Spacers and snaps history needed

TAH

TAH

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
6,135
I am the original owner of a Buck 105 from the mid 70's. When did Buck stopped using two of the red/brown spacers at each end of the handle and why? Also, the sheath snap says BUCK across it. When was it changed? And finally, why did Buck change the design of the sheath? Personally, I like the looks of the double spacers and "flap" sheath better than the changes. Many thanks for your reply.
 
Joe will have to nail down the general timeline for you but let me assure you that the changes were improvements or necessary expedients. Originally the spacers were leather but went to micarta in the early sixties. There are exceptions all along the line. Whenever a component was not supplied on time Buck used something else. I remember once when we were out of the BUCK snaps and substituted plain ones, another time we used the brass snaps for Kalinga sheaths on regular black sheaths until more of the silver ones got in.

I agree with your assesment on the sheath style but not everyone liked the flap style and they did take a lot more leather. The hides have a lot of scars and creases in them and that always looks bad on the flap so the change was very cost efficient due to less waste. In about 1966 or so, I was in the "Merit" plant where we made sheaths and they were trying to cut small and large sheaths from the same hide to work around the problem areas in the leather - very inefficient.

The steel would have been 440C as I recall, the 425M came in the later 1970's

Vern Taylor - founder of the Buck Collectors Club
 
Thanks for your reply, Vern. I would still like to know when they went from 4 spacers to 2 spacers. Also, why did they stop using 440C? Isn't 440C a superior steel to 420HC or 425M? According to the charts 440C is approximately 1.0% carbon content as opposed to 0.5% in the other two. I always associate 440C with fine custom knives so I was impressed to hear that Buck used it at one time.
 
TAH,
Boy, I can tell you when we used leather, bone hard fiber, and red micarta, and i can even tell you why we switched fropm one to another. Unfortunately, I have not yet found out when we switched reduced the number of spacers in the handle. I know we did it in an attempt to keep the cost of the knife down. Those spacers are only there for looks. I will have to ask some of the old timers and do some research to see if I can nail that one down.
A short cut would be for you to tell me all about your knife and it's sheath. With that info, I should be able to date the knife for you.
Hope this helps,
 
Hi Joe,

Thanks for your reply. I actually have a pretty good idea when my knife was made. Somewhere around '74 to '75. My grandfather bought it for me when I was 13 or 14 years old. In the '80s and '90s, I started collecting high-end handmade knives, but somehow my Pathfinder is still one of my favorites. Perhaps for sentimental reasons as well. It is the only fixed blade production knife that I own. Because of its size and weight, it has been my backpacking knife for 20 years. Through this forum, I was elated to discover that Buck used 440C in the '70s. No wonder I have been so happy with this knife for 27 years. The spacer question was just out of curiousity. I like the looks of four spacers better than two. If you happen to find out, I would be interested in the answer. Many thanks for such a fine product and for taking the time to reply.

Tom
 
Joe,

I do have one other knife that is older than my Pathfinder. My grandfather bought this one for me as well. Here's a description: On one side of the main clip blade, it reads, BUCK MADE IN U.S.A. On the other side of that blade, it reads, 309 It has a long, straight finger nail groove and one brass pin in the handle. The spring has discolored over the years leading me to believe it is not stainless. The hammer, knife, and bolt shield is very detailed compared to today's shield. That's about it. Any idea on what year and would these blades be 440C also? Thanks again, Tom
 
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