Buck 120 question

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sitflyer

sitflyer

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I just bought a lot for one knife that was in it...a total hunch....but it's a 120 left hand stamp inverted...Buck closest to the guard Buck/120/USA.....when was this one made...I'm hoping it's 440C....
My wife is gonna KILL ME :o
 
1972 I believe.

Group 1 1972- Blade stamped BUCK, XXX, U.S.A. Stamp is upside down or inverted, read with the point down, Guard has two micarta spacers and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has two micarta spacers and one aluminum spacer. A holster style, or Flap over sheath was used and the knife came in a two piece yellow bow.

Group 2 1973-1980 Blade stamped BUCK, XXX, U.S.A. Stamp is right side up, read with the point up, as it is on today's knives. Guard has two micarta and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has two micarta spacers and one aluminum spacer. Holster style, or Flap over sheath still used and the knife originally came in a two piece yellow bow but the switch to a one piece yellow box probably started around 1978.

Group 3 1981 Blade stamped BUCK, XXX, U.S.A. and is oriented the same as the previous group. Guard has one micarta and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has two micarta spacers and one aluminum spacer. I should note that I have only seen the 119, 120, a couple 121s, and one 118 in this configuration and it is likely that the other models skipped this and went straight to the next version. Holster style sheath still possible but also wrap around the handle type is introduced. The belt loop on the 120 swivels. Same one piece yellow box as previous.

Group 4 1981-1986 Blade stamp is still the same as the previous group. Guard has one micarta spacer and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has one micarta and one aluminum spacer. Holster style sheath is still in use on some models. Just about every type of sheath is found in this group. Still the same one piece yellow box as previous.

Group 5 1986- Blades now have a date code following the model number and are stamped BUCK, XXX<, U.S.A. This is the only difference between this group and the one previous. Sheath styles used are probably the same as the group above. Although the logo on the box may have changed slightly, it is still a one piece yellow construction. Over the next many years the boxes used were one piece Black with white letters, then green and tan, category boxes, and now the present orange and black.
 
Plumberdv said:
1972 I believe.

Group 1 1972- Blade stamped BUCK, XXX, U.S.A. Stamp is upside down or inverted, read with the point down, Guard has two micarta spacers and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has two micarta spacers and one aluminum spacer. A holster style, or Flap over sheath was used and the knife came in a two piece yellow bow.

Group 2 1973-1980 Blade stamped BUCK, XXX, U.S.A. Stamp is right side up, read with the point up, as it is on today's knives. Guard has two micarta and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has two micarta spacers and one aluminum spacer. Holster style, or Flap over sheath still used and the knife originally came in a two piece yellow bow but the switch to a one piece yellow box probably started around 1978.

Group 3 1981 Blade stamped BUCK, XXX, U.S.A. and is oriented the same as the previous group. Guard has one micarta and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has two micarta spacers and one aluminum spacer. I should note that I have only seen the 119, 120, a couple 121s, and one 118 in this configuration and it is likely that the other models skipped this and went straight to the next version. Holster style sheath still possible but also wrap around the handle type is introduced. The belt loop on the 120 swivels. Same one piece yellow box as previous.

Group 4 1981-1986 Blade stamp is still the same as the previous group. Guard has one micarta spacer and two aluminum spacers. Pommel has one micarta and one aluminum spacer. Holster style sheath is still in use on some models. Just about every type of sheath is found in this group. Still the same one piece yellow box as previous.

Group 5 1986- Blades now have a date code following the model number and are stamped BUCK, XXX<, U.S.A. This is the only difference between this group and the one previous. Sheath styles used are probably the same as the group above. Although the logo on the box may have changed slightly, it is still a one piece yellow construction. Over the next many years the boxes used were one piece Black with white letters, then green and tan, category boxes, and now the present orange and black.
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That's what I thought I was looking at going on memory alone...Now I'm freaking out thinking I got CONFUZZZZED
 
The official answer on this forum for a 4 spacer knife is that 3 line read blade down = 1972 and 3 line blade up = 73-80.

