Let's hear about those large folders

[T.R.]

My Folding Lock Back Knives

Buck 110 started it all with their locking folder many years ago when JFK was president. Since then millions have been sold to sportsmen and tradesmen all over the world. For good reasons, too. The steel is tempered to hold an edge exceptionally well and the knife has a strong lock design which inspires confidence and safety during heavy use. The blade length and shape are perfect for the big game hunter. Handle scales are said to be laminated hardwood. I bought my first 110 in 1976 but it went missing after a camping trip. I recently bought my second one. In my opinion, no knife collection is complete without a Buck 110.

Schrade LB7 was designed to compete with Buck’s model 110. But the blade and handle are slightly thicker which makes for a heavier knife. The steel is also quite good and holds an edge well. Handle scales are said to be rosewood. For many decades, Schrade was a USA company with good reputation for quality. But the company was sold several years ago to Taylor Brands. Current knives are imports from China. I bought an import model LB7 for my nephew and he carried it in Iraq for two tours using it mostly to cut open boxes with no problems at all. He and his buddies liked it a lot.

Smokey Mountain Knife Works folding hunter was a popular seller in the 1980’s and 90’s. Retail price was $7.99 including leather sheath! Design was also inspired by Buck 110 but that’s where similarities end. The handle scales are torched bone. This knife is an import from Pakistan. The mediocre steel does not hold an edge well compared to others but will dress and skin one deer before needing to be re-sharpened. My knife has seen much use. It was purchased when my children were little and we had no spare cash at all.

Taiwan import. This model was also inspired by Buck. But much thinner in both handle and blade makes for a lightweight folder. This stainless steel blade has just enough nickel for corrosion resistance but is easily sharpened to a razor edge. Handle scales appear to be a hardwood. These knives were sold by Harbor Freight Salvage for $5.99 in the 1990’s. My knife has seen much use cutting insulation and cardboard boxes over the years and it is holding up and lasting much longer than I ever thought possible for a cheap import.

SUMMARY: Of my four lock backs I carry the Taiwan folder most of all because of the weight factor. A good replacement would be Buck 110 Eco Lite. I really like Schrade and Buck knives equally well; they’re nearly identical. But the Smokey Mountain knife is getting loose and wobbly from much use and it will likely be retired before long. The quality just isn’t there which is more of a reflection of materials than actual workmanship. Grade and tempering of steel is very important for edge retention and this Pakistan import just doesn’t have decent steel. I once owned a Pakistan fixed blade knife for a time and it had the same low quality steel issues.

TR

 

[Zeke/PA]

In about 1960 or so, as you stated, the large folders were becoming the rage.
From a supplier, I bought a whole display card ( 10 knives) of Queens Cutlery dual bladed folders for $4.50 apiece heavy duty sheath included.
I gave one to Dad, I kept one and sold the rest.
About 100 deer or so later I still use mine an the edge is capable of razor sharpness.
Great knives!

 

[19-3Ben]

Love the Buck 110. It's simplicity is part of the beauty.
It all started when i was 11-12 years old (this would be mid-90s), and my dad bought me a cheap Pakistani knockoff of the 110. He isn't a knife guy, so he didn't know better, and I was a kid, so I didn't know, nor care at the time. The knife was stamped with the name... "something bear". Don't remember exactly, but i know "Bear" was part of the name.
That knife basically sat in a drawer and got played with for years. When i started camping, I already knew enough about knives to know that I could not count on the metallurgy of that knife. I used much better knives for serious use. One time I did take that knockoff on a hike, and tried to do some basic whittling with it, and sure enough the lock snapped. I buried the knife, as I have much nicer knives that my father gave me, and I didn't want anyone to ever come across the broken one in a drawer somewhere and think it would be safe to use.

The real 110 (and copies made by good companies) are good knives, and I love the classic styling. They remind of the knife from my childhood, except much higher quality!

 

[TomADC]

I have a few of the Case large trappers, a large KaBar & Buck. Kind of like the trappers.
Do have a Case Buffalo & Bulldog in the box unused.

 

[rcmodel]

Here are a couple of old Big Case folders.
4 3/8" Sunfish and 5 1/4" Folding Hunter.



