What is the very best year or years for the Buck 110 ?

Hickory n steel said:
Was this thing narrowed down or something ?
Or did they come like this at one point ?
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That narrowing at the base is something you may notice on a lot of older folding knives that have been sharpened numerous times. When I was around six years old, I used to watch this old guy named Charlie sharpen on a stone with the handle in his hand and index finger at the heel of the blade. He'd put most of the pressure at the heel and sharpen in a oval or semi circle motion. He'd get a razor sharp blade but his old stone was pretty dished out in the middle and the blade was more worn at the heel and took the shape of what nowadays folks call a recurve. Looks to me like my Father in law sharpened in a similar manner.
 
Wowbagger said:
So mine . . . the one shown in my photos here . . . is : Four-Dot finger groove model
! Oh yah baby !
So if it is from ~1980-1981 (maybe a little older) it was heat treated by Bos?
Back in the day I found it very hard to sharpen . . . but then I found most anything hard to sharpen because I wasn't using coarse enough stones to get the apex.

As I understand it mine isn't 440C but from what I am seeing here it is 425.
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Yeah, I appreciate a special beauty in the curvy and rounded body of that Four Dot model as opposed to the squared off and heavier early 110s.

These Four Dotters are post '81 so they are 425MOD (if you compare the kick to the prior 440C blade kicks you will see a change in the kick shape).

A while back we'd have said that Bos started HT in about '80, but recent statements here from him indicate he was doing most of Buck's blades for quite a few years prior to that......so, the story (like many Buck stories) has changed. As I recall, it was thought that he started in-house HT in 1980 and that must be where the first story got its start. At any rate, yes, your knife has the Bos HT.

As for sharpening, as you say, the new diamond stones make it a lot easier for any steel and Buck generously offers to do the job if anyone needs help.
 
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skyhorse said:
That narrowing at the base is something you may notice on a lot of older folding knives that have been sharpened numerous times. When I was around six years old, I used to watch this old guy named Charlie sharpen on a stone with the handle in his hand and index finger at the heel of the blade. He'd put most of the pressure at the heel and sharpen in a oval or semi circle motion. He'd get a razor sharp blade but his old stone was pretty dished out in the middle and the blade was more worn at the heel and took the shape of what nowadays folks call a recurve. Looks to me like my Father in law sharpened in a similar manner.
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Oh, sorry for the confusion.
I was talking about the frame of the knife, it seems a lot t narrower than they normally are.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Oh, sorry for the confusion.
I was talking about the frame of the knife, it seems a lot t narrower than they normally are.
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You're right. It's more rounded and narrower. It seems to have been worked over to take off all the sharp edges that we normally see on the older 110s and make it lighter and more pocket friendly.
 
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VorpalRain said:
Haebbie, as it turns out, we had a major kerfuffle about that a while back here on the forum, and..........
The traditional story has now changed. Bos himself is now saying he heat treated most of the Buck blades for many years before 1980.....So.......as with all things Buck.....stories change.
It seems possible that 1980 was the first year he did them in-house, but even that seems to be based strictly on memory rather than physical documents.
We know the three dotter is a great knife......at least we still have that popular opinion.
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Bos and Leroy were friends and he heat treated knives for Leroy and buck but as I under stand it
Bos came on as a buck employee and redid the heat treat ovens for buck and he used bucks ovens to heat treat blades from people who sent him blades in addation to his old shop staying open....
that 440c was a great blade when Bos got done with it
the 3 dot 111 is my personal fav for using as a 110
now I edc a paradine
 
Yes. As I understand it now, Bos started in-house in 1980 and changes and improvements were made at that time.......so, it could be that the 3-dot 440C knives actually did get a heat treat that was improved and refined and possibly superior to prior efforts.

I've also learned recently that the popular notion that all knives were treated equally by Bos is untrue. Some knives got a BETTER heat treat than others. I do not know if that is still the case or if all blades now get the same heat treat.

My EDC is a 3-dot 112 FG.........but I add my nice wood and brass 105 when we walk our dog (just in case the damned pit bulls attack). :)

(Of course, I also ALWAYS carry something in .45 ACP........my last best hope against pit bulls, thugs and SHTF.) :)
 
Old Hunter said:
I had this done a year ago to one of my Two Dot Folding Hunters that I use for hunting. It is a good upgrade for a working knife, that knife has become my number one folding knife for deer hunting - the edge that came back from Buck is simply perfect . Hard to capture in a picture but this is before and after the Buck Spa with Edge-2000 applied. OH



IMG_9712.JPG


Buck_110_2-Dot_after_spa_-_2_.JPG
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What is the Edge 2000? I have never heard that term with the exception of this thread.
 
skyhorse said:
That narrowing at the base is something you may notice on a lot of older folding knives that have been sharpened numerous times. When I was around six years old, I used to watch this old guy named Charlie sharpen on a stone with the handle in his hand and index finger at the heel of the blade. He'd put most of the pressure at the heel and sharpen in a oval or semi circle motion. He'd get a razor sharp blade but his old stone was pretty dished out in the middle and the blade was more worn at the heel and took the shape of what nowadays folks call a recurve. Looks to me like my Father in law sharpened in a similar manner.
Click to expand...
I own a 4 dot and a 2 dot. noth have been great.
 
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