Bark River- who’s fault?

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Gil P. said:
Im confident but I'm not interested in his knife.
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Shocking. I also know where my old Michigan Bowie is for sale cheap, if that is more your speed.

The fact is that this type of nonsense is a recurring problem with this brand. The problem only shows up when a person actually tries to use the knife for knife stuff.

Wildly overpriced drawer knives. But Bark Rivers would be a fraud at any price, when you get right down to it.
 
I personally like'm. Have a half dozen. All A-2. No choppers but they are "hunting" and kitchen knives. Twice I sent back knives for work done on them (Spa and re-handle) and I was treated fairly and turnaround time was acceptable. Pricy? Yep. But the knives me and the boy have are first class using knives that will be handed down to the next generation. Just my thoughts and experience. .
 
Michaux111 said:
I personally like'm. Have a half dozen. All A-2. No choppers but they are "hunting" and kitchen knives. Twice I sent back knives for work done on them (Spa and re-handle) and I was treated fairly and turnaround time was acceptable. Pricy? Yep. But the knives me and the boy have are first class using knives that will be handed down to the next generation. Just my thoughts and experience. .
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If you only had to send back 2 out of six to get fixed up, that's pretty good numbers for this brand.
 
I like BRK designs, but I’ve read way too much stuff about these (imho) pricey knives to ever trust one. For my money there’s better knives at better prices (ESEE, anyone?) or spend a bit more and buy a Carothers and never have a regret.

I like that OP says he busted a tip but that was his fault. Gives credibility that the bent edge likely wasn’t.
 
Kiteman72 said:
If you only had to send back 2 out of six to get fixed up, that's pretty good numbers for this brand.
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Kiteman, the one I sent back of my own accord to get some "extra" work done on it. It didn't need to go back. The other was a knife I purchased used with broken stag scales and a horrific edge someone had bubba'd-up big time. It came back essentually as a new knife. As I said, I know there's a lot of hate on this forum for BRK but my experience in terms of quality and service has been excellent. I guess your mileage will vary....
 
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shane45-1911 said:
BR only sells through dealers. Unless you are asking if he bought it from an individual? :)
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I did not know that so I guess I was asking both!

@Jonah Shorter You might try to return the knife to the dealer. We've seen in the past where BRK was being a PITA to deal with, customers successfully got results from the dealer. The specific instance I can think of was when a knife was advertised as 20cv and even though it clearly was not, BRK refused to deal with the issue. I believe it was knivesshipfree who stepped in and took care of the customer.

If I were you, I'd try to return that knife, get you money back, and never deal with BRK again. Consider it a lesson learned.
 
Michaux111 said:
Kiteman, the one I sent back of my own accord to get some "extra" work done on it. It didn't need to go back. The other was a knife I purchased used with broken stag scales and a horrific edge someone had bubba'd-up big time. It came back essentually as a new knife. As I said, I know there's a lot of hate on this forum for BRK but my experience in terms of quality and serve has been excellent. I guess your mileage will vary....
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Yes, I've described my mileage throughout this thread in the hope of sparing fellow forum members from having to have any experiences at all with this shoddy brand.
 
Kiteman72 said:
Shocking. I also know where my old Michigan Bowie is for sale cheap, if that is more your speed.

The fact is that this type of nonsense is a recurring problem with this brand. The problem only shows up when a person actually tries to use the knife for knife stuff.

Wildly overpriced drawer knives. But Bark Rivers would be a fraud at any price, when you get right down to it.
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It comes down to money for me. The wife got laid off and is just starting another job. I wouldn't mind buying it at a discounted price.

I like Bark River knives, and I actually use mine.

To be fair, I had to get a refund for an EXT 2 in Cruwear I bought from DLT because the grind was really bad. I don't recommend people buy bark river knives used for near new prices. Buy new in case you get a lemon.
 
It would be interesting to see what would happen if these 3 things were put together: (a.) Metallurgy Experts with solid, foolproof testing methods (b.) A Large sample of Bark River Knives (c.) A competent Law firm

Personally, I would never buy a Bark River knife, regardless of price. Here's to hoping the OP gets things straightened out. At this point, there is so much negativity with the brand, it's hard to believe they still sell.
 
I just don't understand why a company would do business like BRK does. I've never owned one. After half the posts in this thread I'm much more likely to never want to own one. It's a shame, I like their designs, I like the steels they claim to use.

