Bark River has taken $16,000 of My Money

[Guyon]

Are you afraid that when the hysteria of the running of the pack is over, no one will want to remember how much fun you had?

Who's throwing around accusations now?

What I've learned from this thread, and the places it has led me, is that Mike Stewart has a fairly long history of deception and questionable financial practices. As much was insinuated to me in a conversation back at Blade this year, but at the time, I did not put too much credence in the insinuation because I, like others here, bought into the persona that Mike Stewart projects. I chalked it up to creative differences and forgot about it. Until this thread.

It has not been fun learning that one of the seeming good guys, in fact, appears to play fast and loose with other people's money and faith. Not fun at all. However, with all this information in mind, I think that folks new to the knife community ought to know where they're sending their money when they buy a BRKT knife. Don't you?

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Not if his knives are imported like some have evidence of.

I guess anything is possible, but I would have to see the evidence. I would think a disgruntled employee would spill the beans on that if he saw "made in China" on a blade he was grinding.

Hey hey hey, I'm just speculating.

I was refering to this post.

Originally Posted by cody1
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/...off0170631.htm

Never said he is importing knives.
People don't understand the word if, last time I post while in the middle of philosophy homework.

It appears that some disgruntled employee did spill the beans.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

It appears that some disgruntled employee may have made it up. That story goes back a couple of years, but unlike other accusations here, no one seems to have picked up on it.

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Guyon, are you trying to miss my point?

 

[Cougar Allen]

Hunting a witch is one thing. Hunting everyone who does business with the witch is guilt by association, and there's no end to that. Next it's everyone who is associated with the ones who are associated with the witch, and then the ones who are associated with the ones who are associated with the ones who are associated with the witch, and usually about then you discover you yourself are guilty, and then you have to burn yourself at the stake too....

 

[Guyon]

Guyon, are you trying to miss my point?

Nope, point taken. And I agree to an extent. But there have been far worse threads here in GB&U than this one in terms of breeding divisiveness. The Strider thread comes to mind here. Yes, this thread has been petty in places, but it is hardly tearing apart the Bladeforums community. The m1marty affair was much more damaging in that regard IMO. Yes, this thread has been a vehicle for some folks with grudges, but some pretty interesting information has also been brought to light.

For me at least, it's been valuable to take the bad with the good, given that my eyes have been opened to some questionable practices by Mike Stewart that have occurred over a fairly long period of time. Would I have found out by other routes? Maybe. But I've been around BFC a while, and this is the first time I've seen some of this info, some of which appears pretty ironclad. I'm not talking about reports from disgruntled employee here.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

It appears that some disgruntled employee may have made it up. That story goes back a couple of years, but unlike other accusations here, no one seems to have picked up on it.

Do you know for sure that it was made up? Just wondering, because you would think that Mike would have sued this ex-employee for libel if that was the case. Those were potentially very damaging claims. Maybe he did and it was never reported anywhere? If Mike did sue and won, why is that report still on ripoffreport.com?

 

[Bison22]

[QUOTE . Yes, this thread has been a vehicle for some folks with grudges,
QUOTE]


I think this sentence pretty much sums this up!!!

 

[Ken C.]

I have read this thread post for post and now I feel that I need to speak up.

I have met Mike Stewart. I have sat across a table from him and looked that man straight in the eyes while having some pretty interesting conversations regarding the knife business and all of the BS that goes with it. I am a very good judge of character. I can tell who's a liar and a thief. I looked that man straight in the eyes and I can tell you that without question that he is no liar and most certainly not a thief. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to knives. I have been to his shop. I have made knives in his shop. I have seen the daily operation of what is Bark River Knife & Tool and they are some of the most dedicated people I have ever met. The work they do and how they do it is beyond compare. They put in a lot of blood and sweat into those knives. Imported knives? Pure BS. I saw nothing in that shop that would lead to me to believe that someone had nothing but an axe to grind over something small and stupid. Go to a Bark River Grind-In and you'll see what I mean.

I may not change anyones mind and I don't care if I do or I don't. You can behind your computer screens without having ever met the man or held one of his knives or held a conversation with him and the people that work for him. You pass judgment on him based on one internet sites trumped up claims and one disgruntled individuals one-sided story. I know what happened between Steve and Mike. I know what's truth and what is fiction and I will go now further because it will not change my mind as to what knife company I will or will not buy from and I'm not out to change yours. I just want you think for yourselves and step back and think...think that maybe, just maybe, you could be wrong in your thought process. We talk about sheeple a lot on BFC, how they are scared and follow the pack. Don't be sheep. I'm 99.4% sure that you all have a brain in your heads. Use them and make up your own mind rather than have someone make it up for you.

Meet the man, meet the crew, watch them work, and speak to them as I have and it will all become clear that BRKT is here to put great knives in to the hands of the great people who use them.

 

[Guyon]

I think this sentence pretty much sums this up!!!

You forgot the second part though...

but some pretty interesting information has also been brought to light.

 

[Cougar Allen]

If there were anyone who could look a man straight in the eyes and tell without question that he is not a thief we could fire all the judges and juries and hire him instead.

Here in the real world no one can do that, so the courts just have to go with what we do have in the real world -- evidence.

