112 Custom by Yellowhorse

bernard_levine

bernard_levine

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Feb 18, 2000
Messages
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I've been asked for information on this custom 112.

Tang stamp is

BUCK
112 ^
U.S.A.

The ^ is the date code for 1988.

The brass label inside the box lid says

BUCK - CUSTOM
Hand - Made By
Navajo Artist. Dave Yellowhorse

yh112-01.jpg


The inlay in the handle is a bear. The back handle is identical to the front.

The knife is like new, in the box, with the paperwork.

* * *

My questions:

1) Was this indeed made in 1988?

2) Was it one-of-a-kind, or part of an edition? If an edition, how many total?

3) Did Buck and Yellowhorse make other collaboration knives at this time?

4) Was it sold by Buck, or by David Yellowhorse, or by someone else?

5) What was original retail price?

6) Anyone care to guess current value? Seen any similar ones sell (or for sale) recently?

THANKS!

BRL...
 
 
Mr. Levine,
Hi! It is great to see you in the Buck Knives forum. I can help with the statisical info provided to me by D. Yellowhorse after visiting his website. The knife you show is a model # 112Y2 Buck Knives / Dave Yellowhorse collaboration. This collaboration went on from the late '80's into the mid 1990's. It was produced in 1/89 for 1989 and was sold by Buck. The production quantity is quite large at 3984 pieces. Retail price was $273.00 at that time. I count 23 different 112's listed on the stats sheets I have. There are many other models as well. I keep a close eye on Ebay and see this item occasionally listed. It will bring $200 - $250 on auction there. I hope that I have covered all of your questions. A person of great knowledge on YH knifes is Gene Merritt. Genemerr@aol.com He has helped me find a couple of the rarer models. Hope to see you stopping by more often and THANKS for the autographed copy of your book!! Peace to all!
Mike B
BCC #572
<B>OOPS LOOKED LIKE A BUFFALO TO ME, now it looks like a bear. I'll keep my mouth shut. :rolleyes:
http://content.communities.msn.com/YellowhorseKnives/dylogos.msnw
 
Welcome Mr. Levine,
Actually the 112y2 is the Buffalo. In 1991 Buck/Yellowhorse did a collaboration with that inlay, but it also had the state of California on the bolsters. I only mention that so that no one confuses the two.
Before the California came into being, Yellowhorse was making the knife pictured above. It is listed in his catalogue from 1995/1996 so I suspect it was in the line for several years. 720 had been made as of 1991, and that is the best info i could find on quantities.
I recently noticed one sell for $320 on Ebay.
I would certainly contact Gene Merritt if you still have questions. He has one of the most complete collections of these knives i have seen and he is in contact with Dave Yellowhorse frequently.
I hope this helps.
 
Mr Levine,

The knife shown is a edition done by David Yellowhorse for Sharper Images. It is one of eight editions done by David for them. It was done before David was working with Buck Knives. The earlier knives done by David were on regular production Buck Knives, so there is the date stamping on the blade vs the "Buck Custom" stamp. This knife was in the 1988 Sharper Image catalog. There were approximately 700 knives done in each edition for Sharper Images. It was an exclusive knife done for them starting in 1988. Depending on condition, the knife is worth $325 and up. There have been a few of these on ebay going from $320 to $390. The earlier knives made ( and possibly all, but I can't confirm at this time ) were signed on the bolster by David Yellowhorse. Actually, the earlier signatures were a block Dave Yellowhorse, followed by a script Dave Yellowhorse.

There was another knife done to commorate the state of California and was a limited edition with a bear also on the knife. It is a different knife then the one shown in the picture.

If I can be of other help or you need more information, feel free to contact me at genemerr@aol.com. David Yellowhorse also has started a web site with some pictures and information on the great workmanship he has done over the years and can be found at http://communities.msn.com/yellowhorseknives

Hope this helps Gene Merritt Buck Yellowhorse Collector
 
Hi Bernie, We seem to have lost contact over the years; you can reach me at vtaylor@orland.net Yes, I'm still in Orland. Gene has this pretty well nailed down, but actually, I am the guy who sold these knives to "The Sharper Image". They always followed sales quite closely and ordered more if an item was selling well; I don't recall this one specifically but I seem to remember that it was not one of the big ones for them. I do have a photo of David, in his shop, holding one of these, I think it was called "Running Bear".
 
Thanks Vern!

Vern is a retired Buck rep. He founded the Buck Collectors Club, and he wrote the three chapters on the history of Buck Knives in Levine's Guide to Knives.

I also wrote directly to Mr. Yellowhorse, asking for information about this knife. Here is his reply:
Hello Mr. Levine,

The Buck #112 Bear was made in 1988, and was part of an edition. This one was made by myself, and sold to The Sharper Image. 700 were made for them. The bear was an un-numbered series. I believe that less then 1000 total made. They sold in the Sharper Image catalog for 195.00.

Other models of Buck knives with inlay where offered. Some I sold direct to store outlets, until a Buck-Yellowhorse agreement was struck. Then I made the inlaid knives for them to market.

I have a collectors club site that has many pictures of past editions, feel free to take a look at the following link: http://communities.msn.com/YellowhorseKnives

I would be happy to answer any other questions.

Best Wishes,

David Yellowhorse
Click to expand...

BRL...
 
Joe Houser said:
Welcome Mr. Levine,
Actually the 112y2 is the Buffalo. In 1991 Buck/Yellowhorse did a collaboration with that inlay, but it also had the state of California on the bolsters. I only mention that so that no one confuses the two.
Before the California came into being, Yellowhorse was making the knife pictured above. It is listed in his catalogue from 1995/1996 so I suspect it was in the line for several years. 720 had been made as of 1991, and that is the best info i could find on quantities.
I recently noticed one sell for $320 on Ebay.
I would certainly contact Gene Merritt if you still have questions. He has one of the most complete collections of these knives i have seen and he is in contact with Dave Yellowhorse frequently.
I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Good afternoon Joe,
Mad respect for what you and buck knife has done for America and knife collectors around the world.
Question, I have a DY 112 trout and a DY 112 Bass pro. Do you know how many of them were made?
 
Yellowhorse 112Y8 Trout, SP List 1990, qty 30, cat# 8192
Yellowhorse 112YM Bass Pro, SP List 1995, qty 250, cat# 8934

Yellowhorse collecting is a specialty and I'm poorly versed.
I think the qty on the SP list reflects only those that passed thru Buck's hands.
What I'm thinking is that not all models were 'exclusive' to Buck.
The actual number made by Yellowhorse may be much greater.
Is this true?
Preston's suggestion to email Yellowhorse is a good one.
 
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