Looking at all these nice 110's, I can't help but to think that the Buck 110 is a milestone knife. Introduced in 1963, it changed the knife world forever. It paved the way for the modern day Spyderco's and Benchmades, and other knives of that ilk.
I remember before the 110 came out, most men carried a pretty standard two blade serpintine jack. Once in a while a scout knife or barlow was seen. But that was it. Traditionals ruled. There were very few one blade locking knives around in the hands of the common working man. Certainly not expensive ones.
But in the 60's a lot of things changed, and the 110 was at the leading edge. A whole new generation of working men got another kind of knife from what their fathers and grandfathers used. People got used to seeing the black pouch on the belt, and the 110's had the imitators. Schrade came out with the Bear Paw, or something like that, and then there was the flood of middle eastern knock offs.
The Buck became THE knife of construction workers, servicemen, bikers, law enforcement officers, and just about every swinging Richard who had need of a sharp knife capable of some heavy duty work.
I think the Buck 110 should go in the same class as the Colt revolver, the model T Ford, and other industry changing items that spawned a whole revelution in how we look at something. The Colt putting a reliable repeating handgun in the hands of the common man, and Henry Ford putting the working man on wheels.
I can't help but wonder, if Al Buck had not come along with an Idea and the marketing know how, would the popularity of the single blade lockback have exploded?
I remember before the 110 came out, most men carried a pretty standard two blade serpintine jack. Once in a while a scout knife or barlow was seen. But that was it. Traditionals ruled. There were very few one blade locking knives around in the hands of the common working man. Certainly not expensive ones.
But in the 60's a lot of things changed, and the 110 was at the leading edge. A whole new generation of working men got another kind of knife from what their fathers and grandfathers used. People got used to seeing the black pouch on the belt, and the 110's had the imitators. Schrade came out with the Bear Paw, or something like that, and then there was the flood of middle eastern knock offs.
The Buck became THE knife of construction workers, servicemen, bikers, law enforcement officers, and just about every swinging Richard who had need of a sharp knife capable of some heavy duty work.
I think the Buck 110 should go in the same class as the Colt revolver, the model T Ford, and other industry changing items that spawned a whole revelution in how we look at something. The Colt putting a reliable repeating handgun in the hands of the common man, and Henry Ford putting the working man on wheels.
I can't help but wonder, if Al Buck had not come along with an Idea and the marketing know how, would the popularity of the single blade lockback have exploded?
..........................................
:thumbup:
