All About Pocket Knives

I purchased my Buck 110 at the Special Forces PX on Smoke Bomb Hill at Ft. Bragg, N.C. sometime in 1968. Actually, I bought two.
The first one disappeared.

As I was preparing to go to Viet Nam in the Fall of 1969, I had some engraving done. The Special Forces patch and Airborne tab are on the top right-hand bolster. The Special Forces Crest is on the top left-hand bolster. My initials, "C.A.N." are diagonally across the bottom right-hand bolster. I wanted a set of paratrooper jump wings on the other bottom bolster, but the man doing the work couldn't make it fit. He was using a panto-graph machine.
I had , "U.S. SPECIAL FORCES / 1DEC67-21MAY70" engraved into the flat of the blade, in two lines, on the right-hand side, boldly assuming that I would live long enough to complete my enlistment.
I carried this knife through my tour in RVN.
It is a third version, with standard nail nick, marked, "BUCK /U.S.A." horizontally and inverted in two lines on the left-hand tang. There is a brass rivet through the butt of the knife, quite close to the rearward edge of the bolsters. The blade rivet is brass, and visible on both sides. There are two standard brass handle pins, which appear to be headed to me. The spring pin is brass and appears to be headed, but more palpably on one side than the other.
Obviously, the knife has been used and sharpened, but not abused, and the blade is still essentially full. It's hard to wear down a Buck.
The leather sheath did not survive Viet Nam. I made a belt pouch out of OD green nylon cargo webbing, and that is where the knife still resides. I do not have the box, nor any of the paperwork.

It cleaned many fish and squirrels over the years, but none lately. When I realized that 110's were collectible, I put it away.

For insurance purposes only, does the knife have any value?
Do the period Special Forces engravings, the personalization with my initials, and the inclusive dates of my SF service add to, or subtract from, the knife's intrinsic value?
I've added some scans of the knife. I should have taken more time with the settings. The color is off by a good bit.
Charlie Noyes

I can't answer your question Charlie, but I sure would like to see it. Thank you for your service to my country. Smoke

Done.
Charlie

Thank you Charlie. Great knife with great provenance.

Do the period Special Forces engravings, the personalization with my initials, and the inclusive dates of my SF service add to, or subtract from, the knife's intrinsic value?

Well I am going to give you my opinion on this.

If you had one a next to it with out all that stuff on it. Then I would be more inclined to buy the plan one.

If you hand down that super knife down to a family member with some of your stories. Then is would be more value to them.

If you were a famous person like the president of U.S.A. or a move star and had your name on it. Then I am sure the value wood is more.

Well that is about all I can say to help you with the value to insure it. The INS will pay what value you place on it in most cases (Check this out with your agent). It’s not like the value of a car.

Hey Charlie,
First things first. Thank you sir for your service to our country. We can never thank you enough for the sacrifice you have made.
Now, on to the knife. As far as placing a value on the knife you discussed, there are two ways of looking at the value. First is what could you get for it were you to place it for sale on the open market. Second would be what would you be willing to accept in order to part with it.
When the two are the same, then it's realatively simple to establish an agreed value for an item. You're willing to take what I'm willing to pay. Whatever the amount, that would be the value.
Where it starts to get more complicated is in a case where the history and/or personal significance of a particular item make it of greater value than another similiar or even identical item.
In the case of your knife, from a purely "business" perspective, you have a good, well used Buck 110. They are common and easily obtained, so I don't think the value placed would be much, if any more than what you'd have to pay for a new one in the store today.
On the other hand, because of the personal history of the particular knife in question, the price for which you would be willing to part with it would be, no doubt, much higher, if in fact you'd ever be willing to part with it at all. The difference is "SENTIMENTAL VALUE" for which no insurance can ever be adequate. If that particular knife were ever lost or stolen, no totally adequate replacement would ever be obtainable, because it would not have the history and emotional significance your knife has. You just can't buy insurance for that.
My advice, put it in a safe and save it for your grandchildren to treasure.
Phil

Good advice from all. Thanks.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is this: Gerber MKIII's dating from the Viet Nam era are highly collectable. A Gerber MKIII that was carried and used in VN and that has provenance of such, apparently have an attached premium. Does the same not apply to a 110?
Phil is, of course, correct. No amount of monetary compensation for its loss would ever suffice.
And, I would never sell it, regardless of value or a rediculously high and unreasonable offer.

