Bark River Posts

For some reason this controversy made me bring out my barkies and play with them, and start thinking about my next one. :confused:

If I have learned anything from the fiasco it's don't do a business deal with him above buying one of the best made production knives out there.

If we are willing to look I am sure most corporations are less then honorable in their actions and intentions. Found this link in 2 seconds on google.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0124-21.htm

It's all fine and good to stick to your guns and stand up for a cause, but theres a hell of a lot to stand up for out there and a knife company is pretty small potatoes compared to a lot of what's going on in the world today.

Not saying what Mike Stewart did was all right, but really, if coca cola or wal mart made knives would you ban them? Will you stop drinking coke?
 
It has become clear from the posts in this thread that this is no longer about what Mike Stewart did (or didn't) do as a knifemaker, and more about some folks here being pissy that he didn't respond to them on their personal terms (i.e., in this forum). Interestingly, the vast majority of people here who have actually dealt with Mike as end users of his knives have nothing but good things to say about BRKT, their products and their service. That should be enough for most people to decide whether or not they want to try his knives-it is for me. However, if you need a thorough background check and an affidavit regarding his internal business dealings then good luck, and I hope you may find a maker whom noone has ever claimed cheated them.

Mike evidently does not wish to air his company laundry (good or bad) in public. It can go nowhere but in a bad direction for him or his business. Given the climate that has developed here, I personally think this was a prudent business decision, and I respect him the more for being discrete about the details of his dipute with Snarlslayer. At the end of the day, Mike cancelled the order for reasons he does not want to spill out onto the forums. The money was returned (albeit late... perhaps). Anyway, it's over. Give it a rest.
 
" However, if you need a thorough background check and an affidavit regarding his internal business dealings then good luck, and I hope you may find a maker whom noone has ever claimed cheated them."

You mean like a convicted felon?
 
Sure CDNWIDE, but to be fair let's not single out MS. Before you buy anymore knives make sure to request as your contingency that the owner provides records and explanations of their personal arrests, lawsuits, convictions, etc. Let us know what you find. Again, good luck.
 
I'm not going to argue every point about MS. Relativism seems to be alive and well.Look at the facts, vote with your dollars.
 
kycolonel said:
It has become clear from the posts in this thread that this is no longer about what Mike Stewart did (or didn't) do as a knifemaker, and more about some folks here being pissy that he didn't respond to them on their personal terms (i.e., in this forum).
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WTF?? This is, and has always been about Mike Stewart, not his knives. He employed good people in Effingham, just as he has no doubt employs good people at Bark River (except for Reid of course). Buy whatever you want. Buy a thousand Bark Rivers if you can afford 'em. It's irrelevent to whether Mike Stewart is a practiced low life.

I for one will never buy anything that Mike Stewart is any part of. I owned Blackjacks and plenty of Bark Rivers, but not any more. Those of us familiar with Mike's record are offended by his repeated dishonesty.

Believe and buy whatever you wish.
 
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If you buy a product from a company/person with a troubled past, that's your prerogative. However, some folks here have ties to a wide range of people in the knife community, and therein lies the bigger issue. Mike Stewart has apparently burned a few bridges within that community, one about which some people see the big picture and one about which some people care.

I think that a lot of the indignation around this issue stems from the fact that Mike Stewart makes such a good knife. People seem to be in denial when it surfaces that he has a history of wronging other people in the knife community. How could that be? If the knife is so good, how can the man not be good as well?

People don't seem to have near as much trouble jumping on someone like Lynn Thompson and raising charges of ripping off designs. Is that because of Lynn's tacticool demeanor? If Mike Stewart failed to pay royalties to Jerry Fisk and Ethan Becker for their designs, don't these actions amount to ripping them off in the same manner?

Stewart, to me personally, has not been the pinnacle of customer service that others claim. Looking back over a set of PMs, I see that he broke his word to me on more than one occasion. At the time, I just chalked it up to forgetfulness or to a busy man's schedule, and this post is the first place/time I've ever mentioned it publicly. I never held it against Bark River Knives since it was over such a small issue, and I only went back to take a look at that exchange after all this mess surfaced over the Youell contract. However, a man's word is his measure, and Mike, it appears to me at least, has a habit of breaking his.
 
whitie said:
WTF?? This is, and has always been about Mike Stewart, not his knives. He employed good people in Effingham, just as he has no doubt employs good people at Bark River (except for Reid of course). Buy whatever you want. Buy a thousand Bark Rivers if you can afford 'em. It's irrelevent to whether Mike Stewart is a practiced low life.

