What's up with Hollywood and the 119?

TAH

TAH

Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
6,138
Here we go again. Hollyweird using the 119 as a murder weapon instead of the tool it was designed to be. :rolleyes: :grumpy:

The Collection 2012
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748227/

the-collection-2-2012-movie-640x793.jpg
 
The 119 is a Bowie knife, or almost indistinguishable from a Bowie.

The Bowie knife is/was a fighting knife first and foremost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowie_knife

Key to it's fighting capability is the pronounced false edge along the top of the clip.

Interesting to read about the history of the Bowie along side of the traditional Ka-bar, which has a much shorter clip section.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka-Bar, "As its new name implied, the "Knife, Fighting Utility" was designed from the outset as a dual-purpose knife: it was both an effective combat knife and a utility tool..."

IMO, there's just no getting around the fact that, like the Colt revolver, the Bowie knife is seen in American culture as being a weapon or potential weapon, at the very least. There's very good reason why a crappy horror movie would pick the 119 instead of, say, a Buck Vantage. Equally good reason why the Buck 110 was so popular with motorcycle gangs in the 70s.

Remember the closing lines of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"? When truth and legend conflict, print the legend.

The Bowie knife is a legend, not a tool.
 
Also, there are so many 119s around that the prop guy is bound to have one........even though a 120 would be a better choice--we are far more likely to see 119s in these situations simply because of their amazing ubiquity.

And.......I'd have to say that knives are tools and weapons and the Bowie is an honored classic.

:D
 
I get excited when I see a Buck in the movies and usually rewind a few times just to see it again. I see no reason not to have a Buck 119 in a slasher flick. I watch out for Bucks in every movie, TV program or whatever. I think it's an Honor...
 
I understand what you're saying about the 119 having a "fighting" Bowie blade, but even Buck describes the 119 as a "hunting knife" (presumably for animals, not humans :D).

All I'm saying is the more this knife is used in slasher films, the more it will be identified/labeled as a vicious killing weapon rather than the hunting/camp knife that Buck probably intends it to be. Just hate to see the 119 get a bad reputation.

I guess I'm not the only one who has wondered why the 119 is the "horror villians weapon of choice":

http://www.williammalmborg.com/2010/05/buck-knife-horror-villains-weapon-of.html
 
I really think it's about 2 issues: the fairly extreme Bowie style clip and the black phenolic handle.

Replace the Bowie style clip with a straight spine, small drop or even a small Ka-Bar style clip and the 119 is not as scary looking.

Or, replace the black phenolic handle with, say, brown stacked leather like the Marbles, Westerns and Schrade-Waldens of old, and the 119 with the clip point would look like a cowboy knife and not the knife of a killer. Black and silver is the movie cliche of evil, from the "black hats" of old westerns to the stereo-typical SS look. Here is a knife that is "just as much knife" as the Buck 119, but it isn't a movie icon of slasher movies. More likely to be seen in a western. The handle material and color scheme is the primary difference (with some difference in blade shape, but you get my point).

$(KGrHqF,!hUE+8,SFZEcBQV+IgwZL!~~60_57.JPG


We know that the 119 and 110 are the biggest sellers for Buck. I have an image of a steady stream of them leaving Walmart and Kmart. I wonder how many of them are being used by hunters and workmen and how many are being purchased by aspiring mall ninjas?

These knives have real reputations for being "bad-*ss" knives and I suspect that the scariness of their look is one of the reasons they are perennially high volume sellers.

Same could be said for most "tactical" folders, btw.
 
All good points, pinnah. I agree with everything you said. Change the handle material and the 119 ain't so scary. :)

img_0593.jpg
 
Oh..........yes, I see.

It's a pussycat, now.

:D

The answer is simple, as I said.

Ubiquity.
 
I think the 119 is the knife used by the killers in the scream movies. First time i really noticed it being in a movie.
Good movie too. (well the first one) I wonder if Buck sees any money from the use of their knives in movies?
 
TAH said:
All good points, pinnah. I agree with everything you said. Change the handle material and the 119 ain't so scary. :)

img_0593.jpg
Click to expand...


Thats the next one to be used, it's just as scary as the black handled 119. That thing Pinnah showed , would feel a bit disrespected to be murdered with that...
 
Would you be embarrassed to be killed by this?

post-24572-1341072209265.jpg


This guy claims this is Jeremiah "Liver-Eating" Johnson's knife. (shrug)
http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=23686

While no pussycat, I do think there's a good reason why the horror movies don't use that (pretty) bone handled 119. Not as scary. Might show up in a western though, where tool and weapon are regularly conflated.
 
Do people under 50 years old even still watch westerns??? I think I saw that knife on National Geographic, a Bushman was hacking Acacia for a hasty Lion shelter.
 
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