The Buck 124, Becker BK2, Bk7, etc

[Lawrence Helm]

Yesterday I noticed a note on the Buck forum by someone who paid $370 for a Buck 124, NIB. He expressed delight over his purchase. Several Buck 124 owners complimented him on his coup. I got mine out and took a look at. From the discussion that ensued I'm guessing I purchased mine about 1980. I took it hiking back then and several times over the years, and it still looks pretty good. Here it is along side some Beckers:



I ended up not liking to carry the 124 because it rattled in the sheath, but this was back in the days before eBay. I checked and sure enough a few people were making sheaths for the 124. One with a snake-skin inlay looked the best. I'll be interested in seeing how the new sheath affects the way it rides on my belt, especially whether it rattles .

Someone asked the guy with the $370 Buck 124 whether he intended to use it or set it aside. He said he wasn't sure. For the present time he was just going to keep it on his desk. But he once spent more than $370 for a Randall and used it; so he might use this 124.

I took a look at my BK2s:



I needn't worry about whether to use my BK2 or "set it aside," because I have two of them. I have been leaning that way anyway, i.e., toward setting the better one aside. I put an orange-wood handle on the one to be set a side and intended the Bocote-handled BK2 for hiking use.

I've really been enjoying Tommy the Who's Becker handles. I don't know how they would hold up under the heavy use a lot of people put Beckers to, but for hiking they will certainly be fine. Here are the others -- so far:



You can see that I have two leopard-wood handles. At the time they looked better to me than anything else, but I just noticed and ordered a spalted tamarind handle which I'll put in either the BK10 or the BK9

Back to the BK2s, I ordered some sheaths on eBay, testing the water. They didn't measure up to Skystorm's sheaths but the one for my Orange-wood BK2 is decent and the one for my Bocote-handled BK2 doesn't look that great but it works very well -- after with some difficulty I removed a Chicago-screw keeping me from being able to put the sheath on my belt:





Will I take my Buck 124 hiking once I get the new snake-skin sheath even though someone spent $370 for one just like it? Yeah. I've had it since at least 1980 and have had no objection to using it. No need to have one now. I don't intend to sell it. What about the Beckers that I don't have doubles of? Will I use those? Hmmm. I'll have a strong temptation to have two each of the BK10 because I'm sure to want to take that one hiking, and the BK12 may be in the same category. I'm not sure yet about the bK7.

Lawrence

 

[tholiver]

Nice wood on those Beckers. I bought a Buck 124 in the early 90's, good knife but the ergonomics weren't quite what i wanted. It sat in a drawer for almost ten years then i decided to mod it thinking to myself "its still in production so i can always buy another one for collection purposes later." Sure enough after i modded it they discontinued it...d'oh! I hear they are back in production now though. Basically i reduced the top guard, rounded the grip from its original squarish shape and flat ground it. Just rounding the handle improved the ergonomics immensely! I haven't seen any of the new ones in person yet, overall its a nice design.

 

[Lawrence Helm]

Nice wood on those Beckers. I bought a Buck 124 in the early 90's, good knife but the ergonomics weren't quite what i wanted. It sat in a drawer for almost ten years then i decided to mod it thinking to myself "its still in production so i can always buy another one for collection purposes later." Sure enough after i modded it they discontinued it...d'oh! I hear they are back in production now though. Basically i reduced the top guard, rounded the grip from its original squarish shape and flat ground it. Just rounding the handle improved the ergonomics immensely! I haven't seen any of the new ones in person yet, overall its a nice design.

Actually, I never liked the squarish shape of the handle either. If this were going to be my number one hiking knife I might be tempted to try something like you did, but it won't be. I've got too many others that I like for that purpose. It will probably be fun to take it out from time to time in its snake-skin sheath.

Yeah, I can see flat-grinding helping it keep an edge, or making it easier to sharpen to keep an edge.

Lawrence

 

[daizee]

what's the hype over the 124 about?
it's ugly to me, and looks like it has all kinds of ergonomic bugaboos.

