dsutton24
Gold Member
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- Apr 9, 2018
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The Houser 5th Version 110 is one of my particular hangups, especially those with 2 Dot tang stamps. The 5th Version period, roughly 1970 through 1980 saw a great many changes to the knife. By the time we reach the end of this group the 110 is going to be recognizable as a modern Buck 110.
The three leftmost knives are recognizable by most of us, the 2 Pin, the infamous 4 Pin, then it settles down to the modern 3 Pin configuration, these, and previous knives, had tiny headless pins. The next two knives are what has grabbed my attention at the moment. Note the scale pins, they have a decidedly domed top, unlike the earlier knives, but they vary quite a bit in diameter, even on the same knife. The rightmost knife has very uniform pin tops, and from there on they stay consistent.
The transition from 2 Pins to 4 Pins to 3 Pins is pretty well documented. I've seen it mentioned that many 3 Pin knives have 2 Pin frames with holes added, thus:
The photo is a look in the well of a 2 Dot 110, the blade would be to your left. The left-hand hole would be the hole for the small seconf pin. The right-hand hole is the hole drilled for the lower butt end pin. The hole for the upper butt end pin is hidden by the spring.
So what?
The two knives mentioned above with the inconsistent scale pin head diameters have this type of frame. The next knife, and all the subsequent knives have frames originally produced for 3 Pin knives, and at this point the pin heads become very consultant. These 3 Pin frames have nice, big chamfers, and the pins seem like they're tubular rivets that are very well upset in these chamfers. The older knives don't have the chamfers, or have very light chamfers. I don't think they were peined at all on the inside, or maybe very lightly. In fact one knife has a pin that protrudes into the well enough to see that it is actually slightly pointed.
The scales were glued early on, but it was also during this period that the use of glue was discontinued.
It's a small sample size, but it appears that the 2 Pin frames that were drilled for 3 Pin slabs ran out during the 2 Dot period. The new 3 Pin frames lead to the slab pins actually being riveted to the new frames, and the pins became very consistent.
The three leftmost knives are recognizable by most of us, the 2 Pin, the infamous 4 Pin, then it settles down to the modern 3 Pin configuration, these, and previous knives, had tiny headless pins. The next two knives are what has grabbed my attention at the moment. Note the scale pins, they have a decidedly domed top, unlike the earlier knives, but they vary quite a bit in diameter, even on the same knife. The rightmost knife has very uniform pin tops, and from there on they stay consistent.
The transition from 2 Pins to 4 Pins to 3 Pins is pretty well documented. I've seen it mentioned that many 3 Pin knives have 2 Pin frames with holes added, thus:
The photo is a look in the well of a 2 Dot 110, the blade would be to your left. The left-hand hole would be the hole for the small seconf pin. The right-hand hole is the hole drilled for the lower butt end pin. The hole for the upper butt end pin is hidden by the spring.
So what?
The two knives mentioned above with the inconsistent scale pin head diameters have this type of frame. The next knife, and all the subsequent knives have frames originally produced for 3 Pin knives, and at this point the pin heads become very consultant. These 3 Pin frames have nice, big chamfers, and the pins seem like they're tubular rivets that are very well upset in these chamfers. The older knives don't have the chamfers, or have very light chamfers. I don't think they were peined at all on the inside, or maybe very lightly. In fact one knife has a pin that protrudes into the well enough to see that it is actually slightly pointed.
The scales were glued early on, but it was also during this period that the use of glue was discontinued.
It's a small sample size, but it appears that the 2 Pin frames that were drilled for 3 Pin slabs ran out during the 2 Dot period. The new 3 Pin frames lead to the slab pins actually being riveted to the new frames, and the pins became very consistent.