Incidentally, I would have loved to have carried a MKIII to RVN, but they were $60.00+ at the PX in 1968. A Buck 110 was $16.00.
Charlie

I thought I'd post since I have a differing opinion, I personally would much prefer owning an engraved knife such that one, even over a mint example, because it is unique and has intrinsic value, especially with a detailed history from the owner. It may appeal to military collectors as well.


Either way I agree it should be saved for your family.

Charlie,
First, I echo the sentiment already expressed in regards to your sacrifice and service to our country!
The knife looks to be in great condition and it is a somewhat harder version to find.
It looks like a 3rd Version, Variation 5 or 6. 6 is somewhat hard to find and I have only actually seen one Variation 5.
The thing I am looking at is the rear bolster rivet. We only used 1 rivet for a short time, and it should be visible on both sides.
If you can see 3 rivet heads on the left side and only 1 on the right, it is a Variation 5 and that makes it quite rare. My best guess as to value would be about $100-$150. I know this is higher than discussed but it is one of the harder to find BUCK, U.S.A. stamped 110's.
My gut tells me that the ebgraving could only help the market value and it shouldnt hurt because it could all be buffed off with a quick trip to the Buck factory.
I hope this helps.

Thanks, Joe. I'm pretty sure it's a 3rd version, variation 6. If you left click on the photo, it will blow up to huge. Then, right click to get the compass-points icon, and you can scroll over the photo and look at the knife with some microscopic effect. I see only one rivit head on either side of the back bolsters.

This is a great knife, Joe, and I have enjoyed it for forty-one years now. It has served me well, both Stateside and overseas. I can hardly think of any SF Soldier from that time without seeing that Buck knife hanging just forward of the rear pocket on their dominant side. It was a fixture. Those that did not have a Buck, had a demo knife, instead.

You guys made a great product, and I suspect you still do.

Charlie Noyes

RobesonsRme.com:
Sir, I also thank you for your service.

Regarding your knife. As AKC said above a Chronological History of your service naming campaigns you were in included with your knife along with photos and inclusion of all medals etc would in my opinion along with it being relatively rare make this knife a piece that Viet Nam Mil. collectors drool over especially if you happen to have a Bronze or Silver Star, a combat ribbon with several stars would be very nice. A photo of you in uniform with knife showing on belt would really make it desirable. If just the service history and the photo of you were available in the auction I would happily open a start price of $300 and be willing to go higher were other bids to follow.
moss
P.S. The MkII is considered a fighting knife is one of the reasons it carries such high value. The value of the 110 would be military history of where it had been and with who along with knife value. The knife will be absolutely priceless with the documentation to your heirs.

Thanks, MossDancer.
I've got my ribbons, patches, badges, and medals professionally mounted and displayed in a shadow box frame. When I had that done, I almost had the Buck put in there, too, but as it was to be permanently sealed, I decided against it. But, I think I could easily put together the items you mentioned. Except for a photo of me in combat gear with the knife visible. I do not recall such a photograph existing. If one does, it is not in my possession.

Please understand that I, in no way, was asking if the knife was as dear as a Viet Nam carried Gerber MK-III. I'm fully aware of the value of such MK-III's. I was just wondering if those combat attributes enhanced my knife's value over that of other Buck 110's.

BTW; I finally did get that Gerber MK-III that I could not afford in 1968. I bought one of the anniversay models, twenty-fifth, I think it is.

