1994 112 Gets A New Lease On Life

D

DesertChris

Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Messages
1,472
So... I saw this on the bay.
The Blade was utterly and completely mistreated and destroyed.
However the Handle looked promising :)
So I bid on it, and won it for the minimum bid of $9.99 :)
I suppose it's horrific condition was a put off for everyone else who may have seen it.
I, on the other hand, wanted that handle.

Anyway, it arrived, and I was very surprised, and overjoyed, to see it has Nickel Bolsters!! I love Nickel Bolsters.
It sure looked like brass on the listing photos!

So immediately after I won that auction, I placed an order for a donor knife to obtain a blade for my new 112 handle.






I set to cleaning her up, since she was very dirty and her metal was in need of major buffing/polishing.

I removed the blades from both knives, and after a small amount of work, here she is.....

A 1994 112 Nickel Bolstered Handle sporting a brand spanking new 2013 482 Blade :)

I know this has been done before, and the photos I saw made me really really want one too!!







I pretty much wrecked the pivot area of the 482 grinding off the rivot, but that's OK, since I really didn't have any use for that handle after the blade swap.



I sure do love this combination of handle and blade!!

Now I am definately going to replace the scales with Amboyna Burl, and am seriously considering adding finger grooves also.....but that stuff will have to wait a while. In the meantime, she will be put to use harvesting vegetables, shaving hair off my arm lol, cutting tape, etc...etc...etc...
 
Nice work!! I do like that blade in the 112 frame.

I've got a few blade changes to make this winter. I keep putting it off. Maybe your success will spur me on to make my blade swaps. :)
 
Thank you Stumps! I am pretty darn overjoyed with it.

Here is what amboyna burl looks like

amboyna-burl_zpsfceffcc6.jpg


I think it looks awesome with silver colored knife handles.
I am putting some on a classic SAK right now, and it looks way better than red plastic...lol
My son is learning about playing with wood, and we have him doing a classic SAK with bird's eye maple :)

As I side note, I bought him his very first Buck Knife and it arrived today.
A brand spanking new 2013 501....I can't wait to give it to him :)
I've given him other knives as a test to see how he would treat them, and he passed that test.
 
Shoot!!!

I thought I put a photo of it in closed position...double posted one of the open position pbotos...lol

20130927_083954_zpsa2cdf54e.jpg
 
Nickle silver frame 112's are rare. Buck just didn't use them much on the 112's. That's a better looking blade. DM
 
David Martin said:
Nickle silver frame 112's are rare. Buck just didn't use them much on the 112's. That's a better looking blade. DM
Click to expand...
I was thinking that might be the case, and was kind of shocked when I opened the package and saw all that nickel silver :)

The frame was pretty darn dirty, dinged up, and needed some all around TLC, but cleaned up pretty nicely.
When I do the new scales on it, I'll really clean up the metal even more.
I'm seriously debating adding finger grooves (I just love finger grooves) but not sure if I will do that or not.
 
David Martin said:
Nickle silver frame 112's are rare. Buck just didn't use them much on the 112's. That's a better looking blade. DM
Click to expand...
I was thinking that might be the case, and was kind of shocked when I opened the package and saw all that nickel silver :)

The frame was pretty darn dirty, dinged up, and needed some all around TLC, but cleaned up pretty nicely.
When I do the new scales on it, I'll really clean up the metal even more.
I'm seriously debating adding finger grooves (I just love finger grooves) but not sure if I will do that or not.
 
I didn't think finger grooves were needed on the 112 because of the front finger guard. On a 110 it's different, I like finger grooves on it. DM
 
Last edited:
David Martin said:
I'm not thought finger grooves were needed on the 112 because of the front finger guard. On a 110 it's different, I like finger grooves on it. DM
Click to expand...

I love the way the finger grooves look.
I have a 110 with them, and I love the way that knife fits in my hand with them.
But like you said, I agree that the 112 doesn't really need them....hence my indecision.

Perhaps leaving them out of the equation would benefit the knife overall since the wood I want to use is so nice looking, and that wood leaving more volume of wood on the knife...and also more of that sweet sweet nickel silver frame.

Yeah...probably a better idea to leave the frame the stock shape.
 
That's awesome! At least you didn't slice your thumb open like I did when building mine. I gifted that knife to my nephew for his 12th birthday. He needed a REAL knife! The pictures of mine show the knife still a little rough. I ended up sanding it down and getting it a lot smoother.
Yours looks awesome by the way. I love the nickel silver

null_zps6335e434.jpg
 
Last edited:
That's very cool, I've been interested in modding traditional folders for some time, interesting stuff. Never really looked at old, wore out 110s, and 112s as just handles, for more modern blade transplants, a whole new outlook.
 
whetrock said:
That's very cool, I've been interested in modding traditional folders for some time, interesting stuff. Never really looked at old, wore out 110s, and 112s as just handles, for more modern blade transplants, a whole new outlook.
Click to expand...

I was inspired by BigHaze's modification.
It looked so very nice that I had to give it a try.
Now I am eyeballing every old handle with a worn out blade that I see online....lol
Also, I carry a 110 in the morning, doing my gardening chores, and always wished I could open it one handed (like my Dorado)
This seemed like a perfect solution.

imafritz said:
knice looking nife chris, how is the closing snap?
Click to expand...

Closing snap is not snappy, but the more I open and close it, the better it is getting :)
It definately needs breaking in. I think the bottom of the pivot area on the new blade is a tiny bit different than the stock 112.
Or else the frame is just a tiny bit snug in the pivot area....
But honestly it doesn't bother me in the slightest at all, and it is getting better.

And most important... It opens perfectly with the thumb stud and locks up super tight with no play.

Everyday I like this knife more and more...I think it is my new favorite :)

Now I am also wondering if a 484 blade would work in a 501 frame?
That might be a cool one to give a try.
 
Hey Chris, there is an option for the 110 as well. An 1/8th inch masonry bit to drill a hole in the blade. I ordered some brass thumb studs online (can't remember where) and its a one hander. The picture is my '89 finger grove but I've put one on my 2 dot 110 and 112 and on my 2013 110
null_zps4cc937d4.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top