Where my love of Buck knives started

mill428

mill428

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2010
Messages
202
Forgive me. I'm going to ramble a little bit because the longer I spend on this forum, I think there are a few of you who can identify with me.

I can't remember a time that knives didn't interest me. My Dad always carried one. He was a banker so his were small pocket knives. Back in 1972, he gave me one of those little metal keychain knives when I was in kindergarten. Unfortunately, I somehow nicked younger my sister with it and it went away for a few years. I did get it back but I had greater aspirations. I don't know when I saw my first Buck 110, but it was on the belt of someone I knew and I was fascinated by its size and weight. And it locked! I was still young and knew my folks wouldn't buy one for me. So I waited. Somewhat impatiently... I kept a lookout and it seemed if you were a man's man, a black Buck sheath was a part of your apparel. And then Bo and Luke each carried one which set the hook. I needed a Buck knife. But I was still in grade school with no job.

Then one day, I think in '79 or '80, the next door neighbor kid was outside playing and he had what appeared to be a Buck knife. I asked to see it and was a little disappointed that it was a Khyber. A cheap Pakistani knock off. But it was close enough for me at the time. I offered him a trade of a few matchbox cars and he took it. Thinking back, I think it was probably his older brothers. But apparently possession was still 9/10ths of the law and he wanted what I was offering. I finally had my Buck-ish knife. If you squinted and shook your head it looked like the real thing. I carried it proudly in my pocket because I didn't have a sheath. But I still felt like a "man" at 12 years old. I carried it often for several years as my main knife. It took a decent edge and would hold it for a while. My mom hated it because it was so big. I actually still have it. I found it a few years ago in an old tool box I was reorganizing. I pulled it out and cleaned it back up and laughed out loud at how loose it was.

Here's a picture:

fUKs1O1.jpeg


Nice. It sharpened back up. I have no idea what kind of junk steel they made them with but it was functional. I put it on a shelf in my office. I might carry it for a day or two.

So that's kind of the back story. I finally got a real live 110 in the late 80's and loved it. It was so nice, I used it sparingly. I tried to keep it safe but apparently not safe enough. It got lost in the 90's. My brother in law and I were at a hardware store in 2003 and I was mourning the loss of it and he offered to buy me one for my birthday. I was pretty stoked. I wasn't going to let anything happen to it because at that time it was the most beautiful knife I owned. Here it is today.

0s1elh0.jpeg


I have not abused this one like I did my Khyber, but I'm sure it would have handled everything I could dish out. It has been in my truck for years in case I needed an emergency knife. I got a 119 because it needed a companion iconic fixed blade. When the 110 pros came out, I decided I needed one as a real user. Which is when I started carrying a 110 more often then not. I had to have a 112 pro for pocket carry then. And then I started to spiral. I was a substance abuse counselor for 4 years and I have to admit, I can spot the signs of addiction.

The ebony on the new Bucks was beautiful! So I bought a 110 and 112 in ebony. Then the autos came out. Everyone needs a 110 auto right? It's beautiful and functional. Then my wife offered to buy a 110 auto elite this year for our anniversary. It's my favorite so far. Now I'm looking at finger groove 110's and 112's I don't have any of those... or a 110 from the custom shop? My birthday is in July. I can wait.

Honestly, I don't know where it will stop. Buck is a company run with integrity on solid principles that makes great products and takes care of their customers. And they keep coming out with new designs! I find myself looking around the house for something to sell to "support my habit." I really need a 124 in case they quit making them, and a 105. A 117 is a neat design... and then there's all the stealth runs... How do you stop? I don't think my wife understands. But she's patient with me. And it all started with a cheap truck stop knock off over 40 years ago.

Where did your love or maybe just appreciation for Buck knives start? You don't have to be as windy as I was. Do you have the original?
 
