💥Blast from the Past💥 (unofficial nostalgic older knife thread)

Another new arrival today but I'm still waiting for the last one to arrive -- Priority Mail but still in transit after 5 days. 🙁

Anyway, this one is another rare one. It's a Kershaw Volt 3600 D2/M390 CB with inlayed G10:

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It's an XXX 2nd apparently due to a wonky grind job on both sides at the end of the blade near the ricasso. Had a chance to buy a non-XXX 3600 LNIB that was posted on EB for a long time but the seller wanted too much for it IMO & wouldn't cut a deal.

Oh well . . . this one will be a place holder until I find a non-XXX version at what I consider a reasonable price.

It's not like I haven't purchased an XXX before. I bought a ZT 0560CB XXX for the same reason that I just bought this 3600 -- sellers were & still are asking too much IMO for them. -- but unlike the 3600, I can't find a thing wrong w/the 560CB. 🤷‍♂️

However, it's nice when you can find/buy an unblemished ZT 0600 for less, like the one pictured in the photo below w/the 3600 & 0560CB. ☺️

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Not super old but this Ken Onion Kershaw Speedsafe 1550 Blackout was my first “modern folder” other than some junk switchblades I had as a kid. I bought it back in the late 2000s and carried nothing else “new” until I discovered Benchmade and Spyderco a decade later.IMG_4921.jpeg
 
Vintage Buck 112 Ranger two-dot version, made between 1974 and 1980.
Still in very good condition regarding it's age, and armhair shaving sharp with a toothy edge.



















This older Buck 112 is definitely not a lightweight, has no finger grooves, no rounding of the handle edges, cannot be easily opened due to a strong spring and no nailnick, and the blade is not made from 420HC but from noticeably harder & more wear resistant 440C steel.
The blade is also semi-hollow ground instead of hollow ground like newer versions.

Specs:

Length open: 18,4 cm
Length closed: 10,9 cm
Blade length: 7,5 cm
Blade thickness: 3,0 mm
Blade grind: semi-hollow
Sharpening angle: ~30 degrees inclusive (or ~15 degrees per side)
Steel type: 440C stainless
Hardness: ~60 HRC
Lock type: Lockback
Handle material: Solid brass frame with Makassar Ebony inlays
Weight: 183,4 grams
Belt sheath: Leather
 
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kwackster said:
This older Buck 112 is definitely not a lightweight, has no finger grooves, no rounding of the handle edges, cannot be easily opened due to a strong spring and no nailnick, and the blade is not made from 420HC but from noticeably harder & more wear resistant 440C steel.
The blade is also semi-hollow ground instead of hollow ground like newer versions.
Click to expand...
My favorite Buck from my favorite era!
 
kwackster said:
Vintage Buck 112 Ranger two-dot version, made between 1974 and 1980.
Still in very good condition regarding it's age, and armhair shaving sharp with a toothy edge.



















This older Buck 112 is definitely not a lightweight, has no finger grooves, no rounding of the handle edges, cannot be easily opened due to a strong spring and no nailnick, and the blade is not made from 420HC but from noticeably harder & more wear resistant 440C steel.
The blade is also semi-hollow ground instead of hollow ground like newer versions.

Specs:

Length open: 18,4 cm
Length closed: 10,9 cm
Blade length: 7,5 cm
Blade thickness: 3,0 mm
Blade grind: semi-hollow
Sharpening angle: ~30 degrees inclusive (or ~15 degrees per side)
Steel type: 440C stainless
Hardness: ~60 HRC
Lock type: Lockback
Handle material: Solid brass frame with Makassar Ebony inlays
Weight: 183,4 grams
Belt sheath: Leather
Click to expand...
That thing's sweet!
 
This little Valor brand lock back knife represents two "firsts" for me in my life's knife-enthusiast journey. It was my first lock back knife (bought it from a friend when I was eleven years old), and it's the first knife mod I ever did (replacement handle scales).

The knife originally had white micarta handles with brass pins, and between the gleaming white micarta and polished bolsters I thought it was just beautiful, like jewelry. It took awhile for me to convince my friend to sell it to me, which made it even sweeter when I finally acquired it. It was a prized possession and I carried it everywhere and used it every chance I got.

