diff --git a/src/string_bytes.cc b/src/string_bytes.cc
index 90050dfcb5..5bf0a30e27 100644
--- a/src/string_bytes.cc
+++ b/src/string_bytes.cc
@@ -556,8 +556,7 @@ Local<Value> StringBytes::Encode(const char* buf,
   Local<String> val;
   switch (encoding) {
     case BUFFER:
-      return scope.Close(
-          Buffer::New(static_cast<const char*>(buf), buflen)->handle_);
+      return scope.Close(Buffer::New(buf, buflen)->handle_);
 
     case ASCII:
       if (contains_non_ascii(buf, buflen)) {