Cabela's Alaskan Vanguard

C

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Sep 5, 2005
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I just got one a few months ago and still haven't used it. Many knife people recommend full tang knives and the Buck Cabela's Alaskan Vanguard isn't a full tang, yet Buck has a great name in making knives.

Does anyone have a Vanguard of any stripe and have you had any notable problems with them? They come in rubber grips or wood grips and the balance is very nice. I'm just wondering how the blade is secured to the handle. Does part of the blade extend into the handle, where it's bolted? More to the point, has anyone had the blade come loose from the handle?

Oh, one more thing. What's the best way to get that decal off?

BuckVanguardAlaskan.jpg


BuckAlaskan.jpg
 
I hope that many agree with me when I say that the Buck Vanguard is a classic hunting knife design. Cabela's Alaskan Guide series with its excellent S30V heat treated by Paul Bos can't hurt the performance. While it's not a full tang knife, I've never had any issues with my own.

It's a reliable companion, just like its other famed cousins like the 110, and etc.
 
Well I have the Vanaguard with the rubber handles. I uses it to hack away at a 3" diameter green branch I used to haul a hog with. Chopped right through no problem.
I would say that episode gave it a good beating and I noticed no "loosening" of anything- and it was still sharp enough to do some skinning with.
 
A few years ago I read that the Vanguard was Buck's most popular hunting knife model. Things may have changed since then. I own 3 Vanguards: A Cabela's Alaskan Guide model with black finished S30V blade, A Buck Master Series with BG42 alloy blade and special master series handle, and a Buckcoat model with a hard nitride coating and one side of the edge honed to utilize the nitride for the edge.

I have found all of the handles very secure. I really like the blade and handle geometry. I prefer BG42 alloy over both of the other options. It takes a finer edge, holds it extremely well, and is very durable. I was disappointed in the Buckcoat design since I found it not as rugged as a symmetrically honed blade. The S30V takes a good edge, but not as fine as BG42 or even the basic 420HC alloy in the common versions of the Vanguard.
 
Thanks for the replies. I was thinking about getting the rubber grip version, too. What's the thinking on that? There also was some discontent with the sheath, but the one I have seems fine by me.
 
Here's mine -- I didn't care for the smooth, glass-like finish on the handle so I did a little bit of jigging on it. Now it feels real good and grippy in the hand.
 

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Gee Zuchus, thanks for the idea. I have a couple slab-handled elk skinners that I had been thinking of checkering. I'd much rather jig them, but I hadn't thought of it.
 
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