Bark River Golok for Northwoods?

HCF said:
I've used the Golok in the field to clear out stand locations of brush, limbs an saplings.
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Thanks for a hands-on report! :D

There's nothing wrong with mentioning someone else's review, but speaking from personal experience carries much more authority.

Considering the nature of the internet, I would rather repeat what I heard that was good than what was bad. Without handling the knives myself, I would want to be very careful about what I said that could interfere with some businessman's livelihood.

Gramps, I'm with you.
 
I wouldn't dog someone's knife or any product unless I've handled it personally. I've bought two Bark River knives and they have both been very well made. I also haven't heard about trouble with heat treating, but I'm not a regular reader on their forum.

I do like comparison reviews though, especially among similar products that are presented as direct competitors. If Cliff Stamp or anyone else wants to conduct direct comparison tests and post the results on this forum, I'd love to read it. I always enjoy Cliff's write-ups. And there's nothing that anyone at BRKT can do to stop him.

Best Wishes,
Bob
 
Doesn't Bark River also offer a lifetime warranty, too? Based on the level of customer service and communication they offer, I would take that pretty seriously. I, too, have never heard of a problem with their knives, and they do not seem to make things that they can't make well. I have a Northstar and an ELK. Fit of the handles to the tang leaves a little to be desired, but for the money they are good knives and I have full confidence in them. of course, a knife the size of a Golok is a different animal altogether from a smaller knife like the two I own, but still, with the numbers they've sold I've yet to hear of a bad report and it seems like most people buying BRKT use their knives.
 
Had one, and sent it back due to unacceptable QC. Uneven (but polished smooth?) canvas micarta handles, grinding blemishes on a NIB blade, along with the blade being ground so far off center that the edge was facing maybe 20 degrees out to the side with the blade held parallel to the floor. Worst grind I've seen on any knife, at any price, and bad enough that I think it would have a noticeable effect in use, particularly causing glancing on chops at shallow angles.
The execution on my sample was very poor, but the design is sound, IMO. To tell the truth, I LOVE the design. The balance and handle were so much better than my Valiant Survival Golok's.
Based on the geometry, steel, and balance, I would expect decent durability, plenty for anything I'd use it for, and very high cutting ablity.
Too bad it was so poorly made. This is the second BRKT knife I've bought, and both have shown an apparent total lack of QC. There will not be a third.
 
I have a BRKT Highland and Mikro, both are very nearly flawless in every aspect. The heat treat is as good as I have seen and the warranty cannot be beat. while I know that my two knives are only a small percentage, I have read about lots of people who are happy with their BR's and very few that are not. I dont think you can go wrong with bark river, they make some of the best knives for the money I have seen.

Dan
 
ive owned ten Bark Rivers--a pair of Micros, a pair of Northstars, a pair of Highlands, a woodland, a huntsman, a micro and an OMF. They have all been great users with great fit and finish.--these are not drawer queens!
The fact that one can contact the owner with any questions and concerns makes the deal even sweeter. All in all great products and a great company. period.
 
Bark Rivers are hand finished. This means there's some variation between every knife of the same model off their line.

I have no BR that has identical slabs on the knife. Each side is slightly different. It makes no difference in use. These are users. Pretty too, but for the money and high function, they won't be perfectly symmetrical.

They work hard, stay sharp, and are tough. And Mike backs them with a great guarantee.

Phil
 
Dang...looks like Bark River threads are gonna be in the same department as Emerson, Strider, and Sebenza threads...

Anyhoo, I do thank all of you for the input and suggestions. After considering the matter a bit more I think I'm gonna wind up with something else for chopping and hacking unless a great deal on a BRK Golok comes up and bites me in the a$$ maybe a Battle Rat or a Marbles Trailmaker?

Anyhoo, thanks for your insight!
 
I own seven Bark River knives and every one of them has an outstanding fit and finish, and the A-2 blades hold their edge extremely well... And by the way, Bark River has never had any heat treat problems. Anyone who cares to do a tiny bit of research can check out the BRKT forum to confirm that.
 
Runs With Scissors said:
Dang...looks like Bark River threads are gonna be in the same department as Emerson, Strider, and Sebenza threads...
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I think Mike's anti-Bladeforums stance has something to do with it--not that he's not entitled to come and go wherever he wishes (or not) it's just that I think it sticks in some people's craw.

I have several old Blackjacks and Eks, newer Marbles and BRKT knives so I've been using Stewart-touched blades for a long time and really like them. Principally, they are great cutters. The fit and finish is hit and miss, simply because you have blades with a LOT of hand grinding in them, produced on a relatively large scale. I have some very nice ones and some that I quite honestly could have ground more evenly myself. Never had a single one that didn't cut like a demon, though.

Never have read anything about BRKT heat treat issues. I remember some of the last generation Marble's knives had some problems, but that was the company's problem--nothing to do with Mike's presence. The main thing his presence consistently results in is scary-sharp knives. :cool:
 
All of this info is good to know. Thanks.

Cliff,

I didn't make myself clear enough. I don't have anything against comparison testing. I can just see Mike Stewarts side of the coin. Mostly when I want to buy X knife I go and find as much info as I can on it. When it comes to tests and reviews I tend to focus on X knife and ignor the rest, unless Y knife being compared to it is a very close design or there is a huge price difference in the knives and they are of similar quality. Huge to me is more than $20-$30. In this case I would love to see a Small Surival Golok go against a BRKT Golok. As far as I can tell these two are the most similar in each companies line. To the best of my knowledge they are both intended for the same task.