I for one will never buy anything that Mike Stewart is any part of. I owned Blackjacks and plenty of Bark Rivers, but not any more. Mike's record is well known for those that are offended by his repeated dishonesty.

Believe and buy whatever you wish.
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Will you ever drink a can of coke again?
 
whitie said:
WTF?? This is, and has always been about Mike Stewart, not his knives. He employed good people in Effingham, just as he has no doubt employs good people at Bark River (except for Reid of course). Buy whatever you want. Buy a thousand Bark Rivers if you can afford 'em. It's irrelevent to whether Mike Stewart is a practiced low life.

I for one will never buy anything that Mike Stewart is any part of. I owned Blackjacks and plenty of Bark Rivers, but not any more. Mike's record is well known for those that are offended by his repeated dishonesty.

Believe and buy whatever you wish.
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whitie,

That is such a f'n crock! Stop defiling the mans character without some kind of actual issue that you can document.. This post is trolling, plain and simple.
 
sunnyd said:
whitie,

That is such a f'n crock! Stop defiling the mans character without some kind of actual issue that you can document.. This post is trolling, plain and simple.
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You cannot be serious????? Read this thread and do a search................
 
sunnyd said:
whitie,

That is such a f'n crock! Stop defiling the mans character without some kind of actual issue that you can document.. This post is trolling, plain and simple.
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Nonsense. The issue was well documented. The man broke a written contract. That is beyond contestation. Whitie's post was not trolling.

Whether the man's business practices mean a person should not buy his knives is a personal decision. Whitie has made his decision. Other people have made theirs. Whitie has published his decision as all are free to do. No one is free to make the decision for someone else, nor to castigate a person for the decision they have made.
 
I am another person who has not had very happy dealings with Bark River as a customer. Bought 3 knives, al had edge problems. Sent 2 in for repair, came back as butter knife dull as they were when I bought them, and was charged $25 for the "repairs". Not good form, but I was willing to give them more chances until I read the words of the owner. that is when I made my decisions.
 
with all of the great folks selling great knives at a fair price some folks see no great need to deal with folks whose character is "questionable".

for some folks is as easy as that.
 
wolfmann601 said:
You cannot be serious????? Read this thread and do a search................
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Oh, but I am serious. Expounding on ones opinion is fine, no problem.

But for whitie write,

"Mike's record is well known for those that are offended by his repeated dishonesty.",

Is out and out slander and violates rules & regs here if memory serves.
 
knarfeng said:
Nonsense. The issue was well documented. The man broke a written contract. That is beyond contestation. Whitie's post was not trolling.

Whether the man's business practices mean a person should not buy his knives is a personal decision. Whitie has made his decision. Other people have made theirs. Whitie has published his decision as all are free to do. No one is free to make the decision for someone else, nor to castigate a person for the decision they have made.
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So what if he did break a contract. I am not supporting his wrong doings. And I am certainly not infringing on anyone's right to purchase or not to purchase knives from him.

What I disagree with is the the slanderous statements being made here about him personally. Read my post above for the exact quote from whitie that I believe is wrong. Otherwise his entire post is fine.
 
sunnyd said:
Oh, but I am serious. Expounding on ones opinion is fine, no problem.

But for whitie write,

"Mike's record is well known for those that are offended by his repeated dishonesty.",

Is out and out slander and violates rules & regs here if memory serves.
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How can facts=slander?

The federal record is not slander.
 
sunnyd said:
Oh, but I am serious. Expounding on ones opinion is fine, no problem.

But for whitie write,

"Mike's record is well known for those that are offended by his repeated dishonesty.",

Is out and out slander and violates rules & regs here if memory serves.
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The grammar is a little confusing, but I believe Whitie means "those who are familiar with Mike's record are offended by his repeated dishonesty." That is certainly true, and the documentation is right here on this forum: you can easily find posts by people who are familiar with Mike's record who are clearly offended by his dishonesty. Truth is an absolute defense against the charge of slander.
 
sunnyd said:
So you are saying, that it is a fact that he is, and always was, and forever a dishonest person by nature in every single dealing?
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Did someone say he is dishonest in every single dealing? I must have missed that post....
 
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