Buck 122 Nemo

[Joefriday]

Hello folks,

New guy here but not new to knife collecting...among many other things. However, I am new to scuba diving and as such I have been looking around for various pieces of used gear. I picked up a small group of items yesterday, mostly nothing I would use but included was a pretty decent condition Buck knife. I was not familiar with the model prior to the purchase but apparently I got a bit lucky. This is what keeps us hunting for "stuff".

Posting up pictures for reference purposes as I always find it nice when I'm able to find pictures of items that I'm researching. I've learned that the knife was manufactured in 1967 and is fairly uncommon. If anyone has any information to add, I'm sure myself and the next guy trying to find information on one of these will appreciate it.

Thanks for looking.
Best,
Rob

[eveled]

Nice find. A very collectible piece. I’m jealous.

[Joefriday]

Thank you.. I'm usually the guy reading about the other guy's dumb luck..

Best,
Rob

[KLJ77]

Rob,

You have a GREAT collectible in that 122 Nemo. Like Eveled, yeah...I'm envious too. Those were only available in 1968 & 1969...after that, the 122 was sold as the 124 Frontiersman with the same lanyard hole in the pommel. Oh...and BTW, if you didn't know it, the guard and pommel are both stainless steel, not aluminum or nickel silver. The white Teflon spacers is a dead give-away of the authenticity of your 122 Nemo. It's AMAZING your knife is in as awesome shape as it is for being 52 years old. Someone took immaculate care of that knife all these years. Here's a piece from the "Model History" from BCCI about the Nemo 122 & Frontiersman 124.

"The very collectable Model 122 Nemo diving knife and its slightly younger near twin brother Model 124 Frontiersman also debuted in the late 1960's with each featuring BUCK / USA tang stamps. These knives have a substantial fan following and the first version Nemo with black phenolic handles and white Teflon spacers is at the top of their wanted list. Later models with hard fiber or micarta spacers attract almost as much attention, but should not be priced at quite the same level. Buck initially marketed the same knife under both model numbers. The Nemos were varied with a plastic diving sheath designed to be strapped to the thigh while the Frontiersman models were fitted with a standard black leather flap-over holster type sheath."

Courtesy and credit for the above information is given to Larry Oden, Buck Knives Co / BCCI.

[KLJ77]

Sellers on ebay are trying to sell these for outrageous prices ...and I even question the ones that are being listed. One shyster is asking almost $1300.00 for one.

These 122's originally sold for $30.00 in 68/69. The one in this thread would bring decent money, because it is in fact, a white teflon banded Nemo in great condition. It's obvious. The ones on ebay all have micarta bands and look like 124's and in terrible condition, imho.

Rob: Whatever you do, DON'T lay your knife down or take your eyes off it. That knife will grow legs so fast you'll never see it again. Especially if someone else knows what you have. Personally...I would tuck that collectible away and find another diving knife...but that's just me.

[Joefriday]

Thank you very much for taking the time to educate me on the knife LJ. I apologize for the slow reply as I did not receive notification of your reply.

The information is greatly appreciated and I didn't know about the stainless pommel and guard. I did assume that they were plated or aluminum. As stated earlier, I absolutely did luck into this find but I also appreciate that I was able to add it to my collection.

Of course I have scoured Ebay and have seen the high prices asked for knives like this and of course it's tempting to sell it but for now I will keep it in my collection and enjoy it.

Thank you again.
Best,
Rob

[eveled]

I can’t believe how it has so much belly on the blade. I can’t recall ever seeing one like that. It obviously has very very little if any blade wear.

The newer 124’s come much straighter than that.

Not the best picture but you can see the blade doesn’t change from the choil to the sweep.

[KLJ77]

You're right, Eveled...here's a photo of the 1980 model 124 compared to the 122 Nemo. The Nemo has a big belly for a dive knife. Maybe that's why it was only made for two or three years.

[Old Hunter]

Hello Joe Friday - welcome to the wacky world of Buck Knife collecting - glad to have another kindred soul amongst us! Very nice knife! OH

[Joefriday]

Thank you very much OH.. Although not specifically a Buck collector, I do have quite a few of them that I have picked up over the years. I guess the first that I specifically recall purchasing came from a small military surplus type store when I was a teenager. OD green 422 in woodland camo pouch...which I still have.

Thanks again for the welcome.
Best,
Rob