All About Pocket Knives

I only have a few Buck folding knives which i will show here with some questions:
First up are two Buck/307/U.S.A.; only front of master tang marked.
Were these made by Camillus before 1986 ? Can a more specfic date be given ?

Next are two Stock knives 3 7/8" (301). Both are marked on master front tang: BUCK/Made In/U.S.A. and the back tang of both secondaries: BUCK.
Are these Schrade-Walden made in 1966 or '67 ?

I'll add more later
thanks, kj

label refers to the picture above it.

Here are two 319. Both are marked on master front tang only: BUCK/319/U.S.A.
Note that one has a spiral punch so this indicates Camillus manufacture. I think both are pre 1986. Can they be dated any further ? And were both made by Camillus ? Or was the one with the 'smooth' punch made by Buck ?
I have one more 319, this one with it's box. Can this one be dated ? It is marked the same as the above two.
thanks again, kj

The 307s were both made by Camillus from 1974-1998.

The 301 with the secondary blades stamped "BUCK" were made by Schrade from 1967-1971.

The 319 with a long pull and spiral awl was made by Camillus from 1975-1990.

The 319 with a short pull and smooth awl was made by Camillus from 1990-1992.

Bert

Thanks bertj. I thought that Schrade-Walden only made knives for Buck for 2 years 1966 & 67 ?
And according to Bernard Levine in LG4: Camillus made all the 321 and 315 and the rest of the 300 series up until 1985. All the rest were made in the Buck factory. (i.e. from 1986 on all were made in the Buck factory except the 321 and 315)
So, did Mr. Levine get it wrong ?
kj

Joe,

Camillus got the contract for the Buck folders in 1971. Until then, Schrade made both the 301 and 303. In 1985 Buck started production for the 301, 303, 305 and 309. Camillus continued with the other models until production was phased out. In 1990 Buck introduced two new models, the 312 and 314, which they made.

Bert

Bert, what reference source are you using ? I ask and posted here because there is conflicting information about dating the pre 1986 Bucks. For example "300 Bucks" who is considered The Expert in the Buck forum at BladeForums posted this thread which was supposed to be definitive: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showt ... es+history

Using 300 Bucks info my two "Buck/Made In/U.S.A. with "BUCK" on the 2 secondary back tangs is Schrade-Walden "version 2 variation 2" from 1967 to about 1971 ? ("?" for the 1971)
And, regarding the 319 and 307, as they have no handle cover rivets and no Buck date code must be Camillus made and after 1971, according to info in 300Bucks post.
On page 2 of the 300Bucks thread is a picture of a 1985 Buck catalog page. It shows my 319 with the spiral punch.
kj

Joe,

I typed incorrectly. It now reads 1967-1971.

Bert

Quote: "It now reads 1967-1971."
O.K., now i think we have the dates figured out. Thanks for your help Bert.
Here are two 303 with what i think is Cracked Ice handles and a Buck 111 with 3 dots which puts it as made in early 1980's.
Are either of these (C.I. 303 & 111) somewhat rare ? or well prized by collectors ?
kj

Wow! Thank you for posting the pictures, Joe. You've got some fine ones, there. I especially like the 111.

[image][/image]Sorry to get here late. Some nice Bucks there. Bert is a 300 expert and don't know it.

All his info is right on. The 315 is almost a collector item on its own, it was never made by Buck (More below). If I would have known Camillus was going to go down the tubes and they would have let me. I would have driven all the way to New York and made copies of all there Buck 300 production records. They called them S-cards. They were a 5 by 7 card with all the production descriptions, special notations, dates and were the 'Holy Grail" of 300 information. The Yachtsman, Model 315 was a Buck knife but several other companies had the same knife made with their name on it. Especially Camillus, they had exact copies. Off the top of my head I believe you 'might' find six to nine versions with Buck stamps.
About 6 different production models made by Camillus and at least three special orders with upgraded scales replaced by Bucks Custom shop. (Boy are those pricey). They came in two basic forms, versions with bolsters and versions without (bareheaded). The bareheaded version had delrin scales with rivet support rings in place of bolsters. The two versions most difficult to find (and I don't have them) are one barehead with BUCK hot-stamped into the scale and one with partial serrated blade. There are a couple of folks over on the east coast that are collectors of marlin spike knives and they likely have those versions.

Camillus produced what was ordered. Buck 300's played a large part in their knife production volume in the last years. When Buck started making four models in their own factory a big piece of business was lost by Camillus and they had to hustle to make it up. One time Buck ordered 30,000 total of the 300 models. They were shipped to Buck in plain gang boxes and Buck then re-boxed them in Buck boxes.
300Bucks

Find one of these at a flea market for $25 and make $300 profit.

Hey 300Bucks, thank you for posting. Could you comment on the age questions for the two 319's ? and for the 111 and the 2 Cracked Ice 303's being a bit rare ?
kj

Not much of a "expert' on 111's. I know people want them with the box and without scratches. Some of them will have etches on them that are after Buck additions. Guess you take them to jeweler and have them etched. The scales are AL and can be scratched easily. Its out of production so, it's as rare as it's going to be.

The two ranchers are the total of factory production versions. The awls or leather punches; first era is the serrated one, you will eventually see it is made of carbon steel and not stainless. Many at flea markets are rusted. The smooth awl is the newer version and is SS. They can be found and are out of production but watch out for used blades on a closed knife photo. Made by Camillus only.

The 303 is with what is generally called pearl, or artificial pearl, was made only in 303 models by Buck. Only made a couple of years I have one with the anvil date stamp - 2002 and one with T date stamp 2003. I have one with pearl on one side and grey pearl on the other .Likely just a variation someone at Buck didn't take time to match. I also have a prototype or salesman sample in black pearl but I have only seen one or two others.
Nice 303s if you don't think of them as 'flashy' gents knives.

300