Vintage Buck 119 info?

All I can add is that those old 119's are things of beauties.:thumbup:
 
It seems to me I might need to level the 'observable' playing field here. My photo at least could be misjudged. Here are two close-ups that might help everyone understand my 119 at least. Odd tang and all. 300

Please notice an consider the TWO fiber spacers in front of scales.


Please notice and consider the TWO fiber spacers in the rear of the scales.If need be I can punch up photo to very clearly show the spacer touching the rear of the black handle scale.


Three line, stamped incorrectly, four fiber spacer model. In the discussion I think someone may have missed the front washer touching the scale from my photo angle. Pretty old knife but younger than me. It should kill zombies nicely.

Punched but still hard to see with my bland lighting.
 
Last edited:
TAH, maybe-- a little. But they are close and with no records kept both could be right. For instance, I have a 119 from 1981 which looks like the one in your post #11 (3 spacers 2 and 1). Then I have a model 120 purchased the same year ( 1st half of 1981) it has one spacer in the guard and one in the pommel. Plus, the grind on the 119 is a semi-hollow grind and the grind on the 120 is a full hollow grind.? I suspect the 120 skipped the 1 and 2 spacers and went straight to the 1 and 1 configuration. DM
 
Ok, 300 I over looked that 2nd spacer and thought you were saying it's a 1981 model. I have a 120 w/ that stamp that I'll dig out and add to our discussion. Just not now. DM
 
Haebbie said:
The transition time from four to two spacer was 1981.
1980 they still had the four spacer. In the early 1981 Buck
build the three spacer 119. Later in the year they killed
the second spacer at the pommel.
Click to expand...

David,

I'm mostly focusing on 119 spacers. As stated by Haebbie, do you think that the 119 had 4 spacers up until 1981?
 
Well, guys, may be that I am completely wrong. But I am
confident that Joe H. knows what he writes. For example
have a look at the BCCI Newsletter dec. 2004 please.
And then let's go on with the discussion. Thanks.

Haebbie
 
Haebbie said:
Well, guys, may be that I am completely wrong. But I am
confident that Joe H. knows what he writes. For example
have a look at the BCCI Newsletter dec. 2004 please.
And then let's go on with the discussion.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, I do not have access to the newsletter. What did it say?
 
The Elusive 119 as explained by Matt
Read Blade pointing up 3 Line 2 Spacer Micarta or fiber at pommel 2 spacer Micarta or Fiber at Guard
Matt seems to have a lot of Knowledge and some of the oldest bucks I have seen on the Forum's

Here are 2 of the above described Elusive 119's after the Spa at Buck




KEEP EM SHARP
 
David Martin said:
....I suspect the 120 skipped the 1 and 2 spacers and went straight to the 1 and 1 configuration. DM
Click to expand...

??? David, I see 120's (and 119's) with a 1 + 2 configuration frequently..... /Roger

EDIT.... I just looked... there are 4 on the bay right now.... (didn't count but were a bunch of 119's also)
I still maintain 3 spacers are common for the 119 & 120 and hard to find for all other 100 series.....
 
Last edited:
This is most interesting. Not sure if there is a consensus on the "rarity" issue, but still interesting.
When you folks say 1+2 config. are you starting at the pummel or the finger guard?
 
The 3 spacer configuration is 2 at the pommel and 1 at the guard. I have never seen the reverse.

During this time period the micarta spacers are very dark to black and almost always blend in with the black phenolic handle at the pommel so are hard to discern without close examination and a good picture.
(See 300bucks last picture in post #23)
 
Last edited:
DeSotoSky said:
??? David, I see 120's (and 119's) with a 1 + 2 configuration frequently..... /Roger

EDIT.... I just looked... there are 4 on the bay right now.... (didn't count but were a bunch of 119's also)
I still maintain 3 spacers are common for the 119 & 120 and hard to find for all other 100 series.....
Click to expand...

I agree with Desoto. Interestingly, there are two very different opinions on this subject - an area that I didn't think would be too hard to pin down. I also think the 119 swivel sheath (stitched on one side) ended around '80-'81 - same time as the 124 swivel sheath of the same design ended. Next came the wrap around sheath (stitched on both sides).
 
Here is a 3 spacer 119 with a swivel sheath and a sales receipt from 1977. Pretty good evidence that 3 spacer 119s and swivel sheaths appeared earlier than suggested.


s-l1600.jpg
 
Last edited:
DocT said:
What years did they use the flap over sheath?
Click to expand...

I am going to backoff my answer to this. We see a mix of all types into the 80's. For sure I have or have seen flap sheaths with "3 BUCK" snaps for the 102, 103, and 120. Pretty sure that snap doesn't happen till about 89 or 90. Picture from 1993 catalog showing a flap sheath. Perhaps they were options for a long time? I was thinking flaps started late 63 or 64 but David says 66 or 67, that strikes me as too late but he went to the seminars and I didn't. If flap sheaths did not happen until 1967 then almost all 1-line 100 series fixed blades would have come in keeper strap sheaths and not flap sheaths. I find the opposite to be true.

1993%20Catalog%20page_zpsyahvaplm.jpg
 
Last edited:
TAH said:
Here is a 3 spacer 119 with a swivel sheath and a sales receipt from 1977. Pretty good evidence that 3 spacer 119s and swivel sheaths appeared earlier than suggested.
s-l1600.jpg
Click to expand...

Good find Tom. This pushes my thinking about swivel sheaths a few years earlier.
 
Sky, did you attend Buck Collector's 20 year reunion? Haebbie and I did. We sat in the same class room when Joe H. gave his presentation on the 100 series. We have the same sheets that he handed out. So, I'm reading what he's saying.
Haebbie, I have newsletters back to 2003 and I cannot lay my finger on that article. I'll look on the clubs website. The flap over sheaths started in 66 or 67. They had 'Buck' on the snap. The model numbers were stamped on the sheath in 1968. On the swivel sheaths they run different for various model. 1977 may be correct for the 119 but for the 124 the swivel sheaths were used in 1972. The flap over and snoopy sheaths were used during the same time-frame. It looks like Tom's 119 is a 2 and 1 spacer. Which is wrong for 1977. DM
 
Last edited:
David Martin said:
. It looks like Tom's 119 is a 2 and 1 spacer. Which is wrong for 1977. DM
Click to expand...

David, I stand by my opinion that the knife Tom shows is exactly correct for 1977, that's why this thread is 40 messages long. Without a good disagreement, we wouldn't have anything to talk about on this forum, would we? /Roger

PS the article I think you are looking for is in the December 2004 newsletter.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top