Date this "Vietnam Fighting Knife"

DeSotoSky

DeSotoSky

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Presented here for discussion and elucidation.

Accompanying description.
Late WAR Vietnam Buck 120 with scabbard and original box is in EXCELLENT CONDITION. The blade on this fighting knife is 7 1/2" long with a couple minor scratches. The blade also retains the 3 line Buck mark which started in 1971. There is a little corrosion on the guard. This BUCK Combat knife also include the flap style sheath and original box as pictured. This is a tough piece to find in this condition with original box.
120.mismatch 2.jpg 120.mismatched.jpg

How I would date this set...
2 piece box pre 1977
3-line 2-spacer knife 1982 to 1985 (pre date code)
3-Buck snap on sheath... 1989 on
I don't think any of this goes together. Individually the items are nice but together
as a set they are a buyer beware. The Vietnam war winds up in 1975 so only
the box could be claimed as "Vietnam Era" by my thinking. As a collector I do not consider any of this "a tough piece to find".

Thoughts anyone?
 
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Lol. Great thread.

I wouldn't even consider it a combat knife in the first place.

Even if it were all correct. As stated VN era and VN used with provenance are two very different things.
 
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DeSotoSky said:
Ha Ha! Now be honest Jeff, did you have to look it up?
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I did and that doesn't happen very often. Congratulations and thank you! I have added a new word to my vocabulary today.

On topic though... the Bay is filled with many clueless sellers and morally-corrupt scammers. I've called out and likely drawn the wrath of a few of the latter. It pays to be an educated buyer.
 
This knife was listed on a firearms site. I generally see the Vietnam association claimed more on those types of sites than the Bay. I always kinda viewed it as an attempt to inflate the importance of the knife for sale. Only rarely does a knife pop up with some kind of unit inscription/theater on the sheath or claimed/actual provenance. On a personal note, I know that my older brother gifted his best friend a Buck 120 when he was leaving for service, CB's I believe. My brother graduated HS in '64 so it would have been after that. So.... I know for a fact at least 1 Buck 120 went to Vietnam.
 
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DeSotoSky said:
This knife was listed on a firearms site. I generally see the Vietnam association claimed more on those types of sites than the Bay. I always kinda viewed it as an attempt to inflate the importance of the knife for sale. Only rarely does a knife pop up with some kind of unit inscription/theater on the sheath or claimed/actual provenance. On a personal note, I know that my older brother gifted his best friend a Buck 120 when he was leaving for service, CB's I believe. My brother graduated HS in '64 so it would have been after that. So.... I know for a fact at least 1 Buck 120 went to Vietnam.
Click to expand...
BZ
 
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This thread reminds me of this photo.

post-1759-1232383779.jpg


post-1759-1232383938.jpg
 
pjsjr said:
Tom, I think it has to be before '67, IIRC 1966 Buck started to put USA on all their knives. I do suffer from CRS so...
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Thanks Preston! The poster on the forum was told 1967, but I trust my fellow Bucknuts more. :)
 
TAH TAH Here's what @bertl said in an earlier post "The USA stamp wasn't added until 1967 when Buck began exporting to Canada." He was talking about the 110, but it applied to all Buck knives. The 119 in your photo is a one liner, which would make it 1966 or earlier.
 
USA is added early 1967. In my mind 1-line Buck rolls into 1967 most likely as BUCK*. We normally associate BUCK* with 1967 but I have seen 2 examples of BUCK* with late '66 paperwork so I assign BUCK* to late '66 early '67. The holster sheath starts about 1964 so I would date the knife in post #13 as '64 to '66. With all things Buck plus/minus always seems to apply. Changes didn't always happen January 1st or on a Monday.
 
^y'all have this information memorized or written down?

thanks for posting all. learning every post on this one.
 
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