Well it is chilly up here today in Beantown so I have been cleaning and polishing today and dealing with the same addiciton that you have. Dad used to lay teak into sailboats at the boat yards here south of Boston-he was also a builder and cabinetmaker . He always carried a buck knife and the old Hardware stores and lumber yards here always had a Buck display or at least a few for sale on the counter. Saturdays and Sunday as soon as you got out of diapers you had to got to work with him, he worked 7 days as there were 5 of us kids, we didnt have much in the late 60s early 70s so you had to work weekends with him. At the boat yards alot of the workers there carried buck 110's or 112's , dads 110 was always in his back pocket, I wanted one so bad loved the sheaths and always wanted one on my belt. I was 10 in 1976 and he had gifted me his old one which is in this Pic -sans the sheath. He was gifted a new one at the lumber yard that we went to alot for xmas. I got a paper route the next year and bought one new in the box from a sporting goods store. Buck Knives have always had a soft spot with me as I have probably had 150 of them in all shapes and styles I have gifted many but still have a pretty cherry collection in my eyes but the 110 is my real addiction. Sorry for the long winded story but this is where it started. Pete

Great thread Mill -memories are good

old new.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing mill428. Good story and pics.


I bought my first Buck knife from a friend around 1981. It was an older 112 with squared-edge bolsters. It was beat up, but it was a treasure. It wasn't my first locking knife (third), but it was my first quality locking knife. And for an 11 year old in 1981 a 112 was something awesome.

Then around the end of 1982 my parents bought me a brand new 110. I never really thought about this much until right now, but it really was very odd that my parents would do this. They had never bought me a knife before, dad had given me knives that he brought home from North Island Navy base where he worked (TL-29's, US DEMO camp-style knives). We were poor, and for my father to spend $25 or whatever a new 110 cost in 1982 is really surprising, particularly since both my parents already knew I had the 112.

We were not an outdoorsy family. No fishing or hunting. We were not a "knife and gun" family. I did a lot of camping/backpacking, but always with friends and their families, never with my own.

It's also shocking that my mom would participate and approve of giving her son a knife, particularly what was back then a rather large knife. If mom had said no to the knife, it would have been "NO". Dad was no wuss, but not pissing off my mom and having to deal with her was more important to him than making me happy.

Both of my parents are long gone now, and I really wish I could have asked my father what had inspired them to buy me that knife. It truly was completely out of character for them.

I carried and used that 110 throughout my youth, as well as my teens and twenties. I still have it today and I consider it my most valuable cutting tool. It has a permanent place on my desk, where I can easily grab it for use, or just to admire. I often just look at it sitting there and appreciate it's mere existence.

I no longer have the 112, it was eclipsed by the 110. I can't remember what exactly became of the 112, lost to the ages.

Here is a thread I created awhile back as an ode to my 110- https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/an-old-love-rekindled.1961084/

And here's a pic of how it looks today (modified several years ago)-

wUVaj6V.jpg
 
Last edited:
mill428 said:
How do you stop?
Click to expand...
I don't know...
From an early age in the fifties I wanted to hunt and fish. African elephant, lion, cape buffalo dominated my thoughts. Ads in Outdoor Life and Field and Stream of the Buck knive cutting that bolt kept my attention until finally in late '69 early '70 at an Army PX I finally got that Buck, a 118. Many other Buck knives of all models have followed and continue to accumulate.
The 118s old and the new...
Sj0cdLX.jpg
 
howiema said:
Well it is chilly up here today in Beantown so I have been cleaning and polishing today and dealing with the same addiciton that you have. Dad used to lay teak into sailboats at the boat yards here south of Boston-he was also a builder and cabinetmaker . He always carried a buck knife and the old Hardware stores and lumber yards here always had a Buck display or at least a few for sale on the counter. Saturdays and Sunday as soon as you got out of diapers you had to got to work with him, he worked 7 days as there were 5 of us kids, we didnt have much in the late 60s early 70s so you had to work weekends with him. At the boat yards alot of the workers there carried buck 110's or 112's , dads 110 was always in his back pocket, I wanted one so bad loved the sheaths and always wanted one on my belt. I was 10 in 1976 and he had gifted me his old one which is in this Pic -sans the sheath. He was gifted a new one at the lumber yard that we went to alot for xmas. I got a paper route the next year and bought one new in the box from a sporting goods store. Buck Knives have always had a soft spot with me as I have probably had 150 of them in all shapes and styles I have gifted many but still have a pretty cherry collection in my eyes but the 110 is my real addiction. Sorry for the long winded story but this is where it started. Pete

Great thread Mill -memories are good

View attachment 2508637
Click to expand...
I really appreciate "long winded" when it comes to stories like this. Memories ARE good!

