102 woodsman

J

jec88

Joined
Mar 6, 2012
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I guess this is another Buck I have overlooked. I always wanted a fixed blade Buck when I was a kid and when I finally picked one up, I got a 119. It ended up being a little larger than what I liked and so I haven't used it much. A few weeks back, I was looking in a bottom display case and saw a knife in a sheath sticking out and from the butt end, it looked like a Buck. It ended up being an L66 Western, for only $2! Couldn't pass that up. I cleaned it up and sharpened it and it's a pretty good user, but maybe not as practical for my needs. I always thought I'd like a fixed blade with carbon steel and the stacked leather handle like the Western, but after a trout fishing and wading , that carbon blade needed more work than I'm used to. After cleaning fish, that stacked leather really stinks.... a good knife, but not as practical for me as a Buck fixed blade.


That Western peaked my interest and had me back to looking at fixed blade Bucks smaller than my 119. Had some trouble deciding between the 102/105/and the 118 and decided on the 102 since I have the 6 inch 119 and the 4.5 inch Western. I also thought about an older one, but the older I get and the more steels I've tried, the more I appreciate Bucks 420HC for a user. I'm excited for my 102 to get here. It should be a good knife for my hunting and fishing needs.


Anyone that has used the Woodsman, please post any information, thoughts, opinions and pictures!
Thanks.
 
I am a fan of the Woodsman. I have used mine a little bit in the outdoors, hiking mostly and I have cleaned a few rabbits with it. I have used it a lot in my kitchen. Great knife, I bet you will really like it.
My current 102 is a 420HC with Bucks newer grind. I had an older 440C model as well. I liked the sheath on the older model better but I do prefer the newer 420HC blade.

Jim
 
The 102 was my first and only Buck for many years. It was a gift from my wife.

I have since added a 110, 124, and recently a 105. The 102 is a smaller knife as you know. But I find it more than capable enough for most tasks. Short of chopping down trees, which there are better tools for.

If you just need a small, unobtrusive, general purpose, fixed blade. The 102 is a good choice. Since I received mine, I have literally bought and sold hundreds of knives. None of my Buck knives will be leaving, especially the 102. That should say something.

Here it is on kitchen duty from last fall.
 
My 17 year-old son carries a 102 for backpacking. He loves it, especially when hiking uphill. :)
 
I own a Buck 102 and use it as my primary waterfowl cleaning knife; I also use it for cleaning misc. small game and fish. I own a Buck 118 as well (you will too eventually) - it is my favorite deer cleaning knife - it has a bigger handle than the 102, which makes it easier to use/hold for skinning and butcher venison. Yesterday, at a buddies recommendation, I used my Buck 121 filet knife to clean a gobbler - worked fantastic for the purpose - a little flex in the blade was nice when breasting the large hunk of meat that is a gobblers breast. Buck really offers a nice selection of knives for the outdoorsman - I sure love stainless steel too. OH
 
I think the 102 is the best all-around fixed blade from Buck. Other models are better for large game, but in a pinch the 102 will do the job. Here are most of my 102s.

Bert

102 Woodsman.jpg
 
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A pair of 102's, almost 40 years apart. Has not changed much with time.

102BarrelNut010a.jpg
 
I've had the same 102 since the late '70s, and it is a wonderful knife....
 
The earliest factory knives, about 1961-1962, had a threaded tang and were assembled with a hidden nut (barrel nut) in the end of the pommel. From about 1963 onward the pommel was pinned onto the tang thru the side. This picture is of the top knife in my post above.

102BarrelNut006a.jpg
 
Lost, Every time I look at your photo above, I think that stew and bread look sooo enticing.
Good photo of the 102, Desoto. DM
 
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Those are some nice knives! It's funny how I've pretty much completely overlooked fixed blades all these years and now I'm all of a sudden interested. I'm sure once my new one arrives, I'll be on the lookout for some oldies. Thanks for that pic on the barrel nuts. I've heard that before and didn't know what that meant either. Now I'll know how to check them by looking for that.
 
Thanks for the explanation. Now there is something else for me to try and find. I too just recently started buying fixed blades. I have been a buck user for 30 years and my trusted friend is a 112 and a 639.
 
I should have mentioned that the knife at the top of the photo I posted is an ebony-handled 102 from about 1957-1960. It is the oldest buck knife that I have.

Bert
 
bertl said:
I should have mentioned that the knife at the top of the photo I posted is an ebony-handled 102 from about 1957-1960. It is the oldest buck knife that I have. Bert
Click to expand...

I missed that. Went back and looked again. Nice knife. I have the matching 105. Also my oldest knife. The late 50's catalogs do refer to the handle material as ebony. Is that handle material the same as Lignum Vitae (sp?). I've seen that term sometimes.
 
DeSoto,

Lignum Vitae and Ebony are two different and unrelated woods. Buck used Lignum Vitae earlier, but it had a tendency to crack, so they switched to ebony for a few years. Sometimes in small samples they might be hard to tell apart just using color as a guide. Ebony is a little more open grained. Lignum Vitae is so dense that it won't float.

Bert
 
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