• The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
    Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.

  • Today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. I pray that this nation does not forget the loss of lives from this horrible event. Yesterday conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was murdered, and I worry about what is to come. Please love one another and your family in these trying times - Spark

Going to "modify" my Buck "Alaskan Guide" S30V Vanguard

R

Ron53

Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
664
This is my favorite field/hiking/hunting knife. It has excellent steel, a handy blade shape, and is easy to carry. The parts I don't care for are the (too long) guard and the squared-off buttcap. As I have built/modified many knives before, I know I can succesfully accomplish this, so I'm going to shorten the guard to a more manageable length, and round-off the buttcap until it feels good in my hand. As I said, it is an EXCELLENT knife, just needs a little "fine tuning" on my part!

Ron
 
From my perspective you are eliminating one of the knife's particular advantages. When you work on a bloody carcass in the cold a substantial guard is great insurance for your fingers. This is particularly true if you work with the blade edge-up and guard the point using your fingers. I look for a substantial guard in a hunting knife. It is one of the reasons that my Master Series Vanguard is my primary hunting knife. A guardless utility knife is OK, but it is a liability in a hunting knife.

Some people particularly like the large squared-off butt to use for a little hammering. I prefer a rock for that purpose.
 
Jeff,

You misunderstand, I am not eliminating the guard, just shortening it some and rounding off the leading edge. I, too, have used a knife the way you have described, and know the advantages of having a guard. Never said I was going to make it "guardless"! And I agree, I don't hammer things with my hunting knife either.

Ron
 
Hi Ron,

Can you provide us with before and after photo's of your project. We all like to see what your thoughts.....and custom work turn into ;).

jb4570
 
I'll do that, jb. I plan on doing this the first part of February, after I get home from this rotation overseas. I wil post pics before and after. Right now, it looks like any other Buck/Cabela's "Alaskan Guide" Vanguard.

Ron
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top