BTW, your two 110's are at the top of my list to acquire someday. An early two pin and an elk handled 110! I've wanted a stag handled 110 for as long as I can remember.
 
killgar said:
Thanks for sharing mill428. Good story and pics.


I bought my first Buck knife from a friend around 1981. It was an older 112 with squared-edge bolsters. It was beat up, but it was a treasure. It wasn't my first locking knife (third), but it was my first quality locking knife. And for an 11 year old in 1981 a 112 was something awesome.

Then around the end of 1982 my parents bought me a brand new 110. I never really thought about this much until right now, but it really was very odd that my parents would do this. They had never bought me a knife before, dad had given me knives that he brought home from North Island Navy base where he worked (TL-29's, US DEMO camp-style knives). We were poor, and for my father to spend $25 or whatever a new 110 cost in 1982 is really surprising, particularly since both my parents already knew I had the 112.

We were not an outdoorsy family. No fishing or hunting. We were not a "knife and gun" family. I did a lot of camping/backpacking, but always with friends and their families, never with my own.

It's also shocking that my mom would participate and approve of giving her son a knife, particularly what was back then a rather large knife. If mom had said no to the knife, it would have been "NO". Dad was no wuss, but not pissing off my mom and having to deal with her was more important to him than making me happy.

Both of my parents are long gone now, and I really wish I could have asked my father what had inspired them to buy me that knife. It truly was completely out of character for them.

I carried and used that 110 throughout my youth, as well as my teens and twenties. I still have it today and I consider it my most valuable cutting tool. It has a permanent place on my desk, where I can easily grab it for use, or just to admire. I often just look at it sitting there and appreciate it's mere existence.

I no longer have the 112, it was eclipsed by the 110. I can't remember what exactly became of the 112, lost to the ages.

Here is a thread I created awhile back as an ode to my 110- https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/an-old-love-rekindled.1961084/

And here's a pic of how it looks today (modified several years ago)-

wUVaj6V.jpg
Click to expand...
I don't have time to properly respond to you post tonight but I had to say, your story too is magnificent! Thanks for the link and your story. So much to appreciate. And I like your mods. Well thought through and practical! Again, thanks for sharing.
 
pjsjr said:
I don't know...
From an early age in the fifties I wanted to hunt and fish. African elephant, lion, cape buffalo dominated my thoughts. Ads in Outdoor Life and Field and Stream of the Buck knive cutting that bolt kept my attention until finally in late '69 early '70 at an Army PX I finally got that Buck, a 118. Many other Buck knives of all models have followed and continue to accumulate.
The 118s old and the new...
Sj0cdLX.jpg
Click to expand...
My Dad was a huge hunter and fisherman when I was growing up. If it flew or swam, he went after it. He did a little deer hunting too, but not as much. He had an old Case fixed blade that he has handed down to my son now. It's still in really great condition. So your mention of Outdoor Life and Field & Stream brought back a ton of memories too. As a kid, the end tables in our living room always had the latest additions of each.

The 118 is also on my list. The list that refuses to get shorter. Thank you for sharing!

Craig
 
My story pretty much mimics the OP’s. All the real men I knew had one, Bo and Luke made me really want one. I can remember when a 110 was a grail knife. Lol.

Finally got permission to buy one for myself when I turned 13. It cost me about 10 hours of labor.

I had one of 2 on my belt everyday for about 30 years, hunting fishing riding motorcycles and being a tradesman. The 110 was perfect in every aspect. I wore out countless sheaths and finally sent the knives to Buck for new blades. I still use them.

If I could only have 3 knives, I’d choose 3 110’s.
 
mill428 said:
Forgive me. I'm going to ramble a little bit because the longer I spend on this forum, I think there are a few of you who can identify with me.

