How did the traditional American use the Buck 112?

Foundatown

Foundatown

Joined
Mar 7, 2025
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In the 1970’s, and into the mid-1980’s, how did Americans use their Buck 112 knives? In today’s culture some people are buying this knife as a casual pocket knife, to carry even in the cities. This was a hard use knife once— that’s what people used it for, right? So how was this knife used by the average American guy who bought it?
 
Welcome! And you're in luck, because as a "traditional American" who was around in those ancient times, I can tell you that, in addition to a great knife for hunters & outdoorsmen, the 110 & 112 Bucks were a welcome improvement for an every day work knife that could handle larger & harder jobs than a traditional Barlow or stockman pocket knife, but was more convenient to carry than a fixed blade. We used them in the woods, at work, and for every day carry.

Yeah, pretty much what I still use them for today.:)
 
Welcome to Bladeforums, Foundatown Foundatown .

My great-grandfather was born in 1906. My grandfather’s were born in 1918 and 1927. For the most part, they each owned one or two small slip joint pocketknives, a fixed blade hunting knife and/or large locking folder like a Buck 110 or 112, and a fillet knife. That was it - they worked and farmed to survive. There wasn’t money to spend on collections. And when their excavator and crane business did well and they ended up with money to spare, they continued to wear grease stained navy blue Dickies the rest of their lives and live like they didn’t have two nickels to rub together. And continued to use those same three or four knives.

What did they use those three or four knives for? Anything and everything. Whatever needed cut, scraped, pried, gutted, shaved, or whittled. Tons of walleye, pike, trout, bass, and catfish. Deer, elk, bear, fox, and more. The same knife would slice up Spam for our sandwiches while fishing. Picking splinters, and shaving down callouses. Fingernails. Fuel line repairs. Rope and twine. Cutting up soda cans to use the Aluminum and JB Weld to patch Aluminum boats in the middle of nowhere Canada. Scrape spark plug electrodes clean. Cut cheese and trail baloney. Open mail. Anything and everything.

Tom Brokaw was right. These men truly are The Greatest Generation.

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Culprit99 said:
Welcome to Bladeforums, Foundatown Foundatown .

My great-grandfather was born in 1906. My grandfather’s were born in 1918 and 1927. For the most part, they each owned one or two small slip joint pocketknives, a fixed blade hunting knife and/or large locking folder like a Buck 110 or 112, and a fillet knife. That was it - they worked and farmed to survive. There wasn’t money to spend on collections. And when their excavator and crane business did well and they ended up with money to spare, they continued to wear grease stained navy blue Dickies the rest of their lives and live like they didn’t have two nickels to rub together. And continued to use those same three or four knives.

What did they use those three or four knives for? Anything and everything. Whatever needed cut, scraped, pried, gutted, shaved, or whittled. Tons of walleye, pike, trout, bass, and catfish. Deer, elk, bear, fox, and more. The same knife would slice up Spam for our sandwiches while fishing. Picking splinters, and shaving down callouses. Fingernails. Fuel line repairs. Rope and twine. Cutting up soda cans to use the Aluminum and JB Weld to patch Aluminum boats in the middle of nowhere Canada. Scrape spark plug electrodes clean. Cut cheese and trail baloney. Open mail. Anything and everything.

Tom Brokaw was right. These men truly are The Greatest Generation.

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I had one of those '53 Chevy pickups, only mine said GMC on it.:)
 
The Buck 112 was used and is still used for most anything that comes along - mundane yard tasks, camping, cutting/trimming various building materials, hammering various objects with nails being at the forefront - even as a tool for various vehicles to include jumping starter solenoids. Here's one that was used for just some of those things.

Buck 112 1 .jpg

And here it is after receiving my A-1 super duty spa treatment along with it's trusty sheath. I carry and use it frequently and it's just as useful and capable now as it was when it came out of the Buck shop - takes and holds a sharp edge.

Z Buck 112 7 .jpg
 
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30 years US Navy here. Mostly at sea on destroyers as a hole snipe in the 7th Feet. We always used 110's in the main spaces for cutting packing, scraping flanges, etc. The topside Deck Apes used them a lot, or Case knives with the Marlin Spikes. The 112's came into existence on the carrier USS Ranger after the "race riots" on the carriers in the late 60's early 70's because they had been stabbing each other with the 110's, the 112's being shorter. Probably a XO or CMC thing, actually.
 
