1982 Buck steel?

G

GC

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Sep 17, 1999
Messages
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I have a Buck 112 that I bought the year my son was born. Actually, I bought one, then on a whim bought another the same day. I've used the one extensively over the years and sort of retired it. Being a knife guy I have several dozen knives to include custom fixed blades and two Buck Custom Shop versions of the 110 that get rotated into duty.

I set aside the other for my son. Years back when my son began hunting with me I gave him the 112 that I bought the year he was born. He still uses that knife as basically his one and only heavy duty hunter. It's about as tight and usable as the day I bought it, a good knife with a lot of personal history behind it.

Anyway, yesterday I offered to sharpen his knife as we skinned a limit of squirrels and he left it with me for the chore. As I began to sharpen his knife I suddenly wondered..... What blade steel did Buck use for a 1982 112 knife?
 
Buck used 440C up until 1985 or 86 when they changed to 425 modified. This is the info pertaining to the 110 so I'm assuming they did this with all their knives. I think 1994 is when they changed to 420HC.
Scott
 
The information that I have about Buck standard steel is:

Before 1981.- 440C

1981 to 1994.- 425M

After 1994.- 420HC
 
Don is right on the button with his post.
It is likely that the blade in those 112s is 425mod but it does depend on how long they had been sitting on the dealers shelf before you bought them. The blade stamp should nail it down. Can you tell me how the blade is stamped? Are there any marks before or after the model number?
 
Thanks for the help gentlemen. My knives have a dot on either side of the 112 number. Something like this with a dot in place of the asterik:

*112*

Is that the information you needed?
 
That is the information we need. The knife was made during the 1974 to 1980 timeframe and the blade was made of 440C.
I hope this helps,
 
Awesome! That's what I was hoping for. Thank you very much for the information, it's appreciated! These two have held up well over the years and performed exceptionally.
 
steve1701d said:
I love 440C :cool:
Click to expand...
I love the older Bucks made with 440C. :D I'm always searching for them. They sharpen up like a razor and stay that way for a long time and I love the finish on the blades.
Scott
 
Hi Joe,

Are the 102 Woodsman made of the same steel during those time frame? These models seem to have no other markings.
 
The 102, and all others from the "100 series" sheath knives, followed a slightly diferent path than the 110/112, only because they were introduced sooner.
From 1961 through late 1967 we used forgings of 440C. Then we switched to blanks of the same material. They were 440C up until 1981, like the 110/112.
The tricky part is trying to find out when the knife you are holding was made, since all of them from 1972 through 1985 are stamped the same; BUCK, 102, U.S.A. I just finished my research on dating the 100 series sheath knives from the 72 to 86 timeframe and it does narrow it down some.
This information will be in the next club newsletter which comes out in a month or so. Not a member? Too bad! :grumpy:
But seriously, if you are not a member and I can't talk you into joining, send me an email and I will be happy to share the data with you.
 
Hi Joe,

I found some printed slips of paper on how to look after the knives and warranty info in my knife boxes. One of them has 12/78 on the bottom right and the other has 01/80. Does it mean that my knives were made during that period Dec 1978 and Jan 1980? or approximately during that time frame. My Buck Classic 111 would definitely be made in 1980 with the dots pattern, so my Woodsman 102 would be made in 1978, I think, making both 440C steel.

Thanks very much Joe
 
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