Every Bowie I have every seen has an exaggerated blade to handle ratio. I don't feel the 124 fits the bill for that reason. just my opinion
To me it doesn't look like a clip point. It has about all the elements I look for in a large knife, blade shape, lanyard hole, micarta handles, right steel, ect.. Just thin the hollow grind and you'll enjoy it. DM
The Buck "Frontiersman" was a version of the "Nemo" dive knife and was released at about the same time. I remember the knives being advertised in "Skin Diver" magazine in the sixties. As for a Bowie my idea was pretty much based on the "Iron Mistress" in the old B&W movie with Alan Ladd and the knives subsequently reused for the later Jim Bowie TV series. At the time I got my Dad to make a knife based on my sketches on watching the TV show, no video recorders in those days so it had to be done from memory and watching more of the TV episodes. The resultant knife is now over 50 years old and was built to be super strong with a screw-on long cylinder nut retaining the bronze handle butt and bronze cross guard specially cast at a local foundry and hand finished by myself with files and post shaping on a buffing wheel. Originally it had a gleaming mirror finish blade and the bronze fittings all shone like gold, but over time the bronze etched with sweat from my hands and the leather washer handle was smoothed down with wear. A great blade to swing and chop with. The tang under the leather handle is quite thick and the leather washers barely cover it, so it is not a skinny tang like you see on some blades of the type. The blade is 2" wide and about .22" thick as surface grinding took it down from the original bar stock of 0.25". The steel runs from end to end at that thickness until it is threaded for the cylinder nut, an idea that I picked up from a smaller stag handled Bowie with aluminium bronze fittings.
Popgun, you are resurrecting dead threads today........but they're interesting threads. That's a great knife your dad made. I'd say a Bowie is not a Bowie without the clip point. Thus the 124 does not qualify and the 120 does........the 119 is maybe a baby Bowie.......as is the 102 and the 110 is a folding baby Bowie. But......it's all a matter of opinion.
I know the thread is old, but I was looking for a dive knife thread and found very few here, in fact they seemed to involve the Buck "Nemo". As I am a diver I remember the "Nemo" well, it was a high quality knife, but lacked features that divers like on dive knives such as hammer butts, line cutters and long serrated blades. The “Nemo” stainless steel blade held a reasonable edge, but Buck themselves said that it needed more attention than many stainless steel dive knife blades in keeping corrosion at bay. That was worth considering as many contemporary blades were soon blunted, so the “Nemo” was valued for its edge, but it was an expensive dive knife in its day.
Not really. The Frontiersman came first. A short time later Buck paired the knife with a plastic sheath and called this pair Nemo. This recapitulation is based on Buck informations. Haebbie
I am only going by what Dick Anderson wrote in his article on the "Nemo" after he visited the Buck plant in the sixties to do a story on the knife for “Skin Diver” magazine and referenced by me in the Buck Nemo 122? thread. Dick never said which knife came first and for that matter neither did I, however given the “Nemo” is not really styled like a dive knife it would have to be the “Frontiersmen” that came first. The only reason the "Nemo" knife was of interest was that it was a quality knife amongst dive knives of only fair quality, many being designed as pry bars and fish scalers with an emphasis on corrosion resistance rather than holding an edge. I started diving in the sixties, so I lived though that era and saw those knives come and go.
In my mind's eye, I can easily imagine Mike Nelson and James Bond (in Thunderball) using a Buck Nemo or Randall Model 16. And if they didn't, they should have.
I always wanted one of the screw into the brass sheath dive knives, but never pulled the trigger on one. I have a Randall 16 special fighter and a 124. Both are great knives. But can’t quite see myself trying to swim with either strapped to my leg. Lol!
DESCO still sell the commercial Hard Hat Diver's belt knives. https://www.divedesco.com/P/133/USNavyDiversKnife
Thanks PETE. I just came back to add that exact picture to my post. No Navy knife collection is complete without that one. I think KaBar made one too.
Being able to swim properly is not the point. Just think how cool you would look. Life is short. The next time you're at the swimming pool, be proud and strap one of those to your leg.
There are knife sheaths that strap to your calf and surprisingly they are not too bad to swim with, especially when you are kitted up in a full length wetsuit. Many divers have their knives on a weight belt or a separate waist belt or strapped to their thigh. The problem with thigh straps is that if the sheath moves around and you overtighten the straps it can affect circulation in your leg. People have different shape legs, so one guy may be OK whereas another will have problems. Knives can also be strapped to the arm and many divers carry two knives as you never know when you may need to cut yourself free of line or weed just as you drop or cannot reach your main knife. Knives are mainly carried during a dive for cutting entanglements and doing in fish with a coup de gras.