Those TtW handles are sweet!

 

[Lawrence Helm]

what's the hype over the 124 about?
it's ugly to me, and looks like it has all kinds of ergonomic bugaboos.

Those TtW handles are sweet!

Daizee,

I'm not sure "hype" is the right word. The knife seems to have a cult following. See for example, http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1218548-Buck-124-New-vs-Old

The knife is extremely well built. Once I decided it wasn't ideal for hiking I stuck it in a box with several other knives I didn't use, but in looking at it now it seems almost flawless and I've had it since about 1980. There are scratches on the two-piece aluminum pommel, but they could probably be buffed out.

As to ergonomics it was originally intended as a diving knife. That surprised me. My other "main sport" was free diving. I dived during the best diving months and hiked during the best hiking months back in the 60s & 70s, but I don't recall the 122 (the diving version of the 124. The difference seems to have been a hole through the pommel so you could tie the knife to something while diving). Maybe it was more useful for Scuba divers, but I would sometimes dive and swim into seaweed looking for calico bass. A knife on my ankle would get caught on the seaweed so I took to leaving my knife (a much cheaper one than the Buck 122) up on my float.

I don't know what happened to my favorite diving knife, one I found on the sandy bottom. I do have the last one I used. It had a plain old plastic handle, but it has held up through a lot of use. It didn't hold an edge very well, but in my experience the Buck 124 hasn't either My old diving knife has a slight clip point but in general the shape of the blade resembles the Buck 124 and presumably the 122. The main thing I used a diving knife for was rough-cleaning fish before I brought them into shore. If I could find a rock I could climb up on I'd do it there. I had better knives for cleaning fish, the Buck 121 for example. I used it and one or two folding knives when I fished off my boat.

I won't defend its ergonomics as a hiking knife. I gave up on it for that purpose, but if I recall correctly my main objection to it was the sheath. Whether the sheath I just ordered will raise it in my estimation remains to be seen. But I also doubted the handle material. I thought it would get too slippery when wet; this is another reason its use as a diving knife surprises me. I never put it to the test but I can imagine it getting hard to hold when slimy with fish-guts, but maybe I'm wrong. I can't remember it being hard to hold on a hike, but I mistrusted it.

Also, I didn't care for the aluminum pommel. It scratched to readily on hikes.

Lawrence

 

[Skystorm]

I've had a lot of request for sheaths for the Buck fixed blade lineup, on my to do list but never gotten around to ordering any in yet. They are a bit old fashioned for my taste but the old ones were solidly built for sure.

 

[Lawrence Helm]

I've had a lot of request for sheaths for the Buck fixed blade lineup, on my to do list but never gotten around to ordering any in yet. They are a bit old fashioned for my taste but the old ones were solidly built for sure.

I've wondered about that. Someone noticed I was buying one Becker after another and suggested I might be new to knife buying, but when he saw some of the Buck knives I bought years ago, he said that I had an on going problem, condition, inclination -- can't remember exactly what he said.



Someone on the Becker forum observed in another context that one day everyone who wanted a Becker would have one and the market would die as is the current case with the BK5. I've been following the Buck 124 discussion on the Buck forum and apparently the market for the 124 died at some point but then they started making it again. I found this comment on Amazon.com -- someone's opinion about why that happened:

The Buck Frontiersman ia a very heavy-duty Hunting/Fighting/Survival knife that was designed and sold long before the first Rambo movie. It is VERY strong with full tang construction [a solid piece of thick metal makes up the blade and continues the length of the grip].

The knife was previously discontinued by Buck several years ago and prices for used ones (in any condition) have gone through the roof on EBAY. I am greatful to Buck for chosing to reintroduce the knife with black micarta grip panels as used on early versions of the knife (rather than the plastic panels used on later versions).

The knife is 100% American made and designed. It is built to handle any conceivable task; either as a heavy duty hunting knife (although somewhat large) or as an excellent Military/Survival knife for those who go in harms way.

