Barkies Bite!

Lycosa

Lycosa

Joined
Aug 24, 2007
Messages
43,271
So... a bud tells me he reads where a Bark River out cuts a BIG name fixed blade knife. Are these Barkies that good? Or is this just one of those- "there all good in their own way" stories?
Lycosa
 
That's an impossible question.

First, what does a "BIG name fixed blade" mean? Which manufacturer, which model? How is the edge configured?

Which Barkie is that "BIG name" being compared to?

What does "outcut" mean? Sharpness? Edge retention? A combination of these? Or something else? On what materials?

Bark River knives have a good reputation. They're made of quality steels, and made well. The designs are reasonable and practical. That's a recipe for a good knife.
 
elen,
I did not want to mention the brand name because I know they are darn good knives. It would just lead to a tit for tat discussion. There are so many factors involving a sharp edge, Elen, and testing that edge. Maybe the dude will jump on and give the details. You gave me a great response to my-not well thought out question. Thanks for your post!
Lycosa
 
Barkies have a deserved reputation for being very sharp, and being excellent working tools, as well as being available in a wide range of handle materials.

Personally I have found my Bark River knives to pretty consistently out-perform my other blades at the cutting tasks for which the Barkies (and the other knives) were intended.

Once you get the hang of stropping the convex edge, they're also very easy to keep sharp.

But there's a lot of good knives out there that aren't Barkies, and I am not meaning to diss any of them.
 
what did your "bud" read? an article....a blog...a forum thread where someone was giving their opinion? Why are you afraid to mention the "BIG" fix blade knife company to compare with Bark River? Just throw it out there so it can be discussed.
 
Big-Name= Busse. I love Jerry's blades and he'll just say,"JUMP UP!!!!" It was read on a forum. He did not say which one but I'll ask him to post it here. There can be a lot of smack-talk and I continue to just do my own research. There are too many good things to say about knives and their makers. Keep knife'n everyone.
Lycosa
 
Busses and Barkies are my two favorite makers of production fixed blades. Very different knives, though. Some of one will outdo some of the other at some things- and vice-versa. : )
 
Lycosa said:
Big-Name= Busse. I love Jerry's blades and he'll just say,"JUMP UP!!!!" It was read on a forum. He did not say which one but I'll ask him to post it here. There can be a lot of smack-talk and I continue to just do my own research. There are too many good things to say about knives and their makers. Keep knife'n everyone.
Lycosa
Click to expand...

I thought as much. Well, I can tell the obvious...

A small and thin Barkie slicer will cut paper, wood, rope and meat much better (meaning more precisely and with less effort) than a large and thick Busse Battle Mistress that's probably also twice as expensive. Busse would probably have superior edge retention though.

On the other hand, you could break that small and thin Barkie slicer clean in two parts while prying with it a little or batoning it with a hammer. You couldn't break the Busse Battle Mistress if you pried a door open with it or hammered it through a concrete block.

And further, you probably couldn't chop a 1" branch with the thin slicer type Barkie, but you could fell a tree with the Battle Mistress.

That's how these things go. You gain in one thing and lose in the other, generally. What makes one knife better than the other is what you need it for. Different knives for different tasks. One knife will 'outcut' the other in task A, but will be completely useless in task B in which the other knife excels.
 
Bark River does indeed make great knives. Like many other manufacturers, you may need to find the model that fits you best.

Mike Stewart (Bark River) has justifiably developed a reputation for putting amazing convex edges on the blades that leave his shop.

I appreciate the fact that you *think* you are trying to avoid a tit-for-tat. If that is your goal, in the future, you might want to discover the wonders of the "search" function. The forum has been around for a long, long time and has a wealth of information. Your questions will get low mileage when you ask - a) a question that is *leading,* pitting one manufacturer over another, then you'll seldom get more than a flame war - b) Something that is sooooo subjective that you are, in effect, asking others to make your mind up for you - c) A question that is asked over and over and over and over and... well, you get the point.

Wanna know about Bark River? Ask it that way. You'll get good responses - not a flame war. Want even more? Bark River has a forum on another knife forum site. Google it (just like searching here!) and you'll find all you need.
 
Thanks Pman and everyone. I'm learning alot. When folks say "a knife is a knife", I'll send em to BF!
Lycosa
 
A couple of pics of some Barkies I own(ed.)

NSMC.jpg


P3020047.jpg
 
:thumbup:
Elen said:
I thought as much. Well, I can tell the obvious...

A small and thin Barkie slicer will cut paper, wood, rope and meat much better (meaning more precisely and with less effort) than a large and thick Busse Battle Mistress that's probably also twice as expensive. Busse would probably have superior edge retention though.

On the other hand, you could break that small and thin Barkie slicer clean in two parts while prying with it a little or batoning it with a hammer. You couldn't break the Busse Battle Mistress if you pried a door open with it or hammered it through a concrete block.

And further, you probably couldn't chop a 1" branch with the thin slicer type Barkie, but you could fell a tree with the Battle Mistress.

That's how these things go. You gain in one thing and lose in the other, generally. What makes one knife better than the other is what you need it for. Different knives for different tasks. One knife will 'outcut' the other in task A, but will be completely useless in task B in which the other knife excels.
Click to expand...

Well Said!:thumbup:

BArkies make mean slicers and could probably slice better than the majority of the Busse line up. Busse knives make better camp/ hard work knives. To each their own but I prefer slicers over heavy duty choppers.
 
Pman,
Thanks for the pics. Nice knives! Do ya miss em? I kind of like those orange, red, handles. There not for everyone though. Keep paddle'n.
Lycosa
 
The Northwind? (sword) Yeah, terribly. A great blade that I will buy another of, given the chance.

The Northstar? (green one) Not at all. In typical bushcraft style, the grip tapered dramatically to the blade edge with no guard. It tapered in such a way that it felt the handle was forcing the hand toward the blade. I didn't feel safe using it - almost like severed nerves were in my future.

The Mikro Canadian (orange one) - No missing it here. I've still got it and remain it will. A super handy blade.

I'm especially looking forward to the BRKC Fon Du Lac camp knife. Look on their forum for more details.
 
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