[bushmaster1313]

1976 or so Buck 112:

http://i700.photobucket.com/albums/ww6/bushmaster1313/DSC_0333.jpg

[BCCL]

Sweet!

[bushmaster1313]

IMHO (which is all that matters since this is my knife) this one is certainly not worse for the wear.

[kBob]

Its Bro' on the belt of my work jeans over the chair behind me says "Hi!"

I like your wood. I see you did some hammering with yours too overw the decades since it was made.

Mine was bought at a Rod & Gun Club in Neu Ulm, Germany to replace one which I had managed to break the tip of. Amazingly they were never intended to be used as pry bars by impatient GIs prying drain sump buckets out of shower room floors. Lacking anything better to do with my time I spent some time putting a more rounded tip on the broken tipped blade and then saw the current one in the R&G on my next trip into town. I gave the reshaped blade to my Dad in 1976 and he recently gave it back. Guess I need to dig it out.

They were almost an item of Uniform in my Infantry outfit and the little black sheaths were generally worn on the right side between the front and rear pockets. Airborne and Skeeter Wings often adorned the flaps of the sheaths. They got used of everything from cleaning fingernails to being a paper weight on the edge of a map. At demo school my insane instructor even had me use it to crimp an non electric blasting cap onto time fuse "so you'll know you can do it" I still have my fingers so he was right. But a set of crimpers went everywhere with me that last year.

We used it to peel the bark away from a pine we sto.......harvested for an Xmas tree so another guy could make a clean cut with his swiss army type knife's saw blade. It sharpened many replacement tent pegs and shaped at least one pole section from a branch. WD1 wire got cut and stripped with them often the were used to start the takedown pins on M-16A1s that were still new enough to be hard to get started otherwise.

Fruit got sliced as did wurst and schnitzel sandwiches got cleanly and evenly shared, and even cheese cakes from the local bakery fell before the cutting power of the mighty Buck Blades. Oh and occasionally on Friday and Saturday nights in town the sound of one or two snapping open could cause people of low morals and bad intents and no appreciation for the efforts of the American taxpayer to defend Europe from Communism or at least the Russians to rethinking unreasonable demands and retire for the evening.

kBob

[Coyote3855]

Nice knife. Nice story. I'm very fond of my 112 two dot.

[bushmaster1313]

What and when is the one dot two dot?

Did the number of rivets ever change?

[Isaac's Grandpa]

Looks just like mine. $9 in a local pawn shop. Great knives.

[bushmaster1313]

Looks just like mine. $9 in a local pawn shop. Great knives.

Great idea on where to get a nice knife

[Owen Sparks]

I have one but quit carrying it years ago because it is so dang HEAVY compaired to more modern designs with handles made from composit materials.

[Sav .250]

When you own a Buck folding................you soon understand , heavy. :)
A small price to pay for a great knife!

[BCCL]

What and when is the one dot two dot?

Did the number of rivets ever change?

Yes, Buck has changed the rivets several times over the decades. Yours looks closer to a 1980-1981 112, what is on the tangstamp on the other side of the blade?

[bushmaster1313]

Blade say "Buck 112 USA" and has two dots in the bras at the bottom

[Owen Sparks]

I have another Buck from 20 years ago with an identical blade only the handle is black plastic and it is not heavy at all. I carried it for a long time before more modern designs with pocket clips and one handed opening methods came on the market. Now I carry an Emerson 11. It opens on the draw.

[ArfinGreebly]

I have another Buck from 20 years ago with an identical blade only the handle is black plastic and it is not heavy at all.

That would be one of the BuckLite series.

It's been resurrected with slightly different handles, and I have one (the larger 110 version) in orange. Same blade as a regular 110. Lightweight plastic handle.

The more modern "EcoLite" series has a handle in PaperStone that's the same essential size and shape as the wood and brass handles, but at maybe half the weight. It's a little heavier than the BuckLite version, lighter than the standard version, and quite robust. I have several.

Hey, you can never have too many.

[Owen Sparks]

One of the main drawback to traditional knives is that it takes both hands to open them. The Buck 112 was a great knife in its day but it is slow and heavy by modern standards.

[Lee D]

they do make a thumb stud you can put on the blade of a 110/112 if you want a one hand open knife. i wouldnt ever do it, i love the classics just as they came from the factory.

to the OP, i LOVE that old 112. i actually prefer the 112 to a 110.

[Deltaboy]

I have a 110 that I carry all the time. During Spring break a theme park made me give up my little camp king but let me keep my 110 on my belt. Me and my wife had a good laugh after we left and I spent 25 minutes getting my Camp King back.

