A walk in the wood with the Bravo II

johnwaynesandw

johnwaynesandw

Joined
Mar 18, 2005
Messages
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Yesterday I received my BRK&T Bravo II in the mail. I got this knife because I have an BRK&T Upland special that I love. This led me to wanting something a little bigger for chopping or batoning as the 4" blade is not the best at chopping :D .The Barvo II was bought in hopes of retiring my Becker BK9 since it is so heavy (great camp knife but too large for long hikes).

I wanted to try it out so I went for a short walk into the wood behind our house. I did not baton with it as I am sure it would not have a problem and I only had about an hour to play. I needed a another walking stick, so I chopped down a small tree that was straight. I did some fine cuttings on a smaller tree that became the snack in the grass checker along the way. I also tried some fine cutting on some seasoned hard wood to see how she would do.

All in all I love the Bravo II, but it is a little too large for making spoons. The Bravo chopped very well for it's 7" blade. Last night I used the Bravo for dinner prep. It sliced through the chicken like a hot knife through butter. This morning I cut up an apple which it did good at, but not the best in the world. Thinner blade tend not to split the apple like the Bravo wanted to do.

Any way enough words here are some pics.



















 
I have an osage orange Bravo II and I agree it is a very useful blade. However, I feel it is not the best chopping knife Bark River makes.
The center of mass is too far back toward the handle to be a GREAT chopper. According to Mike the knife was designed as a fighter and as such it was designed to feel light on the blade end. Good for a fighter, bad for chopping.

Despite that slight flaw I like the knife very much.
 
i have the bravo 2 as well and find that it makes a good survival/camp knife.

i took down a 4 inch diameter tree with it yesterday in a few minutes of chopping and couldnt complain with the results.

nice pics and congrats on the knife :D
 
Nice photos..

It's a good knife but more balanced like a fighter than a chopper.

Mike Stewart makes some GREAT knives--and I'm sure it will outlast the both of us!!
 
Thanks for the review, I haven't seen to many reviews of this one before.
 
Nice review. I have to say the Bravo is one of those fantasy knives of mine--one of about 1,000!
 
Is it just me, (and It may be!) but does anyone else wish there was a model between the Bravo 1 and the Bravo 2?

One can clearly see the progression from the Gunny to the Bravo 1 but the leap from the Bravo 1 to the Bravo 2 is cavernous!

A Bravo 1.5 maybe? With a 5"/5.25" blade? Please ...
 
Thank you guys for the kind words. I thought I was going to have to let this go yesterday in order to raise funds for a friend. Luckily everything worked out and I get to keep my Bravo II.

I really like the feel of this knife. The way the handles are shaped makes it feel very secure even when my hands were sweaty.

I think it will make a good all around camp knife.
 
looks like you hacked all the trees in your woods lol... does charlotte have any left? (kidding fo course)... nice knife
 
You could take a Bravo II and have Mike and his crew cut down to the size you need. Might not even cost anything, it depends on how things go. It never hurts to ask.

Here's a shot of my Bravo II

bravo2.jpg
 
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Nice knife, I've liked the shape of the Bravos since the first one, and still wanting an original Bravo
 
Ive always loved the bravo series andwas torn between the B-1 and the B-2 but after much thought and hearing testaments to all the knifes in the series ive concluded the gun s the one for me. Go figure.
 
riddleofsteel said:
You could take a Bravo II and have Mike and his crew cut down to the size you need. Might not even cost anything, it depends on how things go. It never hurts to ask.

Here's a shot of my Bravo II

bravo2.jpg
Click to expand...


WOW that is a beautiful knife.

Did you do the work, or was this done by Mike' crew?

Thanks,
John
 
Stock Bark River Bravo II in Mike's special heat treated osage orange. I had a matching Bark River golok that I foolishly sold.

I love osage for handles. It reminds me of heat treated hickory but with nicer color.

I use a BR Kephart almost every day with osage grips and it just gets better and better.

wildlifehatchet-osage.jpg
 
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