please date this knife?

[tongueriver]

I believe this to be a 121 pattern. It is certainly early. It has a fish-scaler spine, inverted stamp BUCK/U.S.A., and the blade is 5.75 inches long, made of thin, flexible fillet-knife stock. The black phenolic handle has a transverse pin through the pommel and two red spacers both fore and aft. The old-style flap-down sheath has no pattern number on it. I have heard opinions of anywhere from 1964 to 1972. Perhaps someone here has a closer guess? Thank you in advance for your opinion!

[bertl]

Tongueriver,

I can't tell for sure from the photo, but the spacers look like bone hard fiber, not micarta. If so, the stamp, scaler and your description of the sheath makes me think the knife is from 1969, probably early 1969.

Bert

[300Bucks]

Agree with Bert. But, I went to another site an easily used search mode and found another person to back up Bert.

'Model numbers were added about 1972 so your knife predates that. 121's marked just BUCK/USA and fiber spacers date to the 1967 -1969 time period and can be found with and without scalers so the scaler was discontinued sometime in that time period. If your knife has micarta spacers it would date to the 69-72 time period. Here is a BUCK/USA marked 121 with a scaler.'
DesotoSky

There you go, all I know is that it is one I don't have and the pre 70 or older sounds right. And the two people who have testified here in knife court are considered expert witnesses.

300

[tongueriver]

Thank you all very much; I appreciate it.