127 OceanMate for January 27th

[DeSotoSky]

The 6.5" 123 LakeMate with a Kraton handle was introduced in the 1983 catalog and joined by the 4.5" 125 StreamMate and 9" 127 OceanMate in 1984. The Brown OceanMate and less common Yellow OceanMate and StreamMate are shown below. The Yellow Mates are listed but not pictured in the 1984-1986 catalogs and came with a black leather sheath. There was also a black handle that came later. With the introduction of the Mate series fillet knives the 121 Fisherman finds itself with a thicker blade [wrong, see post #5] and renamed the Guide in the 1985 catalog.
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[jbmonkey]

don't think I've ever seen those models before. thanks...learned something new......

 

[TheFishman]

With the introduction of the Mate series fillet knives the 121 Fisherman finds itself with a thicker blade and renamed the Guide in the 1985 catalog.

While the 121 Fisherman was renamed in 1985, the blade remained 0.08" thick. My 1997 Guide model 121 is the exact same thickness (0.08") as my older 121 Fisherman three line model with four spacers.

 

[MT_Pokt]

While the 121 Fisherman was renamed in 1985, the blade remained 0.08" thick. My 1997 Guide model 121 is the exact same thickness (0.08") as my older 121 Fisherman three line model with four spacers.

Are both blades equally bendy?

 

[DeSotoSky]

Thanks T TheFishman
Off to the dungeon I go with a pair of calipers..... I was thinking the [Fisherman] fillets were about .060"
This Is the kind of trouble I get in when posting from memory
some data points
1-line w/scaler .0605" (~'63 to '66)
2-line fiber w/scaler .058 (~'67)
2-line Micarta .060 ('69 to early '72))
3-line inverted .0785 ('72)
All my newer 121's are in crates and I'm not gonna dig thru.

That gives the 121 3 different thickness eras.
.060 initially
.078 starting during 2 line but before 3-line inverted
.120 sometime after 2000 ?? (the 2012 catalog lists the B&C 121 as .120)

 

[TheFishman]

Thanks T TheFishman
Off to the dungeon I go with a pair of calipers..... I was thinking the fillets were about .060"
This Is the kind of trouble I get in when posting from memory

I didn't mean to derail the 127 thread for January 27. I bought the older 121 first and had heard everyone state that the blade was thickened on the 121 when it became the Guide. I was wanting a thicker 121 so imagine my surprise when the 1997 121 arrived and it was the same as my older 121.

I don't have a 127, but both my 123s measure 0.06" right in front of the tang with them tapering as you move towards the tip. While you are in the dungeon, make sure to get photos of your 129 for Wednesday. I know you have one.

 

[Meadowlark]

Thanks T TheFishman
Off to the dungeon I go with a pair of calipers..... I was thinking the [Fisherman] fillets were about .060"
This Is the kind of trouble I get in when posting from memory
some data points
1-line w/scaler .0605" (~'63 to '66)
2-line fiber w/scaler .058 (~'67)
2-line Micarta .060 ('69 to early '72))
3-line inverted .0785 ('72)
All my newer 121's are in crates and I'm not gonna dig thru.

That gives the 121 3 different thickness eras.
.060 initially
.078 starting during 2 line but before 3-line inverted
.120 sometime after 2000 ?? (the 2012 catalog lists the B&C 121 as .120)

Well, I thought I had one of the early ones at .051 but that's an old memory.

I know most of mine were .080 and my 2005 Idaho stamps were .121 and I remember that because it was an interesting coincidence that the 121 had a width of .121.

My measurements are basically the same as yours and slight differences are due to my sloppy measuring.

I'll have to revisit the one I remembered as .051.

 

[Meadowlark]

Yes, I do have a two-line read point down (two of them actually) and one is .051 and the other is .060.

So go figure.

Getting somewhat back to topic

My 125 StreamMate is a nice little knife that measures .074 which seems odd to me, but I measured all of these several times.

By the way, never saw those yellow handles before........they must be rare.

Maybe the later REAL fillet knives had springier steel so they could be thicker.

 

[st8yd]

Picked up a 123 today with the yellow handle with intention to rehandle it. I have seen this model plenty and really don't care for the aesthetics of the handle and it looks a bit bulky, but never really fondled it till now. It does feel very good in hand, a little thicker than I care for at the back end so maybe I will keep the same basic profile but slim the butt down a little.
He had a brown one also in near new condition but couldn't see spending the more on it to rehandle it. He also had the folding one and the silver creek folding fillet.