Bark River Bravo 1 concerns......

cosmophonic12

cosmophonic12

Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
720
**UPDATE ON PAGE 2**



New guy here,

purchased a new bark river bravo 1 last week and it arrived in the mail last Friday.

I was looking for a strong general use camp knife and this seemed to be a right fit after watching positive YouTube reviews. I also wanted to learn how to chop wood and other things I see you guys do in the outdoors :D

well, I camped last night outside Wickenburg Arizona and the first thing I needed to do was to remove an ocotillo cane that was about 1/2" thick. the wood is really soft but has sharp spines. I would consider this an easy chore for this knife.

I couldn't believe it, on the second strike the blade chipped. looking at the blade, its about the size of a small BB and the damage is one inch from the handle. Its "C" shaped. I also chopped a small 2" caliper palo verde limb without a problem. The kydex sheath was okay but i didn't like how thin the kydex was.


overall I'm disappointed and surprised. Did I choose the right knife for chopping wood and spiting small logs? thanks guys!


<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NTedeikr-NltNiztnOEOQg?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_opBYueXHK4M/S5QUTH_3BnI/AAAAAAAAADo/sgIefzfaQiQ/s800/IMG_1168.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/cosmophonic12/VultureBarkRiver?feat=embedwebsite">Vulture Bark River</a></td></tr></table>
 
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I think you chose the wrong knife for CHOPPING, but only because I don't think a 4" blade is designed for chopping. Having said that, I've battoned my Bravo 1's through all sorts of stuff, with no problems at all. Chances are you hit something other than soft wood with it.

Send it to Bark River and they'll fix it up like new for you. Their warranty is top notch.
 
Agreed---4" is an awfully small blade to be chopping with just from the standpoint of not being able to generate any momentum, but no it's not a durability issue normal to the knife. Either there was a piece of something really hard embedded in that branch, or you got a lemon. Either way, they'll take care of you.
 
Contact Bark River and send it back. They have an excellent rep for taking care of problems. Not the knife I'd choose fro chopping, batonning yes.
 
Yup, that's no good. Send it back and they will give you a new one.
Could you possibly post a pic of the chip?

I have a Bravo-1 and have used it quite a bit without a single problem. I agree that although the sheath works, it is not that nice and doesn't do the Bravo-1 justice. There are quite a few nice leather Bravo-1 sheaths out there though...
 
Thanks guys, I will contact them and report back. I would agree that my BR1 is too small for that now. I don't want to slam them.

Would a BK2 be too small for batoning?

I already own a BK9 and I would guess that's probably the better one to use but I prefer something in a smaller blade length.

can anyone recommend a knife for batoning for under 100.00?


thanks!
 
michaelmcgo said:
Yup, that's no good. Send it back and they will give you a new one.
Could you possibly post a pic of the chip?

I have a Bravo-1 and have used it quite a bit without a single problem. I agree that although the sheath works, it is not that nice and doesn't do the Bravo-1 justice. There are quite a few nice leather Bravo-1 sheaths out there though...
Click to expand...

Ill try to get the clip on the blade but I think my small camera wont pick it up as its a real basic one.

also, dont I have to be a member to post? I know some ppl can cut & paste links with photos so maybe that something I need to try.
 
You can use a photo hosting site like Photobucket to host your pictures, then link them on here.

I've got a B-1 that I love and have never had any problems with. I know I've seen them say that a few will occasionally sneak out the door with an overly acute blade angle. They'll fix it up good as new at the shop, though (as long as no badgers were involved in the damaging of the knife.) :)
 
Looks to me like you hit something really hard with it (maybe some gravel that was imbedded in the tree?). If I understand correctly, A2 is much more likely to roll the edge than to chip, and is an extremely tough steel. The Bravo's are heat treated in large batches and tested. It may be that your edge was ground slightly thinner than normal, as they are hand ground by real people, and thus there is a little variance from knife to knife.

No matter what, Mike Stewart and crew will make it right for you.
 
cosmophonic12 said:
Thanks guys, I will contact them and report back. I would agree that my BR1 is too small for that now. I don't want to slam them.

Would a BK2 be too small for batoning?

I already own a BK9 and I would guess that's probably the better one to use but I prefer something in a smaller blade length.

can anyone recommend a knife for batoning for under 100.00?


thanks!
Click to expand...

The Bravo 1 is not too small for batoning, unless of course you're trying to split large logs in which case you simply don't have the blade length to do it. Either you hit something really hard (rock or grit embedded in the wood) or you have an incorrectly ground or HT'd blade---either way, it's an anomaly. You can baton with a 1/16" thick Old Hickory paring knife--it's just that such a thin spine will wear out your baton pretty quick, unless you're using a hammer, which will wear out your Old Hickory pretty quick. ;)

Either way, the Bravo 1 was built to be a heavy duty, all purpose outdoor fixed blade, and many here (including me) have used them for all sorts of stuff without trouble. Let the BRKT guys take a look and see what they say---mistakes do happen in the manufacturing process even for the best makers.

