Thanks for stopping by! We check out some vintage Buck 119s and other old knives! P.s. If you are into knives and other sharp things please Follow along with us! Instagram: / omahaknife Facebook: / omahaknife Website: omahaknife.com/
I have been buying knives for around 50 years . Nothing lasts as good as a buck knife . I have a most of my knifes i have in my life . Not one other knife has held up over the years like a buck .
I love how Buck kept this design as it was back in the 60's with only some minor changes unlike KA-BAR who changed their MK 2 fighting knife so much over the years that it is not the same knife anymore. I love the current version but wish it looked more like the original ones.
I’ve got the same knife dating from 1967-1972. It was passed down to me. I never really liked the full flap sheath, that is, until I used the newer style and now I actually like the older one better.
I'm one of those guys that peruse pawn shops and thrift stores to see if there is anything interesting in stock. Once, I managed to find an old Buck Frontiersman for $20 that was pretty beat up as most outdoor knives are. I was 19, had no clue what I was holding, and traded it to my uncle for a box of Mall Ninja junk knives. He paid $30, had it completely restored to new by Buck, and still uses it to this day while I down own a single one of the knives I traded it for. Worst deal I've made in my life
I got a 119 in 1981 during the brief year or two when they used 425M. Of course the salesman in the knife store (Santa Barbara, CA - Merlo's Cutlery ?) said it was 440C because it had been one or two years before.
I bought my Dad a Buck fisherman 121 while stationed in Iceland in 1982. That knife was discontinued in 1986. I paid the whopping price of 18.00. Dad passed 10 years ago and I inherited it. It's in like new condition , the sheath mint. I had it appraised today by an expert . it was appraised at 125.00 - 175.00. That's the best 18.00 I've ever spent. On another note. That groove most people call a blood grove , is actually called a fuller. Excellent video.
Ive bought 3 this year in 2023, 110, 117 and 119, all brand new, clearly marked "knife made in Idaho, sheath imported". But the sheaths are very nice as well.
Got my Buck 119 back in 84, the "date stamp" reveals it was made between 1972 and 1986, still going strong. It is a great knife. The sheath on mine is what they call sandwich style. A back piece, the middle gusset piece, and the front piece. I think it would be cool to have aht holster style. Keep it sharp, and keep it clean and oil the leather now and then.
Thanks for this video. My uncle just gave me my late fathers Buck 119 knife and just found out it was manufactured in my birth year! Kind of neat. 1993 for anyone curious.
Hello my friend a friend of mine told me about this video and I'm going to correct you on this I've been buying and selling buck knives and collecting them for over 10 years and I have bought and sold hundreds if not thousands of China bucks and none of them ever say USA they just say buck and whatever the model number is you need to do your detailed homework before you sell something like this because a lot of collectors get very pissed when you do that kind of stuff just some friendly advice
I used to have a buck 119 that I bought in the 90’s......I got did of it and regretted it. I recently got the new special buck 119 in s25vn with Paul Bos heat treat and green micarta handle it is a nice upgraded version
Like I said my friend you need to do more detailed research you basically covered the basics you need to do more detailed research when you review a knife like this on top of that for the money that those go for it's a great knife I've been carrying one for years and I always get a brand new current one of the current year and retire my old one on top of that those were called read my Carta inlays and they switched to Black for the modern ones if you get a custom order you can request to get red ones put in like I said my friend you need to do more extensive research into what's going on in the buck now because you did get a few things wrong which does not look good if you're trying to sell knives
Correct! It's called a Fuller. Removal of metal lightens but also weakens. The Shape is in a similar form as an I beam. to recover the strength. Yeah, I've heard it called "Blood Gutter" all my life by older WWII veterans too...
One who sell knives, don't know much about them. And all there good fixed blade knives are made in the USA! Only their cheap folders are made in china.
Had a 1970 120 General great knife held a fantastic edge. Wish I still had it (divorce). Got a new 119. Good knife but the older ones were better. The groove is called a fuller.
On top of that man I don't know what lost passion you're talking about on top of that bucks heat treat is what makes them so well known and makes them hold an edge perfectly on top of that this is not really a good comparison it's nice to see two old birds put beside each other but to do a real comparison you need to put the really old one with the current version that they're making now to do a true comparison I've done plenty of these on my videos as well on top of that the current CEO of buck is hoyt's grandson and they don't just make China knives they make a small branch of it it's like 20% China and 80% USA
Sorry to be a pain in the arse - but if you would put a few commas and periods in, it would make reading your comments so much easier. (Imagine kind smiley face here.)