The example I recieved was FLAWLESS with perfect fit, finish and materials. Reportedly this is a "limited edition" knife, which may explain any extra care in assembly. It has excellent balance, and feels as solid as any knife I have ever handled.

My only complaint is that the black leather sheath shipped with the knife is too tight, making the knife difficult to pull out and resheath. Hopefully it will loosen with use. [end quote]

You can buy one of these new 124's on Amazon for $113. Notice that the commentator above didn't like the sheath for reasons different from my dislike In my case the sheath was sloppy loose and the knife rattled. I think I'd rather have his problem. However, perhaps this fellow will so dislike his Buck sheath that he will shop eBay for an alternative. At present the best alternative (IMO) has the rattlesnake skin inlays.

All of the Buck knives I acquired years ago (probably in the early 80s) have either been reintroduced or have continued on. Will that same thing be true of the Becker knives 30 years from now? Will you still be selling sheaths to new buyers in 30 years?

It seems to me that Buck might have an advantage in that regard. Buck made knives of excellent stainless steel that resist rust and aging. They apparently can be bent quite far without breaking which might mean that you could throw one against a tree without having it break the way Ka-Bar 1217s have been known to break. Becker knives have more of an "Apocalypse now" design: big, beefy and indomitable, but subject to the abrading of the anti-rust coating and consequently rust. Not all Becker owners are going to use good anti-rust procedures so in a few years there may be a lot of rusty, ugly Beckers out there perhaps exacerbating a loss of interest in these knives.

It was when I discovered that I could buy sheaths on eBay that I decided to add the 119 and 124 to my hiking rotation. The 119 is to the left of the 124 in the above photo. In other notes I mentioned that I would probably end up using the little Ka-Bar 1250 as my most often-used hiking knife, but the Buck 119 is a step up from the 1250 in terms of blade length and thickness. It weighs 7 1/2 ounces to the 1250's 6 ounces. I can't see the tang in the 119 but presumably it is substantial enough because the 119 is still popular after all these years. One can buy a 119BKS for $48.44 or a 119BR for $86.08. The later has a Cocobola handle and perhaps a better sheath.

If I were making sheaths, had almost all the business I could handle making Becker sheaths but wanted to stick my toes in the water of another brand, I would make sheaths either for the 119 because it is the most popular or the 124 because at least one fellow complained about the sheath he received.

Lawrence

 

[rkmoore]

How does the 124 stack up agaist the BK7? It looks like it would be a bit heavier and therefor less agile in hand. Do you think it would perform well on fine tasks? I understand that you haven't used it for any of our usual "bushcraft" activities but I still would like your opinion.

Thanks,
RK

 

[Lawrence Helm]

How does the 124 stack up agaist the BK7? It looks like it would be a bit heavier and therefor less agile in hand. Do you think it would perform well on fine tasks? I understand that you haven't used it for any of our usual "bushcraft" activities but I still would like your opinion.

Thanks,
RK

RK,

Actually, the 124 is lighter than the BK7, at least my 124 is lighter than my BK7 with the Zebra wood handles, 12 1/2 ounces to 13 ounces. The 124 seems closer to the BK12 which is a hair heavier, but I'd round it off to 12 1/2 ounces. The cutting edge of the 124 is 1/4 inch longer than the BK12 and about an inch shorter than the BK7.

I would not think my particular 124 would be good for bushcraft because it has a kind of rounded edge. Maybe that is an inheritance from the 122 (diving knife), but I have never liked it. I understand that modern 124s no longer have that sort of edge [Although before posting this note I checked the photos on Amazon and couldn't tell that there was any difference]. If that is true than a modern 124 ought to be able to manage the bushcraft activities, but if I had my choice I'd use either the BK7 or the BK12. My guess would be that the BK7 would be best at chopping and then the BK12 and the 124 a distant last. Someone recently while batoning hit the handle on his BK2 and broke it. Hitting the handle on the 124 might break the micarta before breaking the tang. I don't know how tough that stuff is. And there is no changing handles on a 124 like there is with the Beckers.

