The Duke

[444 Magnum]

Not this guy...



...although some say the Buck 500 Duke was inspired by John Wayne. Regardless, I ran across a handful of Dukes and was inspired myself.

I love certain features/finishes in firearms and knives. Cased colors, octagon barrels, engraving, stag and ivory are some highlights.

When I came across six Buck 500 Duke knives, all with enhancements, they definitely drew my attention and, eventually, a few dollars out of my wallet.

Here they are. Six total.

The first is a custom shop knife from 1991 complete with the box, letter of authenticity, and warranty papers. It has polished nickel bolsters and a polished blade. The scales are ram horn. The bolster liners are tooled. This knife is serial numbered 0365. I'm still not clear what significance that holds. A little more research to do.



I don't have any ram horn pistol grips. I may have to look into that for BBQ purposes...

The next 5 are knives only. No accessories.



The top three are stamped on the ricasso Buck Custom USA indicating custom shop origination. They all have polished blades and nickel bolsters. The scales from the top are Barbados sheep, moose, and sambar stag. No pins.

The final two are model marked Buck 500 USA on the ricasso. The bolsters are polished nickel indicating custom shop attention. The blades have the standard finish. Pinned, sambar stag scales on both and additional finger grooves on one.

I think these knives are primarily from the 1980's. The model marked knives with script lettering should be from the early 1980's.

Buck has discontinued the Model 500 but still offers sheaths so I purchased one for each knife even though I have no intentions on carrying these.

Thanks for letting me share. Thoughts, comments and opinions are welcome.

 

[Toolie]

Love the knives, never noticed them available in my search area. That ram horn is fantastic.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I have a regular one.
Never saw any like these!

 

[boykinlp]

444 Magnum, I love your Bucks especially the Ram’s Horn one! What is the difference between a Buck 500 Duke and a 110 or 112? I have a few custom Bucks. I always wanted a 110 with Ram’s Horn handles, and about 10 years ago maybe less, Copper & Clad had a limited number special made just for them. Some pictures I saw of them were spectacular and others were just so-so. These knives weren’t super expensive. I kept debating on whether I wanted one. I even went so far as to call them and ask if they could “pick me out a nice one”. Unfortunately, they said no and it was luck of the draw.

Finally I decided my best bet was to order 3 of them keeping the ones I liked and selling the others. I had waited too late and they had sold out of them. It was complete stupidity on my part. I mean they weren’t that expensive….. I should have just bought one much earlier!
Larry

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

Very nice! I've had 2 of the basic Dukes for something like 45 years. They live on belts with the work jeans I put on when I have serious chores to attend to, and get used a lot.

 

[444 Magnum]

444 Magnum, I love your Bucks especially the Ram’s Horn one! What is the difference between a Buck 500 Duke and a 110 or 112?

Thanks Larry. My understanding is that the 500 Duke and the 112 have the same profile but the 500 Duke is slimmer. More of a "gentleman's" knife some have said.

The 110, which I prefer, is larger than both the 112 and 500 Duke. I guess I'm not gentle enough.

As stated, these aren't knives I'll carry. I liked the custom touches. They were offered as a lot so it was all or none. I may relinquish some in time.

 

[Glenn R. McMannly]

None finer than a Buck’s.

I will be barried with my 110. It’s the simple wooded model with golden parts.