All About Pocket Knives

Alright I picked up a relatively rare Buck knife this afternoon and would like to know as much as I can find out.

The knife is a 110 Skinner in the original box!! I know these were only made for a few years before changed to a 103 designation. The lower case (buck) mark is upside down which I found very interesting. The knife is unused but does have some damage from the original owner dropping it. The damage is minor and on the rear of the knife.

Anyone who could provide a concrete date of manufacture or any other pertinent information on this knife I would greatly appreciate the knowledge. I am not a Buck knife collector and plan on trading or selling it in the future but I would like to provide as much information to the next owner as possible. Thanks Jos

Found this here...the next to last post talks about the 110.

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=29647&p=273328&hil ... er#p273328

Thank you. I also found that article but it did not give a specific DOM and the sheath pictured does not look anything like the one that came with mine. I will probably give BUCK knives a call on Monday to see if they can give specificities. I thought it was pretty awesome that the model changed after this knife was made. I reached out to a local Buck knife collector he told me he didn’t know much about it but he wanted to buy it, Ha!

More knowledgeable folks will be along; hopefully they can give you more info...welcome to AAPK!

Thanks!

Anyone have more information on this knife?

Look on the very end of the handle and if you can see the ghost image of a round circle half the size of a dime it is a barrel nut construction and is pre 1963. After that the handles were pinned but I don't know how to tell that type for sure.

The Buck Folding Hunter was designed in 1964, when the Buck 110 Folding Hunter hit the market in 1965 the model number of your knife was changed to the Buck 103. So at the very latest your knife would be 1964. OH

Thank you everyone for the information. I reached out to BUCK knives and they sent me a detailed explanation of the knife. I will try to post it if I can figure out how.

I am looking forward to reading Buck's reply. If you cannot post the entire email then maybe explain what Buck said in your own words.
kj

Hi Josh,

What you have there is something pretty special. It is no surprise that the forum guys have been aggressive with you regarding it.

First, a little bit of history for you. Al Buck made the 110 "Professional" as a skinning knife and first offered it in the early 1950s. It featured a blade made of a discarded file and lignum vitae handle with Dural (aluminum) guard and pommel. Here is one from the family archive:


In 1956, the name was changed to “Skinner” and was offered in either ebony or stag handle configurations with Dural guard and pommel with leather spacers.

1957 brought back the name “Professional Skinner”:



Al Buck and his 2 sons, Chuck and Frank, incorporated Buck Knives, Inc. in 1961. That year was the first “Factory production” year for Buck Knives as the business that we still have today. In 1961, the Skinner was still offered as the model 110 Skinner. It was offered either in black phenolic (the same material we use to this day) or white melamine. White melamine are some of the hardest for collectors to find as there weren’t that many made. The guard and pommel were still Dural and the spacers were of Dural and Leather.




The early sheaths were made by Don Hume (a former San Diego Sheriff) and feature a leather strap enclosure with black saddle leather.

The 1962 catalog brought about the model number change to 103. The spacers were changed from leather to bone hard fiber. Since there weren’t great records kept back in those days, we do not know exactly when the “official” change was made.




Chances are good that you have what is called a “barrel nut” knife. Called this because of the way the pommel is attached to the tang. If you look directly on the back of the pommel, you should see a circle in the middle.

This is the barrel shaped nut that attached the pommel to the tang and holds the handle together. The end of the nut has been sanded down to the contour of the pommel. Newer versions are pinned down, where you will see the pin on both sides of the pommel.

I would put the knife safely in the date range of 1961-1963. After 1963, pinned construction has been used.

The sheath that you have is newer than the box. The “holster style” sheaths weren’t offered until 1965, a year AFTER the model 110 Folding Hunter was introduced.

Of course, there may have been old stock boxes back then, or the sheath was replaced at some point. Or it was one of the very first to come with the holster style sheaths long before it was offered in the catalog. Most likely a combination of all of it.

You may have picked up on the fact that this model knife is one of my personal favorites.

It is a fine example of an early factory knife from Buck. And as one of our company historians and curators of our family archive and museum collection, I wouldn’t be doing my job correctly if I didn’t throw my hat into the ring to acquire the knife for our museum. This type of example doesn’t come along very often and it would be a great honor to the Buck family legacy to continue to share the history of Buck Knives with the public who visit our museum. If you are interested in a trade for a Custom Knife Shop knife, please let me know. It would be my honor to add this knife to the museum collection. Thanks again for your time and consideration.

WOW!! And Congrats.. How KOOL is that!! BUCK wants your knife!! AWESOME!!!
John

Red37 thanks for coming back to share what you learned when you contacted the folks at Buck Knives. I too think it's cool that the company has expressed an interest in obtaining your knife and I wish you well whatever you decide to do with it.