Older Buck 303

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TDCase
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Older Buck 303

Post by TDCase »

I have an old Buck 303 that I've had many years and the clip blade is now beginning to get some play in it. I searched the knife related tutorials looking for instructions or advice on how to tighten it back up but didn't see anything. Is there a way to tighten the blade up without having to send it off for repair? Thanks, Tony
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orvet
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Re: Older Buck 303

Post by orvet »

Bucks are made with pin through bolster construction, except the few that were made by Schrade many years ago. The 303 was one of the patterns that Schrade made.

If your knife is made with pin through bolster construction, then tighten it like you would any other slipjoint knife.

If it was made by Schrade, trade it off to a Schrade collector. :mrgreen: :lol: :lol:

Actually if Schrade made it, the only way to tighten it up is to remove the Swinden Key, drill out the bolsters and pin the blades through bolsters.
If it is just a user knife, send it to Buck and they will most likely replace it with a new knife since they can't get parts for the Schrade made knives any more.

The difficulty repairing the knives made with the Swinden Key is what led Buck to stop using Schrade as the manufacturer of their slipjoints and switch to Camillus. Not a big deal to Schrade as the same people owned both Schrade & Camillus in those days.

Dale
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TDCase
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:21 am
Location: Austin, TX

Re: Older Buck 303

Post by TDCase »

orvet wrote:Bucks are made with pin through bolster construction, except the few that were made by Schrade many years ago. The 303 was one of the patterns that Schrade made.

If your knife is made with pin through bolster construction, then tighten it like you would any other slipjoint knife.

If it was made by Schrade, trade it off to a Schrade collector. :mrgreen: :lol: :lol:

Actually if Schrade made it, the only way to tighten it up is to remove the Swinden Key, drill out the bolsters and pin the blades through bolsters.
If it is just a user knife, send it to Buck and they will most likely replace it with a new knife since they can't get parts for the Schrade made knives any more.

The difficulty repairing the knives made with the Swinden Key is what led Buck to stop using Schrade as the manufacturer of their slipjoints and switch to Camillus. Not a big deal to Schrade as the same people owned both Schrade & Camillus in those days.

Dale
Dale, the 303 is from the mid 80's I think. It has the one brass center pin with two brass liners on the reverse and a long nail pull. I don't know enough about Buck to tell if it is the Swinden key. It is just a user but I'd hate to loose it since I've had it so long. Without trying to sound like an idiot, if it is the type with the pin through the bolster, would I just tap on the end of the bolster to tighten it or what? Thanks a bunch .... Tony ::tu::
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orvet
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Re: Older Buck 303

Post by orvet »

Yes Tony, if it is pin through bolster construction, just tap the bolsters like any other slipjoint.
If you can see a pivot pin, then it is pin through bolster & that should work.

If you can't see the pivot pin, it means one of two things:
1- it may be fitted and buffed down so well you cannot see the pin, or
2- it is Swinden construction and there is no external pin.

If you tap on the bolsters (or use a vise) to tighten the pin and it works, you know you have a normal pin through bolster slipjoint.
If it doesn't work, it is probably a Swinden and you (or someone) will need to take it apart, remove the Swinden rivet, drill the bolsters and pin the knife back together. Not a difficult task, but it can be daunting if you haven't done one before.

Hopefully the tapping will work for you.
Let us know how it comes out.

Dale
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