Buck Knives 373 Trio 3-Blade Folding Pocket Knife with Wood Handle

Bought three of these as Christmas gifts for my nephew and his two adult children. Good quality, small enough to carry without being bulky. Very sharp! Open easily and firmly lock open. Recommended!

Ain’t nothing better than a Buck knife. Pocket size. Holds edge very well.

nice size fits my pocket just right and is decent quality

Enjoy this knife very much. I use it every day

This is a short version of my quest to find, for me, the perfect knife for whittling and all around use. Yep, a knife to carry everyday to do the occasional chores that most of us use pocketknives for, and a knife to use for whittling. I made an attempt at whittling a couple of years ago, and ended up with a Carvin' Jack (sp) and one single-blade carving knife. I decided I wanted to use a pocket knife, yep, like folks did for so many years. When my search started I had a Buck 303, the USA-made version of the Trio. It's about 35 years old and had been little used. Bought a Boker Carver's Whittling knife, but kept coming back to the Buck 303. There's just something about the 303 that I really like. It fits my medium-size hand perfectly, is comfortable to use, and fits well in my jean's pocket. Yes, I then went a little overboard, I guess you could say. Yep, I ordered the grey, red, and yellow versions of the 303. Anyway, I said, what the heck, and yes, today I received my Trio. Lined-up side-by-side I can see no differences in fit and finish or quality. Though surely, not scientific, it seems like the one with the brown handles (scales) is at least as sharp as the rest. Well, my opinion for whatever that's worth. Anyway, my search or hunt for the perfect whittlin' knife is over. Yes, I'm going to move forward using the China-made Trio. Of course, I will be switching around with all of the 303s. Just going to start with the Trio. Over the past few weeks I've bought a bunch of knives, yes, in additional to those already mentioned, and based on all of my purchases, this knife is an extraordinary value. I doubt if the folks at Buck didn't think their Chinese knives were up the the quality of the USA-made knives, they surely wouldn't give them the same warranty. Do I believe in buying made in the US products? Of course. But, folks, times are changing. I would imagine that the folks at Buck had to start having some of their knives made overseas to keep their company going and to keep their American employees working. Of course, I am surely not privy to the internal workings of Buck. Hope these few words have been of help in your decision making about whether or not to purchase this knife. If you're looking for an easy to carry knife that will stand up to most tasks, do yourself a favor, buy a Buck 303 or a Trio. You'll most likely be glad that you did.

The 303 is one of the oldest Buck Models, also called the Cadet. It is a convenient size (for everyday pocket carry) and has three different blades. When the Buck plant moved out of California, the shape of the blades were changed slightly and the manufacturing process changed enough that the blades now are not as highly polished as the older California versions. The handle material looks very similar-a plastic sometimes called delrin, with tiny groves that look like they might be saw marks but reduce slipperiness. The 373 is the same pattern knife, (other knife makers call this a stockman pattern) made in China and sells for a much lower price. The handles are usually wood, not plastic. Wood is also available on the 303, at higher prices. This week I bought both of them from Amazon. Looking at them side by side, they are nearly identical in size. The 373 is very slightly thicker, but the same length. The difference seems to be the liners and bolsters from China are ever-so-tiny bit thicker. Visually, the 303 handle has a single rivet in the middle, rounded on one side and the end is slightly rough on the other side. If you look at the comments on Amazon about the 303, you will find several complaints about this. The hinge pins are visible within the bolsters on the 303, but the bolsters feel perfectly smooth. The smooth wood handles on the 373 are attached with three brass pins, polished to the handle and almost undetectable when I run my finger over them. The hinge pins cannot be seen in the bolsters. The shield on the 373 has the word 'BUCK', the shield on the 303 has the old logo with a picture of the original fixed blade Buck knife, hammered thru a bolt by a ball-peen hammer. The packaging on older Buck knives warned that to actually try this would void the warranty. For my taste, the 373 with the smooth wood handle looks just a bit classier over the 303, even though it sells for a lower price. Fit and finish on the 373 also seems better, but not much. This might be individual differences. That is one advantage of buying these kinds of things in an actual brick and mortar store--you can see several examples and pick out the one you prefer. The blades look very similar on each knife. The 303 felt slightly rough opening and closing the blades, the 373 did not. The tool marks from shaping the blades is more noticeable on the 303. The main clip blade on the 303 is marked BUCK 303 USA. The clip blade on the 373 is marked BUCK 373 and a symbol I cannot duplicate on my keyboard--a single line curve, like an upside down smile, with a dot under it. I do not find any other markings on the blades of the 303. One of the smaller blades on the 373 is marked CHINA with a small dot after the word. I found no indication on the box for the 373 where it was made. Looking at the blades of each knife side-by-side with a 30X hand magnifier, the 373 consistently had finer tool marks, particularly in the finger-nail grooves. All in all, the 373 for me is the more elegant looking knife, with all the functionality of the of the 303 at a lower price. If you want the rough texture of the plastic and the old logo, go for the 303.

Great knife, sharp and easy to carry. It looks great. Very impressed.

My grandpa gave me one of these on my 12th birthday. I had it for 35 years before one of the blades snapped off. Since my grandpa is no longer with us, it kind of hit me hard and I knew I had to replace it. Luckily, they still make the exact kind he gave me all those years ago. Just like it's predecessor, it's small, lightweight, and durable. It has the same wood-finish look as my original one. It's not a lock-back knife so be cautious of that fact. Other than that, this is my "carry it everywhere" pocket knife and I usually find some use for it on a daily basis, even if it something as simple as opening an envelope from the mailbox. As my grandpa told many years ago, "It's always good to have a pocket knife on you. You never know when you might need it." He was 100% right.