Buck Knives 0284BKS-B 0284BKS Bantam Folding Pocket Knife

This is a top notch pocket knife. The size is perfect, the blade was super sharp out of the box, itseems very durable and tough. My only criticism is that it can be finicky when trying to close the blade.

If you've ever searched for genuine American made products you've probably found that buying "Made in the USA" products usually cost an arm and a leg. The Bantam line of knives "Bucks" that trend (horrible pun I know), providing an excellent all around knife at an outstanding value. Quite honestly, if you want to buy a quality but affordable blade which also is made in the USA, then the Buck Bantam is the first (and maybe only) knife for you to consider. (Quick note, Buck states "Made in the USA of USA and Imported Parts". The Blade is clearly stamped "Buck USA") I purchased the 285 Bantam BLW which is the medium sized Bantam and have been everyday carrying it for the last year. This model with the 3 1/8" blade is about as big a knife I can keep in my pocket without it being intrusive. Additionally, the Bantam is incredibly light (see pros and cons) which makes this knife ideal for everyday carry. Pros: - 420HC Steel. I'm no metallurgist but this is a really solid all around knife steel. It holds it edge fairly well and is pretty easy to sharpen. Haven't seen any sign of corrosion whatsoever. - Very little blade play. I haven't use the knife to cut anything too tough but so far I have been very satisfied by the lack of blade play. After using the knife for a year I can detect the slightest bit of wobble in the blade but overall the blade is very solid. - Super light! While the blade itself is incredibly solid the handle is made from some thermoplastic which is very light. This is great for backpackers or anyone trying to save ounces. - Value. This knife usually can be found on Amazon from $16-20. For <$20 you're getting a heck of a knife. - Thumb studs on both sides. So righties or lefties can use the thumb stud with no problem. Cons - Cheap feeling handle. I know I listed this as a pro but some may construe it as a con. The plastic handle is light and feels very "cheap". Practically speaking I love that the knife is light but the light plasticky feeling will not impress knife aficionados. - Riveted not screwed. Instead of using screws, the Bantam is held together by rivets which means you cannot tighten or loosen the rivets. Some people might see this as a plus however. My last knife was kept together by screws and the center screw which held the blade tight fell out. I don't have to worry about that with the Bantam. - Difficult one handed operation. The Bantam uses the lockback mechanism to steady the blade when open. While steady, the lockback is much harder to one hand close than a liner lock. Additionally, my Bantam takes a ton of force to open one handed. If you're not use to lockback knives it might take a little time getting used to one handed operation. - Pocket clip not removable. Don't like pocket clips? Want to reverse the clip to put it in your left pocket? Too bad! The clip is riveted in so its not going anywhere! Honestly though I don't care about the clip and this is only a negative for those who want to reverse the clip. All in all this is one seriously good knife at this price. If you like to buy Made/Assembled in the USA products you can't go wrong with the Buck Bantam.

Ok, I haven't REALLY run this knife through the paces yet... but I do know knives fairly well so I'll give this an interim review. First notice, the bevel is ground and set properly, but it is ground and not honed. So the bevel is course and this was not sharp out of the box (not what I call sharp). Not to worry, it actually honed up easily enough. 15 minutes or so in and it would shave arm hair clean effortlessly. I didn't spend a ton of time on polishing the bevel, so it still feels a little "toothy," but it's sharp for sure. The blade is a touch on the thin side for it's size, but only a touch. It's substantial enough the blade is going to be durable against breakage. The blade itself is acid washed, so the finish will hide scratches and scuffs quite well. The blade is marked "Buck USA," so I'm kinda trusting Buck that the blade is US production. Lots of people seem unimpressed by the handle. For sure it isn't bone handles with brass liners and polished bolsters. You won't get that at this price, even in a Chinese knife. The plastic handle looks, feels, and acts eerily similar to a Glock pistol frame. I suspect the same, or a very similar, type of polymer was used. That said, there is no liner, just the polymer. The clip is very usable, but a bit snug. The frame back lock works well. Honestly, Bantam is an apt name. This knife is quite light for the blade size. I Chalk it up to the polymer handle, absence of a liner, and the "adequate but definitely not beefy" blade thickness. I Chalk the weight up as a pro, but I could see it being viewed as a con. That said, there are drawbacks. It is difficult to open one handed. Part of this is the location of the thumb stud. It could have been moved just 1/8 inch toward the spine, and 1/4 inch further up the blade toward the point, and there would be a lot more leverage to flip it open. There is adequate blade material for the thumb stud to be moved, and moving it slightly closer to the spine would allow it to be slightly longer (though only slightly, else it would impede the ability to hone the knife). Also, the blade is stiff in the scales. I don't know how the blade was pinned (other than with a through rivet, thats apparent), but I'm skeptical that there are brass shims to reduce friction between the blade and the scales. Such a small expense would have made this a much better knife. Speaking of the thumb stud, some have commented that it's a little short and hard to catch your thumb on... there's a reason. Making the thumb stud any longer would impede your ability to hone it at a good sharp bevel angle. As it stands, if you're new to freehand honing and want a good knife to start on this is the one. You can get the proper bevel angle by placing the edge of the bevel and the thumb stud on the hone, then lifting the spine of the knife so that the thumb stud has a tiny bit of space between it and the hone. This will give you a nigh perfect pocket knife bevel. Generally I would only give this 4 1/2 stars, based mostly on blade quality, price, and usability. Sure it has some minor compromises in construction, but it's a US made knife for $25. With a decent blade to boot. Can't go wrong there. Unless I caught wind that Buck imported the blade blanks, then I would give it no stars. I'm putting a little faith in Buck that they didn't import a blade blank with USA stamped on it.