 

[Guyon]

Here in the real world no one can do that, so the courts just have to go with what we do have in the real world -- evidence.

This is the interesting info I was referring to. A little LexisNexis goes a long way in my book.

 

[ADD]

Meet the man, meet the crew, watch them work, and speak to them as I have...

Perhaps, one may want to do all that and more.

But the moral here, in this thread, seems to be;
don't go be fronting the rubles with any expectations.

 

[Ken C.]

But the moral here, in this thread, seems to be;
don't go be fronting the rubles with any expectations.

I think the moral of the story is "don't pay if you don't have the means to sell the items you're buying and expect your money back after it's been used to buy the material to make the items you can't sell because you don't have the means and the maker is covering his ass and doesn't want to get left holding the bag and then you get pissed even after you were told numerous times that when the knives are completed and sold you'll have a check".

 

[severedthumbs]

I have read this thread post for post and now I feel that I need to speak up.

I have met Mike Stewart. I have sat across a table from him and looked that man straight in the eyes while having some pretty interesting conversations regarding the knife business and all of the BS that goes with it. I am a very good judge of character. I can tell who's a liar and a thief. I looked that man straight in the eyes and I can tell you that without question that he is no liar and most certainly not a thief. He knows what he is talking about when it comes to knives. I have been to his shop. I have made knives in his shop. I have seen the daily operation of what is Bark River Knife & Tool and they are some of the most dedicated people I have ever met. The work they do and how they do it is beyond compare. They put in a lot of blood and sweat into those knives. Imported knives? Pure BS. I saw nothing in that shop that would lead to me to believe that someone had nothing but an axe to grind over something small and stupid. Go to a Bark River Grind-In and you'll see what I mean.

I may not change anyones mind and I don't care if I do or I don't. You can behind your computer screens without having ever met the man or held one of his knives or held a conversation with him and the people that work for him. You pass judgment on him based on one internet sites trumped up claims and one disgruntled individuals one-sided story. I know what happened between Steve and Mike. I know what's truth and what is fiction and I will go now further because it will not change my mind as to what knife company I will or will not buy from and I'm not out to change yours. I just want you think for yourselves and step back and think...think that maybe, just maybe, you could be wrong in your thought process. We talk about sheeple a lot on BFC, how they are scared and follow the pack. Don't be sheep. I'm 99.4% sure that you all have a brain in your heads. Use them and make up your own mind rather than have someone make it up for you.

Meet the man, meet the crew, watch them work, and speak to them as I have and it will all become clear that BRKT is here to put great knives in to the hands of the great people who use them.

so all of that changes the fact that he tried to steal $16000. Im sorry but I consider u a terrible judge of character if u honestly feel this way about MS. I guess the JD roots run deep!

 

[JD Mandrell]

maker is covering his ass and doesn't want to get left holding the bag

Ken, with all do respect, I have to ask a few questions.

How could Mike Stewart be "left holding the bag", when he was already paid for the knives?

His expenses, including materials, time and labor, had already been covered in the agreed upon price had they not?

He could have thrown the knives in a lake and not been out anything couldn't he?

 

[tltt]

Are not Jerry Fisk, Ethan Becker, Anthony Lombardo, Tom Maringer, the folks at Blackjack who worked for Stewart, etc..... not quality people? They all state that Mike Stewart wronged them.

One, two business deals go south, hey that's life. But when you have piles upon piles of folks saying what amounts to "Hey Mike Stewart @#$^#* Us", odds are he probably did.

 

[hardheart]

I think the moral of the story is "don't pay if you don't have the means to sell the items you're buying

That would be irrelevant to the supplier. He got paid upfront, his customer could go out of business the day after he takes delivery and it doesn't matter. The supplier has the cash to continue operations and to sell more product to someone else.

and expect your money back after it's been used to buy the material to make the items you can't sell because you don't have the means and the maker is covering his ass and doesn't want to get left holding the bag

Holding what bag, he was already paid. Any and all materials bought with that money are not his, and he didn't pay for them. It must be a terrible situation to have a shop full of materials you use to run your business that someone else bought.

and then you get pissed even after you were told numerous times that when the knives are completed and sold you'll have a check".

Damn right someone should get pissed when their money is tied up in something they are no longer involved with and is in fact not something the other party was entitled to do to begin with.

Nothing in that statement justifies what Stewart did.

 

[severedthumbs]

I'm just curious, Ken how many free Barfies have you received?

 

[VANCE]

I think the moral of the story is "don't pay if you don't have the means to sell the items you're buying and expect your money back after it's been used to buy the material to make the items you can't sell because you don't have the means and the maker is covering his ass and doesn't want to get left holding the bag and then you get pissed even after you were told numerous times that when the knives are completed and sold you'll have a check".

what?

did you read the thread?

*they had a contract
*SS paid the manufacturer for said contract
*BRKT promised delivery
*delivery date missed
*delivery date missed
*months later no knives & manufacturer states "refund on his terms"



wtf?

worst business deal in history




once the manufacturer is paid ......why would he give a rat's behind what the distributor does w/ said product?
he has been paid

what if he put them in his safe & saved them?