The lack of a BRK representative to explain their side looks bad too. If I ran a knife company and the largest knife community in the world was upset with my brand, I'd be there trying to figure out why and how to turn things around. It seems they believe everything is just fine though.
 
Despite the occasional vitriol against Bark River, I have high respect for Mike Stewart. On the couple occasions I have contacted him, one regarding his opinion and heat treatment of A2 (for a review here on my Bark River Woodland), and a Marbles Campcraft with micarta grip (I had a question about the tang), I received prompt and polite responses. All the blades I have from Mike Stewart meet my criteria for my "if I only had one knife."
 
Alberta Ed said:
Despite the occasional vitriol against Bark River, I have high respect for Mike Stewart.
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Unfortunately Ed, you are in a very, very, very small minority.

He has been proven to be a liar and a thief.

This from a previous post on BF regarding Mike Stewart. It sums it up nicely:

"Really? Catastrophic failures of the knives being posted regularly on forums for the last several years, Mike Stewart's decade-plus long history of fraud and lack of ethics, (as attested to by several high-ranking members of the knife community*)... you think all that is completely made up?
Stories of good experiences with Bark River and Mike Stewart don't magically make the bad ones go away.
*Will Fennell, former VP of Camillus; Jerry Fisk, ABS Mastersmith; Mike Turber, former owner of Bladeforums. Just off the top of my head."

The truth is out there if you want to find it. He is a douchebag, liar and cheat - personal experience. He will never see another penny of my money.
 
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craytab said:
I did not know that so I guess I was asking both!

@Jonah Shorter You might try to return the knife to the dealer. We've seen in the past where BRK was being a PITA to deal with, customers successfully got results from the dealer. The specific instance I can think of was when a knife was advertised as 20cv and even though it clearly was not, BRK refused to deal with the issue. I believe it was knivesshipfree who stepped in and took care of the customer.

If I were you, I'd try to return that knife, get you money back, and never deal with BRK again. Consider it a lesson learned.
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That’s where I messed up. I bought the first one through a dealer and sent it back due to grind issues, but the one I have now I got from an individual. Shoulda known better. I’ll email BRK again today. It’s been five days since my original email.
 
DayofReckoning said:
At this point, there is so much negativity with the brand, it's hard to believe they still sell.
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shane45-1911 said:
Unfortunately Ed, you are in a very, very, very small minority.

He has been proven to be a liar and a thief.

This from a previous post on BF regarding Mike Stewart. It sums it up nicely:

"Really? Catastrophic failures of the knives being posted regularly on forums for the last several years, Mike Stewart's decade-plus long history of fraud and lack of ethics, (as attested to by several high-ranking members of the knife community*)... you think all that is completely made up?
Stories of good experiences with Bark River and Mike Stewart don't magically make the bad ones go away.
*Will Fennell, former VP of Camillus; Jerry Fisk, ABS Mastersmith; Mike Turber, former owner of Bladeforums. Just off the top of my head."

The truth is out there if you want to find it. He is a douchebag, liar and cheat - personal experience. He will never see another penny of my money.
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Gil P. said:
It comes down to money for me. The wife got laid off and is just starting another job. I wouldn't mind buying it at a discounted price.

I like Bark River knives, and I actually use mine.

To be fair, I had to get a refund for an EXT 2 in Cruwear I bought from DLT because the grind was really bad. I don't recommend people buy bark river knives used for near new prices. Buy new in case you get a lemon.
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They aren't a forum sponsor so I can't name names out here, but I can PM you (or put on your wall, or whatever) my dealers details.

That Michigan Bowie is available for 2 bills and you might get them to go lower, they've had it a while, lol.

I'm sure it won't be long before I hear from a Faithful Bark River Fan who would love to own a warranty special at such a bargain price so don't drag your feet! :D
 
A smooth steel might realign that edge, but I suspect the Rockwell Hardness is low and it will just do it again. The Brass Rod Test will let you know if the heat treat is in the ballpark, if you don't know someone with a Rockwell Hardness tester.
 
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Again, the hate here for BRK is historical from way back . I do believe the "minority" is here on this forum and one forum doesn't make a majority despite the hatred. BRK make good knives. They just do. Some here just hate "the man". So be it. But his knives are good. So there's that.... And I'm done.
 
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