Bear and sons cutlery?

F

FarmKid

Joined
Jun 7, 2012
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405
After being on this great forum for a year I have noticed something. After seeing lots and lots of great knives, I've noticed there is one brand that no one seems to have or like. What's the deal with bear and sons cutlery. I have one and it seems to be a solid knife. Am I missing something bc they are made in America and they have a lot of different patterns in carbon? So give me the scoop on why this brand isn't that common on here.
 
I've had the opportunity to carefully look over many of their current offerings, and among the various patterns there often seems to be something at least a little off, whether of design/proportions or execution.

While I would like to support another American knife company, the errors and/or aesthetic shortcomings have consistently proven prohibitive at their presented price point(s). Actually, I probably wouldn't want them even if they were less expensive; others are doing it better (if not in the USA).

~ P.
 
I ask bc I've only handled and used one. It's a company that's always been under my radar.
 
Some like them. Some do not. Quality should not be an accident. They seem not to care enough.

Testimonials:

There was a time I was shopping for a Bowie. I was considering a Bear & Sons Gold Rush among others. Then during my web research I noticed something... the s-shaped guard was installed backwards on some knives. There was even a backwards guard in the company's own catalog! I started counting the occurences of backwards guards... it was almost exactly HALF of all B&S Gold Rushes. That means they were just pulling guards out of a box and shoving them onto the knife TOTALLY AT RANDOM, WITH NO REGARD FOR WORKMANSHIP. IIRC I sent the company an email. Many of the photos got fixed. I HOPE their Bowie assembly staff got some retraining or some blueprints or maybe even an inspector. Crikey.
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My first Bear was a Damascus and mop peanut that I got on the bay for ~$24 I believe. Solid little folder, I would wear it for luck in university exams. Not a peanut guy so doesn't get much pocket time now. With my good first experience I bought a fb stag handled skinner when in the arctic (inflated price but no new knives for 4 months drove me crazy). On the first time out the left handle scale fell off. Looking at it I noticed almost no adhesive (on an unpinned handle). Called for the RGA, sent it back. 4!!! Months after hearing nothing I called in to find what was going on. They had no clue, and after 15 minutes they said they would look into it and call me back. An hour or so later they called and said that they found the knife and would begin reparing it soon. When I asked why it hadn't been fixed they gave me no answer, but said they would call me back when it was done. Another month later I call and they say it's almost done. At this point they tell me it's almost done- WTF!! gluing doesn't take a month to finish and it was a single scale. I mention my disgust and ask that it is returned. A couple of weeks later UPS drives up and charges me their $30+ fee for getting it across the border, despite the fact I requested and was told it would ship USPS. Looking at the knife I saw they "touched up" the edge, dulling it and basically destroying any evenness to the grinds. The new scale was much larger than the opposite side in thickness, and did not match at all IMO. I traded it a while ago on here and the new owner seemed pleased, but with the money I lost, poor communication and even worse repairs I will always steer people away.
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Personally, I bought a lockback they made for B.S.A., and the lock was so stiff it took a tool to get leverage to close it. I kept it for the collection, because the seven others they had all had obvious cosmetic issues. At least this one looked OK. I figured they would not be around long. Sure enough, B.S.A. tossed them overboard due to "too many returns."
 
I have handled hundreds of them. I haven't had one in my hand I liked.

If you want an American company that makes inexpensive knives--go Buck. They have excellent quality control and make one heck of a knife for the price.
 
They're knives made in America with the stereotypical quality you would expect of cheap knives made offshore. Except, even those knives tend to have better fit and finish than Bear, at half the price.
 
i sent a couple of the worst knives back to Bear. The owner of the company called me to tell me I didn't know anything about pocket knives and wouldn't know quality if I saw it.

He went on for 15 minutes.

I packed up all of the Bear and Son knives I had and sent them away.
 
StuntDouble said:
They're knives made in America with the stereotypical quality you would expect of cheap knives made offshore. Except, even those knives tend to have better fit and finish than Bear, at half the price.
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Funny, after writing what I did, reading the ongoing responses and thinking about it some more, I was going to say, "They look like knock-offs."

~ P.
 
I own one, a carbon steel Trapper CGS54 with stag horn scales. The general appearance is nice and I have no complaints there. The spring is weak and I doubt I will buy another one. I tried a number of them and they all had weak springs. I want a good snap.

Okbohn said... I sent a couple of the worst knives back to Bear. The owner of the company called me to tell me I didn't know anything about pocket knives and wouldn't know quality if I saw it.

He went on for 15 minutes.

I packed up all of the Bear and Son knives I had and sent them away.
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This does not surprise me. I think some of the $10-$12 Frosts and Rough Rider knives have just as good a fit and finish. I simply was not impressed. I have talked to the owners also at one of the shows.

I have to admit that I was not impressed with the price of GEC folders when I first looked at them at Smoky Mt Knife Works manufacturer day. I viewed them as essentially expensive Case, Queen, or Schatt & Morgan knives and at the time I wasn't prepared to spend more for a pattern than a typical Case knife. I have since purchased more than a couple and really like them. I doubt I am going to change my mind with Bear & Son until I handle a bunch more. Will not order one blindly from a dealer and get what I get.
 
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Why is this? Apparently the owner cares not, and doesn't engage in quality control. I wonder if the lack of experienced cutlers in Alabama? is part of the problem. Everyone else is in Western NY and PA, where knives have been made forever and I gather that there are some "old timers" on the floor at least helping out the youngster.
 
okbohn said:
i sent a couple of the worst knives back to Bear. The owner of the company called me to tell me I didn't know anything about pocket knives and wouldn't know quality if I saw it.

He went on for 15 minutes.

I packed up all of the Bear and Son knives I had and sent them away.
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This just makes me upset.
 
Blimey, sounds like a company definitely worth avoiding.
 
My only experience with them is their farm hands(sodbusters), a moore maker sodbuster made by them and a lockback clip blade similar in style to a Buck 55. All with exception to the black farmhand have some sort of fit or finish issue with them. The Clip bladed folder has lots of blade wobble and a few have cosmetic issues or scuff marks on the blade from hitting a grinding wheel. I'm not one to worry much about finish issues on the lower end sodbuster style knives, as long as function is there, but they seem to be a bit loose with their quality control. In fact, most my lower end China made sodbutsers(Frost, Rough Rider) have much better tolerances then the Bear and Sons knives.

Derrick, good on you for shipping them off!
 
But, how on earth do they stay in business? I've yet to hear even lukewarm praise for their knives. The knife industry is precarious as it is so I am really curious how they keep going? Or are they victims of a mass conspiracy:D:D I suspect not.......:rolleyes:
 
I have four of their knives.
Three Remington branded swinguards and their folding hunter.

This was the most expensive of the four knives, it has a Damascus blade and Mammoth Ivory scales. The quality is not terrible, but not worth the original selling price ( I got it at a discount). It has some fit / finish issues that would be overlooked on a $20 import , but not a $100 knife.



This one IMO was worth the selling price.
Very nicely made and the scales are beautiful. I would take a chance and buy another of their knives based on this one.
 
What really baffles me is how/why Moore Maker would contract production to Bear. It actually seems borderline suicidal to me.

-- Mark
 
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