I can't remember a time that knives didn't interest me. My Dad always carried one. He was a banker so his were small pocket knives. Back in 1972, he gave me one of those little metal keychain knives when I was in kindergarten. Unfortunately, I somehow nicked younger my sister with it and it went away for a few years. I did get it back but I had greater aspirations. I don't know when I saw my first Buck 110, but it was on the belt of someone I knew and I was fascinated by its size and weight. And it locked! I was still young and knew my folks wouldn't buy one for me. So I waited. Somewhat impatiently... I kept a lookout and it seemed if you were a man's man, a black Buck sheath was a part of your apparel. And then Bo and Luke each carried one which set the hook. I needed a Buck knife. But I was still in grade school with no job.

Then one day, I think in '79 or '80, the next door neighbor kid was outside playing and he had what appeared to be a Buck knife. I asked to see it and was a little disappointed that it was a Khyber. A cheap Pakistani knock off. But it was close enough for me at the time. I offered him a trade of a few matchbox cars and he took it. Thinking back, I think it was probably his older brothers. But apparently possession was still 9/10ths of the law and he wanted what I was offering. I finally had my Buck-ish knife. If you squinted and shook your head it looked like the real thing. I carried it proudly in my pocket because I didn't have a sheath. But I still felt like a "man" at 12 years old. I carried it often for several years as my main knife. It took a decent edge and would hold it for a while. My mom hated it because it was so big. I actually still have it. I found it a few years ago in an old tool box I was reorganizing. I pulled it out and cleaned it back up and laughed out loud at how loose it was.

Here's a picture:

fUKs1O1.jpeg


Nice. It sharpened back up. I have no idea what kind of junk steel they made them with but it was functional. I put it on a shelf in my office. I might carry it for a day or two.

So that's kind of the back story. I finally got a real live 110 in the late 80's and loved it. It was so nice, I used it sparingly. I tried to keep it safe but apparently not safe enough. It got lost in the 90's. My brother in law and I were at a hardware store in 2003 and I was mourning the loss of it and he offered to buy me one for my birthday. I was pretty stoked. I wasn't going to let anything happen to it because at that time it was the most beautiful knife I owned. Here it is today.

0s1elh0.jpeg


I have not abused this one like I did my Khyber, but I'm sure it would have handled everything I could dish out. It has been in my truck for years in case I needed an emergency knife. I got a 119 because it needed a companion iconic fixed blade. When the 110 pros came out, I decided I needed one as a real user. Which is when I started carrying a 110 more often then not. I had to have a 112 pro for pocket carry then. And then I started to spiral. I was a substance abuse counselor for 4 years and I have to admit, I can spot the signs of addiction.

The ebony on the new Bucks was beautiful! So I bought a 110 and 112 in ebony. Then the autos came out. Everyone needs a 110 auto right? It's beautiful and functional. Then my wife offered to buy a 110 auto elite this year for our anniversary. It's my favorite so far. Now I'm looking at finger groove 110's and 112's I don't have any of those... or a 110 from the custom shop? My birthday is in July. I can wait.

Honestly, I don't know where it will stop. Buck is a company run with integrity on solid principles that makes great products and takes care of their customers. And they keep coming out with new designs! I find myself looking around the house for something to sell to "support my habit." I really need a 124 in case they quit making them, and a 105. A 117 is a neat design... and then there's all the stealth runs... How do you stop? I don't think my wife understands. But she's patient with me. And it all started with a cheap truck stop knock off over 40 years ago.

Where did your love or maybe just appreciation for Buck knives start? You don't have to be as windy as I was. Do you have the original?
Click to expand...
Great post, and with an SP101, no less!

Zieg
 
pjsjr said:
Eric, I'm impressed, to no end, that you can tell that is SP101 just by the trigger guard.
Click to expand...
mill428 said:
You do have a keen eye. It is a Ruger, but it's an older model. A Service Six.

ix9YszE.jpg
Click to expand...