The BK2 certainly is not too small for batoning--in fact, it's so stubby in its point and unwieldy for its size that batoning is one of the few tasks it REALLY excels at. You'll likely need to thin the factory edge a good bit--they tend to ship with geometry that's rather excessively, um...robust.
 
just got off the phone with the BR represenative.

Ill be sending it in later this week, should get it back within 10-14 days.

they're more than happy to repair the knife :D

the person on the phone didnt believe me about the chip and said the
bravo 1's can do alot and take abuse and more than likely rolled the blade. He said they are going to regrind the blade and make it thicker.
 
I bought a Bark River Golok and after half and hour of testing it out on relatively soft woods (wattle/willow/pine) I now have a "chopper" with a clear warp in the middle of the blade ! Could there be a problem with the tempering ?
Will try and post pics later.
 
antonesee said:
I bought a Bark River Golok and after half and hour of testing it out on relatively soft woods (wattle/willow/pine) I now have a "chopper" with a clear warp in the middle of the blade ! Could there be a problem with the tempering ?
Will try and post pics later.
Click to expand...
did you check it before you started chopping?
lots of blades that size have a small amount of warp to them, its very hard to avoid. unless its a huge bend its also somthing that will not make a difference in preformance.
 
I seem to remember that some of the goloks had warps to them, but if you're concerned about it, you can certainly contact Bark River.
 
It was perfect when I got it, but after the chopping session it now has a small warp right in the middle of the blade.It does not run over the full lenght - only about a 2 inch size divet warp.It actually looks like somebody took a pair of pliers and bend the blade slightly on that spot. Made 100% no hard objects such as rocks were struck - got in touch with BRKT - waiting for reply.
 
cosmophonic12 said:
New guy here,

purchased a new bark river bravo 1 last week and it arrived in the mail last Friday.

I was looking for a strong general use camp knife and this seemed to be a right fit after watching positive YouTube reviews. I also wanted to learn how to chop wood and other things I see you guys do in the outdoors :D

well, I camped last night outside Wickenburg Arizona and the first thing I needed to do was to remove an ocotillo cane that was about 1/2" thick. the wood is really soft but has sharp spines. I would consider this an easy chore for this knife.

I couldn't believe it, on the second strike the blade chipped. looking at the blade, its about the size of a small BB and the damage is one inch from the handle. Its "C" shaped. I also chopped a small 2" caliper palo verde limb without a problem. The kydex sheath was okay but i didn't like how thin the kydex was.

overall I'm disappointed and surprised. Did I choose the right knife for chopping wood and spiting small logs? thanks guys!
Click to expand...

Becker Companion a Busse with out the price tag. Made by Ka-Bar its blade if five plus inches and 1/4 inch thick. I dare you to try and chip or break it. And at sixty bucks you cannot go wrong. The same steel as most of Bark Rivers carbon blades. 1095 carbon. This is the best survival, camp, chopping, vegetable cutting knife bar none for bang for the buck. Check it out on you tube and you will never regret purchasing one of these. I have the Bark River Micro Tusk. Obviously not for big jobs. But it is one of the best carving, fuss stick maker etc etc knife I have seen. The oversized handle and design makes it feel like a much bigger knife in your hand. And the thickness of the blade for such a small knife is very impressive.

Well now that I got off subject check out the Becker/KaBar companion and you will not be disapointed.

Daniel
 
nativecajun57 said:
Becker Companion a Busse with out the price tag. Made by Ka-Bar its blade if five plus inches and 1/4 inch thick. I dare you to try and chip or break it. And at sixty bucks you cannot go wrong. The same steel as most of Bark Rivers carbon blades. 1095 carbon. This is the best survival, camp, chopping, vegetable cutting knife bar none for bang for the buck. Check it out on you tube and you will never regret purchasing one of these. I have the Bark River Micro Tusk. Obviously not for big jobs. But it is one of the best carving, fuss stick maker etc etc knife I have seen. The oversized handle and design makes it feel like a much bigger knife in your hand. And the thickness of the blade for such a small knife is very impressive.

Well now that I got off subject check out the Becker/KaBar companion and you will not be disapointed.



Daniel
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thanks for the reply Daniel. I purchased the BK2 and talking to someone else about a custom kydex sheath.

The bravo1 should be at bark river this friday, hopefully they will send it out next week.
 
Thanks for the post. Its a lemon, but good thing the company has a life time warranty.
 
nativecajun57 said:
Becker Companion a Busse with out the price tag. Made by Ka-Bar its blade if five plus inches and 1/4 inch thick. I dare you to try and chip or break it. And at sixty bucks you cannot go wrong. The same steel as most of Bark Rivers carbon blades. 1095 carbon. .


Daniel
Click to expand...

Correct me if im wrong but most bark river knives ive seen with carbon blades are A2. I cant recall any in 1095...do have 1 in 52100 though.
 
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