A couple of 121's

B

badws6

Joined
Apr 20, 2010
Messages
209
I just picked up a couple of 121 from the bay. one new in the box and the other...well i will let the pictures speak for themselves

IMG]http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s262/1997ws6/knife/121/IMGP2365.jpg[/IMG]

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now for the questions: Is there any to narrow down the date on the older of the two? I included a profile picture to show how much of the blade is missing. I plan on reprofiling this knife to orginal as I can. I have seen several different profiles for the 121 ( IE: false edge on top of the blade at the tip) what would be correct for this knife?
 
The knife with 4 spacers is the older of the two, it being manufactured from 1973 thru 1981. In '81 Buck began removing spacers first a finger guard spacer was removed then a pommel spacer. This all happened in 1981 and after '81 they only had two spacers. Here is the first 121 made in 1964.




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I'm thinking the older one is from the early 1970's because it has 2x2 spacers. Maybe Matt will see it and verify.

You can work on that 121 and make it the way you want. I have an older two line 102 that had been sharpen down to about 70% of the blade left. It was nearly the correct length. I took to working on it and it looks like new now....except for the missing steel. It is actually my favorite 102. Not sure why, but I really like it and it is sharp, sharp, sharp!!

Oops...I see Matt already posted. :)
 
Thanks Mark, I love the 121 Fisherman and have every version from 1964 thru 1985 and have a pre factor filet knife. During the life span of the 121 it went from a very thin filet knife to a thicker all purpose knife and Buck even changed the name from the Fisherman to the Guide, that change happened in 1985. The 121 was missing in action in the 2001 catalog. It was taken over by the more popular 105. Now there are special runs and limited editions every now and then.
 
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mbjannusch said:
The knife with 4 spacers is the older of the two, it being manufactured from 1973 thru 1981. In '81 Buck began removing spacers first a finger guard spacer was removed then a pommel spacer. This all happened in 1981 and after '81 they only had two spacers. Here is the first 121 made in 1964.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Click to expand...


That is just a beautiful knife!! The first I've seen like that. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
During the inception of the 121, it came with a few flaws. First the horizontal BUCK stamp across the spine of the knife. This was said to weaken the blade. I've heard that sometimes they would even crack during stamping. This flaw was fixed by moving the stamp to the tang. The next thing that Buck fixed was the fish scaler, again it weakened the integrity of the blade and hundreds were sent back for warranty. This may be why we see very few around, and the collectors have the rest. The fish scaler design went from 1964 thru 1967/68. There's the horizontal stamp, the tang stamp, the '67 BUCK * stamp, and the two line BUCK USA stamp with fiber spacers. The first model 121 is the only model knife Buck produced with a two strap collar style sheath.
 
I thought I would share a couple of after pictures. The knife and I have spent about 8 hours in my shop ...This is the second knife I have worked on so its not perfect, but I think it will become my new trout season user. The sheath was designed with easy removal from a belt in mind

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Bob
 
Looks similar to a short version of a 105 but a great trout knife all in all. Nice work...
 
Nice job on that blade:thumbup: It looks ready for action again with plenty of life to spare left in it.
 
Looks like it was a well spent eight hours!! Nice job!! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
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