Please share your experience with Buck 119 for intensive outdoor tasks.

B

bullyson

Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
66
Hi all of you,
I would really apreciate any information, concerning Buck 119 as main camp knife.Is it sturdy enough for batoning small to medium sized wood / 4-8 cm thick /, chopping branches in the woods, clearing bigger fishes and even dressing and quartering an animal like a an elk without resharpening during the job ?
I would like to apologize in advance to all of you if a question like this have been already disscussed in this subforum.

Thank you in advance.
 
Hey Bullyson. I have never killed an Elk so I can't be sure.But I have

Killed my shair of deer and Turkey and used a 119.I also used it as an ice
pick on 1 gal blocks of ice.So the wood splitting should be no problem.
Woody use's a Buck 105 for splitting.And Messy use's an Buck 889 for
splitting.

I think you will be well pleased with a 119 as a main camp knife.They have been around a long time doing a great job.
Let us know how it works out for you.
Hawkeye
 
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For a couple years, I used a 119 for many of these tasks. In general, performance was OK with the exception that it really isn't a "chopper." For some tasks, it was as awkward as every large knife--dressing small game, for example--but it was better than many knives of similar size.

Dressing and quartering large game, performance and edge-holding were adequate; I don't recall stopping to sharpen it while dressing and quartering moose or elk. (My 119 was old enough it was probably made of 440C, but I've not heard of any issues with blades made of 420C.)

Supplemented with a hatchet for chopping, you should be fine.
 
i have used a 119 and a 124 and a 110
each has advantages and i say get all three but that is jest me

the 124 you could battoned iron wood with it !
and split pelvic with it insted of an ax but use on small game well not easy...
the 119 is a very good all a round knife and i highly recomend 440c and at least the pre edge 2000 as it will hold to battoning better ...
the 110 .. well ... i like them a lot shall we say...
if only one all round knife yep the 119 in 440c
 
I killed an elk in 1990, and was able to fiild dress,skin and quarter it without having to resharpen the knife. Although I did use a saw for the hind quarters.
 
Get a camp hatchet for the wood and limbs. Save the 119 edge for important stuff like cutting the bacon or turkey.

And don't lay it down. Your wife will find it and it will become one of those loosers weepers/finders keepers thing. :D
 
Buckaholic said:
I've cut many a steak at poker runs with my 119. Hey, some of 'em were really tough!
Click to expand...
Hey Goose In Texas we have to call them Fun Run's now.The law makers in
Austin don't allow gambling at motorcycle events.:mad:I like my
Buck 119.
Hawkeye
 
Coffeecup, to me the 119 is not a too large knife. It has good utility qualities even w/ small game then it really performs on animals 300lbs up to 600lbs. It would be a good choice to GS&Q a large Bull Elk in our state 735-750lbs. I don't baton any knife thru things ( unless an emergency)for that I carry a good saw and a hatchet in camp. A one knife do it all is a tall order and the 119 comes close espically on larger mammals and with good woodsmanship skills you'll do fine. DM
 
I had a 119 in the 1980's, and an old trapper friend of ours had one as well, used it for skinning everything up to deer & bear, without resharpening 'til the job was done, then it usually only required a touch-up.

As far as camps chores, I batoned mine a few times, and had no problems. Other than that, it handled everything fine, even carving & some whittling.

My only advice would be to be very careful of the blade tip. I heard somewhere years ago of someone breaking the tip off a 118 opening a can of beans.

thx - cpr
 
Тhanks to all of you. Your impressions about this item have been very usefull to me, especially in concern to the edge retention of the knife in field dressing duties. So, I don`t intend to use 119 mainly as a chopper , only in emergency, having no other tool with me . I usually use to carry a small hatchet or a 18 inches Tramontina machete for these purposes.Buck 119 will be my all round camp knife. Unfortunately I `ll have to buy this one with 420 HC steel. As far as I know these are running now with this kind of steel. Yes, I also strongly prefer 440 C, but probably even 420 HC will do the proper work for me. A deer or a hog without resharpening during the job. At least I hope so. I have 105 also with the same steel, that`s my primary fishing knife and 110 and Vanguard in S 30 V both, Buck Tempest in ATS-34. In conclusion I must say that having a Buck 119 is my child dream. So the time has come to make it happen.
 
I was really suprised some time ago in this subforum when I saw this thread in which a man killed a black bear exactly with the same 119 somewhere in Canada. At the very first moment I thought that was some hype and wooow real lucky man !!!!
 
Hi Bullyson,

Welcome to the Buck forum. The photo below is of my youngest son and I with his first two Bucks. A 119 and a forky Mule Deer. Just after that photo I unzipped that Bucks belly...and to my surprise the stomach contents exploded all over me. My sons shot was angled to the point that it clipped the paunch and the gas pressure caused it to blow all over me...Yuck and it doesn't smell to good at all!!!

