buck 103?

J

jim treewright

Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
11
I posted a thread as well on general, so apologies on repitition.. I'm new to forums, anyway found this older 103 that appears genuine, but has a narrower shape than the normal 103's. Was this a mod, or did buck offer this variation? hopefully these pics will help with identification. On left is a new 103, right the 103 in question. Looks to be pre 86. Fine buck craftsmanship, appears factory. Thanks for any help.
 
....okay, thx folks for trying to help this otherwise useless computer illiterate zombie. Im gonna try again, but don't expect fruition. This 103 has 4 micarta spacers. And ,again it says buck 103 usa, so its fairly clear its pre 86, but post early 80's. I promise ill eventually get a pic or three out. Ill have to climb out of the trees llong enough, and get one of my tech buddies to school me on cut and paste stuff,ughh. --The real anomoly here is the oversize thickness (gauge) of the steel, from a newer 103,but also the blade shape being different from the typical 103 shape/style.. In general is there such a thing as a 103 with a narrower blade shape?
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Jim if your 103 has 4 micarta spacers and a blade stamp that reads Buck 103USA, and you read that stamp with the blade pointer up, your knife was manufactured from 1973-1980. In '81 Buck began removing spacers.

If you read the blade stamp with the blade pointed down your knife would have been manufactured in 1972.

The shape of the blade is a topic of conversation we have every now and then. People get their hands on a knife that is a bit different than the others. This is usually because during the finishing of the blade, the person who was doing it changed it a bit. Buck never throws anything away so this could lead to a number of things. Maybe there was something wrong and they had to grind it down more than usual before they polished it. Who knows...
 
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jim treewright said:
....okay, thx folks for trying to help this otherwise useless computer illiterate zombie. Im gonna try again, but don't expect fruition. This 103 has 4 micarta spacers. And ,again it says buck 103 usa, so its fairly clear its pre 86, but post early 80's. I promise ill eventually get a pic or three out. Ill have to climb out of the trees llong enough, and get one of my tech buddies to school me on cut and paste stuff,ughh. --The real anomoly here is the oversize thickness (gauge) of the steel, from a newer 103,but also the blade shape being different from the typical 103 shape/style.. In general is there such a thing as a 103 with a narrower blade shape?
th_263.jpg
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Click to expand...

E-mail me and I'll post the pictures for you.
 
Yes, the older 103's were made from thicker bar stock than the newer ones and the blade shape may have changed a little. It could be a remodel. DM
 
I found this 103 at a pawn shop. I've found two other 102's there aswell, so someone, (it seems) is slowly liquidating their collection. This 103 is real sweet, the thicker gauge blade at first seems to make the knife heavy, but its so rigid, and the knife shape, though not the typical shape, is really growing on me- I love this knife-All my Bucks really..

To try and answer your question, I can only assume it was the shaper in the factory. I'm hoping this adds value, it's uniqueness. Not that I'd ever sell any of my knives. I paid 20.00 at the pawn shop:). It has a few wear marks, but sharpened nicely.

I'm gonna try and send one more pic of the difference in gauge thickness to my newer 103.

Thanks again for any help/insight anyone can offer me..
 
Here's a thickness comparison. <center>
<a href="http://s1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg523/jimtreewright/?action=view&amp;current=2012-04-22091509.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg523/jimtreewright/2012-04-22091509.jpg" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App"></a>
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</center>
 
lets try again, first time sending pics, a friend did it for my untech tail last time..
<center>
<a href="http://s1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg523/jimtreewright/?action=view&amp;current=2012-04-22091509.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg523/jimtreewright/th_2012-04-22091509.jpg" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App" ></a>
<a href="http://s1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg523/jimtreewright/?action=view&amp;current=267.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1242.photobucket.com/albums/gg523/jimtreewright/th_267.jpg" border="0" alt="buck 103's, left;new, right pre 86(note how much thicker the blade gauge thickness is" ></a>
</center>
 
the pictures in your last 2 posts are not showing up.

I have no clue who would have modified the 103 on the right but I'm betting it wasn't factory. Love what they did to it. :) I got a 103 a few months ago that dates to the late 70's or early 80's. Used it the other day to cut the fat off a roast that I turned into Jerky. IMO The 103 pairs nicely with a 105 or 119.
 
I think it wasn't done at Buck's factory but none of us will know. The shape---:barf:. Buck made other models with that shape. DM
 
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