History of the M124 Frontiersman?

BG42EDGE said:
Thanks EEE (I forgot that you were the 122/124 expert).

Yes, that was exactly what I was getting at......apparently there was a change early on from hidden tang in the Nemo to full tang in the 124.

I don't know much about these, but I noticed the picture on page 56 of the Buck Book and realized that RickJ's question #5.....



Was a little more complicated than some might think at first.

Thanks for clearing it up.......I wonder how many hidden tang models were made before it went to full tang?
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Again the 124 and NEMO are the same knife .
 
Not to get off the 124 questions and discussion here, I would like to have a New Nemo with hidden tang and a cool dive sheath, so I agree with BG42EDGE on a M122LE. I would like to see it with the hidden tang just to make it look a little different from the 124. You opened up a can of worms but I have been thinking about it after seeing the great nemo pics posted by one of the members here.
 
The 124 and the Nemo are the same knife, sort of.......but it seems that some have full tangs and some have hidden tangs.

That's a significant difference and should be of some importance to collectors.
 
BG42EDGE said:
The 124 and the Nemo are the same knife, sort of.......but it seems that some have full tangs and some have hidden tangs.

That's a significant difference and should be of some importance to collectors.
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Not sort of ..... exactally
 
I know this may sound crazy but I like the hidden tang on the Nemo and full tang on the Frontiersman.
 
RickJ said:
Not to get off the 124 questions and discussion here, I would like to have a New Nemo with hidden tang and a cool dive sheath, so I agree with BG42EDGE on a M122LE. I would like to see it with the hidden tang just to make it look a little different from the 124. You opened up a can of worms but I have been thinking about it after seeing the great nemo pics posted by one of the members here.
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The phenolic handle 124 is in my opinion the best proportioned fixed blade knife ever made.
 
My 2 cents worth and it's probably not even worth that. Re: question #3, Why do you assume that it was brought out to compete with some other knife? Couldn't it just be that Buck decided to design and build something new on their own?

It appears from all the info I've found on the Buck site and other sources that through out it's design evolution (hidden tang or full tang) the two were identical until 1973 when the Nemo was reintroduced and was then stamped 122. One didn't have a hidden tang and the other a full tang.

A question of my own now. About the early models with the wrap around handles, what was the tang like? Was it like the tang on the 119 or a "full tang" that was just covered on the top and bottom by the phenolic?
 
RickJ said:
I know this may sound crazy but I like the hidden tang on the Nemo and full tang on the Frontiersman.
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BG42 is confusing you and others maybe too much Navy Jam...the sheaths are the only differece in the knives
NEMO and FRONTIERSMAN are the same knife 1967 -1969
NEMO and FROINTERTSMAN are the same knife 1970-1973
 
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Plumberdv said:
My 2 cents worth and it's probably not even worth that. Re: question #3, Why do you assume that it was brought out to compete with some other knife? Couldn't it just be that Buck decided to design and build something new on their own?

It appears from all the info I've found on the Buck site and other sources that through out it's design evolution (hidden tang or full tang) the two were identical until 1973 when the Nemo was reintroduced and was then stamped 122. One didn't have a hidden tang and the other a full tang.

A question of my own now. About the early models with the wrap around handles, what was the tang like? Was it like the tang on the 119 or a "full tang" that was just covered on the top and bottom by the phenolic?
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I would say correct as the tang goes all the way into the pommel,some say hidden tang as it is not exposed and the
handle wraps the tang.

The NEMO was brought out as a dive knife costing 3 times as much as other dive knives in 1967 so in a class all of
it's own.
 
BG42EDGE,

I guess I should have asked question 3 differently, but I was thinking more of the 124 use, when I asked these questions I forgot the 124 was an off shoot of the 122 if that is a correct way to put it.
 
Thanks Ron. So, is the "tang" on the wrap around handle models narrower than those on the full tang models?
 
the 124 and NEMO are the same knife.
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Well, I suppose they ARE the same knife--it's just that they have a different handle.

:D

I guess if you want to call them the same knife you're welcome to do it.

However......if you were SELLING them, most people would choose a full tang over a hidden tang simply because the full tang is a better design and would be stronger.

So selling them as the "same knife" would be something less than square dealing.

;)
 
RickJ said:
BG42EDGE,

I guess I should have asked question 3 differently, but I was thinking more of the 124 use, when I asked these questions I forgot the 124 was an off shoot of the 122 if that is a correct way to put it.
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I think it's quite correct. The 124 continued as a large, bear-killing type of hunting/camping knife after the Nemo failed as a dive knife. I'd call that an off shoot.

Others may differ.

:)
 
BG42EDGE said:
Well, I suppose they ARE the same knife--it's just that they have a different handle.

:D

I guess if you want to call them the same knife you're welcome to do it.

However......if you were SELLING them, most people would choose a full tang over a hidden tang simply because the full tang is a better design and would be stronger.

So selling them as the "same knife" would be something less than square dealing.

;)
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1969 BUCK Knives add
NEMO ADDS 002.jpgNEMO ADDS 003.jpgNEMO ADDS 004.jpg
 
You're missing the point BG. At every point in their production prior to adding the model numbers on them, they were identical. When they had the wrap around handle and hidden tang they were the same and the same for the full tang. If you find one with the wrap around handle it could be either a 122 or 124 and the same goes for the later models.
 
RickJ said:
BG42EDGE,

I guess I should have asked question 3 differently, but I was thinking more of the 124 use, when I asked these questions I forgot the 124 was an off shoot of the 122 if that is a correct way to put it.
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I don't see it as being an offshoot as they were both introduced at the same time.
 
Plumberdv said:
I think BG just likes to put his own "spin" on things.
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You'd be wrong.

From page 55 "The Story of Buck Knives."

The knife (Nemo) worked great, but had one fatal flaw: it rusted in salt water. It was discontinued almost immediately, and today it's highly sought after by collectors.
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