Buck Knives
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Buck Knives is an American knife brand and manufacturer founded in San Diego, California in 1947 as H.H. Buck and Son,<ref name="PM">Template:Cite journal</ref> and now located in Post Falls, Idaho. Company founder and family patriarch Hoyt Buck made his first knife in 1902, but did not begin making them commercially until 1947. Since then the family owned company<ref>About Our Knives, Buck Knives, buckknives.com. "Buck Knives is a family-owned business passed on from generation to generation (4 to be exact)." </ref> has a five generation history of manufacturing knives and related products (such as sheathes and sharpeners).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Buck Knives primarily manufactures sport and field knives and is credited with inventing the "folding hunting knife" and popularizing it to such a degree that the term "buck knife" has become associated with folding lockback knives, including those made by other manufacturers.<ref>AEPMA Trademark List Template:Webarchive</ref>
HistoryEdit
Company originsEdit
Hoyt H. Buck became a blacksmith's apprentice in Kansas in 1899 at the age of 10.<ref name="GP">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="collect">Template:Cite book</ref> He learned to make knives and at 13, in 1902, developed a method to heat-treat steel for hoes and other tools so that they would hold an edge longer.<ref name="GP"/> He began to make a limited number of knives by hand, using worn-out file blades as raw material.<ref name="Ables">Template:Cite book</ref> Collectors call these early knives "four strikes," because each of the letters in BUCK was struck with an individual letter stamp. In 1961, marking was replaced by a one-piece stamp.<ref name="collect"/> Hoyt left Kansas in 1907 for the American northwest and eventually enlisted in the United States Navy.<ref name="GP"/>
Although Hoyt Buck had made those first knives in 1902, he had "never really been in the knife business".<ref name="PM"/> When the United States entered World War II, the government asked the public for donations of fixed-bladed knives to arm the troops.<ref name="PM"/> Upon learning that there were not enough knives for soldiers, Buck bought an anvil, forge, and grinder to set up a blacksmith shop in the basement of his church in Mountain Home, Idaho, where he was pastor of the Assembly of God.<ref name="PM"/> Hoyt later explained, "I didn't have any knives [to offer], but I sure knew how to make them".<ref name="PM"/>
After World War II, Hoyt moved in with his son, Al, in San Diego, and set up shop as "H.H. Buck & Son" in 1947.<ref name="PM"/> These early knives were handmade and more expensive than a typical mass-produced knife. Hoyt Buck made 25 knives a week until his death in 1949.<ref name="PM"/> In the 1950s, the company began manufacturing on a much larger scale and marketed through dealers as opposed to direct mail.<ref name = "Obit">Template:Cite news</ref>
In spite of the high quality of his products, Al Buck struggled to make a business go. A large step forward was taken on April 7, 1961, when articles of incorporation were filed, according to Popular Mechanics in an extensive 2001 article on the Buck knife and its history, "the true beginning of the modern era" of the company.<ref name="PM"/>
The Model 110Edit
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On April 18, 1963, two years after incorporating, the Buck board of directors authorized development of a new folding utility and hunting knife.<ref name="PM"/> The new design featured a sturdy locking mechanism and a substantial clip point blade suitable for butchering and skinning large game.<ref name="PM"/> This became the famous Buck Model 110 Folding Hunter.<ref name="PM"/>
Introduced in 1964, the Buck Model 110 has a 3Template:Fraction–inch blade, a high-tension lock, and a low-pressure release; the handles are typically wood with bolsters of heavy-gauge brass.<ref name="PM"/> In addition to its ergonomics, convenience, and handsome looks, fundamental to the 110's success was that it was one of the first lockback folding knives considered strong enough to do the work of a fixed-blade knife.<ref name=Petzal>Template:Cite journal</ref> Its debut revolutionized hunting knives, rapidly becoming one of the most popular knives ever made,<ref name="PM"/> with some 15 million Model 110 knives produced since 1964,<ref name=Petzal/> and the one million a year production threshold reached in 2010.<ref>"1 million, and still cutting: Buck Knives hits landmark production number this year", Coeur D'Alene Press, 30 October 2010: "Buck produced over 1 million Model 110 knives in 2010 alone."</ref> Before 1981, the specially heat treated stainless steel used was 440C, and from 1981 to 1992 the company used 425M steel. Since 1993, Buck has mostly used 420HC stainless steel for Model 110 blades, although CPM S30V steel has also been used for some production runs. Its design is one of the most imitated knife patterns in the world.<ref name="PM"/>
In 2018, Buck introduced a new lightweight editions of the 110, a thick-handled FRN (fiberglass reinforced nylon) version called the LT.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Recent developmentsEdit
In 1984, Buck introduced a survival knife with a hollow handle for storage and a 7.5 inch blade with a serrated spine and prongs so the knife could double as a grappling hook.<ref name="Jackson">Template:Cite journal</ref> Dubbed the Buckmaster (Model 184), it was marketed to the military and fans of the Rambo films of the 1980s.<ref name="PM"/> The Buckmaster was soon followed by the M9 Bayonet manufactured for the United States Army, with an initial order of 315,600.<ref name="PM"/>
In 1992–1993, Buck introduced the Nighthawk, a fixed-blade knife with a 6.5 inch blade and a black handle made of Zytel for an ergonomic grip.<ref name="PM"/> This knife (Best M9) was submitted to the United States Marine Corps for evaluation for use by the Marines.<ref>Dick, Stephen (1995), Blades of the Combat Swimmers, Tactical Knives, vol. 1, no. 2, p. 68-73</ref>
In 2000, due to a demand from major retailers to reduce prices, Buck opened a plant in China. Imports to the United States from this plant had reached a high of 30 percent at one time,<ref name="Move"/> but have dropped to 13 percent with the majority of these knives going to large retailers as opposed to sporting goods stores or knife shops.<ref name="Spok">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2005, the company relocated to Post Falls, Idaho.<ref name = "Move"/> Leaders of the San Diego business community considered this move a blow to San Diego County's economic landscape and a symbol of the state of California's problems in attracting and keeping businesses.<ref name = "Move">Template:Cite news</ref>
Buck Knives has collaborated with different custom knifemakers such as Tom Mayo, Mick Strider,<ref name="strider">Template:Cite journal</ref> David Yellowhorse<ref name="Collect">Template:Cite book</ref> and Rob Simonich.<ref name="Winter">Template:Citation</ref>
Al and Chuck Buck were inducted into the Blade magazine Cutlery Hall of Fame at the 1982 and 1996 Blade Shows respectively in Atlanta, Georgia in recognition for the impact that their designs and company have made upon the cutlery industry.<ref name="HOF2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Buck's heat treater, Paul Bos, who heat treats knives for other custom makers and production companies at Buck's facility, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.
ProductsEdit
Template:Expand section Today, Buck products are produced in countries including Mexico (e.g. sheathes) and China.