Repairing a badly beat up vintage Buck 110

[Walleye]

Hey y’all,

I’ve recently bought a very badly worn vintage Buck 110, that I intend to repair and refurbish. The blade looks terrible, maybe it came into contact with some serious acid or maybe a stick welder at some point?

The frame and lock bar are in good working order. One idea is to put a modern 110 blade in it, the other is to make a new blade from scratch. Either way, it’s going to be a using knife, I’m not worried about hurting its collectible value at this point.

These older 110s don’t have a separate stainless spring bar retainer like the new ones do, it’s an integral part of the pile side handle frame. My question is: we’re the butt end rivets on this generation of 110 part of the handle castings or did they use convention pins that can be driven out, thus allowing me to disassemble the entire knife?

Ideally, I could knock this completely apart, wire brush and polish the whole thing, re pin the handle rivets, get a new blade in there and then reassemble with a stainless rocker pin.

[Desert Golfer]

I wouldn't touch it. Send it back to Buck and for $10.00 they will put a New Blade in it and give it the Spa Treatment. Mike

[RevolverGuy]

Send it to Buck but make sure to note in the paperwork that you DO NOT want the blade replaced. You have a very early 110 with the upside down, also called inverted tang stamp (1967-72). Its value will go down if you replace the blade. These are sought after by collectors. Buck can resharpen and make it look like new, but I would not have blade replaced.

[orvet]

IMHO, the collector value with that blade in it is negligible. I would send it to Buck and have it repaired with a new blade and of course the spa treatment they give it and you would have a good user knife.
That's just my opinion, YMMV.

[Walleye]

I figured this would probably happen. Yes, it’s a vintage 110, but it looks like it’s been laying in ocean for a decade or two and I want to do the work myself. I have other Bucks from this era in way better shape, and there are plenty out there for sale in way better shape than this one. I want to remove the blade and hang it on my wall as a decor item. I thought about having Buck clean it up, but I’d rather do it myself.

One route I considered was buying a new 110 Lite from Walmart and swapping out the lock bar and blade with this one and just running with it, leaving all the damage to the handles alone. I’d keep the vintage blade and spring and set them aside. If this was even in passable shape or if it was an early one liner I would leave it alone, but I’m determined to make this one my own.

[XX Case XX]

Doing the work yourself would be very satisfying so I understand not wanting to send it to Buck. I just don't know enough about the older 110's to give you any answers or advise. Whatever happens though, please let us know, and send pictures. Good luck!!!

____________
Mike

[RevolverGuy]

I still think Buck could do a pretty decent job restoring it. Their guys take pride in getting older knives to work on. I have sent knives in terrible condition that came back and impressed me. Some were 110's with cracks and chips in the wood and they somehow smoothed them out. Have sent a broken blade that was reprofiled and came back looking almost like a 112 blade. Inverted 110's tend to go for ~$250 in good shape. If it were mine I'd not have a blade replacement. The older ones are 440C. Newer ones are 420HC and have a thinner grind. It just looks really off to me for a 110 to have that old style body with a new style blade. But hey it's yours. Do whatever you want with it.

[orvet]

but I’d rather do it myself.

One route I considered was buying a new 110 Lite from Walmart and swapping out the lock bar and blade with this one and just running with it, leaving all the damage to the handles alone. I’d keep the vintage blade and spring and set them aside. If this was even in passable shape or if it was an early one liner I would leave it alone, but I’m determined to make this one my own.

I totally understand! It is very satisfying to do your own work on a knife and it's also a learning experience. Repairing knives can be very addicting, just be ready for that if it happens to you!

If you do buy a 110 Lite, you may want to measure the blade in the spring to make sure they are the same thickness as the old 110 that you're putting the blade into. Often the lighter weight versions of knives have thinner blades then the standard version. I don't know if that's the case with the 110 Lite or not, but it might be worth measuring the thicknesses to make sure the blade will fit in the old frame.

Please do post pictures of how it comes out, it would be an education for everyone. I have worked on a number of 110s, but never the old ones. I would be curious to know what the difference is.

[dsutton24]

Some of those knives had posts that were cast as part of one of the butt halves, and the posts fit into holes in the other butt half. Some were pinned in the conventional manner. You can probably tell which you have if you polish the butt. If yours is one of those that has the posts cast into one of the butt halves you can always drill through and pin the knife back together.

As one of my colleagues mentioned above the blades in the Lites are tumbled, they and can vary some in dimension. If the Lite blade is a little thinner than the original blade it's an easy matter to adjust the thickness of the spacer, and just use the Lite lock bar.

I don't remember particulars, but I think the lock / tang / pivot geometry changed over the years. You may have to move the pivot to make it all work. I don't know if the tang on the Lites is the same as the 110.

[Walleye]

Made some good progress tonight. Donor knife is a 110 Lite.

I am amazed at how consistent Buck has been with these. While there are definite differences between the old spring and the new one, the pin placement has not really changed. The spring bars are both 3/32” thick rod, and they are almost the same length. Blade thicknesses are both just a hair shy of 1/8”.

The older spring is much flatter along the back side, slightly more shallow in profile, and doesn’t have as much of an overall curve.

The main rivet on the old knife is odd, not sure how they did these. On both sides of the bolsters, you could see an obvious 3/16” rivet profile. I center punched it and went all the way through with a 3/32”. Then, I came back on one side and drilled a 1/4” down (just to the blade) with an 11/64” drill. This effectively broke the pin, and I was able to shimmy the blade off the stud and then push the rest of the rivet out the other side. Oddly, the hole in the old blade tang is only 1/8”; no copper bushing. On the side I didn’t drill through, it appears to be countersunk with a roughly 3/16” wide head, but the rivet diameter where it goes through the blade is 1/8”. Would really like to know how they did this. Could have been a stepped tapered pin?

