Original configuration of the Buck 110?

sph3ric pyramid

sph3ric pyramid

Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
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Can someone fill me in on this? I'm doing a paper on the evolution of the locking production folder since the introduction of the 110 on the market (as it's pretty much regarded as a classic).
 
Im not sure how much help this will be. I have an old copy of "The Gun Digest Book Of Knives". Im not sure of the copyright date since I was never very good at Roman Numerals, but I assume sometime in the early to mid 70s considering the clothes these people are wearing in the photos :)

Anyways, there is a good article on Buck Knives in it. It discusses and has some photos of the 110. The appearence is pretty much what you see today, but the handle material and bolsters appear to have sharp edges and are not smoothed and rounded like they are today. The article also states that Buck uses a modified 440c from Universal-Cyclops mill in Pittsburg.

Not much, but maybe something to get you started until somebody from Buck can chime in.
 
Thanks for the reply.

I read a few posts where a few steels which were used in the Buck 110 were mentioned: 440C, 425M, and the current 420HC.

Is there another classic besides the 110 that's a locking folder? I could always use a slipjoint as a benchmark, but I don't think that would be very relevant, considering the majority of my paper's going to be about current locking production folders. What about the ring-type locking mech. on the Opinels?

Maybe I'll post a new thread on the general forum.
 
The Buck 110 is the ONLY classic lockback, any other wishes they were as successful as the 110.
 
You'd probably have the best luck contacting the Buck Collectors Club for that info, I'm sure someone there could help.
 
You may have received no response because of confusion over "original configuration". Do you mean to ask about the basic construction characteristics? If so, the first 110 was thinner (nominal 1/2 inch) than the current model. The steel rear spacer, between the two cast brass frame halves, also served as an integral spring which held the locking-bar in the locked position until actuated. The blade steel was 440C. Also, the ebony handle inlays were held in place with 2 1/16 inch pins and may have also been glued. The locking rocker bar pivoted on a brass rivet and the blade was stamped BUCK in a horizontal position along the spine of the blade. It seems the the very earliest models were stamped on the mark side and later on the pile side. The nail nick was a thin struck mark, rather than being deeply machined into the blade.
This first 110 was probably made in 1963 and various changes were made at fairly short intervals during the first two or three years. For more information, see Levine's Guide to Knives, edition 5.
 
I am not sure that Buck was first who made a lock on a blade. French knives not Opinel but Laguile has lock and they producing it for about 200 years. However, they may introduced it after Buck. Also it was italian picklock knives - pretty old too.
Thanks, Vassili.
 
howdy,
there were other locking blade designes dateing from the 1880's on also there were locking blade knives both us and overseas being produced in the 20's and 30's that were simlure to what buck used in the 110. also ... the 112 knife was issued as the us navy has some issues with trhe 110 being long at times esp in san d. so Al Buck had the 112 design as a shorter blade so as to not have issues with Navy carry regulations.
the buck locking design was an intregration of the best features of 3 other designs. i have heard informtion that the 110 was NOT patented and information that it WAS both from creadable sorces so i dont know what to belive.. i have read tow articals that it never was as AL "did not think it was such difrent idea" which is how it ended up being the most copyed knife... side note -additionaly there were other knife makers that actuley used images of the 110 in advertiseing tell they got theirs made. few of buck's knives cary 'pat.' or coppyright marks.
 
On recent 1/2 hour History Channel show recently they went to the Buck factory and they showed the production of a couple of different knives. the knife they spent the most time on was the Buck 110. They went through the entire manufacturing and finishing process from start to finish.

One interesting thing that they said was that to date Buck has made approximately 16 Million Buck 110 knives.
 
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