diff --git a/lib/buffer.js b/lib/buffer.js
index e5539581d5..176a8fda78 100644
--- a/lib/buffer.js
+++ b/lib/buffer.js
@@ -328,3 +328,31 @@ Buffer.prototype.slice = function (start, end) {
 
   return new Buffer(this.parent, end - start, +start + this.offset);
 };
+
+
+// Legacy methods for backwards compatibility.
+
+Buffer.prototype.utf8Slice = function (start, end) {
+  return this.toString("utf8", start, end);
+};
+
+Buffer.prototype.binarySlice = function (start, end) {
+  return this.toString("binary", start, end);
+};
+
+Buffer.prototype.asciiSlice = function (start, end) {
+  return this.toString("ascii", start, end);
+};
+
+Buffer.prototype.utf8Write = function (string, offset) {
+  return this.write(string, offset, "utf8");
+};
+
+Buffer.prototype.binaryWrite = function (string, offset) {
+  return this.write(string, offset, "binary");
+};
+
+Buffer.prototype.asciiWrite = function (string, offset) {
+  return this.write(string, offset, "ascii");
+};
+