Anyone have experience with Bark River Knifr and Tool?

Cypress Creek Knives

Cypress Creek Knives

CCK
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 15, 2010
Messages
646
What is your experience with these knives?I want to get one of their knives butI want to see what you guys think of them. Thanks
 
I know one of the guys involved with Bark River from another forums. Seemed like a good guy and I can't deny I have been tempted to purchase one or two of their knives.
 
I'm a big fan. Mike makes some finely tuned knives, just make sure you're buying the right knife for your intended purpose. BRKT hunting knives tend to have very thin edges, which are great for dressing game. If you want a bomb-proof knife for the go bag, or a solid edc fixed blade, they make those too, and they make them well.

I carry a Little Creek, PSK, Mikro Canadian II or a Colonial Patch everyday in my left front pocket. Today, I carried my PSK in 154CM. I cut a lot of tape and cardboard for work and edge retention has been great through it all.
 
Thanks for the info 357 would the bravo 1 be a good bushcraft knife. Could i batonwith it or should i go with something different? I am asking because the site im looking at doesnt specify blade thickness.
 
Putting the individual design of each knife aside. Out of the 3 dozen or so I own, about 6 of them have some type of, what I would characterize as a, small flaw. Uneven plunge lines, gap between the scales and frame, one with a small nick/chunk missing in the spine that someone obviously tried to "buff out". I returned one altogether because the Horn scales were chipped out, beyond my threshold, at the bolts.

I have little doubt that had I sent them back they would have been repaired or replaced, no questions asked. That's their LIFETIME warranty and I have never heard otherwise, from anyone, ever!

Each one is "handmade" from the first one Monday morning to the last one Friday afternoon, so things happen, and no one is perfect.

Having said that, I do have a few more on order, with special grind and/or handle combination's. I really like A2 steel for hard use, it's very tough and with the convex design is easy to get razor sharp and keep that way with a minimum of trouble. And, it seems "3V" is going to be nothing but better in every regard.

I think in general, they're a great knife, with some models being much more popular than others. Like I said, I have several more on order. That's the highest praise, recommendation, I can give.
 
I recently bought my first, a bravo necker in 3v with g10 scales.
I definetly will be buying more In the future
The bravo 1 is very thick and with its convex grind should be a great batoner.
 
Big BRKT fan, buy with confidence. Word of caution, you won't stop at one.
 
I too have been looking at BRKT, and have found little info on the forum. I find it odd they don't have their own sub-forum on here with so many people really liking their stuff.
I am looking at a Bravo-1 for my woods knife...I am having a hard time finding anything wrong with it. Now it is just a matter of finding one at a good price. Where do you recommend getting them?
 
They have a really nice sub-forum on knifeforums.com The forum has links to most of their dealers.
 
Bali-Flipper32 said:
Thanks for the info 357 would the bravo 1 be a good bushcraft knife. Could i batonwith it or should i go with something different? I am asking because the site im looking at doesnt specify blade thickness.
Click to expand...

The Bravo 1 is their most poplar model, and for good reason. It was designed to be big and tough for the Marine Recon units. The original came with a thumb ramp that many find uncomfortable performing buschcraft tasks. There are now several variations, a "rampless" version, a new rampless "field" model (with thumb jimping) along with or without a swedge point, spear point, drop point, regular grind, full height grind and is also available in two different types of steel, A2 and the newer CPM-3V.

However there are other more "bushcraft" specific models that may be a better fit for you. The Aurora is the largest in their "Bushcraft" specific line, along with the Northstar, might be good alternatives.

Lots of vendors out there carry BRKT, some with more inventory, a lot more, than others.
 
Last edited:
I bought one once, back in -98. The metal handle broke in two when I was opening and closing it, watching TV -- and I never flick my knives open fast or hard. I had used the knife for like 5 minutes (opening letters n stuff)!!! Can't remember the model though, since I went back to the store and got a Benchmade Stryker 910 Tanto instead. I've never bought a CRKT again. Don't trust them. You only get one chance with trust. Oh, the Benchmade was still rocking like new up until I sold it last year!
 
stoffi said:
I bought one once, back in -98. The metal handle broke in two when I was opening and closing it, watching TV -- and I never flick my knives open fast or hard. Went back to the store and got a Benchmade Stryker 910 Tanto instead. I've never bought a CRKT again. Don't trust them. You only get one chance with trust. Oh, the Benchmade was still rocking like new up until I sold it last year!
Click to expand...

I believe he's asking about BARK RIVER Knife and Tool, not COLUMBIA RIVER knife and tool.:eek:
 
I've had several of their knives... still have my mini-Fox River and my Little Creek. The mini-FR is my woods carry and the Little Creek is my EDC FB. She's sittin' here watcin' me type this. They have all been excellent. The only reason I don't still have all of them is that I use whatever I have (I don't collect) and the ones I sold just didn't fit me or my needs. I've never had any failure issues and their A2 is easy to maintain around a campsite.
 
Be familiar or get ready to be with sharpening a convex edge. Its different from sharpening anything else.--KV
 
Bought one once. Edge was too thin and there was a large gap between the scale and the tang. Most people seem to like them but I'm not one of them.
 
It's a pretty "hot-button" brand. People love them for a lot of reasons, people hate them for a lot of reasons.

I do not own one. For "reasons."

But I do believe they are capable of producing a quality knife.

I say get one, and if you don't like it...they sell pretty easily.

As far as the Bravo 1, hot-button again. It's not designed as a bushcraft knife. It's designed as a "hard use/military/tactical" knife...whatever those buzzwords mean. I'd go with one of the Bark Rivers designed specifically as a bushcraft knife like the Liten Bror, Aurora, or North Star. (Or a "general purpose outdoors" knife like the Fox River.) That said, people seem to love the Bravo as a bushcraft knife.

So there's my 2 cents.
 
I have the Bravo Necker and like it for a small fixed blade. It came out of the package scary sharp and holds a good edge.
 
They're nice knives for sure. I've got the Aurora and the Bravo Necker 2. The latter is on the back of my belt as I type. I'm not Mike Stewart fan, but there's no denying that the knives are good. Bravo 1 is definitely one I'd like to own.
 
I've got one BRKT knife. It's actually a Blackjack Trailguide in 1095 CRYO that Mike built to Ken Warner's specs. It's a very nice knife. I keep thinking I should buy more BRKT material, but for some reason it just doesn't call to me. I'm not really sure why that is. I don't have any "reasons" not to like BRKT. It just seems as if every time I see a BRKT knife that interests me, I find something similar to it that interests me more. Maybe it's a timing problem.
 
If you want a knife designed for bushcraft (cutting and carving), then get any of: Aurora, Fox River, Highland Special, Liten Bror, Northstar, Woodland Special.

If you want a chopper for batoning, then the Bravo 1 will do very well for your needs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top