334dave

Buck Knives

Latest comment: 15 years ago3 comments2 people in discussion

Hi Dave, Welcome to Wikipedia, glad to have you aboard. You may want to make those edits to the Buck Knives article in the sandbox before adding them to the article. They also need sources. I'll help you out if I can.--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 02:52, 17 November 2008 (UTC)Reply

HI Mike!!! glad you noticed my activity..

and YES i would like some assistance with posting the edit. thanks david 334dave (talk) 03:05, 17 November 2008 (UTC)Reply

HAY MIKE ! here is the latest i come up with and i think and hope is ready to post. if you have any edits or comments PLEASE let me know !!!!
from the sand box=>

Good stuff, I incorporated some and help with the rest later!--Mike - Μολὼν λαβέ 22:54, 18 November 2008 (UTC)Reply

Generic usage of "buck knife"

There is not a generic type or style of buck knife such as there is a generic style of Bowie knife and pocket knife. The term buck knife seems to be a generalization derived for one of several possible reasons:
1^st From the family name and name of the company- Buck Knives.
2^ed That the word "buck" is the slang sex name for a male deer.
3^ed Buck Knives did not patent a new clasp knife which become the most copied knife in the world.
4^th Lastly- that sellers wish to take advantage of Buck Knives advertising and reputation.

In 1963 Buck Knives Inc developed an innovative and durable heavy duty large folding knife with a blade that locked from the backside with a low pressure spring and rocker lock but did not apply for patent protection for it. With out patent protection it quickly become the most copied knife in the world.¹ This style of clasp knife is also known as a lockback knife.

The intense imitation of Buck Knife’s Folding Hunter 110, and that the word "buck" is the slang name for a small male deer would seem to be the most important contributing factors of the perception that buck knife could be a generic name applied to any lock back knife or even a fixed blade knife used in the sport of deer hunting. Of course some may say the last is the real reason. This assumption is evidenced with a search on any Internet auction / sale site using the terms buck + knife.
In reality a Buck Knife is any one of the many different knives made or sold by Buck Knives Inc.¹⁵

Company History

Buck Knives Inc. dates it history back over 100 years to Hoyt H. Buck born 1888 and the 3ed child of Philip Buck . ^1,2,3,4
Hoyt H. Buck, was a 13-year-old blacksmith apprentice in Kansas in 1902. During his tenure there Hoyt developed a method of heat-treating the steel in hoe’s and other tools so they would hold an edge much longer.^2,4 Hoyt also learned to shape knives from old rasps and files at that time and apply his heat treatment to them. Hoyt left Kansas in 1907 for the American northwest and is not known to have made knives again until 1940 in Mountain Home, Idaho after the attack on Pearl Harbor^1,2,3.
With the entry of the USA into World War 2 the government asked the public for donations of fixed blade knives to arm the troops with.²

Hoyt Buck, on learning there were not enough knives for solders who needed them, bought an anvil, forge and grinder to set up a black smith shop in the basement of his church were he started making knives in support of US troops.^2,3 Hoyt later explained, “I didn’t have any knives, (to offer) but I sure knew how to make them”
These early knives are easily recognizable as a Buck knife today ^1,2,4.
Among the troops word spread fast that these unique hand made knives by “Buck” stayed sharper much longer then any other knives they could get. Soon serviceman were showing up at Hoyt’s church to request a custom made knife.^1,2 By the end of WW2 there was a list of GI’s waiting for delivery of their Custom Buck Knife.² In late 1945 Hoyt and his wife Daisy packed up his anvil and other equipment and moved to San Diego were his oldest son was employed as a bus driver for the city.