The blade pivot hole on the new blade is 7/32” without the bushing. I think what I’m going to need to do at this point is drill through the old frame at this point with a 7/32” in the drill press, and mount the new blade with no bushing. As long as I counter sink the hole a little and peen it over enough, it shouldn’t be too visible, esp after it tarnishes a bit.

I test fit everything with temporary rivets and the new blade and spring and lock bar seem to function fine. Lock up is fine. The new spring is a little proud of the frame along the back, so when it’s all peened back together I will have to hit it with the belt sander and level everything out. The newer frames have a wider butt end, so I will also need to monkey with the blade kick a little to get it sitting right in the frame. I may even need to shave the factory edge back 1/16” or so and regrind the main bevel. This wouldn’t hurt aesthetically as the newer blades are wider than the old ones anyway, a little more narrow from edge to spine won’t hurt it.

As much as I’d like to leave all the patina and grime, I’d really like to find out how to get the butt end apart and re-rivet the handle scales in place. All four pins are falling inwards towards the spring. I might try shimming the interior and re-peening these rivets as a work around for taking it fully apart, but I’d also like to have a closer look at the integral lock bar holder. I’m going to keep researching this, but if anyone else has ideas about the butt end let me know. It doesn’t appear to be pinned with two pins all the way through like the modern ones are.

I’m including some pictures below.

[Walleye]

Some of those knives had posts that were cast as part of one of the butt halves, and the posts fit into holes in the other butt half. Some were pinned in the conventional manner. You can probably tell which you have if you polish the butt. If yours is one of those that has the posts cast into one of the butt halves you can always drill through and pin the knife back together.

As one of my colleagues mentioned above the blades in the Lites are tumbled, they and can vary some in dimension. If the Lite blade is a little thinner than the original blade it's an easy matter to adjust the thickness of the spacer, and just use the Lite lock bar.

I don't remember particulars, but I think the lock / tang / pivot geometry changed over the years. You may have to move the pivot to make it all work. I don't know if the tang on the Lites is the same as the 110.

You are correct on the lock-up differences between the older ones and the newer ones. The old spring will not work with the new blade or viseversa. The older one’s lock profile is more rectangular and deeper than the newer ones. Even 110s from the 80’s look more like the modern ones; shorter and more square.

Blade and spring thickness are identical in my calipers, hard to believe, right? I with have to check again tomorrow with my micrometer, but it’s close enough to work right.

Luckily, I won’t have to move the pivot holes, but I will have to compensate with a larger pivot pin and forgo the bushing when I put it back together. That doesn’t bother me too much.

I am leaning towards drilling the butt end apart, but I would prefer not to. However, if I have I can’t re-pin the scales with the knife semi-assembled, I will have to take it apart.

Thanks for the info - stay tuned -

[Walleye]

Here are some update photos. I’ve always wanted to see what these integral spring holders looked like.

Oddly the scales seemed original and were still pinned to the frames. I knocked the pins out because I want to re-pin them (they were loose). It looks like there was a thin epoxy used in the original assembly, can anyone confirm? It looks almost like JB Weld.

In the end, I plan to make a brass bail for this knife.

[Walleye]

Here are some update photos.

I cleaned up the handle plates with a brass wire brush, and have reattached the original wood scales with JB Weld and brass pins.

I made a bail out of brass, and I drilled a 5/64” hole between the two bottom rivets and below the lock bar holder. The idea is that it could fold up against the back handle when in use and not interfere with the lock release.

I drilled out the pivot rivet to 7/32” to accommodate a modern blade without the copper bushing. I would have preferred to use the bushing, but after drilling out the original rivet the hole needed to be open wider than 1/8”, so I didn’t really have a choice. While brass on steel isn’t ideal, the thickness of this rivet should add some sturdiness at the least.

Waiting for 1/8” brass pin stock to come in the mail so I can reassemble it.

[Walleye]

Here is an update on this project. I’ve got blade/spring modified to work with the older frame. Note the blade kick has more of a curved slip joint look to it, but it works fine.

I’ve got the handles pinned on and I’ve started to clean up the frame profiles. These older Buck castings were not as accurate as the modern ones. The insides surfaces are more rough, but it all still works. The handles still retain a lot of the original damage and wear but they have at least been cleaned up and oiled. I’m not going to try to get all the damage fixed, I like it the way it is.

I’ve got it test fit up with some 1/8” stainless screw bolts - a must have for anyone who plans to disassemble or customize Buck 110s.

At this point it’s ready for pinning and final finishing.

[Walleye]

Finally wrapped this project up.

Here are some of the pre-assembly and post-polish photos:

[zed6309]

Great job and like the bail

[mqqn]

Very fine job, and thank you for documenting the process details!

You might have just created a new model, the work-finish 110 model. I find it attractive; the ruggedly handsome Buck Hunter.

[orvet]

Great job of documenting the progress in your rebuild! It looks like you've got a great user knife that will last you the rest of your life, and maybe someone else also! Nice work!

[Walleye]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your comments. This was a really fun project, but it took way longer than I wanted it to. The end result is quite nice and with the modern spring and lock assembly, I feel much better about making it a semi-everyday carry type of knife.

I wish Buck offered the option for a heavy bail on these knives. I would think anyone carrying a 110 on a boat or any kind of fishing expedition would agree with that. I am currently working on another custom Buck 110 that will feature another way of adding a bail loop to this model that might be more palatable to modern tastes. Hoping to post some pics of this next project soon.

[Jeepergeo]

It's very satisfying to DIY projects now and then. Your results look great!