Buck 188 & older Buck U.S.A. questions

[xeodguy]

I recently picked up a couple of knives, and I would like to know about them. Hope somebody here came help.

First off is a Buck 188. Looks just like an M-9 bayonet, but when I retired from the Army in 1994, the only M-9's I had seen were marked M9 and U.S. If I read the year marker correctly, this was made in 1996, and I found some information that it was commercial, not military. Are these still in production? (Didn't find any in a perusal of the Buck Web site.) Are they milspec? Do these have collector value, or are they extremely common? Any other nice-to-know info you can share with me? Thanks.

Second item is a large Bowie style hunting knife, hollow ground, black phenolic handle and what appears to be a thin brown Micarta spacer between the handle and the guard. Only marking is an inverted "BUCK U.S.A." What model is this? What years was it manufactured? And again, any other nice-to-know info about this one?

Thanks very much for any and all help!


Gary

 

[porterkids]

Your 188 is a commercial M9 bayonet. Buck manufactured all of the military M9 bayonets between 1987 and 1989 as a subcontractor to Phrobis III. Buck continued to manufacture the M9 bayonet for the commercial market until 1997.

 

[Evil Eye Earl]

Bottom knife is a Buck 124 ,stainless pommel,guard,red micarta spacers,phenolic handle.
Mfg 1969-1970

 

[Joe Houser]

Nice couple of knives! Only thing I would add is that the 188 is fairly common. The 124/122 would be a great start to a collection. Do you have a sheath for it? The handle spacers appear to be the red micarta used back then. Probably from 1970-1972 timeframe.

 

[xeodguy]

Thanks for the info. I don't have the sheath for the 124/122. The previous owner had a huge leather sheath that he kept it in, with some poorly cut belt slots in the back, about 4" long each. It holds the knife pretty well, but is a poor substitute for the original. If you saw some of the other pictures I have of this knife, you would cry. Looks like someone hammered on the spine a couple of times to drive it through something, and used the butt as a hammer as well. The guy also complained about Bucks being hard to sharpen; I'm not sure what method he used to sharpen it, but it was not gentle.

 

[xeodguy]

I have had several people get in touch with me concerning the Buck 122/124, offering estimates as to the date and asking what my plans are for the knife. Apparently, the thought of owning one of these knives is pretty exciting - but before anyone starts dreaming, I thought I would share some more pictures. The first pictures were so that I could figure out what I have. These will show you why I have not been anxious to talk about future plans:

As you can see, the knife was in fact used as a hammer: apparently the spine was used a few times until it chipped, and the butt was also used. The spacer is clearly red Micarta. The knife is definitely not in the best of shape. Thanks to everyone who has helped me understand what I've got.

 

[MWallace]

xeodguy

I see you put the 124 on the bay. I just want to commend you for an accurate listing with quality photos....I wish more listings were as clear and complete as yours....:thumbup:

Good luck,
Mike

 

[xeodguy]

Mike,

Thanks for the comments. I try to get it right.

Gary

 

[MWallace]

xeodguy....

I just reread this thread and your listing and noticed something. In your listing you stated "made about 1969-1970."

Why didn't you use Joe's estimate for dating the knife? He's probably the best authority, resource, we have.

The handle spacers appear to be the red micarta used back then. Probably from 1970-1972 timeframe.

Mike

 

[xeodguy]

It might not have been wise to go with the consensus, but several people contacted me individually, off the forum, and provided the same time period of 1969 - 1970. They seemed quite confident of that time, in some cases based on purchases made back then. Joe gave me a "probably," based solely on the red micarta, so I went with the majority. The year 1970 seemed to really be the meeting point. Bad move?

 

[MWallace]

xeodguy,

I guess I might have stated: made about 1969-1972, but really, I was just curious as to the dates. I think it's a good listing. Good luck with the sale.

 

[110 Dave]

the data i have says 69 to 70 was the only years of the red spacers ..
in 71 gray buckcarta was made with strations and hole and stainless guard..but ws discontuned for the later half of 1971
i bought one in aug of 1971 .. in 72 the 124 was put back in production but i dont have data on any diffreances .. data says 72 had both striations and hole ... personal experance - a friend bought one in 72 and it did not have strations...
so they must have come both ways.. my data is from a 2006 news letter and conversations with leroy remer and joe
but i only collect the folding hunter... dont i ?