112 - 3 dot

R

racer roy

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Feb 8, 2002
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With the faking of 3-dot 110's and 112's becoming a major cottage industry, I have run across something that has me puzzled. I have a NIB 112 3-dot with all of the original papers, that appear to indicate an early 1983 manufacture date. The Buck/.112../USA stamp appears to be correct and unaltered, however the blade has a nail nick and the bolsters have rounded edges. All my other 112 3-dots have a plain blade and square corners.

Can this thing be legit? :confused:
 
Racer,
I am no expert and have only been collecting for a few weeks. The info in Levines Guide To Knives indicates you have a REAL Buck 112. I will quote from the book, "In 1983, Buck redesigned and further streamlined the outside appearance of the 110. The handles are now slimmer and all edges and corners are rounded" pg 130. While this doesn't specifically refer to the 112 it appears to apply, consider this next quote dealing with the 112. "The sequence of design and technical changes on the 112 matches those on the 110. Buck 112's did not have a nail nick in the blade until 1983" pg 131 Levines Guide To Knives. I hope I have given proper credit for use of this info!~!!!!
It appears you have one of the first 112's to incorporate both changes. Hope this helps!!! Peace,
Mike B
 
Racer,
I did a very quick look at the 112's i have on the floor and i have one without a nail nick and 6 with. We started adding a radius in about 1982. The 3 dot 112 was made from about 80 to 81. Yours sounds correct. I have not dug that deep into the 112 but it follows the 110 pretty close. I would guess that the nail nick started going away in 1980.
I hope this helps,
 
Thanks 535Sawby for your reply. I was already aware of the history of 110's and 112's in Bernie Levine's book. I guess that my question should have been; Does anyone know the approximate date that Buck switched to 425M blade steel and started using the 4-dot (..112..) marking? :)
 
Well, I know all of the guys whose posts preceed mine, and I respect their opinions (and they are all right); but, since I was there, and I wrote the stuff in Levine's Guide, let me elucidate. At the NRA show in 1981 (?) in Phoenix (I'm sure of the city but not the date), Chuck brought some samples of the 110 and 112 with radiused bolsters. They varied from mild to radical rounding and they had all been hand done. We voted on a design at that show and Chuck went home determined to change the tooling. Before that became reality, Buck started hand rounding the bolsters; those are NOT as radiused as the tooling came out. SO - if it has a small radius it was done by hand and if it is really noticeable it is the new tooling. All of this took about six months. Funny, I handn't thought about this in 20 years! I do remember that Ronald Reagan was the President and he made the keynote address at that NRA show! Chuck, Lori, Al, Ida and my wife and I all had a private "church service" in Al and Ida's hotel room on Sunday morning before the show. Al taught us, we all prayed together and then went off to the show. I can remember it like it was yesterday.
Vern Taylor
 
To add to Vern's post, the knives which were done by hand are not rounded off in the lock release notch. This gives collectors another variation to look for. The outer frame of the brass has a radius edge and the notch is still square.
 
:) A BIG Thanks to Joe, Vern, & Larry for the additonal info. My .112.. has moderately rounded bolsters and a square knotch. Close examination reveals slight inconsistentcies in the radius that suggests handwork. The box has a sticker on it indicating "Special Offer On Buck's New Gun Oil, Inside!". The enclosed certificate is only valid between September 30, 1982 and April 30, 1983. Based on the valuable Buck History that you all have provided, I conclude that the box and the knife do not belong together.
I have some additional information about the knife itself; The fit, finish, and quality of the grinds is much above average. The color and contrast of the wood grips is exceptional, particularly for an earlier 112. The nail nick is ground (not forged)and is of a size, shape, and location that more closely matches the third and forth versions of the 110, pictured in Levine's book, than the second version. The lock lever is the same length and shape as the third version 112 shown in the book. There are three rivets and the knife is approximately 9/16" thick. The 3 dots are aligned closer to the bottom of the 112 numerals than the center. All of my two dots are aligned with the center of the numerals.
What do you guys think?
 
Gee dad I think my birthday is coming up. :D He really is addicted to the 112's.

Regards,

Tom Carey
 
I think it belongs in a Buck collection and it can be honestly labeled as a "Transitional Model". There are far too few 112 collections and I can't recall ever seeing one at any major knife show.

Vern
 
Thank you all. I too, have a small Buck 112 collection and it is awesome to get the info from those really in the know.
 
Let me see in the last couple of weeks I have heard Vern suggest a collection of 500's and now of 112's. You must be tired of judging the old blood, ehh Vern? :D :D
 
Tom, I gave you a mint early 3-dot 112 for Christmas. You might have to wait until I die to get this one. DAD :p
 
My favorite 112 variations are the ones with segua (sp) wood, and the one with 4 inlay rivets. The four inlay rivet variation is what Vern would call a transition knife. We were using only 2 rivets and decided to go to using three. Since we already had some in the works with 2 rivets, we went ahead and drilled the 2 additional rivets instead of scrapping those out. The result is a knife with 3 rivets in back of the rocker rivet and 1 in front. Also available in the 110!
 
Well all this talk of the 112 sparked a little interest. I have always liked the knife because I have smaller hands, but realized I didn't have a single one. Hunted around today and found a 3 dot 112FG w/ rounded bolsters and nail nick lost on the display shelf of a sporting goods store. While we couldn't find a box for it and it was badly tarnished, I felt like $25 out the door was a fair price. Took a little polish to it and it looks very happy for the attention. Ain't it nice to find a goodin' every now and again? :)Peace,
MB
 
This information by 535sawby about a 3-dot 112FG is totally new knowledge to me. Maybe Joe or Vern can provide a little insight into the history of the finger groove variation. I always thought that it was a fairly recent developement. I agree that the 112 fits a smaller hand better than the 110. I always though that it was a much more comfortable and useful shape and size. racer roy :)
 
I hope you don't mind my resurrecting the thread...I have a 3 dot finger grooved 112...what steel is the blade made of? 440C, 425M, or or 420HC?
 
That should be 440C, but I don't know that anybody can swear to it for sure.

(I have one, too......so I know they do exist.)

Mine is just like the way Racer Roy describes his......cept I don't have the box and papers, but the knife and sheath are mint.

Very pretty knife. (And no, Dave......I'm never going to use it.)

:)
 
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Stelth said:
I hope you don't mind my resurrecting the thread...I have a 3 dot finger grooved 112...what steel is the blade made of? 440C, 425M, or or 420HC?
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Wow what a cool thread for so many reasons. Not only do I not mind but thanks so much for bringing it back from way back.:thumbup: My 3 dot 112 has, as far as I'm concerned, almost no radius. You decide.

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