Best general Utility in the 100 Series

For me, it will have to be a 121. It's useful in the kitchen and very good as a fish cleaner. I don't hunt, so I don't know how it would work for game, but I suspect it would be good there also.

2005121a.jpg
 
I Like a 110 sized and styled knife for field dressing game. But, find the 121 to be a superior knife for the butchering/boning chores and it makes a fine kitchen duty knife as well!
IMG_1731.jpg

IMG_1733.jpg

094796-R1-00-0-1.jpg

003_25A.jpg

jb4570
 
JB, Good photos and post . I'd have to agree with you . I switch back and forth for field dressing game between my drop point 110 and 103 fixed blade . Both perform real well . The fixed blade is easier to clean, has a little deeper belly and stronger . The lanyard hole feature is the biggest difference for me . DM
 
I read this thread again and had to come back and share/comment on this excellent post. The bolded sentence below made me sad and happy, wistful, sad and grateful all at once. The reason is that my first Buck was a Christmas present from my grandfather back in 1969. I still have it - a 120. I've never really used it because, try as I did, I never could find a practical purpose for that huge blade. :) :(

I guess that wonderful present taught me at least two things. First, that Buck knives are special. Second, that a blade that size really is not, for me and my needs, even remotely practical. I've been a fan of 4" blades for a lonnnng time. :)

338375 said:
I am probably in the minority, but my favorite is the 102, for general purpose, all around use.

I don't use my knives for batoning wood, so I don't need a huge knife. I have always preferred knives that are smaller anyway. I just like the "feel" I get when working with a smaller knife.

The 102 isn't what I would call an ideal game knife for me though, because I prefer drop point blades when working on animals. The 103, while it is a neat looking knife, is a lot bigger imho than it really need to be for skinning. If Buck made a 103 version that was smaller, I would be all over it.

I know its probably blasphemy, because it is a classic, but I don't care for the 119 for the same reason.

I will always remember my grandad telling me when I was younger, you don't need a huge knife to get the job done, you just need a sharp knife. I've always found that to be true. There again, its just personal preference.
YMMV
Click to expand...
 
Field butcher kit, one 103, one 105, one 118 and one 121. Also a Selector with clip and gutting blade and a cheap China made ulu style knife that can skin circles around a 103 but has to be sharpened at least once when skinning 80 -90 lb doe. Not so 103.

Kitchen, three 121s.

300
 
Last edited:
The 121s are interesting. I don't recall ever seeing one in the flesh (so to speak). I am looking at the title of this thread and noticing the word "General" :D
 
The 118 is certainly up there high on the list, RudderJT...... but I just like the feel and balance of the 121 better.

Much of it is how the knife feels in the hand of each person.

Mileage do vary, that's for sure.
 
BG, I agree. I like the 121 as well and don't hesitate to grab one when the butchering gets serious. I carved a turkey on Thanksgiving with a 120, mostly just showing off. Fact is, I like'm all and carry what speaks to me at the moment. I played the bugle for a military funeral yesterday--the electronic kind, I'm not a real bugler--and discovered that the on/off switch was busted, so I used a new 301, single shot, from my pocket to slide the little sucker into battery. Never leave home without a Buck!

Jack
BCCI, Life Member #946
 
JNewell said:
I read this thread again and had to come back and share/comment on this excellent post. The bolded sentence below made me sad and happy, wistful, sad and grateful all at once. The reason is that my first Buck was a Christmas present from my grandfather back in 1969. I still have it - a 120. I've never really used it because, try as I did, I never could find a practical purpose for that huge blade. :) :(

I guess that wonderful present taught me at least two things. First, that Buck knives are special. Second, that a blade that size really is not, for me and my needs, even remotely practical. I've been a fan of 4" blades for a lonnnng time. :)
Click to expand...

Where I find it most pratical is the quartering, boning and processing of large game . I lay my 4" field dressing knife aside and use the larger . Yes, its not as useful at skinning or gutting . DM
 
David Martin said:
Where I find it most pratical is the quartering, boning and processing of large game . I lay my 4" field dressing knife aside and use the larger . Yes, its not as useful at skinning or gutting . DM
Click to expand...


It's all about the uses and the individual's uses. In my mind, I really wish I had more of your uses. :)

One more little vignette on my 120 - it came from Abercrombie & Fitch. Not the current one, but the original one. 'nother time, 'nother world. :o
 
Interesting take on that . I was trained by meat cutters with 30-40yrs. of experience when they still 'broke' beef . It was ordered by the side or quarter and when you recieved it the butcher had to break it down into the pertinent table cuts . They would tell me, 'college boy' you don't have to use a 10" knife a 8" will work just fine . Today when I do this I compromise and use a 7.5" knife . I sometimes wonder what they'd say about this . DM
 
I just have a few fixed blades..I picked up a 118 in D2 and EVERY job I did with it went well.That D2 steel was so easy to get really sharp,kept a edge a long time I thought about finding a different model in that steel..The 118 will serve well in a lot of different situations,even self defense!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top