DeSotoSky
Gold Member
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2011
- Messages
- 6,647
Hello and welcome to the Sunday Picture Show. Share your Buck knives with others by posting pictures of them here. New or old, plain or custom, user or safe queen, one or a collection, we love to see them all. This weekly tradition was started in 2010 by ItsTooEarly (Armand Hernandez) and Oregon (Steve Dunn). Help keep the tradition alive. Feel free to click that 'LIKE' but lets not let it replace discussing and complimenting each others knives. DeSotoSky (Roger Yost)
On this date, January 21st, 1954. , the USS Nautilus is launched.
Sharing the same name as the submarine in Jules Verne's 1870 novel, Nautilus was the worlds first nuclear submarine. This instantly changed the nature of Naval warfare making it the most influential submarine ever. Side note, the first nuclear powered surface ship was the Russian icebreaker Lenin (1959-1989). This was the second submarine in our Navy to be named Nautilus (1930-1945), there was also a 12-gun schooner (1799–1812), and a 76-foot coast survey schooner (1838–1859). Nuclear power was a game changer, powerful enough to reach speeds up to 30 knots, as fast as many surface warships, and able to stay submerged for up to 6 months. A key strategic advantage of nuclear submarines is their ability to survive a first-strike attack. Their capacity to remain undetected while submerged serves as a powerful deterrent, discouraging the outbreak of hostilities in the first place. Currently, the U.S. has 83 nuclear-powered ships: 72 submarines, 10 aircraft carriers and one research vessel. More than any other nation. Of historical note the Nautilus was the first submarine to cross the North Pole underwater. To learn more about the Nautilus here is the Wiki link.
In keeping with the trend this month, my show opening knife for January 21st is the model 121 Fisherman. Introduced alongside the model 110 in 1964 it has been in the product line continuously thru 2000. There was a 121 in the Klink...(sp?) series about 2005 and one in the 2013 Boone & Crockett collection. The scaler was discontinued shortly after the change to 2-lines. The 2-line fiber spacer 121 can be found both with and without the scaler. The 2-line with the scaler is rare. The scaler notches created a weak point in the thin blades and were prone to breaking. In all my years of collecting I've never seen a 121 with a broken blade. Matt Jannusch (MIA) once posted that sometimes the blade cracked when stamped with the horizontal 'BUCK' and the stamp was soon moved to the tang. The 121 Fisherman was never constructed as a barrel nut, 1964 introduction being after that era and additionally, the blades were too thin for that method. The introduction of the more conventional Kraton handled 123, 125, and 127 fillet knives in 83/84 may have led to the redesign of the 121 as a more general purpose camp knife called the Guide shown first in the 1985 catalog.
My knife shown below with the horizontal RH stamp would be the earliest version. Mine came with a holster sheath but there are also double keeper strap sheaths. I do not know if the sheath is a replacement or an optional original. Holster sheaths were introduced about same time period, 63/64.
121 with double keeper strap sheath. It is the only Buck sheath I can think of with that style.
121 2-line w/scaler, a tough find
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