Here is a 119 in the field


I recommend you get a 119 for everyone you know. It's a fantastic knife.

jb4570
 
Thank you jb4570. I was making my mind up to now, choosing between BM Rant DPT in 440 C and 119 at the exact same price. But I`ll definitelly get 119 even with the lower grade steel.No matter of that but it has a longer blade and time and field proven design. I allready have my old Cold Steel Master Hunter in Carbon V which has similar blade lenght and blade design as BM Rant DPT.So this time and once again I`ll go with Buck. Wish you and your sons luck in your future hunting trips.
 
My uncle carried a 119 through 2 tours in Viet Nam and kept, carried, and used it until his death. I have that knife now as well as 4 other 119's and it truly is an outstanding knife. I have been caught up in the "steel wars" and for a while was a steel snob and thought that only the latest super steel would do. I have everything from Randall's to Strider's and a few customs by reputable makers and I keep coming back to my 119. The one I got for my 10th birthday in 74 is still my main camp knife. I had a kydex sheath mad to hold my 119 and a 102, kinda like the old Case XX finn's, and I highly recommend any Buck knife. As far as edge retention, if you know how to sharpen your knife it's not an issue. I've butchered hundreds of deer, squirrels, rabbits, and game birds with no problems. Like what was stated earlier, get all your friends a 119, it's an excellent knife.
 
Most of my friends are not steel snobs, me too . Maybe in the past I`ve been too, but for a very short time. Most of them who are knife collectors mainly, but not knife users these days asked me: "Since you have a custom K-2 Dozier and Swamp Rat Safari skiner then why do you need another cheap Buck ? " My answer was one and the same: "Just because I simply like this classic knife, which I think is a reall working blade at the same time". I`ve always been attracted by the old style trapper knives like different Bucks, Marble`s Ideal, old Cases, Rudy Ruana knives and etc. Right now can`t remeber any other similar knife brand and design. I`m a european guy after all.
 
I bought mine in 1983, it was the first knife I bought when I joined the military. It's been around the world in the last 25 years. It's been used to clear brush, chop fire wood, open ration cans, cut ammo crate bands, it's never failed. I even took it diving in Africa once as I didn't have a proper diving knife. It didn't do the sheath much good but the knife was ok. I did bend the very tip of it a little. I would say that is the weekest point, but it didn't break.
 
I didn't get a 119 until last summer - actually, a 119BR with the too-pretty-to-use rosewood grip and brass fg & pommel. In September, I stopped at a local discount store and bought a regular 119 for $37 - a steal - and with the leather sheath. For decades, my camp knife had been a KaBar my late Dad carried in the So. Pacific during WWII, supplemented by a 110 or 301 and SAKs. My first Buck fixed blade was a Vanguard - nice handful. That 119 from last autumn was first used in the yard... trimming branches, etc - mainly from small oaks and soft maples, and assorted bushes.

I had left it on the counter one afternoon - and had to chop up some chicken for tacos. I couldn't believe how easy it was to use. The next use was cutting sirloin for chili - and veggies, too - perfect knife for kitchen duties. The Corian cutting block used may have caused me to have to hone it a few weeks back - but it quickly returned to hair-popping sharp. Great food preparer, too.

Oh - and if you see the 'Survivorman' TV shows with Canadian Les Stroud - and he has a knife with his usual multi-tool - it's a 119. Great knife.

Stainz

PS My 119 & 120 BRs are in a display case... the standard 119 & 120 are in a kitchen drawer.
 
Stainz, I too have noticed the "Suvivorman" carries that knife. You didn't get a 119 until last summer... you poor deprived soul!! DM
 
Yeah... hard to believe, but once upon a time, all I had for fixed blades was my Dad's old WWII KaBar and a Western 66, I think, stacked leather handled hunter my Mom got me with Green Stamps (LBJ was Prez...) - I was still in HS. I didn't decide fixed blades were neat until 'recently' (Until the last ~ten years... I've made up for 'lost' time!). I had an SAK - a 301 - then a 110. I lost track of the Western & 110 in a move - Nixon was Prez. I still have the SAK - and another, ~17 yr young, 301. I have lost one SAK in the last 17+ yr... I must be better at keeping up with them... and, there are a bunch more!

The 119 is hard to beat for utility. I loved my 192 Vanguard, which I had first, but the 119 seems more utilitarian. It certainly is more widely available - and reasonable ($34 at W-W!). I just wish there was an upgraded blade material for an 'ideal' 119... not that my 420HC has failed me - just 'bragging' rights, I suppose.

Stainz
 
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