Vanguard's Little Brother

Joined
Apr 27, 1999
Messages
6,117
In a recent thread in our general interest forum:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317198
we have been discussing what type of knife to use for game that is as small as rabbits up through about coyote or small deer size. The number one knife I could think of to fit those uses was a good old Buck 110, but we were looking for a fixed blade. I ran across this problem a few years ago on an elk hunt where the elk failed to arrive for the party. We finished off the last day by hunting rabbits. When it came time to clean our kill none of us could use our primary hunting knives because they were too big. That included my favorite hunting knife, a Master Series Vanguard. So we got our pocket knives sticky and smelly.

What I wish that I had was Vanguard's Little Brother. This fixed blade knife would be styled like a Vanguard, but would have a slimmer handle, a shorter and slimmer blade, and a relatively narrow point (maybe even a clipped point). If you look at the blade of a caping knife or the Grohmann Small Camper you get the blade idea. It might even be nice to have a double sheath that fit a Vanguard and a Little Brother together. Western makes some two knife sets that aren't bad, but they aren't based on a drop point design and their stacked leather handles don't clean off as well. It would be nice to build on the Vanguard popularity with serious hunters.

What do other Buck fans think?

Another knife that would be very practical would be a fixed-blade knife that had the same blade shape and size as the good old 110. The handle shape would need to be different, but that 110 blade sure handles a wide range of jobs.
 
The Mentor may be an option to look into. Some of the qualities your looking for. Also don't forget the Mini-Alpha hunter. Nice size for big or small game.
Scott
 
The Mini-Alpha hunter is too broad, I'm particularly looking for a finer point to get into small spaces in small skeletons. I don't find the Mentor on the current Buck website. The Diamondback 3.25 would probably do the job. My main objection to all of these is that they have the wrong style. I am looking for a smaller mate to the Vanguard. Those other knives have neither the looks nor the ergonomic features that make the Vanguard such a popular hunting knife.
 
I see your point. I have the Vanguard and understand what you mean by the feel of the knife. Very well designed.
Scott
 
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