Personally, I think that in the 119 and 120 all bets are off. I feel the 3 line blade down is more common than the 3 line blade up (4 spacer) so it had to be more than one year but thats just my thinking.
 
DeSotoSky said:
The official answer on this forum for a 4 spacer knife is that 3 line read blade down = 1972 and 3 line blade up = 73-80.

Personally, I think that in the 119 and 120 all bets are off. I feel the 3 line blade down is more common than the 3 line blade up (4 spacer) so it had to be more than one year but thats just my thinking.
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This is all kinda new to me...These will be my first delving into the 100 series...
 
Yes, a good find. More rare than the 3 line point up stamp. Blade is of 440C. Hope you can post a picture when it arrives. The seller is informed too. Just too bad it didn't have the original sheath. Perhaps a collector here could help you. DM
 
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David Martin said:
Yes, a good find. More rare than the 3 line point up stamp. Blade is of 440C. Hope you can post a picture when it arrives. The seller is informed too. Just too bad it didn't have the original sheath. Perhaps a collector here could help you. DM
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Yes, that would be very nice if it happens, I wasn't concerned about the sheath because I figured if I don't find a correct one, I could have a special custom sheath made for it down the road.
I'll post lots of pics for all to see :)
 
David Martin said:
Yes, a good find. More rare than the 3 line point up stamp. Blade is of 440C. Hope you can post a picture when it arrives. The seller is informed too. Just too bad it didn't have the original sheath. Perhaps a collector here could help you. DM
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I disagree if you are referring to a 1973, three line stamp (blade pointed up) with four spacers. That knife is extremely hard to find. A 1972 comes up at least once every month or two.
 
David Martin said:
Yes, a good find. More rare than the 3 line point up stamp. Blade is of 440C. Hope you can post a picture when it arrives. The seller is informed too. Just too bad it didn't have the original sheath. Perhaps a collector here could help you. DM
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I finally found a 120 swivel sheath on EBay after looking for 2 months. They are not easy to find. New ones can be found quite easily, the older ones, however, are not.
 
Mitch W. said:
I finally found a 120 swivel sheath on EBay after looking for 2 months. They are not easy to find. New ones can be found quite easily, the older ones, however, are not.
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Can you post a pic so I know what to look for ? TIA
 
The bay site is its own world, in that items appear after its been talked about on forums. Whereas, not everyones on that and at shows and flea markets I've yet to find a inverted 3 line 120 but do find the 3 line upright stamped models 1-2 each year at shows. The two worlds are different. DM
 
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Sitflyer, I couldn't find my pictures of a 120 swivel sheath but I did find some pictures of a 124 swivel sheath...
I hope this helps you out... ITE


P1110501.jpg


P1110502.jpg


P1110511.jpg


:)
 
David Martin said:
The bay site is it own world, in that items appear after its been talked about on forums. Whereas, not everyones on that and at shows and flea markets I've yet to find a inverted 3 line 120 but find the 3 line upright stamped model 1-2 each year at shows. The two worlds are different. DM
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The two worlds are different, but the supply of knives is the same.
 
David Martin said:
Yes, a good find. More rare than the 3 line point up stamp. Blade is of 440C. Hope you can post a picture when it arrives. The seller is informed too. Just too bad it didn't have the original sheath. Perhaps a collector here could help you. DM
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Making a blanket statement like the one above based only on your limited experiences sifting through junk at the swap meet or twice a year at a knife show hold water like a pair of my old ladies stockings. People read these posts and believe the content as if we were experts. Lets try not to steer them wrong, just because we want to sound like we know what we are talking about or we just want to get involved in a thread. I don't mean for that to sound harsh but some of the posts are so far from the truth, it hurts to read. A 1972 inverted three line stamp 120 isnt difficult to find. You just have to look where they are sold. If you only look at garage sales and swap meets you may never find anything you are looking for. I have gone to the swap meet twice a month for years and to this day havent found more than a hand full of Buck knives and most of those were trash. I think ITE finds them before I get there:)
 
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