Here is a WWII Colonial survival 'Giant' jacknife.



rc

 

[bikerdoc]

A shrade LB7 was on my duty belt starting in the early 70's an still finds its way into my daily carry rotation.

 

[TomADC]

Something a little older from Colonial Knife Co.

 

[ahtoxa]

Love the 110 and still have mine, but it is a bit heavy for an EDC. I now carry an Ontario RAT-1, which is almost the same size, but a few ounces lighter.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I got a buck 110 and I love it, Dad got a Shrade and a Ranger brand ones.

 

[Gordon]

Rides nicely in Cargo pants or Levi's 501 front pocket and all thoiough it's 7" long blade it is light with the titanium handle

 

[rcmodel]

O. K.?

What is it?

rc

 

[Gordon]

A Darrel Ralph Mad Max

 

[rcmodel]

Mercy!
Probably worth as much as the guns!

Thanks!

rc

 

[WestKentucky]

A friend of mine found a case bulldog in a sinkhole junk pile. It has been polished with a wire wheel, drenched in pb blaster, the bone handles oiled and Sprayed with eurethane. The knife could be functional but it never has been used since I attacked it to bring it back to life.

 

[Mp7]

I love my pocket bushman...

..... it`s almost like havin a hatchet im my backpocket.

Only that it is light and so thin i hardly
realize it is there most of the time.

That knife is a lot of cut for the buck!


(plus the length is exactly the legal max around here )

 

[Lone Star]

Those who have the Schrade LB-7 may like to know that it's the knife that a Canadian fellow on Vancouver Island used to kill a cougar that attacked him. He was a mess. I think he lost one eye and his whole scalp had to be surgically reattached. But he finally got the knife out and opened it and was able to cut the cat's throat.

I talked with him by phone while writing a magazine article about his ordeal and he confirmed the make and model of knife. I'm sure that the equivalent Buck or Puma models would have done as well, but if you have an LB-7, I thought that this might be of interest.

He was in his 60's then, but must have been both strong and desperate.

Some of you may have seen him on Discovery TV. He and two other men discussed their ordeals after being attacked by cougars.

Another fellow used his Buck Model 110 to stab a grizzly in the neck when it charged him while he was using the knife to clean a deer on Kodiak Island. He must have struck a vital nerve for the stab either killed or paralyzed the bear, letting him crawl free and reach his rifle. That knife, still with the bear's blood on it, was displayed for some years in Chas. T. Buck's office at the Buck factory.

Most uses of these knives are less dramatic, but these did arouse my interest!

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Always dug the big'uns over fixed blades.

As a kid - not unlike; Ford/Chevy, Polaris/Arctic Cat or Evinrude/Merc - we were Buck/The Others.

I was always an "other" guy. Schrade, Camillus, Case, KaBar and the like. They're mostly buried around here just now but these were lying about. the Old Timer's hanging around due to my fondness of Stockman knives. I'd never had one large enough to justify a sheath/pouch. Now I do.

 

[xm21]

1977 2 dot Buck 110 and late 80's 1250T

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Nice Schrades

 

[ArfinGreebly]

In a somewhat more traditional vein . . .

There's this:



Yellow-handled full-sized Case Sod Buster in CV steel.

No lock. Slipjoint.

If you know what you're doing, it'll do the job.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Love both my Sod Busters.

 

[bannockburn]

Puma Model 270 lockback folder:

Al Mar SERE lockback folder:

Gerber Folding Sportsman II lockback folder:

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Love them Folders.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Finally found it.

Today, as I was looking for something completely unrelated, I found a knife I've wanted to photograph since this thread started.

I think I commented here on the fact that as a kid, amongst our peers, you were (as in Ford or Chevy... Polaris or Arctic Cat... John Deere or IHC or Case) either a Buck 110 guy or a; Case, Schrade or in my case - KA-BAR guy.

I really liked the big Case folders but the extreme iconoclast in me truly leaned towards the Ka Bar 1179. "Cowboy Mel" - our town barber - had one and I wanted one since the time that my pockets weren't large enough to carry one.

Anyhow, here's mine with a 110 for comparison along with another long favored knife - the old "melon testers"...

 

[TimboKhan]

The Buck 110 was largely if not entirely responsible for the phrase "buck knife" being synonymous with "quality knife" for me until at least my late teens (around 1990). I am sure that is true for a lot of people from that era.