Bark River Knives!!!

I too am getting away from folders and venturing into small fixed blades. Right now I am carrying the Gunny and the North Star EDC. both are excellent initial quality, both are in 3V. I just ordered the Essential EDC in M4. I have no need for their larger blades as my work horse stable is full. But my examples of the smaller blades are very attractive, and even classy looking pieces. Sharpened my North Star EDC to hair whittling sharp over this past weekend. Good Sunday-go-to-meeting knives.
 
okbohn said:
I am a fan of their knives. I don't see many people who just really dislike their knives--a lot of people dislike the company, etc, but the knives are great.

I, personally, really like the people at the company. I do sell their knives--but I sell them because I like them. :)
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And I bought them from Derrick.
 
Battle horse knives is one of the split offs of Blind Horse knives. I just got a new one at the indy 1500 gun and knife show and i love it thats why i mention them.
 
schwartztactical said:
Battle horse knives is one of the split offs of Blind Horse knives. I just got a new one at the indy 1500 gun and knife show and i love it thats why i mention them.
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I gave them a close look on their web site. I got the impression that they were not quite up to speed with everything just yet. I did not call to see what was available or what wait times were though.
 
I think they make a fine knife. They give you tons models to choose from and pretty much any handle material and color you like. I prefer them to most for this reason. And I love the convex they use.
 
I have spent alot of time looking on Knife Markers exchange here but havent come across knife with everything I want and like. ...I think thats why I like Bark River so much they make there models in many different steels and there are like 85 different handles to pick from per model. Gives a guy alot to pick from instead have having to buy what someone else likes and made. Ive seen alot of great work on here tho and have been very impressed
 
I have owned two bark river knives.

Pros:
Great selection of models
Great selection of handle scales
Good steels and variety of them
Convex if your like them

Cons:
Fit and finish we're not close to being perfect.
Not super sharp from factory.
Pricey. IMO they aren't worth the price to me.

Bottom line is if you find one you like and money ain't a thing, and if you don't mind a few minor imperfections with fit and finish, then they are great knives.
 
marcinek said:
Well...according to some....there are no cons to a Bark River. They are the finest edged tools in the entire history of edged tooldom. :)

They are capable of making a very good, very well designed knife. But they have cranked out so many models and variants of each model that it seems their primary design concern is making the rabid collector Barkite market happy. Also, they are capable of cranking out epic fails. They will fix the epic fails they have sold, and credit it to their "great customer service"...but that doesn't quite make sense to me. Get it right the first time.

If you can get past the personalities of the primary parties involved at BRK, and the history of those personalities and their products (I cannot), or if you don't know/care about that stuff...then there are some good knives in there somewhere.

They still make the Fox River? Very good "all-around" design.
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This. Since I have had experience with the above, perhaps I am not the most objective person on this subject. I will say that I have had some good knives from them, and what would be called an epic fail, along with a serious problem with the owner and the fanboys.

If you get a good one, they work well.
 
I'll jump in here since I carry BRKT's most days. I've had probably a dozen of their FBs over the years. Haven't had an issue with any of them that wasn't my fault. I dropped a City Knife out of a sheath that was too large for it. It landed on its tip and it had to be repaired. BRKT took care of it for me at no charge and returned the knife repaired, sharpened, and polished up like new. I currently have 2 Essentials, a Northstar EDC, a City Knife, and a Little Creek. None of them have and F&F issues. No gaps, no mismatched or badly mated scales, nothing wrong with them at all. I've never had a F&F issue with any of the BRKT knives I've bought. One or two weren't as sharp as I wanted them, so I spent a few minutes with a strop and they were fine.

I learned to manage convex edges on my Barkies, now I really like that edge style. It's much easer for me to maintain than V bevels. I've got strops all over the house and warehouse that work great on BRKT steels. Someone earlier recommended their CPM 3V and I'll second that. My Northstar EDC is a sweet little FB, perfect for EDC carry. I carry it more than my Essentials during the week. The stag Essential gets Sunday church duties.

If you like FBs and you haven't tried BRKT yet, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you get around to using one. I'd suggest that you focus on the knives, since that's what you're actually getting from the company, and base your opinion of BRKT on that. My contact with BRKT's CS has been limited, but very positive and their products that I've personally owned and used have been first-rate. That's my.02 on BRKT.
 
northend816 said:
Driving me nuts that Im not in on the joke or what people are saying about company....but most seem to be happy with the product. I guess if u wanted u could find something wrong with about every brand out there or something u dont like
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It's not like that. Google "mike stewart bark river". The guy (owner) has a history. He also censors negative feedback heavily, if there is something wrong with your knife, if the blade breaks or chips or folds massively in meager tasks, it is your fault, "user error". And this is not a rare thing, the company has some QC issues. Mike Stewart (MS) has been in the business a LONG time and knows how to sell a pretty knife with lots of options on the design - semi-custom - but performance results have been very mixed and criticism not dealt with in a professional manner. Then there are the charges of fraud, etc.

In personal experience, I bought the Bravo 1 based on rave reviews and was disappointed by various aspects of the design, so I sold it. LOTS of knife companies out there selling similar or better knives at similar prices or cheaper. Disappointment with what many considered their "best" knife along with the history and behavior of the owner dissuade me from purchasing anything MS-related again. My $0.02
 
I'm pretty new here but the brk i have had are exceptional, not one complaint at all. This is up against the ka-bar i was issued in he usmc
 
I have never had a Bark River knife fail on me, and I use their knives quite often. The quality is top notch. The warranty is top notch. The geometry is excellent. The knives themselves are stellar (in looks and use). The heat treat is absolutely incredible -- heat treat is one of the most important things in a knife (to me). I don't have any complaints about the performance of my Barkies.
 
I suggest go on their personal forum on KF and do your research check out production schedule you can preorder model you like and have some personalization ie steel, scales, liners, pins, grinds etc.
I own Bravo 1 in several steels, Gunny in several steels, Fox River, Bushcrafter, City Knife, Essential, Golok, Bravo 3
 
I only have a BRK Essential and it's great. I read some of the threads regarding issues with BRK. People had issues with the owner or pricing which is inconsequential to most other people. There were some isolated but persistent problems from past years with edges being ground too thin with resulting chipping and rolling. Seems like they are a thing of the past but can't be sure. Overall customer service seems to have been quite satisfactory.

A couple of threads from 2012-2013:

 
I ordered the Bark River Trail Buddy today with Macasser Ebony scales. I just loved the blade design on trail buddy and it seems to be a good all around knife for my hiking trips
 
northend816 said:
I ordered the Bark River Trail Buddy today with Macasser Ebony scales. I just loved the blade design on trail buddy and it seems to be a good all around knife for my hiking trips
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Nice. I ordered a 154CM PSK with midnight tiger G10 scales yesterday. That one will live in my pocket. I was torn between a few of their smaller models (pro scalpel, little creek, little carver, etc), but the included Pocono pocket sheath sealed the deal.
 
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