I'm a Buck fan. And your points are valid. But I feel that Buck should not put their name on an inferior, foreign-made product. It leads to people (like the guy in this video) making comments about Buck's "lack of passion". Like I said, still a fan, but this was a poor business decision on Buck's part. Peace.
@tristan barnett For the record, I own several of the modern-production USA made Bucks. From 2018 to present. And I can witness to the fact that Buck's passion is very much ALIVE. They are all quality made, if you look closely you can see the pride in them. Equal to or better than any of my one or two liners. There are still a very few American companies that can say that.
@@mattcarroll5603 I definitely agree with you my friend there's no other brand I would vouch for the most then Buck because I've been collecting them for years and I've been using them for years I started carrying a buck 119 that was made in 1972 to 86 and I carried it for a couple of years until I eventually bought a modern one and I would definitely say I agree their passion is still very much Alive and Kicking I definitely say their quality is getting better and better with each passing year there's no other brand I would vouch for and in my opinion they're the only old American knife brand that's still around and still making the same good quality products that they should be I definitely agree they should not be making China I don't know who made that decision if it was up to me I would cut off the China line completely but from a business point of view I can definitely see why they did it because I run my own knife business as well it's just extra money that they can put to better use and more inventory so from a business point of view I can understand it but as an American I would say you need to cut out China completely because they're ruining our Cutlery industry
Thank you! I know Buck Knives are not what they used to be, but in the early 70s we didn't have the choices we have today. I bought a half dozen of the Buck 100 series when I was in high school. Before I went to Navy boot camp I ordered my first Randall Made knife, across the counter in the Randall shop in Orlando. Not what I would think of as a custom knife today but it is still beautiful and feels great in the hand. The knife in the video with the brass buttcap is probably a theater knife. I had one from Korea with circles of plexiglass from a helicopter front window stacked, instead of leather, for the handle. It was a crude copy of a Ka-Bar but from decent steel and nicely hardened. They call it a theater knife because it was made inside the theater of the war. Any time you feel like sharing old, or new, interesting items from a knife shop perspective, I will eagerly take a look.
Yes and No......the 119 Special has a lower grade of steel, which is 420HC. 420HC does not have the hardness or edge retention of the 440C or 425M steel used back in the 70's and 80's. But the 119 Pro uses S35VN and the 119 Custom Shop uses S30 which is a premium grade, stronger steel that is harder and holds their razor sharp edge a lot longer, but are more difficult to sharpen. The issue is economics and the 119's with the premium S35VN and S30 grade steel are going to start at $200, while the basic 119 Special with 420HC is $75. So, you can still get a Buck like they used to be.....but you better be willing to pay a damn high price - $200 dollars and more - for one of the really good ones.
Curtis, I love your store, and your video on these different knives. However, I drives me crazy when anyone says that buck knives are not good knives today. I understand what you mean, if you're referring to the fact that this steel isn't meant to be abused. However, you cannot beat a buck knife for the price, quality of heat treat in the steel, and the lifetime guarantee that they do honor. Also, most of them are made in the United States in Idaho. Yet, they have a few that are made in China and a lot of people throw that out there sounding as if all their knives are made in China now. Not true. Most are American made. Gerber makes a knife, the strong arm, and a few others that American military guys have done videos about because they use them overseas and beat the crap out of them, and it still works. I can't believe that a gerber 420 is better than a buck 420, therefore, I I conclude that the use of the 420 steel is still pretty darn effective. Would I pick an ESSE knife with 1095 steel if I could only choose one and I knew I was going to be beating on it. Possibly. However, if I only had one knife I doubt I would be beating on it, meaning batoning. Or sticking the tip into a piece of wood to pry something out, if it was my only knife and the only thing between me and death. And the great thing about Buck knives is you can buy two or three of them, compared to the cost of one super steel knife. Which, I would prefer because even a super steel knife can break, so no I'd rather have 2 or 3 knives on me . And I do have a couple of bucks made from the s30v, and D2 steel, but I'm still not going to abuse them. And I still haven't found a knife that didn't need to be honed everyday with regular use. Also, I think it's been proven that Buck knives last a lifetime with proper use and maintenance just as well as any expensive knife. So thank you for your video showing those great knives, and taking the time to do it I appreciate it. I just needed to say something about buck knives after hearing many RU-vid knife people say the same thing about how buck knives are not great today.