Hoyt and his son, Alfred “Al” Buck formed the “Buck Knife Company” in Nov. 1945.⁹ The production “facility” was a small shop built on the side of Al’s garage at his home. They not only made sporting knives they also offered their services making and sharpening knives for the local meat and restaurant industry.²
Prior to this partnership Al Buck did not know how to make knives but under his fathers tutelage he soon learned. He left the bus company and joined full time in the ‘family’ business in 1947.^1,2 There he learned every thing of knife making from his father starting with making the handles and tempering the blades. On demonstrating to his father his ability to grind and shape the blades Al recall to Chuck his father saying, “Now I almost feel my life is complete- my son can make knives! ^1,2”
In 1949 Hoyt H. Buck passed away from cancer and his oldest son Al Buck carried on the family business. After the death of his father Al Buck, sold knives under the trademark names of Buck Knife, Buck Knives, Buck Life Time Knives and H.H. Buck and Son Knives. He also preformed work sharpening mower blades and saws as Buck’s Mower and Saw Works. It is known that Al Buck did not labor alone making Buck Knives. Chuck Shapter, Al's brother in law, and other family members assisted in those early days.^1,2,9

Buck Knife was the knife industry’s first company to advertise nationally in sporting magazines, which practice though frowned upon by competitors, was soon copied by all.³ It was at this time that Buck Knives instituted their famous “Life Time Knife” replacement warranty. What was unique was that Buck Knife Co. applied this unconditional warranty, not for just the original owner, but for the life of the Buck Knife it self. This would become a defining aspect of the company’s future. A Buck Knife is still under an unconditional guarantee no mater how old it is or whom it belonged to.^9a,13 In 1960 Al Buck was encouraged by friends at church to consider help with his knife company. In 1961 Al Buck, his son eldest son Charles “Chuck” Buck along with some members of his church and owners/employees of Precision Metals, inc. formed Buck Knives Incorporated.^1,2,3 Al Buck was Chairman of the Board; His eldest son Charles Buck was responsible for production and personal and other stockholders formed the remaining management team for almost 20 years. Al Buck, despite now being Chairman of a larger and fast growing company continued making sales calls on customers and retailers but now did it nation wide.² In 1979 Al Buck passed control of the company to his son Chuck Buck and retired, he passed away in 1991.¹¹

Buck Knives new Chairman of the Board, Charles Buck, known to most simply as Chuck Buck, saw the company through the recession of the early 1980s. He played a major role in the move and centralizing of company operations to El Cajon, California. Chuck also continued the tradition of his father in making sales calls on retailers as Chairman of the Board and continues to do so to this day.^9a,10 Al Bucks grandson, C. Buck (CJ to every one) is the current CEO and over saw the move from California to Idaho due to the deteriorating business environment there.⁶ CJ continues in the tradition of his grand father and father in making personal sales calls in addition to providing input on all new product development.^9a,10
Several of Hoyt Buck’s Great, Great, Grand Children, the 5th generation, are now involved with the company. This 5th generation includes: Josh Buck, student, intern and designer of the poplar Gen 5 hunting knife in the current line of products, Sarah Houge who manages all consumer events, internet advertising & sales and Aaron Houser taking care of customers in the on site company store.^9a,10

Innovations

Buck Knife was first Knife Company to advertise nationally. They were also the first to expand an unconditional warranty for the life of the knife. They were also the first company to include care and sharpening instructions with their knives in a unique booklet titled “Knife Know-How”.¹
In 1961 Buck was the first knife company to use only high quality stainless steel for all of their knives. In another unique industry first for this family run company they made their knives with a much harder temper then normally found, thus a Buck Knife did not need its edge sharpened as often as other knives.^1,3

In 1963-Buck Knives developed a folding lock back knife that was stronger and more dependable then any other folding knife on the market at the time and it became the best selling lock back knife in the USA and Buck Knives best known product. The “Buck Folding Hunter # 110” has been imitated so often that it is known today as the most copied knife in the world.³ They expanded the lock back blade concept to smaller pocketknives and have a line of non-locking pocketknives as well.^1,8