This 112 came from a friend of my sans the sheath he carried this in his rear left pocket from when we were probably 18 years old til he gave it to me a couple months ago
he worked in a specialty wood supplier here in ma , he used to say that knife has cut everything in the lumberyard to applying mayo and mustard on his sandwiches - he gave it to me as he
has retired and wanted a fancy 110 that I had -a cherry fingergroove of course - he is that friend that heads right to the knife drawers when he stops by.
112110.jpg
 
howiema said:
This 112 came from a friend of my sans the sheath he carried this in his rear left pocket from when we were probably 18 years old til he gave it to me a couple months ago
he worked in a specialty wood supplier here in ma , he used to say that knife has cut everything in the lumberyard to applying mayo and mustard on his sandwiches - he gave it to me as he
has retired and wanted a fancy 110 that I had -a cherry fingergroove of course - he is that friend that heads right to the knife drawers when he stops by.
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I like friends like that.
 
Foundatown said:
In the 1970’s, and into the mid-1980’s, how did Americans use their Buck 112 knives? In today’s culture some people are buying this knife as a casual pocket knife, to carry even in the cities. This was a hard use knife once— that’s what people used it for, right? So how was this knife used by the average American guy who bought it?
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From old Bucks w/o tips, you can telll they were used as pry bars. Old Bucks with mangled tips were probably used as screwdrivers. Old Bucks worn by bikers (think Hells Angels and the Pagans) had the lock modified so they could be easily flicked open and were carried in an upside down sheath in the back so you could thumb open the sheath and the knife dropped into your hand and could be flicked open. Many were used as hammers, like howiema’s, you can tell from the marks on the bolster.
 
Ironbut said:
Welcome! And you're in luck, because as a "traditional American" who was around in those ancient times, I can tell you that, in addition to a great knife for hunters & outdoorsmen, the 110 & 112 Bucks were a welcome improvement for an every day work knife that could handle larger & harder jobs than a traditional Barlow or stockman pocket knife, but was more convenient to carry than a fixed blade. We used them in the woods, at work, and for every day carry.
Yeah, pretty much what I still use them for today.:)
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Interesting responses, all. I've been following this thread thinking that the OP will reply to the welcomes and nothing, just crickets.😞

Another forum that I frequent is plagued with AI and bots, Usually it's the one and done, like I'm thinking we have here.
 
pjsjr said:
Interesting responses, all. I've been following this thread thinking that the OP will reply to the welcomes and nothing, just crickets.😞

Another forum that I frequent is plagued with AI and bots, Usually it's the one and done, like I'm thinking we have here.
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Yeah. Joined Friday at three minutes to midnight. Made one post ten minutes later, and hasn't been heard from since. Maybe the welcome from the first "traditional American" sounded a little snarky & scared him away.
 
I would say the 112 was bought and used by a lot of folks who didn't know about the 110. ...lol. Back in the 70's and 80's lots of places you could not have a blade over 3"
 
Culprit99 said:
Welcome to Bladeforums, Foundatown Foundatown .

My great-grandfather was born in 1906. My grandfather’s were born in 1918 and 1927. For the most part, they each owned one or two small slip joint pocketknives, a fixed blade hunting knife and/or large locking folder like a Buck 110 or 112, and a fillet knife. That was it - they worked and farmed to survive. There wasn’t money to spend on collections. And when their excavator and crane business did well and they ended up with money to spare, they continued to wear grease stained navy blue Dickies the rest of their lives and live like they didn’t have two nickels to rub together. And continued to use those same three or four knives.

What did they use those three or four knives for? Anything and everything. Whatever needed cut, scraped, pried, gutted, shaved, or whittled. Tons of walleye, pike, trout, bass, and catfish. Deer, elk, bear, fox, and more. The same knife would slice up Spam for our sandwiches while fishing. Picking splinters, and shaving down callouses. Fingernails. Fuel line repairs. Rope and twine. Cutting up soda cans to use the Aluminum and JB Weld to patch Aluminum boats in the middle of nowhere Canada. Scrape spark plug electrodes clean. Cut cheese and trail baloney. Open mail. Anything and everything.

Tom Brokaw was right. These men truly are The Greatest Generation.

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Man, what fantastic pictures, each a little window into a life, an Americana, that some of us KIIIIIIINDA remember, but most today will never know. Thanks for sharing.
 
Quiet said:
Man, what fantastic pictures, each a little window into a life, an Americana, that some of us KIIIIIIINDA remember, but most today will never know. Thanks for sharing.
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My Mom told me a long time ago, "When an old person dies, it's like a library burned down. All that information is lost." She told me that way before there were computers or the internet. Back when people actually had to know stuff. Today, everybody walks around with all the information in the world available to them on the smart phone, that they're never without, yet I've never seen so many stupid people in my life.
 
Ironbut said:
My Mom told me a long time ago, "When an old person dies, it's like a library burned down. All that information is lost." She told me that way before there were computers or the internet. Back when people actually had to know stuff. Today, everybody walks around with all the information in the world available to them on the smart phone, that they're never without, yet I've never seen so many stupid people in my life.
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Your dear Mother sounds like a smart cookie, that's a really good quote. I'm going to have to keep that in the memory banks!
 
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