Bark River Spa Treatment: My Experience

Cryptyc · Jul 2, 2018

Well, I have a well used Bravo 1 that I wanted to get done up a little. It is my field knife mostly and get whooped up on, especially when I’m bored in the field.

I decided it had earned some much needed love. I gave the scales some texturing (scalloped) and then sent it off to Bark River for their spa treatment. I requested they give the knife a sharpened swedge and hit the blade with a little polishing action. They do this for a $15 fee which is pretty cool.

Here’s how the knife went to them (sorry didn’t take pic after texturing scales before shipping):

Here’s how the knife returned:

They did an amazing job!!! I mean amazing. The blade looks brand new and with a little stropping, both edges are hair popping sharp. They also added a new logo on the blade which had been worn off with use before.

I highly recommend using this service if you are some inclined, but be warned that they do not communicate at all and it takes a long time. I had zero emails or calls to me and my knife showed up back home 6 weeks after tracking showed they received it. So, if you have $15, something you want done to your Bark River, and don’t mind waiting...do it.

Minnesota Man · Jul 2, 2018

I'm sorry but your ass needs to go to jail dude! At 15$ You just stole from them! Damn man only 15$ for that? Bark river likes to chew bubble gum and kick ass! Apparently they ran out of bubble gum! That swedge can be used to break bones on game I bet.

From what I gather BR is a relatively small company. Granted I haven't done much research but 15$ for that they most likely keep the staff payroll low to help out their customers with grinding? .... Sexy knife dude!

Cryptyc · Jul 2, 2018

Thank you hombre. It does look awesome and I am also surprised that they will do whatever to your knife for $15. It’s crazy awesome.

W. Anderson · Jul 2, 2018

Jeeze, 15.00? That's incredible. I might have to consider their products a bit harder, they weren't even on my radar until this post.

Cryptyc · Jul 2, 2018

Yeah, I was surprised that I didn’t really see any posts about their spa treatment. They will do whatever grind you want, customization etc for $15.

Jordan@DLT · Jul 3, 2018

You can also have this service done for free if you have a mod you want when purchasing a Bark river from us, we send it to Bark river before we ship it and then once its back from Bark river we ship it to you. Generally takes 2 weeks, occasionally longer if they're backed up.

Cryptyc · Jul 3, 2018

That's awesome.

Mikel_24 · Jul 3, 2018

That swedge does not look good to ME, somewhat overdone. Other than that, it is great that they provide such a service for so little money. I have two Barik Rivers and while I do have a couple complains about the fit and finish... they are great knives.

ridnovir · Jul 3, 2018

Well done indeed.

Sos24 · Jul 3, 2018

Bark River customer service is great. I have one of their neckers which had some rusting on the blade due to me being stupid enough to sheath it right after it had fallen in a fire. I sent them some pictures to ask about repair. I paid to ship it to them and that was it.

Cryptyc · Jul 3, 2018

Yeah, they've done right by me in the past and did great with this one. Mikel, that is a sharpened swedge. I wanted it sharpened back to that point, I marked with a sharpie before I sent it. They did what I asked, so not all of them would come that way. Their regular swedges look different than that one. I just had something particular I wanted for my knife. I am sure someone could get a swedge done and have it look how they wanted, and nothing like what I requested.

Tommy-Chi · Jul 3, 2018

Cryptyc said:
Well, I have a well used Bravo 1 that I wanted to get done up a little. It is my field knife mostly and get whooped up on, especially when I’m bored in the field.

I decided it had earned some much needed love. I gave the scales some texturing (scalloped) and then sent it off to Bark River for their spa treatment. I requested they give the knife a sharpened swedge and hit the blade with a little polishing action. They do this for a $15 fee which is pretty cool.

Here’s how the knife went to them (sorry didn’t take pic after texturing scales before shipping):

Here’s how the knife returned:

They did an amazing job!!! I mean amazing. The blade looks brand new and with a little stropping, both edges are hair popping sharp. They also added a new logo on the blade which had been worn off with use before.

I highly recommend using this service if you are some inclined, but be warned that they do not communicate at all and it takes a long time. I had zero emails or calls to me and my knife showed up back home 6 weeks after tracking showed they received it. So, if you have $15, something you want done to your Bark River, and don’t mind waiting...do it.

Between my brother and I we own 5 BRK, and I've always felt like they were a good investment. I love them.

- One Bark River Aurora LT in ELMAX
- One Bravo III in 3V
- Two Moro Barong in A2
- One MACV-SOG Bowie 3V, Blade Length: 6.250", Blade Thickness: .25", Green Micarta

Cryptyc · Jul 3, 2018

I agree Tommy. They are pretty damn good with a great warranty

TAH · Jul 5, 2018

Mikel_24 said:
That swedge does not look good to ME, somewhat overdone.

I think the swedge looks great. It compliments the width and shape of the blade. :thumbsup:

Cryptyc · Jul 5, 2018

TAH,
I agree. It actually came out better than I imagined. I cam blown away at how sharp they made it. You can see in the original photo that my Bravo 1 had a micro bevel for sure. This came back with a true convex, no secondary bevel at all on the primary or swedge edge. Stropped them up and the A2 steel is wild sharp. I really like their A2 steel.

TAH · Jul 5, 2018

Well, it looks great, Cryptyc. You have a one-of-a-kind special knife there - customized for your needs.

Think I could get that same swedge on my Bark River?

Cryptyc · Jul 5, 2018

hahahaha. I might make the swedge a bit smaller though