It was during this early time you could first get one ‘made to order’ or as is known today a custom buck knife options included an extra long blade for only 1$ an inch and grip materials such as wood or antler used instead of the standard black as on catalog ordered knives.^9a,13 Later Buck was the only production knife company to offer the services of a separate shop were some one could order a Buck Knife made from their personal design. This was the famous Buck Custom Shop at the El Cajon plant. The shop was started with custom knife maker Leroy Remer^1,12 and other knife smiths joined him in making Buck Customs. You will find Buck Custom Knives with the maker’s initials on them such as LR, DD, JK, BM, JY, DP and a perhaps some few others.^1,12
Buck still offers custom and limited edition knives but no longer offers making unique “one off” knives to the general public. They also work in the development of special knives with well known knife makers such as “Wilde” Bill Cody, David Yellowhorse, Mick Strider, Doug Hartsook, Rob Simonich, Peter Whittaker, Koji Hara and Tom Mayo.
Buck Knives has worked with other companies in development of knives to fill military contracts^5a,5b. Additionally Buck has also been part of international joint projects with Wenger, makers of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife.⁸

Buck Knives supplies high quality knives to customers from all professions. Their customer base ranges from Christian missionaries with donated knives to trade for goods and services in developing countries^1,2,3 to M9 Bayonets for the US Army and combat knives for the US Navy Seals^5a,5b,14. Buck besides continuing to make knives and other goods for sportsman of all callings, offers knives and tools for every use from the emergency fire, rescue Cross Lock to a small Metro knife for a ladies key ring.⁶ Since it inception in the early 1960’s Buck Knives, inc. has been consistent supporters of the Boy Scouts^1,2, and still today has a specially engraved knife available only to young men that earn Eagle Scout Rank.^10,13

Buck Licensed Art Knives

Buck Knives has produced art knives for and under licenses with other American Icon Companies such as: the NRA, the Boy Scouts of America, Colt Firearms, Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser), Republic Studios, Hardly Davidson Motor Cycle Co., Indian Motorcycle Co., Ford Motor Co., Chevy Truck, Elvis Presley Estate, John Wayne Estate, Roy Clark, Purina, NHRA, Monroe Auto and Ducks Unlimited to name but a very few. Additionally Buck has worked with many commissions to produce art knives such as for state anniversary's (Texas Sesquicentennial), state agencies (West Virginia State Police), commemorations (Battle Iowa) or celebrations (Apple Harvest Festival).^8⁸

Awards

Al Buck was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame during the 1982 Blade Show. Chuck Buck was was inducted into the Blade Magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame during the 1996 Blade Show.

Locations

Hoyt and Al Buck (father and son) started making Buck Knives in 1945⁹ as the Buck Knife Co. located at 1272 Morena Blvd. in San Diego, California.
Al Buck later sold knives under the trade marked names of Buck Life Time Knives and H.H. Buck and Son Co. (the names were used interchangeably at times) until the company was incorporated as Buck Knives,Inc.^1,3
After this time they operated from several locations but the core of company operations remained inside San Diego until 1980.¹⁰ In 1980 the company combined all operations under one roof with the move to the new larger plant located in El Cajon, California, were they remained until 2005.
In 2005 the company made the move to its present location at 660 South Lochsa Street, Post Falls, ID 83854. ⁷

References

1-The Story of Buck Knives- a family business, by Tom Ables 2- The History Of The 99-Year-Old Buck Knife [1]
3- Buck Knife data [2]
4- Buck family celebrates 100 years of making knives [3]
5a- Buck M9 Bayonet History [4]
5b- Overview of the Buck-184 Buckmaster Survival Knife [5]
6-Farrell, Scott, "Buck on Buck," Shooting Industry, November 1, 1991 [6]
7- Idaho Beckons a Golden State Warrior [7]
8- Buck Knives inc. Catalogs over many years.
9- newly discovered documents or documents that are as yet unpublished, source Joe Houser, public relations and historian at Buck Knives Inc
9a-unpublished source interview with Joe Houser
10-Company information desk
11-Obituary of Al Buck [8]
12– unpublished Leroy Remer[9] interview
13– Blade Forums Postings 2003-2007 by Chuck Buck, CJ Buck, Joe Houser in response to questions from collectors. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=701
14- Dick, Stephen (1995), Blades of the Combat Swimmers, Tactical Knives, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 68-73
15- AEPMA Trademark List
16- "Mr. SpeedSafe Joins the Club". Blade Magazine (7/22/2008).

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