Fixed Knife Question

Mike Kerins

Mike Kerins

Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
2,386
From 1961 through I believe 1965, Buck's fixed blade knives were forged. Starting in 1966 they were stamped. Can anyone give me information as to how to tell the difference? Starting in 1967 the knives had USA stamped on the blade so it was easy to tell from that point on, but before that how?
 
Mike,
I believe it went something like this and if I am wrong someone will correct me.

'46-'61 *BUCK*( 1948 to early 50s had model # on pile side of knife)
'61-'67 BUCK
'67-'71 BUCK, over U.S.A
'71-'86 BUCK, over model #, over U.S.A
'86 to present is w/ model # followed by date code.

Hope I am right, hope this helps
 
It dropped my lengthy post and I can't rewrite it now.
MJB, no and I don't think thats what he's looking for. DM
 
Actually there was one left out of the above listings. The BUCK* which appeared for some (unknown duration) period of time in 1967. I agree that Mr. Kerins is more interested in knowning how to tell the difference in the 1961-65 forged blades from the later 1966+ stamped blades. So am I.

Telechronos:):):)
 
Mike, good to see you visiting as I have been missing you. Nothing like asking a hard question on your return. I'm use to more easy ones. ;) The short answer is there is no way of knowing. Yet, I'll offer an alternative that has some weight. Which is the Buck asterisk (Buck*). First, Buck has a precedence for using this stamp to note some item of change about the knife which is not always apparent. This stamp was first used in late 1966 or early 1967 to note something. I've seen it on the 120, 103, 102 and 110 and those knives were from this time frame as the original owners verified. I submit it was the move from blade forging to fine blanking as there is no other stamp used at ABOUT that time to indicat this. I ran this by Joe H. and he gave it a maybe. Still, there are many other times the asterisk stamp was used and we don't know why. So, with this no one can give it a no with certainty either. There is some fitting in the time frame that would give it weight. Some items of this nature takes years of collecting, scraps of evidence to figure out and I have been calling and e-mailing persons of knowledge with long time collecting experience on this one. Hoping they could give me a piece to this puzzle. DM
 
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David,
Glad to see you as well. Thanks for your insight. What you're saying makes sense. I've attempted to find differences in the current stamped knives and older ones to try to find parts of the knife that were not as uniform as the newer ones. One observation is a difference in the knife at the hilt where it transitions to the knife edge; On older knives it is short. In newer knives it is distinct and uniform. Also at the hilt where the blade begins, the line is more rounded on older knives rather then a distinct 90 degrees. If one were to place two side by side it may be easier to see these differences.

Since I began working out of town time available to get on here has been limited. I read a lot of the posts but rarely have time to do any serious posting. I miss it. It's good to see some familiar names still here.
Mike
 
Here are photos from two fixed knives. The first is from the 1961 -1965 time frame. Notice the short area between the hilt and the start of the sharpened edge.
Buck120FlatTangOneLiner.jpg

This next knife is a two liner from some time after 1967. Notice the longer, more distinct area between the hilt and the start of the sharpened edge. I'm wondering if this could be a way of determining the difference.
Jul2008Stag120.jpg
 
Mike, Thanks. Your thought of the choil and transition to the blade being more rounded, I think is valid. The early knives requiring much more hand work in that area and during this working could become over worked! Thus, some rounding could occur. Good insight and study effort put forth toward this finding. Wish you the best in your new job. You have a nice stag handled 120. Thanks, DM
 
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Mike, I had asked Joe that question several years ago. The forged steel blades on the 100 series were forgings from a place in Los Angeles, and there were fewer than 10 models available at that time. Joe thought Buck had switched to 440C blanks in about 1967. He also mentioned that he didn't know if the 110 had followed that mentioned time line, because there is so little documention. BTW, nice knives in the photos, the oldies grab my attention!
 
Thanks, Scott, for your input on this subject. I'm liking the asterisk Bucks even better now! Using Scott and Joe's number of '10' that would include the: 102, 103, 105, 106, 110, 116, 118, 119, 120 and 121. So, all of Bucks offerings for 1966-67 time frame. I'm thinking another piece or two of the puzzle fits here. Still, models with this stamp would have been stamped in this manner for a very short time. Perhaps, Less than a year. DM
 
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Scott Hartman said:
Mike, I had asked Joe that question several years ago. The forged steel blades on the 100 series were forgings from a place in Los Angeles, and there were fewer than 10 models available at that time. Joe thought Buck had switched to 440C blanks in about 1967. He also mentioned that he didn't know if the 110 had followed that mentioned time line, because there is so little documention. BTW, nice knives in the photos, the oldies grab my attention!
Click to expand...

Thanks Scott.
 
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