But after a few years of daily carry and use, the brass pins corroded and were turning the now yellowing micarta handles green, and it looked horrible. As luck would have it, I just happened to have a random piece of black plastic that was textured on one side, and smooth on the other, and it was the perfect thickness. So, after breaking off the old scales, and filing down the pins, I cut out the new scales with a hacksaw, filed them to shape, and superglued them in place. I was 13, and it was 1983. 42 years later and that superglue is still holding strong.

I consider the knife lucky, as I lost it twice, away from home, and both times I got it back. It saw so much use that the lock completely wore out, so now it's a slip-joint. Open length 4.5".


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Well better late than never . . . after spending 5 days in LA & AR & 2 more days in transit, the package finally arrived in CA. 🤷‍♂️

Another one that's rarely seen these days . It's a DLC Black Kershaw Tilt that another BF member graciously offered to sell me when I mentioned that I was looking for one in my also recently acquired 25th Anniversary Tilt post.

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And it completes this set:

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What a GREAT Xmas gift to myself!!!! 🛍️

Merry Xmas, everyone!!!! 🎄☃️
 
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Here's a little piece of history. I got this in the early 2000s, it was made around 1990. Called a pretac by Emerson collectors. Has so many features popularized by Michael Walker. Blade a is pre-Viper, hand polished, liner lock, carved stud and pivot, anodized bolster and liner, engine turned liner.

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Buck 110 no-dot from the 1972-1974 timeframe which had a rounded point, no edge, and a handle filled with crud.
Cleaned everything with tootpicks, an old tootbrush with diluted detergent, and lastly an ultrasonic cleaner.
Then polished the brass and hand reground the blade on wet & dry paper with WD40 as a lubricant.
The new convex edge measures ~25 degrees inclusive and there is a new point too.





































Specs:

Length open: 21,8 cm
Length closed: 12,3 cm
Blade length: 9,5 cm
Blade thickness: 3,0 mm
Blade grind: semi-hollow convex
Edge angle: ~25 degrees inclusive
Steel: 440C stainless
Hardness: ~60 HRC (estimate based on regrinding/sharpening)
Locktype: Backlock
Handle material: Solid brass with Makassar Ebony inlays
Weight: 194,9 grams
Belt sheath: Leather
 
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Buck 301 Stockman, Christmas gift from my Grandma in 1972. Carried it from then (my senior year in high school) and for 18 years longer until she passed away. Sitting in it's original box on my desk, it gets carried around the house and out with me hunting on occasion, but I would HATE to lose this pocketknife, so it will never be my regular EDC again.
 
This was the first quality Laguiole model i bought about 20 years ago, and it's made by Forge de Laguiole, a French firm which imo makes one of the best versions of this knife and is also actually based in the French city of Laguiole.
One side of the handle has a pattern of nickel silver pins in the shape of a shepherds cross; and before the farmer has a field lunch he stabs the knife upright in a wooden fence, so he then has a cross to say his prayers before enjoying his meal.
Years ago i gifted it to Bladeforums member & friend Don Seals from Joshua, Texas.







Selling points for this knife are the highly evolved & very functional shape as well as the unexpectedly good performing steel with the proprietary name T12.
It's not so much very hard wearing (it has good sharpenability), but it has very good edge stability.
This i found out when steeling the knife with it's accompanying little knife steel, and the edge literally was able to cut small pieces out of the steel without chipping or rolling.
This with an edge of ~40 degrees inclusive, so it's good stuff in my book.

Specs:

Overall length open: 8.78 inch (22,3 cm)
Overall length closed: 4.88 inch (12,4 cm)
Blade length: 4.02 inch (10,2 cm)
Blade thickness: 3,0 mm
Steel: forged T12 stainless steel
Hardness: unknown
Handle material: Horn tip
Bolsters: Brass
Weight: 96,0 gram
Extra: Awl (French farmers use this to puncture their cows in cases of colic)
Sheath: Leather
 
kwackster said:
This older Buck 112 is definitely not a lightweight, has no finger grooves, no rounding of the handle edges, cannot be easily opened due to a strong spring and no nailnick, and the blade is not made from 420HC but from noticeably harder & more wear resistant 440C steel.
Click to expand...
Love it! Back at you. My old 112 from 1980 is one of my most treasured. IMG_4216.jpeg
 
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