Boy, you step away from the forums for a day and all of a sudden you have 11 pages of forum knife discussion to get through!
I am holding back on voting until I am caught up on the thread, mostly because none of the options really speak to me. I'm going to be in no matter what, but all three option fall squarely in the "don't need" category for me.
I never really have a need for carbon steel single blade sheepsfoots, because they are just going to sit in the tube for me anyway. Of course I'm not really fond of carbon steel in general, and I am ambivalent at best about that handle shape, so the fact that it would be yet another sheepsfoot for my collection is kind of moot. That said, a clip point would excite me much more. That won't stop me from buying one. I can rely on good quality, nice appearance, and that special Porch emotional connection from any forum knife GEC.
The Fox knives option does nothing for me. Nothing beyond being a totally unknown quality. It would be fun to have an Italian forum knife, but the pattern leaves me cold.
And then there is the Vanguard. I really have all the fixed blades I can imagine ever needing. But I do like fixed blades. I enjoy the flexibility and breadth of options Buck offers. The Vanguard is really not the Buck fixed blade I would have picked for a forum knife, but SKblades and Buck impressed me last time around. Maybe it is kind of hypocritical since I am fine with the idea of buying another GEC that I will never use, but somehow the thought of buying a Vanguard that I won't use bugs me. Maybe because the Vanguard seems like a solid practical knife that will likely come in handsome and useful materials, but I have a rotation of very fine fixed blades that I already don't use enough.
You know, after writing all that out, I think I just talked myself into the Buck. I'm gonna vote and read the rest of the conversation.