How to Date a Buck 119 Hunting Knife

Look on the tang for information to be sure your knife is a Buck and to find dating information. The tang is the area where the blade fits into the handle. The Buck 119 is a fixed-blade knife, so it should be easy to read with a magnifying glass. The knife will be marked "Buck" and "U.S.A."

Read the dots if there are any. From 1974 to 1980, Buck added a dot to each side of the number. A knife from this era should be marked ".119." with a dot on each side. The 1980 model will have two dots to the right or be labelled ".119.." with one dot on the left and two on the right. The 1981 to 1986 knives have two dots on each side of the number.

Read the symbols for more recent knives. The 1986 knife has a "lesser than" point (<) and the 1987 has the "greater than" point (>). The 1988 mark is this same point oriented like a tent and 1989 turns the point like a "V." The mark for 1990 is an "X," 1991 is a plus (+) sign and 1992 is a hyphen. The 1993 knives have a forward slash (/) and the backward slash (\) is used for 1994 models. The 1995 year started a symbol like a "C" and 1996 turned it backward. The 1997 knives have this symbol upside down like a doghouse and 1998 turns it upward like a cup.

Look for changes with the new century. The 1999 symbol looks like a square "C" in a bracket shape--no curves--and 2000 turns it backward. 2001 turns this same bracket shape like a tunnel and 2002 looks like a square "U" shape, with an alternate mark that looks like an anvil. The 2003 year uses a "T" and 2004 turns it upside down. The mark for 2005 has the "T" with the top to the left and 2006 turns the "T" top to the right. The arrow starts in 2007, and it points down. The 2008 arrow points up, 2009 to the right and 2010 to the left. Buck knives have a forever warranty, according to the Buck website, so your knife should last, regardless of the year it was made.