Large Vanguard

H

Happy Hippo

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I received this from a fellow bladeforums pal. I never held a large Vanguard until now. I really like it. This needs to be a BOTM . what other versions of Large Vanguards are out there? Pictures please.

Edit: The part number should be 0192RWSVFG. It came with the typical Virginia Wildlife box. I've seen one, without wooden box, come with a sheath. This one didn't.
 

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jb4570 said:
Well what you are calling large is the normal size, Buck did a run of short bladed Vanguards. I don't have a short blade in the bunch. However, here are a few of what is out there.






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The blade on the Vanguard I showed is longer than the standard 192. That is why I called it a Large Vanguard. I posted a comparison below, because one cannot tell from the single photo I provided.
 
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Happy Hippo said:
The blade on the Vanguard I showed is longer than the standard 192. That is why I called it a Large Vanguard. I posted a comparison below, because one cannot tell from the single photo I provided.
Click to expand...
Wow, never knew about this Vanguard variation. Awesome, you can go to the BCCI web site, go to the 2013 March News letter and see Joe Houser's list of LE/SO knives Buck made for 2012 and you will see your knife listed it's item #18 on the list.

You can then call Buck's new Historian (IT'S CJ's son-inlaw). New because Joe H is retired. Have him look up the order information for you.
 
I think all three versions should be available all the time! Why not? It's one the most comfortable handles Buck has in my opinion.

I have several regular and one mini, unfortunately no large.

VanguardBCCI_06.jpg
 
jb4570 said:
Nice, I should have jumped on these VWL knives (all of them except the Elk handled 119) when they were discounted to $75 each. Did the large 192 come in a lasered wood box?
Click to expand...

Yessir, mine came same as H Happy Hippo did, the nice laser etched box. No sheath. I’m not sure if they even made a sheath specific to these models, but it would be nice to have.
 
Happy Hippo said:
The blade on the Vanguard I showed is longer than the standard 192. That is why I called it a Large Vanguard. I posted a comparison below, because one cannot tell from the single photo I provided.
Click to expand...
I can tell by the photo that the blade is longer than any Vanguard I've owned. It looks slightly out of proportion to me. The Vanguard is about as big as I'd want a hunting knife personally, but I've never seen one with the longer blade must be fairly rare?
 
That is why I am asking if there are more Large Vanguard versions other than the 2012 Virginia Wildlife knife. They made 600 of those.
JJ_Colt45 said:
I can tell by the photo that the blade is longer than any Vanguard I've owned. It looks slightly out of proportion to me. The Vanguard is about as big as I'd want a hunting knife personally, but I've never seen one with the longer blade must be fairly rare?
Click to expand...
 
Here are all 4 of the Mini Zippers and Mini Vanguards. These were a special project for Bass Pro in 2006. Sometimes it takes awhile... 4 years 6 months between finding the first and completing the set. They are about 1" shorter overall. Front to back models 686, 687, 688, and 689. Notice they were not marked with model numbers or date codes. Documented on the 2006 Special Projects list the build quantities were 770, 750, 800, and 800 respectively.

A9NoNCZ.jpg
 
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Happy Hippo said:
That is why I am asking if there are more Large Vanguard versions other than the 2012 Virginia Wildlife knife. They made 600 of those.
Click to expand...
The 600 for Virginia Wildlife was the only production I know of but I think there have been a few Joe Houser customs based on leftover blades.
Can someone verify that?
 
This is a very interesting thread to me. I found out about the mini Vanguards a few months ago, but I never realized that Buck made an XL version in 2012. Now I am trying to figure out Buck's thought process. I theoretically understand the mini Vanguards since the model was for Bass Pro and within reason, you give the customer what they want. I would love to hear the history on the 2012 Virginia Wildlife knife and why the blade is larger. The special projects information on this knife doesn't say anything about a longer blade. To me, if you significantly change the blade length on the knife, it isn't the same model anymore. The special projects information lists the 2012 Virginia Wildlife knife as a 192 though.
 
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