I hope that explains my earlier post a little better. Why do I spend so much time thinking about what should be an easy decision? Because I am extremely cheap. I hope that explains my motivation. I don't want anyone thinking I'm trying to stir things up.

- D

- D
 
I'm glad I've been reading this thread! I just negotiated an OMF with sheeps horn scales for myself! Yippee! :D
 
Bark River has built a core of pretty fanatical support. The difference between them and the Busse or Sebenza crowd that I have seen is the lack of politeness and etiquette. I've seen them jump all over people (not Cliff) for asking honest and fair questions. Having read quite a few of his posts, I'll take OwenM's word over quite a few others, especially when it's first hand experience.

They might have very good knives, but I'll never know...
 
sodak said:
Bark River has built a core of pretty fanatical support. The difference between them and the Busse or Sebenza crowd that I have seen is the lack of politeness and etiquette.
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Most if not all makers/manufacturers have extreme hard core fans, however not all of them encourage that type of behavior.

OwenM said:
The balance and handle were so much better than my Valiant Survival Golok's.
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In what ways? I liked both aspects of the Valiants, well the handle durability is low, but the shape I liked. The balance was pretty much ideal, enough heft for serious wood working, but not so much that it could not be used for light work. I would like to see more of these styles of blades in decent production.

Vampire Hunter D said:
When it comes to tests and reviews I tend to focus on X knife and ignor the rest, unless Y knife being compared to it is a very close design or there is a huge price difference in the knives and they are of similar quality.
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The biggest problem that many people have with comparison reviews is that they simply don't understand what is going on. It would be like looking at a baseball game from the point of view that people are trying to kill the baseball, it would look very strange indeed and you wonder why they didn't do it very differently.

Lots of comparisons are done not from the point of view of trying to rate or score the blades being reviewed but to simply explore performance and figure out what makes a blade work well. If this is the goal then not only is it useful to compare designs that are dissimilar, it is fundamentally necessary to do so.

As an example :

http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.knives/msg/f2a0d0568c4234ff?hl=en&

http://groups.google.ca/group/rec.knives/msg/1ec8cc5854242590?hl=en&

Look not at simply the work being done, but why it was done, and what was learned from it. How anyone would oppose that knives should be compared in such a manner is just amazing. Anyone who wanted to compare any two knives would have my support, any information is useful, at the very worst it will just repeat something that you already know, at best you learn something you didn't.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
In what ways? I liked both aspects of the Valiants, well the handle durability is low, but the shape I liked. The balance was pretty much ideal, enough heft for serious wood working, but not so much that it could not be used for light work. I would like to see more of these styles of blades in decent production.
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Keep in mind that I have all of ONE Valiant golok, and have never seen or handled another, so my comments are based on it alone.
The hook shaped handle on my survival golok limits you to one grip, and even with my small-medium hands, it barely allows the index finger to stay on the handle. The BRKT has a longer, and straighter but more contoured handle, almost a handle-and-a-half that you can "choke up" on for a more neutral balance and better control, or "choke back" on for a more forward balance, and greater chopping ability.
Besides the question of the survival golok handle's durablity, there is also one of ergonomics. While the profile is fine, the hande narrows significantly in width to a kind of rounded point right where the pinky finger is cupped into the rear curve, creating a severe hotspot in heavy chopping.
My survival golok is longer and heavier than the BRKT, since it has an almost 16" blade, and would undoubtedly chop better and have more reach for light work, but it isn't something I can use comfortably for any length of time.
Due to the differences in size and weight, I can't help but think that comparing the BRKT golok with my Valiant would be like comparing a Gerber camp axe with a Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet. Very different tools, IMO.
 
OwenM said:
The hook shaped handle on my survival golok limits you to one grip, and even with my small-medium hands, it barely allows the index finger to stay on the handle. The BRKT has a longer, and straighter but more contoured handle, almost a handle-and-a-half that you can "choke up" on for a more neutral balance and better control, or "choke back" on for a more forward balance, and greater chopping ability.
Besides the question of the survival golok handle's durablity, there is also one of ergonomics. While the profile is fine, the hande narrows significantly in width to a kind of rounded point right where the pinky finger is cupped into the rear curve, creating a severe hotspot in heavy chopping.
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That is interesting, I have handled four, the grips were very different, they were all very large, handle and a half length (x-large hands) and the flared towards the end. I think I have a cracked off one which I kept which I should put up a few pictures of for comparison.

My survival golok is longer and heavier than the BRKT, since it has an almost 16" blade, and would undoubtedly chop better and have more reach for light work, but it isn't something I can use comfortably for any length of time.
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The goloks I had used are similar to the Tramontina bolo in heft, slightly more blade heavy than my SHBM. Personal preference is king here though, it either has the feel which is optimal for you or it doesn't. Too bad yours was off so bad, your comments would have been interesting.

-Cliff
 
insector said:
I'm no expert on much....I have become interested in fixed blades and purchased over 2 dozen of a variety of (not so cheap) types in the last 18 months. .....
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This thread is approximately two YEARS old.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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