The 124 has a full tang but I wouldn't count on the pommel area for hammering on anything because the two-part pommel is made of aluminum. I scratched mine while hiking and brushing against things.

I would think the 119 would be much better for most camp chores than the 124. The blade length is a quarter of an inch shorter than that of the BK12's. The weight is about 8 ounces. It doesn't have a visible full tang but the manufacturer claims it is fullish and substantial. You can get one of these, I assume the 119BKS is like the one I have, for $46.34. Buck now has a model of the 119 which may be a little better. I just ordered it. It is the 119BR: http://www.amazon.com/Buck-119BR-Sp...=UTF8&qid=1411512483&sr=8-2&keywords=buck+119 It is a bit more expensive at $68.08.

I imagine in this day and age there are people out there using the 124 for all the bushcraft activities, but the lowest price for a 124 on Amazon is $113.90. If I was a camper I would much rather take a BK7 which one can get on Amazon for $83.29.

But if I had to take Buck gear on a camp out, I would take my Buck 119, my Buck 124, my Buck saw (It is no longer in production and I don't see one on eBay), and my Buck 106 hatchet. The 106 is no longer in production either but one can get one on eBay that looks serviceable for $89.99 or "Make Offer." http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buck-106-Hatchet-/321531569467?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4adcc6653b . . . and still not have anything ideal for batoning.

Lawrence

 

[rkmoore]

L H - Thanks for the reply. I know you are still new so I guess that you are not yet aware of the "deal spotting" rule. You are not permitted to post links to sellers that are not paid members/supporters of the forum.

I have a BK12 and it is my favorite all around camp knife. I've been interested in the 124 since they returned to production but I'm not ready to spend that much on a knife that doesn't out perform the knives I already have.

Thanks Again

 

[Lawrence Helm]

L H - Thanks for the reply. I know you are still new so I guess that you are not yet aware of the "deal spotting" rule. You are not permitted to post links to sellers that are not paid members/supporters of the forum.

I have a BK12 and it is my favorite all around camp knife. I've been interested in the 124 since they returned to production but I'm not ready to spend that much on a knife that doesn't out perform the knives I already have.

Thanks Again

RKMoore,

You wrote,

You are not permitted to post links to sellers that are not paid members/supporters of the forum. [end quote] Okay, I'll try to remember that. Although I wasn't spotting any deals, just presenting an answer to your question in a sort of meandering way. But I did post some links & who knows someone might see what I wrote and snap up that hand axe for example -- wasn't my intention however.

Having had a 124 forever I can no longer see its attraction. I can still see the attraction of the 119 and I guess that more people agree with me than not. The 124 is 29,277 in the Best Seller list of Sports and Outdoors. The 119 is 4,559 on the list. I did order rattlesnake-skin sheaths for both however in order to see them in (hopefully) a better light and perhaps want to use them more often.

We haven't mentioned the Buck 120. I like the feel of it better than that of the 124. It is like the 119 but has a 7 inch blade. I would normally have gotten an after market sheath for the 120 ahead of the 124, but because of the discussion over on the Buck forum I wanted to see if a new sheath would change my opinion. My opinions of the 119 and the 120 are already favorable except for the sheaths. Fewer people would agree with me about the 120. It is 109,314 in the Amazon best seller list. It does have a delicate look to it, but it was tested extensively way back in the beginning and one of the tests bent it 45 degrees if I remember correctly. It didn't break and was able to return to a true condition. That impressed me. I mentioned ordering a cocobola version of the 119. Buck has a cocobola version of the 120 as well and it is 13,756 in the best seller list. I'll probably order the cocobola 120 if I like the 119.

I have every BK (and orders in for Skystorm sheaths and Tommy the Who handles) I want at the present time and thought I was done buying knives & knife gear for awhile, but then I noticed the 124 discussion over on the Buck forum and things changed.

Lawrence