Bark River Knives

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johnwaynesandw

johnwaynesandw

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Is it me or has the price of Bark River knives gone up over the past 5 years. I know all things have gone up, but I remember being able to get new barkies for $80, now I can't seem to find new ones for under $120. I was looking at the box of my Upland special which is 5 or 6 years old that had a retail of $109. I also pulled out the box for my Tusk with the same make up as the Upland special, but the retail on it is $169. I always thought Barkies were great knives at a great price, but it seems that the prices are rising to the point I can't justify buying new Barkies.


Don't get me wrong, I still love my Barkies. I think these are still great knives I just don't understand why the big price jump.

Here are a few old pictures of my Bravo II just for reading my rant.

Thanks,
John




















 
Costs of steel(s), leather, materials, shipping (gas) have all gone up over the last few years. This is a bigger problem than just knives...housing, food, electricity, medical care...the entire US economy is a shambles it seems.
 
Cliff Stamp, he's a lover of Bark River Knives Owner And 3V steel:D Do you experienced any problem with your B2?
 
Nasty said:
Costs of steel(s), leather, materials, shipping (gas) have all gone up over the last few years. This is a bigger problem than just knives...housing, food, electricity, medical care...the entire US economy is a shambles it seems.
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What he said. Moreover BRKT has adopted more expensive steels such as 3v s35vn and cpm 154. Compared to other knife-makers that use same steels BRKT knives priced very reasonably IMHO.
 
johnwaynesandw said:
Is it me or has the price of Bark River knives gone up over the past 5 years. I know all things have gone up, but I remember being able to get new barkies for $80, now I can't seem to find new ones for under $120. I was looking at the box of my Upland special which is 5 or 6 years old that had a retail of $109. I also pulled out the box for my Tusk with the same make up as the Upland special, but the retail on it is $169. I always thought Barkies were great knives at a great price, but it seems that the prices are rising to the point I can't justify buying new Barkies.
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Remember the 2004 Tanto? The msrp was $160 (bought mine for $120). For the 2009 release, the msrp had jumped to $350 for the same handle material. I didn't get a 120% pay raise over those five years...

So yeah, they've left me behind with their recent pricing increases. Maybe I'd still buy a BRKT if I didn't already own one, but I don't need a fourth or fifth Bark River that badly. For the same money I'd rather have a nice custom from here on the forums.

But good for them anyway. Seems they still sell the heck out of them. :)
 
Yeah, I remember those tantos. In fact, some that were listed at retail sat around for a while. I just can not see how the price could jump 120%. I guess like they say "simple economics 101 supply and demand" because even with the price of steel, gas, ect. this is a big jump.

I have 5 Barkies, and I think that is a good number to end on (unless I run across one at a good price).
 
Pricing is adjusted to whatever the market will bear. If they can increase prices without negatively impacting their sales, they should. Every good brand develops a good reputation, and that reputation is worth something.
 
MajorLonghorn said:
Pricing is adjusted to whatever the market will bear. If they can increase prices without negatively impacting their sales, they should. Every good brand develops a good reputation, and that reputation is worth something.
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I think this is what they did. Their knives look real good, equal to many custom knives, but now their prices are reaching custom knife price levels.
 
ridnovir said:
Moreover BRKT has adopted more expensive steels such as 3v s35vn and cpm 154. Compared to other knife-makers that use same steels BRKT knives priced very reasonably IMHO.
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Yeah, the prices continue to creep up, but there's still plenty of value in their products.

The addition of steels like CPM 3V and CPM S35VN does drive the price of a medium size knife up about $45 and $60 respectively, and many people seem happy to pay for the premium steels.

For me, the A2 knives rock, and those knives are best deal out of Bark River.



Big Mike
 
I think if you look beyond the cost of their A2 offerings the knives can get pricey. Every thing I have from BR is in A2 and they are in line with those of some of the custom makers. I'll echo Big Mike, A2 rocks
 
If you think knife prices have increased, check out ammunition. With the exception of generic 9mm, most good quality factory ammo has doubled in price over the past 5-10 years. Metals used for components have sent pricing skyward.
 
Bark River Knives cost what they cost for a reason. Mike Stewart has a bunch of mouths to feed and most of his knives go through distributors/dealers these days. As previously mentioned, when you go with steel like 3V or S35VN, your costs go up to the point where is actually DOES matter how much your raw steel is costing you. If I wanted to make 200 4 1/4 inch full tang bushcraft knives from 3/16 CPM 3V, I might have at least $20 just in the waterjet cut blank before I heat treated or ground the blade. That means that if I am selling though dealers, in theory, my unground blank has an "MSRP value" as high as $60 before I do anything else to it. Knowing what fixed blades cost to make by hand in materials and TIME, I think that Bark River's prices are fair and possibly "more fair" than some other manufacturers on the tactical side of the biz.
 
For the steels they use, and the craftsmanship I would say at the price they're selling the knives for it's a pretty good deal.
 
I also really like A2 steel, and thats why I like Barkies among many other things. I guess it was a shocker since I have been out of the market for Barkies for a while then I see the price jump.
 
Mike has raised his prices a little over the years, but not wildly so. I agree with Logical, you're getting a great blade at a very fair price. I have two of the A2 goloks and I love them. I am more than pleasesd with what I got for the price I paid. Yeah, if you've been out of the BRKT market for a while, I can see how you got sticker shocked. I'm just waiting for Mike to start making Bravo 3s.
 
The only Bark River I own is a Scagel medium hunter, and in my estimation it is worth every cent I paid.
 
I think they are still the best bang for the buck in semi-custom knives on the market today. They use one of the very best steels on the market in 3V, they hand sharpen every knife, put a hand done convex edge on every knife. The fit and finish you get from Bark River is unequalled by any semi-custom maker.


Honestly with Bark River you are basicly getting a custom knife at a semi-custom price.
 
PatrickKnight said:
I think they are still the best bang for the buck in semi-custom knives on the market today. They use one of the very best steels on the market in 3V, they hand sharpen every knife, put a hand done convex edge on every knife. The fit and finish you get from Bark River is unequalled by any semi-custom maker.


Honestly with Bark River you are basicly getting a custom knife at a semi-custom price.
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I would not call them "customs or even semi-customs". I will say that these are handmade production knives that have a good bit of man hours in them. I am not saying these knives are not worth their price. I think they are worth every penny. I was just shocked at the new prices as of late. I was used to being able to buy a Barkie for $80 and try it out, and let it go if it did not fit. When I first started buying their knives, they were pretty small (or at least in what I thought). I am talking about the woodland special and huntsman ect. With scales such as big sheeps horn which was on my huntsman, it could make a short knife feel very chunky. This knife I remeber buying for $85 in late 2005. It would cost around $217 today to buy this knife. I had quiet a few Barkies in the past, but some got traded or sold because they did not fit my hand. I could turn around and buy another Barkie around that $80 mark and try it.

Does anyone remeber when Mike started making knives under the Bark River name? I remeber when you called BArk River, Mike himself would answer the phone and talk to you for hours about knives. He is a great guy who knows how to make a knife.
 
I could not agree with several comments in this thread more - Mike's A2 steel treatment and grind rocks. Even BRKT detractors will admit that the A2 is terrific.

I am on record as stating that A2 is my preferred steel (over CMP 3V, etc.) for its combination of robustness and ease of sharpening. I cannot recommend these knives enough...

Ben
 
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