[bushmaster1313]

they do make a thumb stud you can put on the blade of a 110/112 if you want a one hand open knife. i wouldnt ever do it, i love the classics just as they came from the factory.

112 can be opened with one hand (use your thumb) with a little practice

[Lee D]

ive seen people do that with the 110, but theres no way id try it. seems like itd be awful easy for a finger to slip under the blade, itd snap shut, and youd then be minus a fingertip. :eek: OUCH!!!

[kBob]

One of the reasons the 112 was so popuar with Infantry was that it IS a one hand opening knife.

One merely pinches the blade and then flips the handle portion off and it snaps right open and locks. SOme guys flipped it open so the handle was beyond the hand as though they were about to throw it , but I always flipped mine open back along my wrist and then slid the knife down into my hand. SOme guys would hold the handle in the hand and start the blade open by piching then catch the blade on the edge of their sheath or some other object to finish opening the knife, sort of like the way some kids would stick a match stick in their folders when I was a kid so the tip of the blade barely appeared out of the grip and they would catch it on the edge of their pocket as they drew it so the knife was openned one handed. One can even unlock and fold the 112 one handed.

For the time period it was really something.

My high school buddy that went to West Point (aka Hudsen High) bought one of the thumb openners meantioned upstream. It was basically a gussied up screw and bolt that one tightened onto the back of the blade. Anytime he loaned me his 112 that thing seemed to be in the way for whatever I needed the blade for. After watching me flip open my own a bit he removed the device.

I on occassion pinched the blade open from a normal grip but stopped doing it when someone tried to do the same and sliced the dickens out of them self. I sort of like my right thumb so I pretty much stopped opening it that way. Mind you I do have enough grip strength that I can often pinch open common folders, but the Buck 112 was easy enough anyone could flip it open as I described earlier.

First time I ever saw a Balisong spun and snapped open with a flurish I snapped open my Buck one handed in about half the time in response. Not as flashy, but effective.

-kBob

[bushmaster1313]

What is today's American made "best" folder?

[Owen Sparks]

You can flick one open by pinching the blade but the extra weight of all that brass makes it possible to flick it right out of your hand. The Buck 110 was THE knife in its day but we have better combat folders now.

[Deltaboy]

Yes it was and I have heard more than a dozen stories by LEO's in Arkansas about how that 110 saved their lives or aided them in saving someone elses.

[bushmaster1313]

What is today's best USA folder?

[Owen Sparks]

For the money?

Probably the Emerson line. They are lightweight enough that you don't need a belt pouch, have a pocket clip, one handed opening capacity plus the 'open on the draw' wave feature. The liners are titanium, the grip is textured and the steel is not nearly as brittle as that used in a Buck yet it holds a shaving edge well. They are not cheap but you get what you pay for.

I carry a model 11.

[Spec ops Grunt]

I'd say some sort of Spyderco honestly.

[ArfinGreebly]

What is today's best USA folder?

What's the application?


Personal tactical folder?
Generic EDC folder?
Camping and outdoor folder?
Hunting folder?
Fishing folder?
Gentleman's around-the-office folder?
Hard use construction site folder?
Multi-purpose SAK-style folder?
Multiple blades?
Single blade?
Locking folder?
Slipjoint folder?
One-handed opening folder?
Assisted opening folder?


I ask this because for each of those questions I can produce a different answer.

For example . . . just grabbing some names off the top of my head for each category . . .
Personal tactical folder? . . . Hell, I dunno, how about a Benchmade Griptilian Generic EDC folder? . . . Buck Vantage Pro Camping and outdoor folder? . . . Buck 112 EcoLite Hunting folder? . . . Buck 110 Fishing folder? . . . Spyderco Catcherman Gentleman's around-the-office folder? . . . Lone Wolf Paul Presto Hard use construction site folder? . . . Zero Tolerance 0300 Multi-purpose SAK-style folder? . . . Case Cutlery Jr Scout Pocket Knife Multiple blades? . . . Moore Maker Serpentine Stock Knife Single blade? . . . Spyderco Manix2 Locking folder? . . . Chris Reeve Sebenza Slipjoint folder? . . . Case XX Seahorse Whittler One-handed opening folder? . . . Spyderco Native5 Assisted opening folder? . . . Kershaw Leek


Are these the "best" in each category? Kind of depends on who you ask.

However, it should give you an idea what kind of quality is available across a diverse selection of styles.

