Look what I found today! Buck 311 Trapper

[Baykeeper]

Jpg Listing. I drank some juice from the monkey cactus and finally realized where and what I needed to do. This is the best it gets from me. I had it in a backwater photo file......But, this list does not have the descriptive comments at the end of the lines.....as the jumbled up list above has..... 300Bucks

Triple WOW, with a YIPPIE to go with it!

Now that's what I call readable, I just gotta get me some 'o dat cacti juice methinks!

Thanks so much again for sharing your immense pool of knowledge with us mere mortals.

[bertl]

Bert, this list does not have the correction you pointed out. Now I can't find where I wrote down the mistake you found...ha I do remember it was a 309 wasn't it. 300

Here are some data for the 309 showing the change made. The change is highlighted in yellow.

Bert

[bertl]

For some reason the data sheets posted by 300Bucks don't show the last columns. I am attaching part of the Tofft 300 Series data edited by 300Bucks. More will follow. There are probably a few changes that need to be done, but as 300 will tell you, going through this much information is tedious. I have changed the list as follows: the list is sorted by Model Number and then by Date within the Model Number.

Bert

[Baykeeper]

I cannot thank 300Bucks and berti enough for going to all this work, the collecting community here and elsewhere owes you a thank you for compiling all this data. I'm eatin' it up, keep it coming!

[bertl]

Baykeeper,

My part in this is very small, mostly secretarial. The real thanks goes to Charles Tofft who did the first work and to 300Bucks who edited it and added more information.

Bert

[bertl]

Here is more.

[bertl]

And more

[bertl]

and the last of it

[300Bucks]

You guys must be special. You can thank Bert for his organization of the 300 information. Don't thank me as I was given the info long ago and shared only with folks that seemed really interested. Some reasoning was that I would just copy and mail it to them.

Between Bert and I, this thread, on this forum has received more 300 details than any other forum, newsletter, or organization. If you see something that you say "hey, I want that one" then you better make yourself a note card to have by the computer or you can put in your pocket. They are getting harder to find, and now with the expanding knowledge of electronic transfer they will get even harder to grab. Good Luck. And thanks go to Bert for his list.

300Bucks

[jerryd6818]

Wow again!! WOW!!

I'm not necessarily a "computer guy", but I know my way around a word processor, so I'll give it a shot.

Ok, I copied and pasted it to a word processor, then converted it exactly as written above to pdf, but for some strange reason the forum isn't allowing me to upload that 7 page pdf?? I don't think it's something wrong with the document, as I now have both a word document and a pdf of the above post saved on my laptop. I can edit it, and possibly convert it to a spreadsheet, but I can't seem to post any such document here. I find that kind of strange. Perhaps someone reading this knows why that is?
I'll contract an administrator if needed to see if we can arrange something, that document is a valuable piece of research that should be shared with the community.
Thank you for doing all this work, you should be commended for it.

It appears to be the raw data with no headers nor formating but here's the .pdf format you requested. Click Here

[Baykeeper]

It appears to be the raw data with no headers nor formating but here's the .pdf format you requested. Click Here[/quote]

Thank you, I'm glad to know you see the research value of this data. Regardless of the formatting, (or lack thereof), all the info on the 300 series is now on this thread in various formats, including corrections by berti, (also dating info, which is contained in 300buck's handwritten notes posted earlier). It will just take a minute for most readers to interpret it and put it to use.
Thanks again!

Syd

[bertl]

Baykeeper,

As you discovered, the forum will not allow either Excel or PDF attachments. What I ended up doing was converting from my Excel spreadsheet to PDF format and then copying to JPEG. As a result the only headings are on the first JPEG page, which is the beginning of the Excel spreadsheet. Otherwise, I would have had to fiddle around and put headings on each JPEG page. I know that is inconvenient, but I guess people will have to either memorize the column headings or make a cheat sheet for them. Maybe some day I'll take the time to modify things with headings at the top of each JPEG page, but this will have to do for now.

