Buck 119/120 - Which came first???

chickentrax

chickentrax

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Aug 5, 2005
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Does anyone know the origin of the 119 or the 120??? I mean, did the 119 come first, and there were a lot of requests for a longer blade, so the 120 was developed??? Or did hunters think the 120 was too long, so Buck shortened it and created the 119???

There is nothing on the 120 in the BCCI database, and although there is a good rundown on the 119, there is no mention of the 120 as being an offshoot or anything...

I would think that the 120 must have been a parallel offering, at least for a short while, since there do seem to be pre-86 versions of each...

Which came first??? :)
 
well ,well ,well....according to printed literature both were introduced in 1961.
BCCI model history ,119 special says 1955 .
nothing on the 120 as you say.
The 119 had some barrel nut versions.sold new in 1961 for $20
two liners Buck USA 1967-1968
 
Evil Eye Earl said:
BCCI model history ,119 special says 1955 .
Click to expand...

Is that from Dick Matheny's PDF document on the BCCI site??? I can't quite make out the first date...looks like 1958 to my eyes...Oh, I see - "Year of introduction - 1955 est."...That's at the bottom of page 1; I was looking at the top of page 2..."History of Product Variations" starting with 1958...

I wonder why Dick didn't start the "History of Product Variations" with 1955??? That's three years of production not accounted for... :confused:
 
My info came from Dick's PDF on the 119 in BCCI.
Larry Oden ,In his article in Blade's Guide To Knifes and Their Values,
says 1961 on the 119 and 120.
 
Evil Eye Earl said:
My info came from Dick's PDF on the 119 in BCCI.
Larry Oden ,In his article in Blade's Guide To Knifes and Their Values,
says 1961 on the 119 and 120.
Click to expand...

Yes, I read both of them. I imagine Larry's article was heavily edited for the book...It would be interesting to hear why he says 1961 and Matheny says 1955-58...
 
The referenced article From Blade's Guide to Knives is directed toward Buck factory production knives. Since factory production commenced in 1961, you have your answer. Some, perhaps all, of the original six factory production models were being made prior to factory production and Dick chose to record their pre-factory introductions.
 
Larry Oden said:
The referenced article From Blade's Guide to Knives is directed toward Buck factory production knives. Since factory production commenced in 1961, you have your answer. Some, perhaps all, of the original six factory production models were being made prior to factory production and Dick chose to record their pre-factory introductions.
Click to expand...


So Larry which came first , the 120 or 119 ,or were they parallel as Chickentrax stated.
 
...And for another question...Is the Buck 120 known as the "General" because it is intended for general use (and is the Buck 119 "Special" designed for special use?) or is the 120 named that because it is the highest rank??? :confused:

If it first appeared in 1955, and is named after a High Rank, that would put it in Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency...who was himself a General of some small renown...maybe the name is a tribute by one of the Bucks??? ;)

Foor for thought...or maybe small talk at the next Blade Show... :D
 
I would say the 119 came first, although a 120 style knife I was in the 1954 catalog as the "Field & Trench" knife, 7" blade and 5" lignum vitae handle. The "119 Special" specifically was in the 1956 catalog, but the 104 in the 1949 catalog is definitely a pre-119.." a medium heavy knife with a 5 1/2" x 1" hollow ground blade, overall length 9 1/2". Maybe Joe, Larry, Richard or C.J. could shed some in depth light.:D
 
Great idea, Scott...I didn't think of looking at the catalogs... :) :thumbup:

In the 1956 catalog, it shows a 119 Special (with someone's handwriting on the cover!) and the following notations inside...

No. 119 - "Buck Special" - Minimum length blade is 5 inches (shown on cover), above illustration shows 7-inch blade...When ordering, specify...Price (5" blade) $22.00 ($2.00 additional per inch) (Above size. 7" blade) $26.00

Whoa!!! You could order the blade length by the inch!!! Awesome!!! I wonder what the longest was??? :eek:

Also...the finger grooves were *much* deeper; more fiber spacers...

So, it would appear that the "119 Special" was the name first given to this variable-blade-length knife...If the "General" was introduced in 1961 as the name for the 7 1/2" variation of the "119 Special", then I suppose all other lengths were discontinued??? :confused:
 
Chickentrax has it right. In 1961 they apparently started to standardize around the most popular blade lengths and the "General" was born as a long variation of the "Special".
 
Richard Matheny said:
Chickentrax has it right. In 1961 they apparently started to standardize around the most popular blade lengths and the "General" was born as a long variation of the "Special".
Click to expand...

Thanks Richard.
 
Blade by the inch---visions of a Buck sword with a black plastic handle and aluminium guard come to mind.:D


All for less than $100.
 
chickentrax said:
o-be-glockin - did you see that pic 334dave posted of the custom 124??? I'm guessing a 15" blade... :D
Click to expand...

That's what I guessed....It's 12".....that reminds me about.....never mind.:D
 
Evil Eye Earl said:
That's what I guessed....It's 12".....that reminds me about.....never mind.:D
Click to expand...

Cracks me up.... oh well.... back to searching for the uh......Tiny Titanium....:o
I know its here somewhere.
 
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