For example, I suggested the Paul Presto for a gent's knife. I have one, but I actually carry the Buck 501 more often. The Buck 501 is a fine gent's knife, but it only cost a third of the price of the Presto.

For "generic EDC" I offered the Buck Vantage Pro, but you will get plenty of competing suggestions. I carry a Buck Vantage, but I prefer the Avid over the Pro, 'cuz I like the steel better, and I prefer smooth handles.


The available variety is staggering, but you will not go far wrong with the traditional US brands. I would have liked to recommend a couple from CKRT, but they're made in Taiwan -- even so, I submit that you'd like the Ripple from Ken Onion's new CRKT stylings.

Buck, Spyderco, Benchmade, Kershaw (and Zero Tolerance), Leatherman (yes, they do knives), Case (including their American Workman series), Moore Maker, Queen Cutlery, Chris Reeve, Ka-Bar (seen their Dog's Head line?), and so on, these guys will deliver the goods. Lone Wolf was founded by Gerber refugees, and their stuff is top drawer (they are now a subsidiary of Benchmade, but the quality is still there).


There is simply no shortage of US domestic high quality product in knives.

Trying to name a "best" knife is like trying to name a "best" car or a "best" gun. The first question is always gonna be "whatcha gonna do with it?"


Good luck with your quest for the best.

[Owen Sparks]

There are more good folding knives on the market now than ever before. There are designs to appeal to every tastes and for every use. Being that this is the non-firearm weapon forum, we can narrow the scope to modern folding fighting knives within practical and legal blade lengths designed for daily carry. They all start to look more or less alike.

Most of them have some sort of hole or stud that will allow the user to easily open it with one hand.

Most of them have a pocket clip that hold the knife in the same exact position all the time with a part of it exposed. This allow the user to get his hand on much quicker than fishing it out of his pocket where it might not be turned the same way every time.

Most of them are relatively flat compared to older designs in order to keep them close against the body when carried in a pocket by the clip.

Most of them are relatively light as traditional wood and brass has been replaced by light weight modern material to make pocket carry of large knives practical and the clip does away with belt pouches.

Most of them now have textured grips that makes them easier to hold on to than smooth polished wood.

Some now have 'open on the draw' or 'assisted opening' features that make them even faster.

And they still make traditional wood and brass handled knives with thumb nail cuts for people who prefer one like grandpa carried.

[heeler]

You got it with the question of best for what Arfin.
Having owned an early 70's Buck 110 as well as a mid 80's 110 I can honestly state these knives were designed primarily for the man who hunted and needed a knife for gutting a deer as well as skinning the animal.
Sure tons of guys bought one and walked around all over town with it's leather scabbard fastened to his belt for whatever he thought he needed the knife for.
Most likely back in the day Buck thought the heavy duty 112 would be great for that kind of guy.
But even the 112 made a decent hunting knife.
Remember folks knives of the 60's,70's,and 80's most likely served a different function of whats now become known as the edc.
Not to say they were not carried like todays edc's.

[Owen Sparks]

What is the difference between a 110 and a 112?

[ArfinGreebly]

What is the difference between a 110 and a 112?

The blade on a Buck 110 Folding Hunter is 3 3/4 inches long. . .

The blade on a Buck 112 Ranger is 3 inches long. . . . . . . . . . . 162108

Both patterns are also available in the "EcoLite" version with synthetic handles.

This is the 110 EcoLite
in green PaperStone *
* This is the 112 EcoLite
in red PaperStone 162109 *
*
*
*
*
*
*
* 162110


Both patterns have an equivalent model (with a different designation but the same blade) in the BuckLite series.

162111



Normal 110 & 112 = hefty knife with wood & brass handles.
EcoLite 110 & 112 = lighter knife with full synthetic (PaperStone) handles.
BuckLite series = even lighter knife with FRN (fiberglass reinforced nylon) or ETP (Engineered Thermoplastic) handles. The BuckLite III model numbers are 426 (~= 110) and 422 (~= 112).


The above six basic styles are all of the same "family," having the same basic blades. I have the 110, 110 EcoLite, and the 426 BuckLite here on my desk. To my right there is a postage scale:
Old stock 110 Folding Hunter (wood & brass) ______________ = 7.4 oz
New production 110 EcoLite Folding Hunter (PaperStone) ___ = 4.1 oz
Recent production 426 BuckLite III (orange FRN/ETP) ______ = 3.1 oz


And all of the above knives are made right here in Post Falls, Idaho. I pass the factory every day on my way to work.