Markings on Buckmaster

J

jgbeasley

Joined
Jun 17, 2001
Messages
1
First, thank you, Joe, for the photocopies of the Buck information. I have a Buckmaster with this on the blade:

BUCK
184<
U.S.A.
PAT PEND

Is there anything significant about the "<" on it? Someone at a knife show tried to tell me it was a prototype for the Seals. Any help? Thanks again, and I hope you can help me out here, too.

Gardner Beasley
 
It means your knife was made in 1986. Check the Buck website under Frequently Asked Questions for a complete listing of year marks.
 
Gardner,
Glad i could help. Ford is correct in stating that the < is the date code for 1986. Your knife is a fairly early one.
The realtionship the knife has with the Seals is that it was designed with their input. It was not an official Seal knife although i have heard of individual Seal team members buying and using the knife.

Hope this helps,


------------------
Joe Houser
Director of Consumer relations Buck Knives Inc.
Buck Collectors club Administrator and member #123
 
sorry just joined up and really could use a simple answer as to worth. I am 32 My Godfather gave me my first knife around the age of six or seven. It was a Buckmaster I still have it in mint condition and the blade reads:
BUCK
184<.
U.S.A.
PAT. PEND.
In my reasearch i have learned that this is not a military issue but it is rather rare and unique. I have always known this even before I was 10 I realized how nice this blade truly was I could Just feel it even though It wieghed more than anything else i ever carried into the woods it was always with me but i never used it but about twice and its in excellent if not mint condition. I do not have the box or paper work nor the compass that it came with but the sheath, the stone, the knife is still a jaw dropper. I have moved on to more practical metal shards these days but I need a fair market value for this knife so I can either insure it or sell it. So please if you can tell me exactly what I have and what its worth I would greatly appreciate it. Furthermore, what should i do in terms of whom and how to sell it if thats what I decide. I dont want to part with it but 27 years or more i have owned the baddest knife I have ever had the honor to hold but times are tough and i might just sell it. Only if I can get a couple concrete estimates of value given the markings and my humble knowledge that it is not some cheap copy it is far to well built! Thanks
Sincerely,
Tripp
Trippiam@hotmail.com
 
BUCK
184<.
U.S.A.
PAT. PEND.

on one side nothing on the other I just need to know how much it is worth and how rare it is and if I should sell it or not and if so how and to whom.
Thanks
sincerely
Tripp
Trippiam@hotmail.com
 
trippiam said:
BUCK
184<.
U.S.A.
PAT. PEND.

on one side nothing on the other I just need to know how much it is worth and how rare it is and if I should sell it or not and if so how and to whom.
Thanks
sincerely
Tripp
Trippiam@hotmail.com
Click to expand...

The best place to find out what your knife is selling for is one of the auction sites like (e bay). Find out what they finished the auction at, or sold price. Value in this place is a funny thing. Someone can tell you your knife is valued at or worth several hundreds of dollors. When you go to sell it, you may only get $150 or 200. Worth is what the person who wants your knife is willing to pay, Sometime alot, sometimes very little. Personally, I have seen the 184 go for any where from 150 to 300 some time a little more. We are in bad times right now. Meaning if you sell it, you may not get what you want for it. You may want to hold on to it.
 
Trip, welcome . Your knife is a standard production 184 mfg. in 1986 . That model came out in 1985 . DM
 
The whole reason this knife was made for the general public was an order for 2500 of these knifes for the SEAL's were delayed with RED Tape. Days became weeks, weeks became months etc. CJ Buck approached Bucks board of directors and they finally gave the A-Okay after alot of work to convince them on CJ's part. THANK's CJ !!!..
Buck Knives sold 57000 BuckMasters in 1985. The rest is History.. Now the SEAL's did get there order of 2500 and they were production model's with probally the 1986 stamping with delivery in late 1986 or early 1987..


I was going to hold off on posting as I have this and much more detailed info in my almost finished BuckMaster book however I am chomping at the bit. I also know for a fact that in 1987 or 1988 25 BuckMasters were made in the Buck custom shop..ALL unmarked and made completly out of a titanium alloy to be disscused further at a future date :D

PS
Also look at my avatar picture. THESE are BuckMaster prototypes made for SEAL Team 6
 
David Martin said:
Trip, welcome . Your knife is a standard production 184 mfg. in 1986 . That model came out in 1985 . DM
Click to expand...

David not to correct you BuckMaster was first in the 1985 BUCK Knives catalog however was first delivered Nov 1984...
 
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Seems to be a lot of various information about the 184. A few years ago, I bought one that the 3 line tang stamp just says B U C K, 184, U. S. A.

When I inquired about it some years ago, I was told it was an early one which I feel is correct, but it has both the compass in the pommel, AND the one in the single textile pouch by Silva as well. In some of the documentation I read, it was stated that the Silva compasses were in the "later" models?

It was bought at a show on the secondary market, so it is anyone's guess as to what may have been added.

They are COOL knives though, and I take it out to admire it from time to time!

Peter
 
Silva "type 12" compass replaced the compass in the pommel for sure. Matter of fact it's one of the very first changes to the BuckMaster production models, but not the first change to the production model 184.
Did someone add the silva " type 12" compass later to your BuckMaster set? MAYBE
OR
Did your's get shipped with both? MAYBE..
Who knows as BUCK Knives were building and shipping these model 184 's as fast as they could.

For sure Yours is one the the 10K plus first production variation's made...

Joe and I worked together for many months and we want to dispell the 2600 only rumor of the first variation BuckMaster marked BUCK,184,U.S.A.
hope this helps
 
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rich XDguys said:
For sure Yours is one the the 10K plus first production variation's made...

Joe and I worked together for many months and we want to dispell the 2600 only rumor of the first variation BuckMaster marked BUCK,184,U.S.A.
hope this helps
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information Rich.

Would any happen to know if the first variations came with one or two of the accessory pouches? I only have one, but it appears to contain all of the survival items that came with it in a little plastic mesh band.

Peter
 
To answer your question Peter.
The origonal BuckMaster's could be shipped with one small pouch only, or one large pouch only or both one small pouch and one large pouch or no pouches at all...
Since the pouches were optional, it was up to the BUCK Dealers how and what configuration to order the model 184.

With that said the very first small and large pouches that were shipped with the First production BuckMasters all had a button's on them with the velcro also.
Very much like the pouches you see with the M9 bayonet but black of course.
 
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