The pommel is the metal at the back of the handle.. the plastic handle is called phenolic resin.. commonly called bakelite.. ive always found it to be too smooth and slippery.. but nice !
I have 3 119s. I have 1 of the old sheath in good condition but it's kind of annoying . And without the plastic insert There is always a risk the blade will go right through the leather if you're a little bit too aggressive. Good for a showpiece but not too good to use. The new ones are much better.
If you don't know what a fuller a pommel or micarta is you probably shouldn't be doing an in depth video on a knife. Just an observation. To say the 119 is not a great knife by today's standards is completely inaccurate in my opinion!
I have owned a Buck 119 for many, many years. It has no date code, other than Buck 119, USA I do not see any description for this knife on your date listing. Does this possibly mean it was made in China ????
In the 60's they were hand made by individual makers, not cnc machined, and depth of hollow grinds, edge geometry, tip thickness, it varied significantly. Pay enough attention to vintage ones for sale and it seems likely that certain guys made them to their tastes, and an end user could I suspect hand select their preference in many cases when buying at a store. Certainly we can today on Ebay. With hand made 440c and steel pommels, I would argue that the 60's variants are bargains at twice the price of the new, however the new s30v versions are also quite excellent and offer great predictable consistency. I think today they use junky 420 stainless because most people that buy them don't actually use them that hard or often and it offers excellent corrosion resistance over many decades of rare use.
@@southernshop8424 I have been using buck knives hard for 22 years, I've owned more than a dozen, currently own two in 440c, 1 in 420hc, and 2 in s30v. I own countless other brands too and make knives as a hobby. My opinion is not based on ignorance. The Buck's are not stupid, they aren't kidding about their mastery of heat treating, and 420 hc is an optimized choice for their mass produced knives. It is not ideal for more demanding users, and that is why they also offer them in s30v, 5160 and occasionally 440c to celebrate the past.
@@southernshop8424 I very dorkily picked that name in the very first months of gmail when I was a teenager due to being a fan of his knives. Nothing more or less to that one.
when you first start watching you get the idea that he doesn't really know much about knives, but it's fine, even if you work at a knife store, but then he insults Buck and makes false claims about their current owner and lineup.. bit disappointing.
THE PEOPLE THAT OWNS THOSE 2 KNIVES DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO CARE A GOOD BUCK KNIFE OR SHARPEN A GOOD BUCK KNIFE,I HAVE KNIVES THAT CAN BE RESOLD AS A NEW KNIFE.HOW CAN SOMEONE BUY A NEW KNIFE AND IT ENDS UP LOOKING LIKE THOSE 2 KNIVES I JUST CANNOT UNDERSTAND
I disagree the Buck knives are just has good has the older one's I've been collecting Buck knives for over 50 years note any Buck knife made in China dose not have usa stamp on them
I have a buck knife 119 bought it from harbor freight paid 60 bucks for it and had a guy at a pawn shop tell me it's a fake bcuz it's not marked with buck on the side and said it's a Chinese knockoff but I bought it straight from harbor freight pulled it out of the buck knife packaging and I'm just trying to figure out why it's not marked and why this guy at the pawn shop thinks it's a Chinese knockoff
I believe the handle material on the older version is polished micarta, not fibreglass like you suggested. That’s what it looks like anyway. Micarta is fabric, paper, or other fibrous material soaked in epoxy and pressed/dried. It’s a much better material than the new plastic phenolic ones.
ANYONE THAT BUYS A BUCK KNIFE FOR USE TO DIG UP DANDYLIONS DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO CARE A QUALITY KNIFE.IF I WAS SELLING A QUALITY KNIFE AND THAT PERSON CAME IN TO BUY A KNIFE FROM ME I WOULD NOT SELL IT TO HIM OR SHE..
