All About Pocket Knives

Why do Buck's current production 303 wood and composition knives have different riveting on the slabs? Do rivets make that much of a difference on the same 303 pattern?

Edgewise wrote:Why do Buck's current production 303 wood and composition knives have different riveting on the slabs? Do rivets make that much of a difference on the same 303 pattern?

The black covers are cast onto the liners. If you look inside the well, you will see it extends through holes in the liners. Since the handles are cast before assembly, the center pin is driven through.

The wood covers are put on after the spring pin so you don't see the spring pin. But there are pins holding the wood to the liners.

So the composition slabs are not pinned but fused to the liners and the holes in the liners give them an extra grip. That sounds even better than glue. I understand that sometimes the composition even creeps very slightly over the edge of the liners.
I only have the wood one so I couldn't check the composition one. Thanks!

The Delrin and Valox scales for the 303 are a thermoplastic resin and are injection molded to the frame by an outside company. Buck does not have the equipment to do that procedure. The heated plastic is pressed on to the liner and some of the plastic passes through holes in the liner to form a plastic "rivet".

Bert

Here is a photo, courtesy of 300Bucks, showing interior of rivets on Dymondwood.

Bert