Bert

[Baykeeper]

Off and running.
Officially on the hunt for Camillus-made Buck 300 series knives now, and even found more pearls of data on some of 300's posts on the Buck 301 thread in this forum, (can't hyperlink, so just go look for it, lots of good data there). Just received two others this week, a 307, and today a 301 arrived. The 307 is Camillus-made, but I haven't determined exact manufacture date yet, but it is pre 1986. I did a little more research on the 301, I think it was from 1971-1974, also Camillus-made. With 300's data you have to go line by line comparing all the 301's listed, then narrow it down from there. I think I'm close to correct about both of them. Both knives are in good to very good condition, blades are tight & sharpened right up, and both have what I consider to be normal usage wear. I want to complete the "Stockman" frame set, so now I'm on the look for a 303 and a 319 too. I already have a 311 and two 313's of the same era, so eventually I want at least one example of all. I don't think I need all the different versions, that would take me years to find all of the various of each model, I'll settle for the Camillus-made knives.
Looks to me that both of these knives have carbon springs, you can see staining that remained on the springs after cleaning, and there was active rust on the top of the springs inside, (especially on the 307, since removed and thoroughly oiled), so that would place both knives firmly pre 1980 according to what I've researched. The bottom photo shows the rust and staining inside the 307 before I cleaned it up....carbon springs, betcha.

I won't mention what I paid for these, (stoopid cheap), and since 300 has a beautiful 307 for sale right now I won't spoil his chances for a sale by crowing about these too much. The icing was that I got a 1998 US-made Buck 450 Protege in the deal too, it's just been one of those weeks!!

[bertl]

Baykeeper,

It looks like you are off to a good start on your quest. One thing you mentioned is that the 307 is pre-1986. Generally when people say that they mean the knife is before Buck started using date codes. However, none of the Camillus made Bucks used date codes, even after Buck started using date codes for the knives they made. The 307 was made only by Camillus and none of them have date codes.

Bert

[Baykeeper]

I have to thank 300bucks and berti again for helping me on my quest for Camillus-made 300 series Bucks. The research data they provided has been invaluable. I don't have a full collection yet, and all those I do have have been used, some maybe even abused, but they all have "character" and all are very solid & usable. I'm waiting for a very early '67-'72 Schrade-made #303 to arrive, (no model number), so I'm jumping the gun a bit with photos, and getting off kilter with my Camillus-made-only goal, but I'll post photos today of what I have so far. I just received a #319 Rancher in good condition too, probably from the 70's due to it's having carbon springs; the awl is also carbon. I'll include that one in a separate photo, and will post photos of the Schrade-made knife when it arrives.
In the photo of the group all are Camillus-made except the #305 & #309 on opposite ends, (I have a Camillus-made #309 Companion coming soon too to replace that Buck-made version). I'm on the hunt for a CC-made #305, #315, #317, & #321 to complete the "basic" series, and will be on the lookout for the rarer models like the #302, #312, #314, #310, etc, etc. The #301, #303, #307, & #319 below have carbon springs, which should date them to before 1980.

Thanks again guys, I'm having a blast!

From left to right: #305 Lancer, (Buck), #311 Slimline Trapper, #313 Muskrat, #307 Wrangler, #301 Stockman, #303 Cadet, (model # on pile side), #309 Companion, (Buck). #319 below.

[big monk]

GONE TO EBAY, with my Bucks***

[Baykeeper]

Baykeeper --- I have these ( new in box ) for sale, if interested ??? Monk

I'm tearing my couch apart looking for spare change right now!

Beauties, but a little too pricey for me at the moment, (I've already spent way too much on knives this month). The 307 with the vintage box in the bottom photo is especially nice, and right in my collecting "focus" agewise, (pre date code). If I had a spare bill to splurge I wouldn't hesitate on that one. In my opinion, of the three you posted, that 307 is THE "find". Honestly, if I had it to spare I would go for it, and if by some quirk I come up with some extra moola I'll be 'a callin'.

The other two red handled knives are post date code, though beautiful they are not in my collecting focus so to speak. I'm trying to stay with the older knives, though those red handles are so awesome I would love to have them just to have them.

Thanks for asking & posting those tempting photos, and good luck.

[bertl]

Baykeeper,

You are starting to get a good collection. It's addictive.

Bert

[Baykeeper]

Baykeeper,

You are starting to get a good collection. It's addictive.

Bert

Yup, IT IS addictive, and I may need an intervention one of these days...but NOT today!!

Thanks Bert, I'm getting there, and thanks so much again for the help and encouragement.

[Baykeeper]

Thought I would mention that I joined the Buck Collectors Club, Inc as an "E" member today. Lots of reading is available on their website in the "Members Only" area, so I'm looking forward to that. I also have a surprise coming in the mail, and will post photos when it arrives. In the meantime I'll be over on the BCCI website catching up on my reading and feeding my Buck addiction.

