Buck just dropped its October 2026 Buck of the Month, and it is the darkest take on the 120 General we have seen. The long clip point blade is coated in Armor Black Cerakote, the handle is black and gray SureTouch, and thin burgundy Micarta spacers sit at the guard and pommel like a drop of color in a black room. Buck says only 750 will be made. For a release landing in the middle of spooky season, the timing feels deliberate.
What makes this 120 different
The standard 120 General pairs a 7 3/8 inch clip blade in 420HC steel with a black phenolic handle, a classic guard and a pommel, for a knife that runs 12 inches overall. Buck pitches it as a hunting knife that makes deboning simpler and, just as often, as a collectible and a conversation starter. That silhouette is the whole appeal: long, narrow and old school in a way modern tactical knives rarely are.
The October edition keeps the shape and changes nearly everything else. The steel moves up to CruWear, given Buck's BOS heat treatment, a tool steel prized for toughness and edge holding. The blade is a straight clip point finished in Armor Black Cerakote, a ceramic coating that adds a layer of protection along with the stealth look. The guard and pommel are polished aluminum, so the knife reads as black, gray and bright silver with only those burgundy spacers breaking the pattern. A distressed black leather sheath finishes it.
Buck's own close-up photos show the BOS and CruWear etching on the blade near the guard, with BUCK and USA marked on the other side. It is a quiet, almost menacing knife, and it photographs like a movie prop.
How Buck of the Month works
Buck runs this program as a web exclusive for its biggest fans. Each month the company releases a new limited edition, made in the USA, and once a run sells through it is gone. The program started in 2018, and Buck marked its 100th release in April 2026 with a carbon fiber 112 Ranger. Recent drops show how far the series ranges: a Tungsten Cerakote 662 Alpha Scout Elite in MagnaCut for September, a Shadow Forest Camo 838 Deploy built in Post Falls, Idaho, for March, and a warm ironwood and brass 120 General in MagnaCut last December.
That last one makes this release more fun. Same model, opposite mood. If the December knife was the heirloom hunting blade, October's version is its shadow. Collectors who chase the 120 now have a light and a dark pair from back to back program years.
Should you grab one?
If you collect classic American fixed blades, a 750 piece run of a 120 in a premium steel is the kind of release that does not stay listed long. Check the Buck of the Month page for current availability and pricing. If you just want the classic shape for the field, the standard 120 General is still in the lineup, and you can shop the standard 120 General here.
New to Buck? Our deep dive on the Buck 110 Folding Hunter covers the company's most famous folder. For more blades and tools built to last, see our everyday carry essentials, and if a black fixed blade has you in a Halloween mood, our best horror movies of all time list is ready for movie night.
Shop the October Buck of the Month · Watch the video · Buck Knives
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