Buck 120 Hunting Knife

Ghostface's Buck-120 as seen in Scream 3.

The Buck 120 Hunting Knife is the most common/signature weapon used by Ghostface to either harm or kill his/her victims.

Description

Ghostface uses a modified Buck 120, which is a common eight-inch hunting knife that is used as the main weapon by Ghostface, a persona adopted by the primary antagonists of the Scream film series. It also features a fuller beveled into the top of the blade to help lighten the blade. The knife features a clip-point blade, typical of Bowie-style knives, along with a small guard. 

The knives used in the film series are made of aluminum with solid wood handles or metallic painted rubber blades with rubber handles, although there are prop knives that use retractable blades. In Scream 4, however, they used CGI to make the knife appear as if it was going into flesh.

The handle is made of black phenolic with finger grooves and a curved chrome tip in the first three films. In Scream 4, however, the knife looks different. The Scream 4 version features a longer handle. The stunt knives are wrapped in duct tape and the blade has a less pronounced shape and is wider to boot, with the blood sight and blade looking more faint than usual, since they don't go as deep into the knife. The Scream 4 fuller looks much larger than the older models and the hero knives feature a smooth wood handle. 

In the TV series, it appears that the Lakewood Slasher/s and the show's version of Ghostface in the third season uses the Buck 119 instead of the 120, as evidenced by the shorter blade and fuller groove.

History

The Buck 120 was developed by Buck in the 1960s, but was discontinued around 1992 due to complaints by hunters that the blade length was excessive. 

It was replaced by the much-smaller Buck 119, with a blade length of closer to five inches, rather than eight. Today, the Buck 119 lives on due to great popularity. Many fans of the series do not have the money for a Buck 120 or are unable to locate it. So they instead get a Buck 119. The Buck 119 is quite popular with fans today. 

The Buck 120 has been recently been brought back to the Buck catalog, renamed the “Buck 120 General”, and is still sold alongside the Buck 119.

Gallery

A long real Buck 120 next to a shorter Buck 119.

Characters who used the knife

Ghostface

• Scream (1996) - Billy Loomis and Stu Macher (Buck 120)
• Scream 2 (1997) - Nancy Loomis and Mickey Altieri (Buck 120)
• Scream 3 (2000) - Roman Bridger (Buck 120)
• Scream 4 (2011) - Jill Roberts and Charlie Walker (Buck 120)
• Scream: Resurrection (2019) - Jamal Elliot and Beth (Buck 119)
  • As part of Scream: TV Series
• Scream (2022) - Richie Kirsch, Amber Freeman and Samantha Carpenter (Buck 120)
• Scream VI (2023) - Wayne Bailey, Quinn Bailey, Ethan Landry and Samantha Carpenter (Buck 120). Jason Carvey also does use the knife in the murder he commits on Laura Crane (Buck 120).
  • This is the only film, so far, in which older Buck 120 knives from the previous films are shown and used in various degrees by the new trio of Ghostface killers/family and by the Carpenter sisters, and used to some capacity due to the Ghostface Shrine as an homage to the previous five films/massacres honing them (among other artifacts).

Lakewood Slasher

• Scream: TV Series (2015-2016): Season 1-Season 2: Piper Shaw, Kieran Wilcox, and Third Killer (Buck 119)
  • Whilst unclear, it’s unstated whether or not the original and first Lakewood Slasher, aka the unknown 94 Killer, also used the knife in the murder of his other 3 victims following Brett Kenner (due to murder of Dara Alden having been a slit throat).

Trivia

• Brandon James and Will Belmont both carried hunting knives. However, neither used a Buck 120 to kill someone.
• At the Ghostface Shrine during Act 3, after Sam gave her the knife to protect herself, Tara Carpenter stabbed Ethan Landry throgh the mouth and incapacitated him in Scream VI, which makes her become the first (female) protagonist to actually use the Buck 120 knife against her attacker/Ghostface, albeit after their reveal.
  • This is a nod to Scream 3 also during the third act when Sidney Prescott grabbed Roman's knife following a fight off between them although failed to use it due to Roman arming himself with a pistol and shooting her.
    • Reveresed in the sixth film as Tara is shot while in the balcony and then uses the knife after being dropped down a floor below, whilst Sidney didn't, due to being shot down to the floor and disarmed in the process.
• Throughout the entire canon franchise, the Buck 120 is only referred to by name once in—by the Lakewood Slasher (later revealed to be Kieran Wilcox) in Psycho.
  • Although, in a Scream 4 deleted scene, Dewey mentions it as a "hunting knife" when Perkins refers to the size of the knife used to kill Marnie Cooper and Jenny Randall.
• The Buck 120 was seen on the film posters for Friday the 13th Part 4 (1984), Part 7 (1988) and Part 8 (1989). The knife's appearance on these iconic horror film posters may be why it was chosen as Ghostface's primary weapon.
• The Buck 120 General we have today is different to the Original Buck 120 with a dip at the bottom of the blade, Arched Handle, and smaller blade.
• Until the 25th year anniversary "Ghost Face Knife", there was never an accurate official Buck 120 knife.