119 dating clarification

[jude_061]

I’ve been poring over old “dating the 119” threads. Few have photos. My understanding is that the number of micarta/fiber spacers determine the age of the knife. And that ANY micarta spacers are counted, including those IN the aluminum of the guard and pommel.

With that in mind, if my knife has one spacer sandwiched between aluminum in the guard, no micarta between the aluminum and the phenolic material of the handle, then a spacer between the phenolic material and the aluminum of the pommel, then finally a spacer within the pommel, for a grand total of three spacers, my knife is from later 1981 to 1983. Does that sound correct? The blade would be 425m then?

I would post a photo, but the knife is so battered it’s nearly impossible to see the spacer between the phenolic material and the pommel.

I have this and a 2007 119 and I’m debating which to put into service this spring. The older model is pretty beat up as it is, but I saw in an earlier post that a three-spacer knife might be harder to find. I like to use my knives and I don’t collect, but I won’t get into the quirks of my personality when it comes to the rhyme or reason of what I prioritize for use.

 

[TAH]

I throw in my 2 cents. I'll summarize agreeing with what some have already said.
Traditional dating for 3-line upright knives

4-spacer upright 73-80
3-spacer 1981
2-spacer 82 onward

this arrangement makes 4 spacer the most common and 3 spacer the rarest
but the 119 and 120 did not follow the rest of the crowd converting to 3 spacer very early say late 73 or early 74
So for the 119 and 120

4-spacer 73
3-spacer 74-81
2-spacer 82 onward

For the 119 and 120 4 spacer becomes the rarest and 3 spacer the most common, opposite of the other 100 series knives.
I am "presuming" that the 119/120 made the 3 to 2 spacer conversion at the same time of the other 100 series in late 1981.

Keep in mind the changes did not necessarily happen on January 1st. I have rounded off years for simplicity.

In 2015, I dug deep into this very topic. In that thread, I completely agree with the above post by DeSotoSky. Your knife is from 74-81 with a 440C blade.

 

[jude_061]

Thanks TAH — There were some older posts that I couldn’t get for some reason. I was reading a few older ones that I googled but still was somewhat confused. This post is where I had got the 1981 date from: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/pre-86-119-spacer-questions.1399985/page-2

It’s interesting that the dating marks of 119s and 120s differed from that of 110s. Is my understanding correct that it may also have differed slightly among other 100 series knives?

 

[TAH]

J jude_061 To my knowledge, blade stamps/dating marks didn't differ among the 100 Series, just the time frame of the spacer count on the 119 and 120. Feel free to post a pic and include the sheath if you have it.

 

[jude_061]

J jude_061 To my knowledge, blade stamps/dating marks didn't differ among the 100 Series, just the time frame of the spacer count on the 119 and 120. Feel free to post a pic and include the sheath if you have it.

Unfortunately it did not come with a sheath. It’s currently sitting in a modern leather 119 sheath. I’ll try to get a pic up soon.

 

[jude_061]

The spacer above the pommel is difficult to see in the photos but it’s obvious in person. There is definitely no spacer between the guard and the handle.

 

[DeSotoSky]

J jude_061 To my knowledge, blade stamps/dating marks didn't differ among the 100 Series,

jude_061 is probably referring to "dots" on 110's & 112's. Defacto date codes when you know when the change they represent took place.

 

[jude_061]

DeSotoSky — TAH clarified my meaning. While I recently found that the 110 date code system was different from the 100 series system. I was surprised to see the dates of 119s and those of other 100s series seemed to be different From one another. As in, the spacers as dating iterations of knives was used, but the actual dates themselves were different. If that makes sense.

I don’t own any other 100 series knives besides a few 119s, so I was confused. The only other FB Bucks I own are a 473 diamondback and a fixed blade Omni hunter. The rest of my Bucks are folders: a number of 110s and 112s, a script 501, a 55, a few 442s, a 110lt, a finger-grooved Ranger-like Bucklite, a small buck two blade slipjoint, a nobleman, and a Vantage. Dating them was easy. The 119 confounded me. I’ve been reading this forum for years and still had a hard time figuring it out.