doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT / Pocket knife

I have a Buck 382, 3�" 2-blade trapper. This was a gift from my late son-in-law at least 10 years ago, but less than 20, don't recall the exact time now. The "Skinner" blade is marked China. In spite of the China mark, I have carried this knife a lot. It seems to take a good edge & hold it well, I have had no complaint with its performance for my purposes. It is for me a very useful size.

KY Jon is absolutely right about early bidding on E bay or any other auction. All you do is give the competition time to think and decide to spend more. And I have always searched for Ithaca items under the correct spelling , and the incorrect spelling "Ithica." When you search under "Ithica" your only competition is guys who can't spell. Unfortunately, there are a lot of them.

I once was typing too fast when doing a search on E bay for French Walnut gunstock blanks. I misspelled it "Frech" walnut, and four nice two-piece blanks popped up listed with the same misspelling. I was the only bidder, and naturally won for the very reasonable starting bid. They actually had correct grain layout, unlike a lot of wood sold on E bay, and when the guy shipped them, he threw in four extra forend blanks. But good deals on E bay are few and far between anymore.

Chuck H:

You are correct. FWIW a number of unfinished and seconds from Queen and S&M come up on Ebay. Buyer beware.

For a carry knife I am partial to Case Slimline trappers. Most are single blades. But, occasionally a run of two blade Slimline trappers hit the market. The single blade is quite useful for most of my needs.

Good knife. Do they still have "Solingen" embossed on the big clip blade?

Good to hear from you, old friend. Been a long time .......too long.

SRH

I bought a used Queen Steel stag handled two blade "trapper" back in 1970, while in college. It is an impressive, big knife. It has been sharpened so many times the blades no longer resemble their original shapes. I still have it. The clip blade is stamped at the base "Q Steel".

SRH

I googled Buck model 382 yesterday. I found the Buck site & that they have a "History" service. They actually request a picture, but I didn't send one. They said an answer could take up to two weeks, but I received one via email this morning. Seems the 382 trapper was introduced in 2006 using 420HC steel in the blades. The down-pointing arrow following the 3/82 on the clip blade is a date code which said mine was made in 2007. My Son-in-law was killed in an auto accident Jan 3, 2008, so I am thinking he gave me this knife for Christmas about a month before he was killed.

I suppose I should put it in the safe for keeping it safe, but it just means a lot more to me in my pocket, so I'll keep carrying it & hope I don't lose it.

Also did a search on 420HC & found it contains 45% carbon & 18% Chrome. It normally hardens to about 55 RC & is considered one of the better stainless steels for knife blades, following closely 440C. In spite of the fact I generally prefer a high carbon steel blade, I have been very pleased with this knife. I have generally found that point of origin is more a matter of Pride than actual metallurgy. I would prefer it said USA than China, but this fact has not actually hurt the usefulness of this knife.

Must say I'm with those who carry a Victorinox. A pocket knife daily carry for me must be reasonably light and not too big. I have the "waiter" model with a large cutting blade, a small screw driver/bottle opener with wire-stripping groove, and the corkscrew. The knife has a toothpick, very indifferent quality pair of tweezers, and a very small eyeglass screwdriver that itself screws into the corkscrew. Won't admit how many TSA now owns as I forget to put them in checked baggage....

Now, when I'm in Africa hunting --- but that's a whole different thread.

Regards

FWIW-- First shop rule I learned at age 13- Never, ever touch another man's tools or go into his tool chest. Don't borrow tools either- My Granddad taught me that a thief is lower than a snake's hindmost tit- and a thief that steals another man's tools (pocket knives included) is the worst of all, as he is depriving that man of the means to provide for his family-- RWTF

I just remembered.....when I was working for the railroad on their fueling systems they would not allow me to carry a pocket knife. Something about not considering it a tool....never figured that one out.