[Baykeeper]

As a newly minted official E Member of BCCI, I thought I would share the latest addition to my 300 series collection, a #322 Congress, 3 1/2" closed. I looked it up and as far as I can determine these were made by Camillus for Buck on SFO from Smokey Mountain Knife Works, and were sold only through the SMKW catalog, and only made in 1995. There were two handles available, black saw cut Delrin, and yellow saw cut Delrin. Which version is rarest is debatable, but the yellow ones seem to sell for higher prices. Having been made in one year only indicates that there were relatively low production numbers on this particular model, so it should qualify as a relatively rare find compared to other 300 series CC-made models. There was no model number stamped on these, and no date codes. They have the familiar curved bottom of the Congress pattern, and have straight bolsters, (unlike other CC-made 300 series knives which mostly have slanted bolsters). This one is in very good condition, tight blades with great snap, and minimal if any scratching. The handles are in very good condition also.
This was obtained in my quest for one of each CC-made 300 series knives; one more off the list, several to go.
Perfect carry size, I think I'll keep this one in my pocket for a while.

[Baykeeper]

Jumpstart! Let's see if I have learned anything from the Tofft database, (or more correctly, what I learned from 300Bucks and bertl).

Wanted to add photos of my latest 300 series Buck. Hopefully 300Bucks and/or bertl are still around, perhaps they can help me verify my historical info on this knife, which I identified via the Tofft database, and an old thread on 300 series history by 300Bucks on BF, (http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... 66-to-1990). They both graciously provided that database and some hand written notes earlier in this thread.
Here we go:
According to what I can research, this appears to be a 1966-67 version 2, variety 1, #303 Cadet made by Schrade, (no model number, no pile side stamps, brass handle pins). I'll also post photos of a version 2, variety 2, (1967-72 I think, pile side "BUCK" on secondary blades), w/ reshaped master blade, (bummer), and a Camillus-made 303, (1972-86), which I believe to be pre 1980 due to carbon springs. In the combined photo you can definitely see differences between the Schrade and Camillus versions, with the only difference in the Schrade knives being the middle one having pile-side "BUCK" on the blades. Neither of the Schrade knives have a model number stamped anywhere, while the Camillus version does. I believe both Scrade's handle pins to be of the large variety, while there are small pin versions also, (made by Camillus...I think). I'd still love to find a #303 version 1 w/ lined bolsters, but this one is the oldest 300 series knife that I have so far.

Well guys? How far off am I? (Or how close am I?). Did I do my homework well?

[bertl]

Baykeeper,

You have been busy. You are correct (almost) that is a Schrade 303 produced in 1968. For the 303s, if it has only the master blade stamped "BUCK/Made in USA", no model number, and no visible blade rivets it is the 1st version of the 303. The shape of the sheepsfoot blade also helps identify it as a Schrade.

The "almost" correct is because there is no Schrade 303 with grooved bolsters. Those bolsters are found only on the 1st Version of the 301.

I hope you are having fun.

Bert

[bertl]

I think there is an error on the data sheet. The first 301 was not until 1968 and ran until 1972.

Bert

[Baykeeper]

Baykeeper,

You have been busy. You are correct (almost) that is a Schrade 303 produced in 1968. For the 303s, if it has only the master blade stamped "BUCK/Made in USA", no model number, and no visible blade rivets it is the 1st version of the 303. The shape of the sheepsfoot blade also helps identify it as a Schrade.

The "almost" correct is because there is no Schrade 303 with grooved bolsters. Those bolsters are found only on the 1st Version of the 301.

I hope you are having fun.

Bert

Thanks Bert. I've done a lot of reading from the data supplied by you and 300, so at least I almost got it right. Of course you're correct too about the lined bolsters only being found on the 301, (I went back and re read that particular thread; oops!); there's just too much data for an old(er) brain to absorb quickly, but I'm getting there. I think I could claim a B+ grade so far on my progress. I was sure about it being a Schrade, and you don't see those come along that often, so even though I concentrate on Camillus-made 300's, I couldn't resist the chance to grab one of these earlier knives just to have as an example of that "version".
I still need a 315, 317 & 321, (at least one of the various versions), to have a "basic" set of CC 300's. After the basic set is completed it looks like I'll be looking for various "versions" & "varieties" for years to come after that. I only have one SFO 300 so far, a 322 Congress, I guess I'll have to be on the lookout for the rest of those too; groan......

Thanks again for all your help Bert.