Question about my 112

mill428

mill428

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Jan 11, 2010
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LONG time lurker. First post to the forum. Normally I just glean the information I'm looking for from the experts and leave but this time I thought I would reach out with a question I "think" I know the answer to, but I'm not sure.

I have for years carried a 110 and loved it. It was a gift from my BIL over two decades ago and it has become one of my favorite knives. A few years ago, I thought I would sample the 112 waters and found one cheap and in good condition on the bay and I bought it. Again, it became one of my favorite knives to EDC. That led me to purchase the PRO 110 and 112. Over the last few months, my interest has grown significantly in the history of these knives so I started some research. According to the blade on my 112 it was made in 2018. But here's the reason for my post. It has ebony scales. It's not a laminate like my 110. It has the rounded bolsters like they started using in the 80's. Did they start putting ebony on the 112 in 2018 or is this most likely a mid 80's early 90's 112 that has the blade replaced? I know it doesn't really matter to most but I've thought all along this was a fairly new knife and I think it would be neat if it was an older one. Thanks for your thoughts!

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As far as recent production goes, I believe, and I might be wrong, that the December 2018 Buck of the Month 112 was the first 112 with the new Ebony handles. It also had a Nickel Silver frame and an S30V blade.

Standard production Ebony 112’s came out shortly after that in 2019.
 
Thanks guys for weighing in. So I can assume this is an older knife that had the blade replaced in 2018. I appreciate the feedback! Too bad we can’t figure out the exact year. It has been a regular companion in my pocket for the time I’ve had it. It’s moved me to seriously consider getting the 112 auto elite because it’s such a great size.
 
mill428 said:
Thanks guys for weighing in. So I can assume this is an older knife that had the blade replaced in 2018. I appreciate the feedback! Too bad we can’t figure out the exact year. It has been a regular companion in my pocket for the time I’ve had it. It’s moved me to seriously consider getting the 112 auto elite because it’s such a great size.
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A 112 Auto, eh? Don't let me influence you.
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I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that it's an older knife, but that's surely a 2018 knife. Look at the rivets on your knife. they're huge (comparatively speaking). By the time you get into the 80s the scale rivets are definitely domed, but they're smaller than the recent production knives.

For what it's worth the date stamp on the blade just indicates when the blade was made, not necessarily when the knife was built. It's not as common on fast sellers like the 110 and 112, but a knife blade with a 2018 stamp, for example, might find its way into a handle in 2019, 2020 or beyond. I recently got a 117 Web Special with a 2019 date code, and Buck was still shipping 2022 124s in June of '23.
 
dsutton24 said:
I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that it's an older knife, but that's surely a 2018 knife. Look at the rivets on your knife. they're huge (comparatively speaking). By the time you get into the 80s the scale rivets are definitely domed, but they're smaller than the recent production knives.

For what it's worth the date stamp on the blade just indicates when the blade was made, not necessarily when the knife was built. It's not as common on fast sellers like the 110 and 112, but a knife blade with a 2018 stamp, for example, might find its way into a handle in 2019, 2020 or beyond. I recently got a 117 Web Special with a 2019 date code, and Buck was still shipping 2022 124s in June of '23.
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My conclusion was simply a guess. Since I am fairly "Buck poor" in comparison to most here, I don't have any older 112 or 110 to reference. (something I hope to remedy one day) I did what I normally do and looked at pictures on the internet. The rivets had a similar look as did the bolsters to the knives in production starting mid 80's so I thought it may be possible - older knife/new blade.

That is an excellent observation about a 2018 "leftover" blade being used on a 2019 build. I hadn't thought about that. But as I read your comment, I remembered reading a number of forum entries here that proved you never know what will get put together in the end. Not that it's a bad thing. It's just how things work sometimes in manufacturing and using up current supplies.

As I mentioned in the beginning, it was something I was curious about and I figured I would find more of an answer here. And I have! I appreciate your wisdom. This seems to be a great community that possesses a seemingly limitless supply of knowledge pertaining to all things Buck.
 
jude_061 said:
A few old posts about the switch back to ebony circa 2019:


Hope these help. While I’m a 110 fan over the 112 (and love the dymondwood), you can’t really go wrong with either knife. Awesome knives and you’ll get a lifetime of use out of them. Congrats and welcome to the forum.
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Thanks for the links! Great information on a subject I was only vaguely aware of. Seems like my 112 must be one of the first one's off the line. It's such a great knife! I have a Pro too that goes in my pocket quite often.

I have to admit though that like you, I have always been more interested in the 110. As a child of the 70's and 80's they were everywhere. If you were a man, you had one on your belt. I wanted one forever growing up... as did most of us I suppose. Thankfully, I can now say I have a few of both.
 
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