Bear and Son...thoughts?

MolokaiRider said:
i have a few Bear and Son folders, I kind of like them. They seem to get a bad rap...what am I missing?
Click to expand...

Most of their modern folders such as the bear edge knives are very low end Chinese junk, while the traditional folders are known to sometimes have some F&F issues.
That being said I'd have no problems buying one i could inspect in person and have been eyeing a little B&S wood handled slipjoint at the local hardware store.
I can see it in the case and it looks like a decent little knife, so I would give it a chance.
Buy in person and inspect whenever possible with any mass produced knife.
 
Last edited:
I have a slip joint folder with back lock and bone scales. I bought it before I knew anything about knives. It’s pretty and had nice action. I say had because there was a lot of side play after a while. I sent it back and they repaired the knife but now the action is very gritty. It does not reflect well on the company. To be fair the rest of the repair was flawless and the did it for free on a 3 year old knife.

Also, my contact turned out to be the owner and while most of his emails were fine a few were snippy. I found these unprofessional.
 
GrReaper said:
I've been thinking of getting one of their bowies, the 9 inch blade in the Sandvik stainless steel. I've been hesitating because of their lousy reputation. Somewhere I read that one of their damascus bowies had poor heat treat on the edge. Somebody allegedly used it to cut a branch and his knife is all screwed up, damascus de-laminated. Have you used yours on a two inch thick piece of wood?
Click to expand...

I hate to say this, one of mine is a lot thicker blade stock than the other 2. (5mm vs 4mm)One of the thinner ones I had been using pretty hard on some seasoned cherry, batoning and all that—the result was a pretty large roll on the edge, probably where a knot occurred in the wood. I have no idea how to bring the edge back, since the roll is pretty deep. —edit: I have since manually returned the edge, resharpened, and now it’s fine.—And it’s hollow ground. I knew this was bound to happen, since I had already tested the tip for flexibility, but I did it anyway. Other than this, I’ve had no problem with normal use, such as chopping, and mine are all 12c27 steel. The brass guard, the leather sheath and the cocobolo handles make these worth getting, especially for the often discounted prices; if you get one with a thicker blade stock, I’d say they are exceptional, especially if you convex the edge. If it’s thinner, I would say don’t abuse it. Mine are all the clip point Gold Rush Bowie’s 9” in length.
 
Last edited:
Looking through these replies it seems like fit and finish are hit and miss, quality control is not impressive, and customer service is ok but not pleasant.

I'll get a few pics up when I have some time this week of my examples. For the price I paid I'm satisfied with mine.

Thank you all again for the feedback!
 
1c6xZ0z.jpg

^^Check out the blade grind. Its not suppose to be a recurve, but it is.
I had to contour the g10 handle scales. They were so blocky. The blade steel was listed as carbon steel but I’m pretty sure it’s stainless. Very weak back spring.

TprlHJc.jpg

^^ had to contour the handle on this one too. This has a very stiff back spring.

I use the black one a lot. It has a 3.5 inch blade. Edge retention is ok. The steel has good toughness. It hasnt fallen apart on. For the price they are what they are, users that you don’t need to care about.
 
Thank you for the input. I noticed the grinds on my examples are also done poorly. Thanks for the pictures as well!
 
BatJak said:
I've seen better quality come out of china.
Click to expand...
Kind of like Reate and WE? Production pieces that possibly rival most anything (production wise) built in the US? Redundant :)

I own a B&S Bali. The blade came very sharp but the fit and finish is far from perfect. The handles stack when put together and the latch almost always hits the edge during flipping because it flops around and gets stuck pointed toward the edge. Price-wise, it's not bad.
 
W. Anderson said:
I didn't search it, but I'd imagine you'd just get knives. However, the remark just had witty, and unsavory connotations. Don't look up "Bear" in the urban dictionary.
Click to expand...

yea its just knives. and a couple of brown bears. Makes me wonder what he sees lol
 
I honestly thought he meant that the pictures of broken knives would be horrific.
 
My safe search is off because.....of Science o_O.......................................................................................and maybe Marisa Tomei

 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top