Let me begin by saying I didn't do my research before I bought this knife, that is completely my fault and I'm not reducing this knife's rating because of it. There are four sizes of these Buck Bantam knives (nano, small, medium, and large). I purchased the small when I should have gone up to at least a medium. That being said, I'm not too disappointed with the small. I like my pocket knife to fit in my fist, this knife (when opened and gripped as designed) only reaches about half-way down my pinky. It's annoyingly close to being just big enough. Nonetheless, it's comfortable and could be useful for smaller jobs. Minimal jimping on this knife, can't downgrade the knife too much for this because it wasn't designed for heavy duty work. Thumb stud is effective, but not as fast as some of my other EDC knives. Stud does not extend as wide as the knife body which reduces speed trying to get your finger to the stud. Knife is a lockback (as opposed to a Walker Linerlock sytle) which really comes down to personal preference. I prefer the linerlock because of the much easier one-handed operation. A big disappointment for me was the lack of a belt clip on the small knife. Looks like Amazon mixed some reviews together and I assumed (again my fault) it would come with one. I hate having any odd shaped object sitting sideways in my pocket, bugs the heck out of me, so I was really worried about this knife in there. Luckily it's small enough and light enough that I easily forgot about it and it wasn't a problem. A lot of people are very hesitant of the plastic handle, first of all, it's technically thermoplastic, a polymer. This isn't a knife you see sitting on the gas station counter for $1 each. I'm fairly confident the rivets on the knife will wear out and loosen long before the plastic handle itself sees any damage or weakness. You WILL NOT be able to disassemble or adjust tightness of this knife, they are riveted. Time will tell how strong those rivets are but I doubt I'll see any weakening soon. The blade is just plain sexy. Clean, great contour, and 'BUCK USA' written across the top. No 'made in china' written on the blade, it seems like Buck is downplaying these knives are imported. I'm always a little hesitant when people claim the knives are razor sharp from the factory, they haven't seen my diamond wet stone yet. But they were right about this one, it's shave sharp no problem. Of course I have to note the price, GREAT VALUE! If you're thinking about getting this knife you need to think about what role it will fulfill. *Size - knife offers smaller size but that means less control and force can be applied. (Should be noted the knife fits my girlfriends hand perfect) *Speed of Deployment - it's going to take longer to 1) dig this out of your pocket (vs a belt clip) and 2) utilize a slower thumb stud (personal opionion) This knife is probably going into the girlfriend's purse, it just doesn't quite fit my needs. I've got a new knife on the way I'm excited to try out and test but will highly consider getting a medium or large Buck Bantam in the future for EDC or as a back-up to keep in the truck or tool box. EDIT: I finally bought a Bantam Large, It wasn't bought as a replacement to my EDC knife (Spyderco Tenacious) but as a back-up to go into the kit in my car. The small knife I bought was razor sharp when I got it, this one however was no where close to that. I had to work it for a while get a clean cut on paper. Oh well, I don't mind putting my edge on it. Anyway, this will work great for what I bought it for, not an EDC though. This large model just isn't that comfortable in my hand.

This knife isn’t pretty, but is one of the best pocket knives I have ever owned and for the money, outstanding. It is sharp! And stays that way. I have a tendency to lose knives and can say for certain if I lose this one, I will replace it with the exact same one again.

Excellent knife made of quality steel. It's easy to sharpen and it keeps a good edge. I started buying Buck knives in the seventies , and they haven't disappointed me yet. Highly recommend

What a great knife! Looks great and it has been very durable. It fits my hand perfectly and is easy to use. So glad I have this knife.

I bought this knife this past summer. It is an attractive looking knife and I like that it it is made in the US which generally means better quality. The metal of the blade seems of fair quality and it came sharp. My complaint is that it is difficult to open. With extra effort I can get it open with one hand. It is much easier to use both hands. Had I known it was not as good for opening one-handed I probably would have ordered a different model.

Una navaja sencilla y bien construida. Viene bastante afilada y es cómoda en la mano. También es lo suficientemente ligera como para llevarla día a día, el clip ayuda a su portabilidad. En general, es una muy buena navaja para quien quiera una para llevar al día a día sin hacer un trabajo extremadamente pesado.

leggero,affilato, made in usa

Me encanta el tipo de seguro que buck maneja, está es una navaja exactamente de bolsillo (pequeña) pero bastante resistente, buen filo de fabrica y fácil de afilar.

Excelente producto muy recomendado

Très bon couteau,léger peut encombrant et de très bonne qualité !