Purpose of the Buck Nighthawk?

Note the various Bucks that were evaluated by the West Coast US Navy SEALs from August 1991 till April 1992.
http://mdk.idv.tw/c_ataktest.htm
If I am not mistaken, the Buck ST's were various prototypes of Nighthawks.
There was an article written some time back in the mid 1990's (??) on these Buck Nighthawks in the National Knife Collectors Magazine.

So in answer to your question, I am guessing that it most probably was.
As written in the said article above, these were military only Nighthawks.
Later, these was then developed into a commercial product
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/outdoors/2001/6/buck_knives/index5.phtml

Joe Houser: Am I right, or am I right??!


Krizzard, out

"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
 
I believe the Nighthawk was Buck's entry into a competition to find a good general purpose fixed blade for the military. I've been told that it was for the Seals, but everybody and their brother wants you to think they are the "official" something of the Seals so it is a good idea to treat these claims with skepticism.
 
Well, if you read how most of those claims are worded, they will say "designed for the US Navy SEALS!" Now, that in and of itself may be true... It may have well been designed for the SEALS - who might also have rejected it forthwith in their evaluations.

So technically, something could have been designed for the SEALS, but never have been adopted or actually used by them. Conveniently misleading eh ;)

~Z~
 
Krizzard,
Sounds like you are right! We were developing the NH for the Seals. There were other knife companies interested in the same contract and we got beat out. If I remember right, it was on price, not quality or function. (Al least that is the way i want to remember it :) )
We still went into production on it for the commercial market and it was pretty sucessful. We eventually thinned out the edge some because most folks did not want the very thick edge. That edge was a specific requirement of the Seals as I remember it.
Hope this helps.
 
Buck has completed some special projects with elements of NSW. There was a version of the Intrepid that we did for one of the Coronado teams. Most NSW guys have a lot of leeway in what gear they carry and a knife can be a personal thing to a warrior. Many will shell out the big bucks for a custom blade.
 
Thank you Joe!!! :-) :-) :-)
It's stated here in the AG Russell webpage http://www.agrussell.com/buck/bu650odg.html

What of the Buck Nighthawk Tanto? Was it strictly a commercial product or did it have input from the military?
http://www.armysurplusforless.com/largeView.cfm?prodID=267
And lastly, was the Buckmaster Light supplied to the military through official channels?
http://www.militaryknives.org/avy-1.html


J.R.: Yes, the Intrepid.
http://www.militaryknives.org/buck1a-1.html
http://www.militaryknives.org/inter-1.html

Read 'SEALs try Buck' (either link would do)
http://www.oregonknifeclub.org/frank3.html
http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/knife_knotes_3.htm
Though I rather you try the first, a more interesting page ;-)





Krizzard, out

"...Whoever kills with the sword must be killed by the sword... "
- The New Testament, Revelation 13:10
 
Hi all,
I'm Dave and I'm new to this forum. I just picked up a Nighthawk with the tanto blade to replace my Ka-bar. I really like the thick blade (.25)! My Ka-bar takes a lot of abuse prying, hacking, cutting hammering but I have come close to breaking it a few times prying open Ammo boxes. I like the Nighthawk for the rugged blade but the sheath doesnt mount to my LBE so I'll probably use my Ka-bar sheath.
Overall it seems to be a great knife and not to pricey to replace if lost.
DaveM
 
I carried one for a while and I didn't like the sheath either. I purchased an eagle sheath ($30) and it worked perfect. Its a great field sheath.

Note on sheaths,

I am currently in the process of developing some new sheaths for our Tactical fixed blades. I will post some pics when we decide which one.
 
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