Im trying to decide between the two. i have a Bark River Bravo 1.5 in A2 but the GSO 5.1 looks amazing and it's wider than the bravo. despite the length i feel like my bravo 1.5 is too narrow for a survival blade and in the long run as i sharpen it, it will get narrower. should i sell or trade it? mine comes with an azwelke kydex sheath.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
bark river bravo 1.5 vs survive knives GSO 5.1 Help
- Thread starter Polamalu
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2012
- Messages
- 902
I am going to tread very cautiously here because I know there are a ton of Barkie fans. Barrie's are good knives, with a cult following. I have the Bushcrafter in 3v. ALL that said, the Survive is one bad arse, no nonsense, bet your life on knife. I'm serious. I put the Survive Knives in 3v up there with my Busses. I currently own a 4.1 in M390, and a 5.1 in 3v. I think the bigger size of the 5.1 will really be a better use of the 3v.
There is no "right or wrong" answer to your question, but for ME, I'd sell almost anything in my knife collection before my Survives went.
There is no "right or wrong" answer to your question, but for ME, I'd sell almost anything in my knife collection before my Survives went.
tueller
Basic Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2012
- Messages
- 1,321
Lol. We are all searching for the perfect knife even though it doesn't exist. What I would do? Use the hell out of your bravo. Eventually you will want another knife, it is inevitable. At that point, if the survive is still calling you, go for it. Sometimes I think we can never enjoy the knife in hand because we are all so busy looking for the next best thing. Good luck and I hope this was not just a trick "for sale" posting.
IMO the bravo 1.5 is a work horse. Survive knives has this spell were once you see and hold it in your hands, you just want to put in to use in the field. Survive are like busses. I have a few busses and I know they tough as nails but I feel like with the amount I spent on them I just want them to be on my shelves as a display but with the survive knives I don't think about the cost, it screams for hard use (not abuse) although field maintenace on 3v's in my experience sucks, it's not as easy to sharpen as carbon steels.
I'm not a BR fan, but if you have a Bravo and haven't had problems, and you're not one of the people who considers the handle inadequate (some regard it as too round and prone to twisting in hard use, especially when wet or used with gloves) then:
1. Is loss of metal through sharpening a real consideration? I'd have thought it would take a LOT of decades
2. If You're not going to use a blade for chopping - and the GSO looks too small for that, especially when you can buy an MTech 151 9" Bowie for $25 - then why is it you prefer a wider blade? No criticism, just want to learn. Is it just the sharpening worry?
The handles on my bravo is waxed and it's a bit slippery. I feel like it's worse than my bk2's grivory. Although a little sanding would help immensly.
My thought about metal loss is when the edge rolls or chips then I'm gona have to grind some metal out.
I've been a fan of bk2's blade shape and design and the GSO 5.1 I feel is an upgraded version of it meaning better materials and blade geometry.
My thought about metal loss is when the edge rolls or chips then I'm gona have to grind some metal out.
I've been a fan of bk2's blade shape and design and the GSO 5.1 I feel is an upgraded version of it meaning better materials and blade geometry.
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,206
Well I don't have the 5.1 or 1.5, but I did have the Bravo-1 for about a year and used it several times before selling it, I also currently have the 4.1 in M390.
I think both handles are quite comfortable, although the 4.1 is noticeably more grippy, you'll also get an upgrade in steel going from A2 to 3V (better edge holding and toughness, though it will be a little more time consuming to sharpen). As far as thickness, I don't think .25" thick blades are more of a hindrance than a help in medium sized or smaller woods blades. If it were me I'd probably buy the 5.1 and the once you get it in person and can try out the ergonomics sell one or the other (or keep both) If I could only choose one I'd probably go 5.1. Don't worry about the sharpening and loosing steel too much as long as you don't reprofile after every use it should last you decades for either knife, the only knives I've seen where the wear was noticeable was in a Spyderco Military that had been used hard 5 days a week for 3 years straight (like hair splitting sharp to spoon dull every day and therefor a reprofiling every day) of course that's a lot smaller knife, both thinner and less edge to spread the cutting out on, and you probably won't use yours on concrete bags, drywall, etc daily.
'
I think both handles are quite comfortable, although the 4.1 is noticeably more grippy, you'll also get an upgrade in steel going from A2 to 3V (better edge holding and toughness, though it will be a little more time consuming to sharpen). As far as thickness, I don't think .25" thick blades are more of a hindrance than a help in medium sized or smaller woods blades. If it were me I'd probably buy the 5.1 and the once you get it in person and can try out the ergonomics sell one or the other (or keep both) If I could only choose one I'd probably go 5.1. Don't worry about the sharpening and loosing steel too much as long as you don't reprofile after every use it should last you decades for either knife, the only knives I've seen where the wear was noticeable was in a Spyderco Military that had been used hard 5 days a week for 3 years straight (like hair splitting sharp to spoon dull every day and therefor a reprofiling every day) of course that's a lot smaller knife, both thinner and less edge to spread the cutting out on, and you probably won't use yours on concrete bags, drywall, etc daily.
'
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2012
- Messages
- 694
Much as I love my barkies, the 3V steel is better than A2 as far as I'm concerned. The GSO should be a nice little piece to take with you into the field. I wouldn't sell the barkie just yet. It's still a good working knife. As far as it being narrow, I think it'll hold up as a survival knife. I have some fairly narrow knifes that are good for survival knives. And if u want a real suvival knife from Survive, they have the GSO-10 coming out soon, if it's not out already. I'd get it myself cept I'm not the biggest fan of the point.