This is one of five knives hand built by Mickey Finn. Mickey licensed the design to Buck when they were trying to get a contract with the Navy for a SEAL knife in 1984.
The five samples that were left with Buck were not heat-treated. Buck heat-treated the blades and applied the markings.
The crossguards were machined to provide the cant for the spikes. Buck decided this was too expensive and used a bent crossguard on the production models. The early paperwork that came with the Buckmaster knives showed this style crossguard.
An alternate handle was designed but did not go into production, probably a cost issue.
A compass was inserted into the butt cap.
