company . for the generic type of knife see pocket knife . buck knives type corporation industry manufacturing founded san diego california 1902 ; 114 years ago 1902 1 2 headquarters post falls idaho key people hoyt buck founder ; al buck former ceo ; chuck buck chairman ; cj buck current ceo ; paul bos products knives revenue us 80 million number of employees 320 website buckknives.com buck knives is an american knife manufacturer founded in san diego california and now located in post falls idaho . the company has a long history through five generations of the buck family from 1902 to the present day . 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 synonymous with folding lockback knives including those made by other manufacturers . contents 1 history 1.1 company origins 1.2 the model 110 2 models 2.1 recent developments 3 products 4 buck licensed art knives 5 in popular culture 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit company origins edit buck knives inc. dates it history back over 100 years to the first knives made by hoyt h. buck . hoyt h. buck became a blacksmith s apprentice in kansas in 1899 at the age of 10 . 2 3 during his tenure hoyt learned to make knives and in 1902 when he was 13 he developed a method of heat treating the steel in hoes and other tools so they would hold an edge longer . 2 hoyt left kansas in 1907 for the american northwest and eventually enlisted in the united states navy . 2 he is not known to have made knives until 1941 in mountain home idaho after the attack on pearl harbor . 2 hoyt made each knife by hand using worn out file blades as raw material . 4 these early knives are called four strikes by collectors because each of the letters in buck was struck with an individual letter stamp which in 1961 was replaced by a one piece stamp . 3 with the entry of the usa into ww2 the government asked the public for donations of fixed blade knives to arm the troops . 1 upon learning there were not enough knives for soldiers who needed them hoyt buck bought an anvil forge and grinder to set up a blacksmith shop in the basement of his church and started making knives for us troops . 1 hoyt later explained i didn t have any knives to offer but i sure knew how to make them . 1 after world war ii hoyt and his son al moved to san diego and set up shop as h.h. buck & son in 1947 . 1 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 . 1 in the 1950s the company began making knives on a much larger scale and marketed through dealers as opposed to direct mail . 5 the model 110 edit on april 18 1963 just two years after their incorporation the buck board of directors voted to authorize development of a new folding utility and hunting knife . 1 the new design featured a sturdy locking mechanism and a substantial clip point blade suitable for butchering and skinning large game . 1 this would become the world famous buck model 110 folding hunter . 1 the buck model 110 has a 3 3 4 inch blade a high tension lock and a low pressure release the handles are typically wood and the bolsters are made of heavy gauge brass . 1 introduced in 1964 the buck folding hunter was one of the first lockback folding knives considered strong enough to do the work of a fixed blade knife . 6 its debut revolutionized hunting knives rapidly becoming one of the most popular knives ever made 1 with some 15 million model 110 knives produced since 1964 . 6 7 before 1981 the specially heat treated stainless steel used was 440c from 1981 to 1992 it was 425m and after 1993 buck has used 420hc stainless steel . its design is one of the most imitated knife patterns in the world . 1 the buck model 112 has a three inch blade slightly smaller version of the 110 better suited for carry . models edit there are many different models of buck knives including the buck model 110 the buck 112 the buck 119 br special the buck 65 hood punk knife the buck 301 bks stockman the buck model 501 recent developments edit 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 . 8 dubbed the buckmaster it was marketed to the military and fans of the rambo movies of the 1980s . 1 the buckmaster was soon followed by the m9 bayonet manufactured for the us army with an initial order of 315 600 . 1 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 . 1 this knife best m9 was submitted to the united states marines for evaluation for use by the usmc . 9 in 2000 due to a demand from major retailers to reduce prices buck opened a plant in china . imports from this plant had reached a high of 30 percent at one time 10 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 . 11 in 2005 the company relocated to post falls idaho . 10 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 . 10 buck knives has collaborated with different custom knifemakers such as tom mayo mick strider 12 david yellowhorse 13 and the late rob simonich . 