"This may or may not be legitimate. We did have these produced for the RMEF a while ago, and they were manufactured in China. However, these have also been a favorite of the counterfeit sellers. We have seen these pop up on numerous sites (many in China). The problem is, since the originals were made in China and they do such a good job copying, the counterfeit ones look exactly like the legitimate ones and both are made in China. Best thing to do is to ask how the person selling it acquired it. If it was from a web site, I would be leary. If it was from a "brick and mortor" store in the US, then probably ok, or if from the RMEF itself, then ok.
Bill Keys
Director of Manufacturing and Engineering
Buck Knives, Inc."
So basically, legitimate or not they’re essentially the same knife.
I’d say, if you’re by it for $8 it’s probably not legit, but then I have one and it’s cool, so that’s all I need.
Since Buck admits that they did order these produced for the RMEF" from a Chinese factory ,makes me think this may be leftover blades and handles from the actual legit knives. Reason I believe this to be the case is the laser etched logo of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation .If they produced counterfeit ,why go to the trouble of laser etching the rocky mountain logo?. The laser cut hoof prints was done with a expensive high tech machine not easily available to any common counterfeit factory.
So I think this may be original Buck leftover, quality control or some Chinese worker deliberately over produced a million "extra" ones and dumped into the recycle bin outside and texted his friend to pick em up later :) . There's 3 versions iv come across. Buck 076,buck480 and buck 490 (Google it )
It’s probably the same dynamic as the garments that are made in the Chinese factories for western brands. Due to the speed of the assembly there is an average of seconds and culls that result from every container load of product. The factory does not get paid for these. So to meet their contract quota the factory does an overrun to cover the culls, let’s say for example 10. If they only get 2 of a cull rate, then they have 8% of perfectly good goods that they will not be paid for, plus much of that 2% was minor flaws and are still wearable. So the factory cuts the labels off, and moves the goods to the grey market. In Hong Kong for garments they show up in the Stanley, Sha Tin, and various Night Markets for example, and the are a fraction of the cost that they are in Europe and North America, but they are indeed the same goods. With electronics Linksys routers are famous for this as well, but the problem is although it is exactly the same PCB, often they are units that failed QC and have a bad IC on them. I got 2 faulty Linksys ATA’s that way. So this is probably the story with these knives, as noted above, you are probably getting the same blade and handle from a factory that just wants to get some of it’s money back, and it will be luck of the draw if the components were from the pile of culls, or from the pile of production overruns.
I took my chances and ordered one, looks like it will be here tomorrow in fact.
I put one of those 480s in my shopping cart to order early next week. I already have the “Buck 009” and one of the Strider clones and love them both.
I’m surprised the other Buck (copy?) from Fasttech isn’t getting some love here.
That's some nice looking tang right there
Oops. Well, it has a decent feel to it. Does anyone know if the genuine Buck Vanguard is built like that? I was going to buy the made-in-USA version but not if it’s built like that. Definite second thoughts. I normally buy full tang knives where there’s no doubt, so it looks like I got burned on this one.
Oh well, thanks for posting that. The Strider copy is still nice, and it’s clearly a single chunk of metal.
The best Buck knives are the old Buck USA knives.
The sharpest Buck knife I ever bought was the Buck Omni fixed blade model 390.
These are a super knife as well.
I was ready to pull the trigger on a $70 Buck Vanguard but not if they’re made like that. I wasn’t expecting a full tang, but I wasn’t expecting a no-tang either.
What I’m looking for is the blade shape of the Vanguard with the durability of something like my Eskabar.
Guys, remember when you post a picture you can adjust its ratio. If you put 100% it’ll fit to the exact width of the column without hanging over the edge.
I went back and edited my post, thanks. I’m still new here, and this site uses an interesting formatting.
I have 5 of the 480’s and 2 of the 009’s
I think is better pay more and get a y-start knife, the swordfish or the wooden handle have a good price and i have seen tests about.
That soldered tang is weak and terrible and you can’t know the steel type and heat threatment on these fake knifes.
mine arrived few days ago .well made knife . I think the steel is of a 440a ish .There's no way this is a 440c .IT easily sharpens with a file. A 440c is a nightmare to sharpen with file so theres no way its the Chinese version of 440c.
well its worth what I paid for it but be advised its NOT the superior 440c grade but of a lower grade like a 440a similar characteristics. Sharpens with any cheap file.
I wish it was a 440c :( .would have made this knife Perfect!!!
Ordered!!
I have ordered 6 of them and all are perfect. I give them to friends and family.
Ordered one, finally, and the other Strider copy, and that $3 neck knife, and a whole bunch of other stuff! The Strider copy I got last order is pretty amazing for 10 bucks. It’s a quarter inch thick and the sheath alone is worth what it costs.
Some years ago, i started to buy folder knives from China. I started with fake folders, my knowlegde was not very high. The fakes can have beautiful designs but the steel can be unuseful or the lock can be dangerous. Some of my fakes can be closed with a little push on top of the blade. Then i started to buy good cheap chinese knives from enlan, sanrenmu, ganzo, inron…
Trust me, i will not back to buy fakes. I want now to buy a fixed knife but not fakes from strider, buck or Bg. Perhaps i will try with a y-start fixed knife or a will continue with some ganzo knives that i have not in my collection.
The fakes can be good looking (sure, they are a copy of a work design) but the quality, finish or security is not the same.