It's been a long while since I carried or bought a Buck knife, but...

Way back in the age of dinosaurs, maybe 1973?, I went into a sports store, and they had a little 1-page brochure of Buck knives. It had a brand-new model, the "Frontiersman", like the "Nemo" but with a an aluminum guard and pommel (instead of stainless) and a clip-point (Bowie-style) blade. I had carried the "General" on a lot of the AT at that point and liked it, so I had the sports store order the "Frontiersman" for me. I had to pay in advance.

When it showed up, the blade looked nothing like the brochure- there was a little bevel on the back edge toward the point, but no clip at all. I tried to refuse it, saying it wasn't what I ordered, but the sports store (which I never bought from again) refused to return it or my money, telling me to take it up with the Buck factory.

I sent the knife back to the factory with a letter. Some time later I got a call from the folks there (two guys named Buck, I think one was Frank) asking me for details about the problem- apparently they hadn't seen the brochure photo and didn't understand. I tried to explain, then sent them the copy of the brochure.

They sent the knife back, re-ground to match the photo. Very nice job, too.

The next time I saw the brochure, it had been re-printed with a new photo of the Frontiersman, that looked like the knife I received (just like the Nemo).

I still have that knife- unfortunately, there was no letter with it, and I sent the brochure back to Buck, so I can't "prove" any of it.

Not too many years later, I had big chunks come out of the edge of a Buck 110 folder while using it to shape a piece of soft white pine, and I lost faith in them. Probably just a bad batch, but there's nothing like a knife breaking for no good reason to change your brand loyalty.

Still, the concern for the customer was apparent, and I'm glad to hear it's still there.