Thanks to all of you again for your kind comments. I was proud to serve our country, and I thank you for your appreciative statements.
Charlie Noyes

There are lots of collectors of "war" knives.Especially from you bad ass Special Forces guys.That knife will only increase in value,insure it and guard it highly.That would make one cool display with perhaps a Ranger patch with a Nam map or something.I know you guys didn't get the appreciation and decorations you earned and deserved because so many missions weren't exactly on the front page or politically correct at the time.I also greatly appreciate your service and hope you are doing well.

hispeedbuffer:

You are certainly correct regarding treatment of America's Finest upon return from Viet Nam.
Most of my posts are embellished with a certain amount of BS. This following actually happened.
A Brother in Law of mine worked for a major law enforcement agency in CA. He was in the Baton line at Berkeley when the throwing incidents that were so widely heralded by the left press occurred. There was a cool photo in the Berkeley News of him returning some property, in the form of a bottle to the rioters who had just delivered it airmail to him. He darn near got fired for his expression of giving it back. Wish I would have had the foresight to have taken of the article and photo.

moss

Charlie, I cannot give any advice on the insurance value of your knife but I do have something to add that you might find interesting.
I was stationed at Ft. Bragg from 1979-1982. (I haven't heard anyone mention Smoke Bomb Hill in almost 30 years.)
I was there 10-12 years after you were and everybody and thier brother carried a Buck 110 at thier side even then. It is how I got introduced to the 110 and, of course, it wasn't long until I had one too.
I found it interesting that it was the same back in 1968 and I thought you might like to know that the tradition carried on for at least another 10 or 12 years.

Sorry to be late responding to the last several posts. I kind of thought this thread was dead, and I had disabled the AAPK notification option.

I don't have a Ranger patch, as I never took that training course. I do have plenty of SF stuff, including my beret from 5th Group, a ChiCom double chambered lubricant container, etc that I could use.

I don't know what the active duty SF guys are carrying these days.

I like this knife so much that I'd carry it now, if I didn't consider it irreplaceable.

Maybe, I should buy another. I've watched several older 110's on Ebay. Don't know if a newer one would be the same. I guess they haven't changed that much.

Charlie Noyes

No, a newer one would not feel the same. I think you would like the older one like you have better. The thin,square frame, thinner width and long clip of the blade, plus the old 440c steel. Worlds apart from a new 110. Don't get me wrong, the new 110's are still the best lockback folding hunter being made, but you can't beat the timeless "feel" of a classic . You are right, yours is not replaceable. Maybe you can pick up an older one on ebay as a user. I think you'll be happy.

Hi Charlie:
Please PM me with your snail mail. I have something you might like to see.
moss

hi charley
i collect the newer 110's mostly but have some of the old ones also
Joe is correct the engraving can be easily removed
to a stright buck collector the mil provenience is not that important
to a military collector it is valuable!
to a buck military collector it is invaluable!

i would NOT use it at all!!!!!
if you miss the one
you can watch the auction sites and any with
brass rocker pin will show up offten
they bring a lot if like new
if used the do not..
you could pick up one for as little as 40 $
once in hand it could be one of the rare ones Joe said of
i bought several bucks when i thought i was going there
but did not get sent
thanks for your time
all gave some -some gave all
carved in a silent black wall
that talks to the hearts of all

if you can not find a knife you need contact me some time
yours
david meier usn ss ret
DBF ss425 the silent gray ghost

Thanks, David. I appreciate all you've said.

And thank you, too, for your service. Run Silent, Run Deep. Special kind of folks. Don't know why anyone would prefer to be under water when there are perfectly good airplanes to jump out of!

I do now have a nice older Buck 110 as a user.

Thanks to all that have responded to this thread.

Charlie Noyes

I know this is an an old post.

I bought my first Buck 110 in 1970. With sheath. I think I paid $60.00

I carried id it for 20yrs till someboddy stole it.

I have a new 1970s buck 110. And nobobodys geteing near it!

What a wonder heirloom to pass down. Sir I would like to say it is because of you and men like you that I STAND tall with my hand over heart whenever and wherever the national anthem is played. Thank You

Great old Buck!