Bark River a2 steel

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redman2006

Joined
Nov 6, 2012
Messages
306
I have a Bravo 1 and really enjoy it, but I am a little concerned with the edge.

I used it to clean 12 young domestic rabbits I raised. The only hard thing the knife encountered was the pelvis and cutting the feet off at the joints.

The pelis is split to get the urethra and rectum out without contaminating the meat. These are 12 week old rabbits with soft bones.

Well, the edge rolled badly. It cleaned up nicely on the wet/dry paper, but it is missing a couple of small chips. Using this knife in the woods for camp chores never did this before.

I did email bark river. They sent the steel chart and said it could be normal based on how the knife was used. I told them the same thing I just told you here. I have never had an edge do this before while cleaning small game.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
 
If the knife is new and has not been sharpened, it is possible that the edge was just burned a bit at the factory. This happens sometimes as the knives are sharpened on belt grinders. Possible it got a tad hot.

I would recommend sharpening it a time or two. That will get rid of the damaged edge and expose fresh steel. I'm willing to bet that's the cause. A2 is a great steel.
 
Thanks. I have had it a while, but I never had to do more than a quick strop before. I will give it a little time and a few more sharpenings.
 
Yes, ^ I would think that's what happened. Still, my blades can dull after processing 12 young rooster (14-15 weeks old). Pushing a blade thru bone, even small bones is hard on a edge. I sharpen mine at 15* per side and this is S30V steel and CPM-154. Afterward I didn't feel a burr, so, it didn't roll. But the edge was dull. Just some stropping on SiC slurry brought the edge back. DM
 
redman2006 said:
I did email bark river. They sent the steel chart and said it could be normal based on how the knife was used. I told them the same thing I just told you here. I have never had an edge do this before while cleaning small game.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
Click to expand...

User error. The Bravo 1 is not a hard use knife.

:D :rolleyes:

Its probably ground too thin at the shop. BRK will regrind it, but I have read that they tend to take a lot of blade off when they do that.
 
marcinek said:
User error. The Bravo 1 is not a hard use knife.
Click to expand...

Convex-ground A2, over 2/10" thick, it should be very hard use. My only BRKT so far is the Bravo Necker II and even being convex its edge seems to be very thin. You are probably right that the edge is too thin. If the OP sharpens his a few times it might become a bit thicker at the edge.
 
marcinek said:
User error. The Bravo 1 is not a hard use knife.

:D :rolleyes:

Its probably ground too thin at the shop. BRK will regrind it, but I have read that they tend to take a lot of blade off when they do that.
Click to expand...

marcinek is 100% correct. And don't expect an apology, they will blame you for the error. Don't bother getting upset about it... it's just standard operating procedure.
 
Well, since the bravo is not hard use, I guess I will go back to my buck vanguard or solid rock utility or Mike Presnell ogle creek or a mora or my old queen steel or........ none of them ever had this issue.


I really do like the heft, handle, feel of this knife. I was just really disappointed with this performance.
 
Sharpening will most likely fix it, I love their a2 but some people have problems sometimes as I have not. I would do the sharpening yourself if u know how to. I sent mine in once and yes it was sharp but they took off a lot of metal, it was noticable. But the few knives I have from them I never had any issue with chipping.

Have a golok in a2 and put a good beating on it with no issues, and no I'm not a fanboy. I'm well aware of Mike Stewarts reputation lol. Good knives and maybe not so good business people.
 
I know that your Buck Vanguard could handle processing 12 young rabbits. You'd need to touch up the edge afterward but it wouldn't be rolled or chipped. DM
 
I bought the knife on a suggestion from a friend. I really liked it until this. I did not hear of his reputation until later. Between that, the rolled edge, and the poor response, I will spend money with other companies

The vanguard dhas processed a lot of deer, hogs, rabbits, and on. It is one of my favorite knives. The rubber grip is wonderful. My only complaint is the sheath, but that is true of many knives.

I have sharpened it and will see what it does with the next batch. Hopefully it wi) work better. I depend on the knife while camping. An edge like that would have made using it on a several day trip difficult at best. It is hard to carry anything to get too involved with sharpening while backpacking.
 
David Martin said:
Pushing a blade thru bone, even small bones is hard on a edge.
Click to expand...

Exactly right. :cool: Depending on steel and technique, a rolled (dulled) edge would be neither a surprise nor a problem.

Bark River's A2 is one of my favorite knife steels -- and I was saying that long before the KSF logo was part of my sig line. ;)

Tom @ KnivesShipFree
 
redman, Buck offered a couple different sheaths with that model. Give them a call and get the other style sheath and see if that works for you. DM
 
redman2006 said:
I have a Bravo 1 and really enjoy it, but I am a little concerned with the edge.

I used it to clean 12 young domestic rabbits I raised. The only hard thing the knife encountered was the pelvis and cutting the feet off at the joints.

The pelis is split to get the urethra and rectum out without contaminating the meat. These are 12 week old rabbits with soft bones.

Well, the edge rolled badly. It cleaned up nicely on the wet/dry paper, but it is missing a couple of small chips. Using this knife in the woods for camp chores never did this before.

I did email bark river. They sent the steel chart and said it could be normal based on how the knife was used. I told them the same thing I just told you here. I have never had an edge do this before while cleaning small game.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
Click to expand...

My thoughts is it ain't right. I cut through chicken bones with a lot of different knives and steels, most at about 30 degrees from the Sharpmaker. I don't have chipping or rolling problems. I have one A2 knife, convex/chisel ground, custom >60R hardness. It doesn't know how to chip and holds an edge forever.

If Buck's 420HC beats Bark River's A2 out of the box, then it ain't the steel...it's the execution.
 
BRKT's A-2 is one of my favorite steels. And never had a problem with their convex edge, either. However, if you sharpen/bevel it down to a V-edge (speaking from experience), you end up with less steel behind the cutting edge, and then you could have some issues with rolling in hard use.
 
brownshoe said:
If Buck's 420HC beats Bark River's A2 out of the box, then it ain't the steel...it's the execution.
Click to expand...

And it aint "the technique" either. Its a Bravo 1. From KSF...

"The Marines tested the knives. They pushed them to their limits and used them hard.

Bark River's Gameskeeper came out on top. It didn't break. It stayed sharp. It performed exactly the way the Marines wanted it to.

The leader of the team contacted Mike Stewart of Bark River and asked him if he make some changes to the knife for them. The Bravo 1 was the result."

If a Gameskeeper modded for the Marines cant go though chicken bones....

Ground too thin. It happens with Bark Rivers.

And its not the same phenomenon that makes Fallknivens "chippy" until they are sharpened a couple times. This is rolling. This demands a reground edge to turn this hard use knife into one.

Will BRK regrind the edge for you to turn it into the knife it is promoted as? (promoted as at least until edges start rolling...) Sure. Its part of their vaunted customer service. :thumbup:
 
To clarify, when you split the pelvis on young rabbits like this, it is just the thin dorsal portion of the bone. In rabbits this young, that is still mostly cartilage and has not yet ossified. It is used more as a wedge to separate the two halves than to actually cut bone. This is not a copping action. I ace the blade along the cartilage and give it a whack with the heal of my hand. All the processing is done hanging from a post. I use a large cleaver for quartering once I am done cleaning.


I am going to sharpen it a few more times. My hope is this is something that will go away as I work it back a tad.

As I said, the feel and style of the knife is fabulous. I really like it and was 100% satisfied with it until this and the ho hum response. A little disappointed as I was eyeing the survivor as a fun chopper.
 
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