14 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 has made upon the cutlery industry . 15 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 . products edit buck ranger 112 a smaller version of the buck hunter 110 buck knives is an american manufacturer of different styles of knives including the first successful folding lock blade introduced in 1964 . 1 folding lock blade knives and buck knife thereby became strongly linked in the public mind and the buck design was much imitated so that a buck knife has come to mean any folding lock blade design even while buck knife is yet a trademark and not limited to folding lock blades . 16 buck licensed art knives edit buck knives has produced art knives for and under license with other companies and organizations such as the national rifle association the boy scouts of america colt firearms anheuser busch budweiser republic studios harley davidson indian motorcycles ford motor company chevy truck elvis presley estate john wayne estate roy clark purina nhra monroe auto and ducks unlimited . 3 additionally buck has worked with many commissions to produce art knives for state anniversaries texas sesquicentennial state agencies west virginia state police commemorations battle iowa or celebrations apple harvest festival . in popular culture edit in the 1984 film red dawn a carton of buck knives was one of the survival items the future wolverines took with them when they were heading for the mountains . patrick swayze s character jed eckert keeps a buck folding hunter in a sheath on his belt . in the scream film series ghostface s primary weapon is a buck 120 e. citation needed a drawing of the model 110 appears on the cover art of the indie rock band the front bottoms sophomore album talon of the hawk . see also edit knife making gerber legendary blades list of companies based in idaho references edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p the history of the 99 year old buck knife . popular mechanics . 178 6 . 1 june 2001 . retrieved 17 november 2008 . a b c d e pacella g rard 2002 . 100 legendary knives . krause publications . p. 126 . isbn 0 87349 417 2 . a b c price c. houston ; mark d. zalesky 2008 . the official price guide to collector knives 15th edition . house of collectibles . pp. 164 166 . isbn 978 0 375 72280 6 . ables tom 1991 . the story of buck knives a century of knifemaking . buck knives . p. 120 . asin b000m155x4 . obituaries alfred c. buck knife manufacturer 80 . new york times . 3 april 1991 . retrieved 17 november 2008 . a b petzal david e. june 1 2008 . the 20 best knives ever made the buck model 110 . field & stream . 63 2 73 . 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 . jackson mark 1987 . survival knives . black belt . active interest media inc. 25 2 40 48 . dick stephen 1995 blades of the combat swimmers tactical knives vol . 1 no. 2 p. 68 73 a b c krueger anne 26 march 2006 . a cut above buck knives enjoying a better business life in idaho than el cajon . signs on san diego . retrieved 17 november 2008 . buck knives keeps its knifemaking legacy in family . the spokesman review . 2011 10 23 . retrieved 2012 01 25 . markel paul 2006 . practical tacticals buck s strider folders . tactical knives magazine . 13 5 76 . price c. houston ; mark d. zalesky 2008 . the official price guide to collector knives 15th edition . house of collectibles . pp. 493 494 . isbn 978 0 375 72280 6 . winter butch 2003 collaborations with custom knifemakers sporting knives 2003 154 161 isbn 0 87349 430 x mr. speedsafe joins the club . blade magazine . 2008 07 22 . retrieved 2008 07 30 . aepma trademark list external links edit buck knives official site v t e knives and daggers list of daggers list of blade materials types of knives aircrew survival egress knife athame balisong butterfly ballistic ballpoint pen knife bayonet boline bolo boning boot knife bowie bread knife cane knife cheese knife chef s knife cleaver clip point combat knife commander corvo cqc 6 deba b ch diving knife drop point electric knife fairbairn sykes fighting knife gerber mark ii ginsu grapefruit knife gravity knife gunong hunting knife jacob s ladder karambit k la kirpan kitchen knife kukri laguiole knife machete mandau mezzaluna misericorde mora knife multi tool nakiri b ch navaja neck knife nontron knife opinel knife palette knife pantographic knife parang penknife penny knife pocket knife putty knife puukko rampuri resolza sabatier sami knife santoku sark scalpel seax sgian dubh sharpfinger shiv sliding knife smatchet sog knife straight razor strider smf survival knife swiss army knife switchblade taping knife throwing knife tomato knife trench knife tumi ulu utility knife warrior knife x acto yanagi ba yatagan types of daggers anelace applegate fairbairn fighting knife arkansas toothpick bc 41