Bark River Mountain Man

J

jetwrnch

Joined
Jul 29, 2007
Messages
13
I just came across this knife as a protoype. I really like the blade design but noticed it's made of 1095 instead of A2. How much of a compromise is 1095 for a hunting knife?
Thanks
 
It will require more care than A2 to prevent rust, but otherwise 1095 is a great steel for a hunting knife.
 
I prefer A2 for a hunting knife; but 1095 is great for an all-around bushcraft knife, hunting included.
 
I have two standard V-grind blades in 1095 and 3 convex ground blades in A2. Not being a metalurgist, I see very little difference between the two. Both will form a patina and begin to rust rather quickly and require care to prevent it. Both can be sharpened very sharp and will hold the edge satisfactorily.

Bark River has one or three models they use 1095 on and many custom knives that they've ground out of 1095. I wouldn;t hesitate to get the 1095 steel if it was in a knife design I liked.
 
I've got a Mountain Man prototype and love it. The steel took a nice patina after some use and rust hasn't been an issue so far, I live in a very humid area but keeping a thin oil film over the blade has worked great so far.

It's sharp, the handle is comfortable and the blade shape is quite useful, BUT the blade is quite thin (a bit thinner than an Eriksson #22). It's not a multipurpose knife, it's a great skinner and a superb slicer, but I wouldn't use it for any camp chores.

If you're taking a hatchet or something like that, this knife will work well, but I wouldn't use it as my main outdoors blade.
 
Nearly all TOPS knives are made of 1095 and they perform great, very tough and hold a great edge !!!!
 
Bark River usually does their prototypes in 1095. The production models are usually in A2 or 1227C. They will probably change steels in next production run.
 
I say "go for it". I am a HUGE fan of the Bark River line...no secret there!

Ron LaBella
 
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