Well, I blew it. 😸 It's not an SP101, but I did recognize that Ruger two piece frame seam correctly. I was going for SP101 based on the size of the knife against the trigger. I had to disassemble my own edc SP just the other day as it desperately needed cleaning. I guess it was just on my mind.

Love that Tyler T-grip. I'm looking to put one on my S&W M1917.

Zieg
 
When others tell stories like you have, it clicks something inside we readers of what happened to us as kids. Your words cause treasures locked up in us to be revealed and re-lived! Kids today have really NO idea of how we grew up - as we as kids had no idea how our parents grew up. These words express our pass lives and how we treasured small things - as small things were all we had in those days.

Heartfelt THANKS!
 
My dad, along with almost every man I knew carried a pocketknife of some sort. I had (and lost) a great many knives growing up. At some point in the early 80s I made a decision to collect pocketknives. I started with Buck, it was a small company that made some nice stuff. I figured I'd collect one of everything they produced then move on. It has been forty years, and I'm still finding things to buy.

The most recent:

https://imgur.com/xoMpLsL
 
Here's my own contribution to the conversation.

My story starts with my older brother, Larry, who carried his •110• daily. He was six years older, drove a yellow big block Chevelle, and was into amateur radio. He was larger than life, that's for sure. I would pick up his Buck stockman every so often and fiddle with it, once slicing my thumb open to the bone (respect to the 420 steel!) when I was 12. I eventually inherited all his knives and still have that 110 and stockman. And many others.

Larry would be pleased to see this pair as a frequent carry setup. He also inspired my love of Rugers.

3MP5icY.jpg


Zieg
 
The Zieg said:
Well, I blew it. 😸 It's not an SP101, but I did recognize that Ruger two piece frame seam correctly. I was going for SP101 based on the size of the knife against the trigger. I had to disassemble my own edc SP just the other day as it desperately needed cleaning. I guess it was just on my mind.

Love that Tyler T-grip. I'm looking to put one on my S&W M1917.

Zieg
Click to expand...
No worries. It wasn't much to go on. You have to be a diehard Ruger fan to have that figured out with that much in the photo. As to the T-grip, I love em too. They just fit my hands better than anything else. I have them on most of my revolvers. It would be a great addition to your 1917!

Thanks for your story too. Your brother sounds like the kind of brother we all wanted. Big blocks, Bucks and Rugers. What a combination! I noticed you have some tasteful mods to your SP101 as well. It never entered my mind to add a lanyard ring to the Hogues. Was that your invention or does someone offer that now?
 
Piddling said:
When others tell stories like you have, it clicks something inside we readers of what happened to us as kids. Your words cause treasures locked up in us to be revealed and re-lived! Kids today have really NO idea of how we grew up - as we as kids had no idea how our parents grew up. These words express our pass lives and how we treasured small things - as small things were all we had in those days.

Heartfelt THANKS!
Click to expand...
Your welcome! I tend to be a sentimental person at heart. Memories are almost sacred to me as are the gifts people give. In another thread, I mentioned a 110 my wife gave me for our anniversary. She gets me. And she always has. My most prized possessions are the gifts I receive from her and my kids. They are the tangible things I would grab if the house was burning down.

As you said, kids today have completely different expectations of life because everything is instant and accessible and it makes things disposable. I was talking to my son the other day - he'll be 30 this year. We were talking about how we "collect" different things. We were talking about how when I was young, nobody but the very wealthy collected things. In my grandparents day, there was very little to collect. My grandpa had A pocket knife he inherited from his dad and he had three guns. A Winchester 97 12ga, and 2 .22's. A Mossberg semi-auto he kept in his truck and a Remington model 12 he kept in the barn. They were tools for survival - as was most everything else they owned. Most of the knives he bought were inexpensive Imperials because they served a purpose, be used up and then replaced.

I've tried to instill in my kids an awareness of the tremendous blessing we have in this age but also an appreciation of the simple things of the past. I'm thankful we have the opportunity to have known both worlds and can talk together about the incredible value of both. We can't forget where we've been and what we have now.

As howiema said - memories are good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top