111 Classic

oregon

oregon

Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
5,874
How can I keep the aluminum handle from turning my fingers black? Wax maybe...

I was lucky enough to grab up a 3 dot 111 Classic and what a beautiful handle with the scroll work. It puts this knife into a whole different category like I'm seeing knives for the very first time, again. The designs used look similar to engraving on US currency. Professional and, well, uh, classic.

I was thinking of sending it to Buck for the spa treatment (blade is scratched and a little worn but lockup is good) but I wouldn't want to lose the blade with the three dots and 111 on the blade via a blade replacement (.111..). I'm assuming that its blade couldn't be replaced with a correctly marked blade.

Who has a brass 111 Classic? I would love to see a photo.

Who has the dies for these? Are they still usable?

I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to have this knife with warm rich nickel scales.

Thirty years old. Wow. How time does fly.

What a wonderful knife Buck has made here in the 111 Classic. Outstanding.

07-13-2010007.jpg
 
Oregon, Thanks, a great looking 111 . There were many different variations of those I wish I had them all . Plus, they make for an interesting collection; like the banners, there were 3 variations offered, the first were polished (rare), next was like your and third was like mine and Plumber's a satin finish . Then as you mentioned, the ones with brass handles . Then the first few produced had 110 blades probably less than 50 . What a find one of those would be ! The fine tooled leather sheaths I certainly admire . Very handsome thanks Dave . DM
 
Did you guys notice the change in pattern from the 3 dot to Dave's 4 dot ? Oregon's, has the flower on the bottom of the handle near the lock with 5 fleur de lis . Whereas Dave's has the flower near the blade well with only 3 fleur de lis on the front portion of the handle . Strange thing mine has a 3 dot blade like Oregon's but the stamped pattern on the handle like Dave's ?? Interesting . DM
 
I have a three-dot 111 w. mirror polished scroll. I have never seen or heard of a brass Classic 111. The only ones I'm familiar with are the aluminum handled ones. The original idea was to use silver, but since the price of silver had skyrocketed making production of the Classic 111s in silver impractical (i.e. cost-prohibitive) aluminum was used instead. This was before the days when titanium would have been a practical option.
 
wolfdog said:
I have a three-dot 111 w. mirror polished scroll. I have never seen or heard of a brass Classic 111. - snip -
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I picked up the existence of a brass variant from reading old threads, in this forum, on the 111 Classic. Maybe I mis-read. A brass 111 Classic would be a heavy sandlot slugger.
 
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oregon said:
I picked up the existence of a brass variant from reading old threads, in this forum, on the 111 Classic. Maybe I mis-read. A brass 111 Classic would be a heavy sandlot slugger.
Click to expand...

A picture of one has been posted by someone, and not too long ago. I'll see if I can find it.
 
David Martin said:
Did you guys notice the change in pattern from the 3 dot to Dave's 4 dot ? Oregon's, has the flower on the bottom of the handle near the lock with 5 fleur de lis . Whereas Dave's has the flower near the blade well with only 3 fleur de lis on the front portion of the handle . Strange thing mine has a 3 dot blade like Oregon's but the stamped pattern on the handle like Dave's ?? Interesting . DM
Click to expand...

The wandering flower.

Mine has four flowers on each side: One on top and beside the pivot pin, one centered under the lockbar pin and two centered under the tail pins framing the elegant "Buck" (which is only on the same side of the handle as the blade markings.
 
Plumberdv said:
A picture of one has been posted by someone, and not too long ago. I'll see if I can find it.
Click to expand...

Its probably in the "what traditional knife are you carrying today" thread with 4.500 replies. Pack a lunch. :D
 
Well, I give up. I can't find a picture of one of the brass ones, but I know I've seen one somewhere. Maybe on another web site. Vern Taylor does make reference to them in his article in the BCCI newsletter.

brassclassic.jpg
 
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Yes, Thanks, Dave thats the article I was referencing in the # 3 post . Still, the stamped pattern was changed from Oregon's 3 dot to mine and Dave's 4 dot . DM
 
The original intent of the 111 aluminum was to produce it from aluminum. Silver was never really seriously considered as the standard production material. One of the ideas that started the Classic was to produce a light weight aluminum knife for back packing, etc. This morphed into the nicer version that was eventually put into production.

It sounds as if most people on the threads are aware that the design in the sides was embossed/stamped in rahter than machined in. The handles were blanked first from aluminum and then the design was stamped in. The aluminum used was 6061 I believe, but it was in the "O" condition (not hardened) becasue of concern over the embossing tool life.

The original prototypes, without any design work on the sides, were produced while Buck was still on Magnolia Ave, before their move to Weld Blvd which was their location prior to relocating to Post Falls, ID. I was the one who actually built the original prototypes; they were made from the "raw" aluminum strips usded to blank out the aluminum trim forming the 119 handles. This material was 6061-T6 aluminum so it was hardened. As we began to look into production we moved away from teh hardened material.

There were several model of the "Classic Series" produced; if I recall correctly, most if not all of the 500 series family were produced in the aluminum Classic series. And I do remember the brass 111's. They were pretty.

Bill Keys
Director of Manufacturing and Engineering
Buck Knives, Inc.
 
as for your original question about turning your fingers black, i would wash the knife thoroughly and use some type of degreaser/cleaner to remove any and all oils/greases, then i would mask the blade with tape and spray the handle with a matte finish verathane from a hobby/craft store to seal the aluminum from oxidizing which gives off the black you are refering to. i am an electro plater by trade and anodizing is one of my jobs so i guess what i am saying is that i have worked with several substrates and various oxide issues. sorry didn't mean to ramble , hope this helps
 
So the search is on for a brass 111 Classic. OK. Something to look forward to.

Since it was proven to me that the Hoyt Buck lifeboat knife conversion existed I've been peeling back my eyeballs for one. Now I can add a brass 111 to the want list.

I sure would like a picture of a brass 111 as a screen background to dream on.

Thanks for the tip on covering the aluminum in order to avoid rubbing off the oxide. I appreciate your help pholder.
 
"I can't speak to the number of polished banner 111s that were built but you can expect to find both matte and polished banners. Both 3 and four dot blades. Both polished and satin blades and the polished blades had dots and Buck Custom Tang stamps. Further, for those of you who go for the really rare stuff, five were made from brass with satin blades and matte banners. By the way, the handles are not engraved they are coined in a process like they make our pocket change. FYI."

Quote taken from this 2007 thread: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4278583&highlight=brass+111+classic#post4278583

No problem find one then since so many, five, were made..........:eek:

This calls for another production run of brass 111 Classic. Who has the dies?
 
I read that Facet Designs produced the design in the handle of the 111 Classic line. The Google didn't immediately produce the desired result of producing that company... Hmmmmm.
 
So the design in the handles was produced by a blank being struck by a die with a reverse of the design. Like coins are produced.

How perfect if these were produced by the US Mint and actual legal tender of, well, uh, let's say a buck... :D

Has Buck ever done a project with the mint? It is not too late.
 
Ok........five made......Richard has one......

DAVE 110!!!!! Have you got the other four????

:D
 
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