issue or and opinion he gets bashed by the "other" team. It's like dems and rep around this forum. Some people here get so offended if you talk down their team! the obvious thing here that you cant argue is Buck moved well over 1/2 of their line to china and a lot of you keep supporting that decision by buying the Chinese models. If no one bought they would not produce there. I looked at a new 110 a while back, it's not the same flagship knife as it.

 

[dogstar]

I am puzzled by those who say: the old 110s are strong, they don't make 'em like they used to. Basically we are talking about seizing a blade between two bolsters with a pin. How has that become a lost art since the 70s?

Is Buck using lesser materials? Have their machines worn out over time? Are their workers so unskilled compared to those from 40 years ago?

Is it really possible that 110s from 4 decades ago are much superior to the ones being made today?

 

[machine26]

What I keep reading around this forum no matter what brand it is, if someone has an issue or and opinion he gets bashed by the "other" team. It's like dems and rep around this forum. Some people here get so offended if you talk down their team! the obvious thing here that you cant argue is Buck moved well over 1/2 of their line to china and a lot of you keep supporting that decision by buying the Chinese models. If no one bought they would not produce there. I looked at a new 110 a while back, it's not the same flagship knife as it.

The US made buck 110 has gone down in quality because people are buying chinese buck knives?

 

[dogstar]

Buck moved well over 1/2 of their line to china and a lot of you keep supporting that decision by buying the Chinese models. If no one bought they would not produce there.

I'm pretty sure the majority of Bucks are made in the USA. They are the only ones that I buy.

 

[sitflyer]

If there were no "Buck quality control is crap" comments, I would not make comments like this. Also, it happens to be true. If there was something wrong with my knife, I would not hesitate to mention it.

I agree wholeheartedly, and apologise to anyone I may have offended with my statements. I really just wish that whenever someone has a perceived problem with a Buck, that that oportunity is taken to help in a manner to win them over. It would be really great if Buck was there and said, hey, sent it in and I will make it right. That is an unrealistic expectation perhaps, and I applaud Jeff for the time he has personally invested around here to try to do that. If someone escalates their complaining to bashing, then yeah, go ahead and light the torches and sharpen up the pitchforks. Again, I sincerely apologise if my perceptions are off base and mis construed. The way I see it, a disgruntled customer is an opportunity to win over a new believer. Also understood is that ya' can't win them all...
And some customers have to deal with international shipping, and customs delays that may turn a 3-6 week turnaround into more like 7-10 week turnaround depending on time of year and workload.

 

[Plumberdv]

What I keep reading around this forum no matter what brand it is, if someone has an issue or and opinion he gets bashed by the "other" team. It's like dems and rep around this forum. Some people here get so offended if you talk down their team! the obvious thing here that you cant argue is Buck moved well over 1/2 of their line to china and a lot of you keep supporting that decision by buying the Chinese models. If no one bought they would not produce there. I looked at a new 110 a while back, it's not the same flagship knife as it.

Number one, that is total BS. I just went through Bucks catalog and there are 306 unique model numbers counting all the blade and color variations. Out of those 306 there are 40 that are imports, all the rest (266 of them) are made right here in good old Post Falls Idaho USA. You do the math.

Number two, not one of the imports was ever produced in the USA and had the production of them "moved" to China. Every Chinese import was and is it's own unique model. Just the opposite, Buck has moved the production of at least two models formerly produced in China to the USA. The Metro and the entire Bantam line for starters.

You really need to get your facts straight before making outrageous statements, like "they moved well over 1/2 of their line to China".

 

[Badhammer]

Good info Dave. Would be nice if folks had the facts before posting. I was just doing a google search and did find few articles that made the 50% claim but from what I can tell Buck never produced more than 30% of it's product line overseas and as of today has cut that down to about 13%.

 

[pinnah]

Is Buck using lesser materials?

Somewhere along the line, they added bushings (3 dot, I believe) which were steel. Some point later, the bushings changed to softer bronze.

Have their machines worn out over time?

All tooling machines wear out over time. Failure to reinvest in new machines is one of the issues mentioned by some collectors as playing a key role in Schrades quality slide at the end. No idea how new or old Bucks current tooling is but they did move thei US plant to Idaho about 10 years ago and others on the forum have suggested this move is linked to the QC issues.

Are their workers so unskilled compared to those from 40 years ago?

Interesting question. I wonder how much of the work for e made the move?

 

[Stumps]

Good info Dave. Would be nice if folks had the facts before posting. I was just doing a google search and did find few articles that made the 50% claim but from what I can tell Buck never produced more than 30% of it's product line overseas and as of today has cut that down to about 13%.

Badhammer....you forgot to mention that Buck says they are working on bringing all production to the US.

I just went back and read both threads and don't think there is a lot of Buck bashing going on in either of the two threads. There are one or two that have posted that didn't add any help to the OP....but for the most part this has been a good discussion.

The OP has been working with Buck and has good things to say about that part of it. He's not happy and still has a problem, so I hope he returns the knife to Buck's warranty dept to the attention of Jeff. I know it's a pain, but Jeff needs to see any problems with the knife.

 

[jill jackson]

I use a lot of different knives while hiking to snap cut small brush off my hiking trails. I bought a 110 and gave it a try. It was loose in four directions the first trip. Just what I found and I'm not going to lie about it. And no the knife was not abused didn't use it a bit harder than any other folder I've used on my hikes. I own other Bucks, like them haven't had nothing but great service. So no I'm not bashing Buck, just telling my honest opinion on one model.