Help a Newb ID these Buck knives please

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sarge38624

Joined
Dec 21, 2009
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I just picked up two Buck knives from an old guy in town They are both in almost like new conditions. They are both built on what appears to be the Buck 119 design. The first one is a standard black handled Buck 119 from the tang down, but the blade is different than any Buck knife I have ever seen. It looks just like a regular 119, but the back of the blade, or the unsharpened side, has sawtooth type knotches, and the false edge is sharpened and serrated. The blade doesn't say 119 like my other Buck 119 knives. It says Buck Custom USA on one side of the blade, and 155 on the other. The sheath it is in is a standard 119 sheath.
The second knife is a brass hilt and tang, red glossy wood finish handle, with a standard 119 blade. It just says Buck USA on the blade. The sheath for it is brown leather. Any idea if either of these knives are anything special?? I think the one with the reddish wood handle is probably nothing, but the Buck Custom has me kinda interested. I am sorry if my knife lingo is incorrect. I appreciate any input. I paid $20 for the pair by the way. Thanks again.

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Sarge,

Welcome to the forum, some very knowlegable folks will be along soon to answer. They will greatly appreciate pics of these knives not only for identification but also to admire. I dont know much period but esp about fixed blades. I do know that anything with "custom" on it is worth a site more than $20-I'm sure you've done very well:thumbup:

Fritz
 
The knife with the 155 engraved sounds like the original 639 made in the old Buck Custom Shop. The other 119 is from the 1967-71 time frame. Keep in mind these are just guesses....pics are worth a 1000 words ;)
 
That is the knife exactly. What is the story behind it if you don't mind?? Value?? Thanks in advance.
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Value...more than the $10 you paid :D...a lot more. I'm unsure as to the history, but some kind of relation to a Buckmaster.
 
Thanks for the response. So is this knife a collectible, or is it just another knife?? Any idea on how I could find out more about it?? I really appreciate the help.
 
The one on the left is a 119 with rosewood handle. Worth about $50. The other I don't know about. Both are worth a lot more than the $20 you have in them. Are there any marks after the 119 on the left one? That will date it.
 
edbeau said:
The one on the left is a 119 with rosewood handle. Worth about $50. The other I don't know about. Both are worth a lot more than the $20 you have in them. Are there any marks after the 119 on the left one? That will date it.
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The only marks on the knife are where it says BUCK..below that is a small picture of something like an anvil, and below that is U.S.A.
There are no other marks. It doesn't even say 119 anywhere.
Thank you for all of the help guys. I apologize for my ignorance. I really appreciate any input.
 
Sarge, Welcome . The knife on the right, I agree w/ Scott as it looks like the old 639 . I've seen another model like that made w/ a rubber handle, the model # will come to me later they have 5" blades . The other knife the one on the left looks like one of the upgrades from the custom shop . Cocobola handle ! Someone really liked this model and Scott's correct on the date of its mfg . However, none of the sheaths are correct for the year those knives came out . As those sheaths are around 2001 mfg.. So, someone switched out the originals or they were lost . If you had the box, paperwork and in new condition the one on the left could be worth 100$ . The model on the right I'm
not as knowledgable so I'd rather not venture . DM
 
About three weeks ago, I saw the same model knife as the one on the right sell on a popular web-auction site that starts with an "e". The seller claimed it was a sprint run of model 639 blades mated with model 119 handles that were done up in 1995 or 1996. Apparently, buck had a bunch of extra 639 blades laying around they needed to use up. If I recall correctly, the starting bid was $95, and the winning bid was $98. I was going to bid up to $115 for it , but my wife walked into the room, saw what I was doing, and gave me "the look", so I reconsidered making a bid. Very nice knife score. Congratulations.
 
Sarge,

Now that you've posted pics I can only say Merry Christmas and do like Trax says-run cause that is larceny.
 
If I understand him right, he said the rosewood handle knife was not marked 119 at all, just Buck and the anvil and USA.
 
Odd that the 119 on the left wouldn't be stamped 119 if it's regular production.
 
Hi Sarge,

Wow, fantastic knives for $20. You did very well on that find and thanks for the photo's.
jb4570
 
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