“There is no short answer to this so hear goes... You have to take into account the hardness, the included angle, and the edge geometry, plus to a certain extent, the blade finish.” “One thing I do know about our 440C, 425mod, and 420hc is that we get the same basic rockwell out of each of them. 58 to 60 was the range and that was Chuck's law, never to be trifled with. When we were using 440C the edge geometry was a lot diferent than our Edge 2000 geometry. The comment most often heard during the 440c years was that Buck knives held a great edge, but boy was it hard to get that edge on. Those earlier knives had an extra operation in production that we called a "flat edge". Take a look at a new 110 from back then and you can still see a faint line running the length of the edge. That edge was slightly radiused to, thus lending to the hard to resharpen comments because how do you lay a blade edge flat on a stone if the edge is not flat to begin with? Those blades were thicker through the hollow grind which made meant they could stand up to more prying, but again, made it a lot harder to resharpen as you got higher up in the blade. VERY tough edge and tough blade for sure but our customers were telling us that wanted something they could sharpen. Gradual changes in the blade and edge geometry took place over the years to address this need. Off the top of my head I think we did away with the flat edge operation before we went to 425mod. Before we changed from 425mod to 420hc, Chuck had to be convinced that we would still get our 58-60 hardness. We did numerous tests in heat treat, and backed them up on our C.A.T.R.A. machine, a device that tests several aspects of an edge, before we made the switch. Many of our opinions on which steel is best are clouded by all the other variables that really need to be considered together. I hear someone sware that his 103 skinner from the 60's is the best knife ever and I know that if I took a 2007 Skinner, and ground the edge the same as his, it would likely perform the same. Does that mean that we should go back to the earlier geometry? Nope. It means that for that particular person, that particular combination of rockwell, geometry, angle, works best for him and his particular needs. My opinion has always been that to a certain extent, everybody uses their knives diferently, and sharpen them diferently so they should find the knife and sharpening technique that works best for their needs. The best thing that Buck can do to help is deliver a consistant edge to begin with. That is part of what E2k was all about. We shoot for a 26 to 32 degree included angle, which our research has shown is a good all around edge. You might want a lower number for a fillet blade and a higher number for chisel. We also made the edge more visible, easier to see and lay flat on the stone. It may appear that the edge is actually higher but that illusion is due to the fact that we don't polish the burr off anymore in the final sharpening operation. To polish it would be to give it a slight radius so we now strop it off, leaving it good and flat, therefore easier to sharpen for the customer. I hope this helps some. In case anyone was wondering... We changed from 440C to 425mod because we wanted to fineblank our blades. If we could fineblank them, we could get greater accuracy on our tolerances. Much more accurate than trying to mill and drill later. We could also make the blades quicker which translated into keeping our cost down, always a good thing. This is vastly diferent than saying we "went to a cheeper steel to cut costs". Remember Chuck's law, only then it was also Al Buck's law. That 425mod was a special steel the mill made for Buck, and we paid for it. Then years later, at the mills request, we considered the change from 425mod to our current 420hc. We were the only ones that wanted 425mod and they mainly made it for us because they liked us...seriously! But 420hc was an on the shelf variety of steel and was basically the same so...Many test later, as mentioned above, and we made the switch. Again, not Buck switching to a cheeper steel, just Buck finding a better way to keep its costs down without impacting the customer. Its a win win, my employer stays in business and we continue to deliver a quality knife.”
I dont like the idea of "old was better" it always bugs me. It bugs me as much as "New" in advertising as if new is better. Better is better. And I think the new sheath is fucking great.
Better yet if he did some research before hand to learn that Chinese Bucks don't have USA on them, the handle material is phenolic, the butt of the knife is called a pommel, the groove is a fuller, etc. This guy comes off as completely knife-illiterate.
The new Pro and Heritage series are much nicer steel. I have both and they stand up to brands like Bark River Knives. You are right though the 420HC is not good steel.
And if they went back to 440 with the way they know how to heat treat. The knife would be awesome! 420 sucks. Only, because. They know how to heat treat. Is the only reason, it can hold a edge.
Need to do some more research before you do a video. The knives that Buck makes in chine just says Buck with China on the backside of the blade or on a secondary blade. Anytime it says Buck USA it is made in the …..USA.
That got me too. This sounds like a good knife shop to avoid. Guy doesn't seem to like any of the knives in the video and didn't do the slightest bit of research before opening his mouth.
You are so wrong been bush crafting before bush craft was a word at 68 years old collecting and use knives for over 62 years buck is no one I have 100s of knives still carrying my119. 120 110 I'll put them up with anything you can dish out if you don't have a buck knife on your side you don't have a knife ENOUGH SAID
Not a great video, if I'm being honest. You came totally unprepared. Didn't seem to know very much about the knives you were talking about. Also very negative and off-putting that you kept repeating that the knives were "not very good" and "I'm sure it's not worth anything." I hope you can do better in the future.