Bucks Use of Ebony

bucksway

bucksway

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The recent Buck of the Month 112 using "Distinct African Ebony" had me doing research on Bucks use of Ebony to see if possibly any 112 had been made with it before and to judge just how rare and odd this BOTM really was from a historical perspective in any model Buck folder. For the most part in the last 25 to 30 years it's been a laminate as Mr Hubbard posted here recently and using solid wood goes back to Buck roots especially in the 110 and 112 series. Joe Houser stated back in 2002 Buck even had employee's who job it was to try and match the scales as a knife came down the line so it would be the best looking it could be..Buck cares!
In my search I discovered there are over a dozen types of Ebony that vary considerably in color and grain patterns. From solid black with no visible grain to light and dark chocolate brown with lighter greens and dramatic contrasting grained patterns! But even back in the 18th century the darkest black has been prized for its classic look.. Black Ebony is dense tough stuff perfect for the hard life a using knife must have..But in all my search I have not seen where Buck specifically said "African Ebony" other types yes but especially "Distinct" Ebony of any kind.
No reference to any kind of Ebony in the Custom shop either..So I wanted to ask all of the Buck fans here what you know about Bucks use of Ebony ..especially 'African' if Buck used that description in the Custom shop or any catalog ..I believe Black Ebony was used for trim in some early fixed blades but I haven't found it. Thanks!
 
Maccassar yes..including later a laminate of it. And I believe very little was Black.
 
Yes, Jeff confirmed they had used Macassar Ebony often in the other thread. It is a striped black and brown.

I really enjoyed the information he provided on "The Ebony Project" in Cameroon and the efforts to create a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable model of sourcing Ebony.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/ebonyproject/

I hope they can continue to do it right. Our love of beautiful things often have terrible side effects. I want these things too, but not if people, animals or forests get exploited.
 
Bucks use of Ebony dates back to the 1950 when they used Gaboon Ebony (Dark Black with little grain pattern) on the handles of their fixed blade knives. Finding a Buck made Gaboon ebony fixed blade these days is few and far between. I was lucky enough in my hay day to own a 102 and a 118 with Gaboon ebony handles.
 
Not sure about Buck's use of African ebony, but the color of their standard 1970s Indonesian Macassar ebony ranges greatly. Here is a photo of my 2 dot 110 and a random internet photo of another 2 dot 110.

gOzQg4X.jpg


vtg-buck-110-dot-folding-hunter-knife_1_a62543bcdff31130be65640f4ae94780.jpg
 
This is a quote from Jeff on an earlier thread. The link will explain everything about Bucks use of ebony.

J Hubbard said:
A little back ground on the wood. Years ago we used to use real Maccassar Ebony until there was a moratorium on us getting it, so we switched to the laminate we use now. This is kinda going back to our roots using ebony.

Here is a link with some background on this wood.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/ebonyproject/

Jeff
Click to expand...
 
So SHB, what do you do, when someone is talking about a particular model you go out and have a great knife made up to show us?? :D:D:D:p

Just messing with you... You have an awesome knife collection....:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
STEELHEADBULLY a beautiful Buck for sure but it looks reddish..almost like Iron wood. I had never heard of Buck using Gaboon Ebony in early customs mbjannusch..Was it totally black? I won't see my 112 BOTM till Christmas but Matt said he would note on the order to pick the blackest one of the 25 or so that was left. I'm going to the Blade Show in Atlanta next year and I will look for a slab of the finest coal black Ebony I can find for a Custom 112 next fall. I have not seen a reference to Gaboon Ebony in any description yet for Buck but knowing now it was used in very early Custom Buck fixed blades it seems likely a few folders might have been made in the 60's too..
 
bucksway said:
I'm going to the Blade Show in Atlanta next year and I will look for a slab of the finest coal black Ebony I can find for a Custom 112 next fall.
Click to expand...

Bucksway, there is a reason Gabon Ebony isn't used much for production knives. The current price is about $100+ per board foot (1" thick x 12" wide x 12" long or the equivalent, 1"thick x 6" wide x 24" long). If you search online for Gabon Ebony you can find small, relatively thin, pieces for $10-$15. There really is no comparison between Gabon and Macassar Ebony. In addition to color, Gabon has a much tighter grain.

Bert
 
For a Custom 112 its more about finding a spectacular piece ,maybe something really old. In California back in the late 70's I built my harmonica case out of Koa 18"×12" × 4"..Cost back then was almost $100.00 and that was before it shot up in price. Was Gabon ever a option in the old Custom shop?
 
I hope Buck brings Koa back to the custom shop, I missed out on that one and regret it.

Gabon and Cameroon are neighbors in Africa. If Buck sourced from one vs the other I doubt I would see a difference. My example is dark and beautiful.
 
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