Bear &Son, anybody has any of their knives, quality wise are they any good

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boki_zca

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I have chance to get one of their bowies, does anyone have experience with them, quality of steel and workmanship, and their damascus steel thx:)
 
Everything I've seen by them had the most abysmal fit and finish I've seen on anything that didn't come out of Pakistan. Kind of disappointing for a USA company. :(
 
I bought three Remington branded knives made by Bear and was a little disappointed in two of the three. But a few months later I bought one of their folding hunters and was pleasantly surprised. It's very nicely made and the sheath is too.

I don't have any experience with their fixed blades.

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I have their top of the line balisong. While I'm not a fan of the fake stag used on it and it's a little overbuilt, it's a tough knife and well made. Not the most attractive knife in the world to me though. ;)
 
richard thurman said:
I thought bear was made in the usa??
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They are (Alabama).

I don't have any of the Bear branded knives specifically, but I do have four Moore Maker knives produced by Bear & Son. Two each of the large sodbuster and the large double lockback trapper. Originally, these model Moore Maker knives were produced by Camillus (before they shut their doors). I have one of the Camillus-made large double lockback trappers. The difference between the Camillus version and the Bear & Son version is night & day. The Camillus version is solid, tight and well-finished thru and thru. The Bear version has the sloppiest blade play (vertical, when open & locked) I've ever seen in any knife. The tip of the blade probably 'dips' about 1/8" when in the open & locked position. There's also a lot of sideways play, and the finish isn't anywhere close to what Camillus accomplished with the same pattern (and supposedly the same materials).

The two sodbusters are OK, but there is some noticeable off-centering of the blades when closed.

So, based upon first impressions, I'm leery of spending any more money on Bear & Son knives. I don't like to be critical of any maker, but I was really surprised (in the wrong way) by the poor execution in these particular knives. I hope they can work the bugs out of their process someday.
 
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I have one of their large folding hunters that I have been carrying on weekends since June. It cost about the same as a buck110, and the quality is in the same league. It is not quite as well fi ished, but it has pins that are flush with the wood scales, which I prefer over the 110 which has pins that stick out from the scales. No blade play and I have used it pretty hard. Gets hair popping sharp and stays that way for a good while. overall I would rank it a tad behind the buck 110 as a user.
 
You Couldnt Give Me A Bear & Son Knife!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 years ago I bought 3 Bear damascus knives from SMKW all of them had

defects. I sent the 3rd one back to Bear. They made me a new knife for me..

after a 8 to 9 week wait I got the knife.....that knife was defective too...

do yourself a big favor Dont Buy A Bear Knife:thumbdn::thumbdn:
 
I feel that their QC has started to improve dramatically. Still, you would do well to handle the knife before you bought it. Particularly, if it is older stock.

That being said, I picked up a stag mini stockman for my Dad (picked it out in person, and kept the first one I looked at) and it has great fit and finish and has held up to an amazing amount of abuse. (For dad, a knife is also a screwdriver...and a hammer...and a prybar...and scraper of caustic materials...etc.)

I would buy more Bear knives. :thumbup:
 
I have one of their lock back sod busters and it is really bad! Blade play in every direction and bad fit and finish. Stay away from these as even if they increase quality, they felt this is ok to sell to the public at a fairly high price...I don't like their pride or business sense.
 
Just got a damascus bladed toothpick from the ebay website. If I had not gotten it so inexpensively (paid under $25) I would have been upset. As it is I just consider it equivalent to the Rough Rider knives that I have tried out.
 
They make rather pedestrian knives - and a 512-layer Damascus in their Alabama Damascus subsidiary. They are both made near Jacksonville, AL - up the road a piece from me. I took my first 297, an oak scaled folding hunter-style lockback - similar to a Buck 110, back to the Academy chain store where I had bought it on closeout for exchange as it was hard to close, the second one being quite nice. I later 'won' a new 597D on evil-bay from a B&M store - for less than the closeout 297 price. It differs from the 297 by the Damascus blade and stag (Not Sambar Stag... but still stag!). It was very near perfect.

A cocobolo handled Damascus bladed bowie was bought for <$100 shipped from a common TN source. It's fine - the 'micro sawtooth edge' of the blade is a great cutter on the pull stroke, as is the 597D I have. The small Kershaw Leek Damascus is fine, too, in pull cutting - and prettier, too - odd, since Alabama Damascus makes Kershaw's Damascus blades. The better slicer is that Buck Custom Shop 110 with it's neat teardrop Damascus - but the extra for that blade option was more than any of my Bear Damascus blades.

I have a few Bear folders and a small fb with a brass bolster/finger guard & stag handle. Their greatest negative, to me, is the softish blade metal - listed as 440. Puma's are a bit better, if German-made - and about the same, blade wise. Sure, you can re-edge them easily enough, but other knife-makers have better blade choices. I bought the Bears admittedly for their Alabama heritage. I would choose a mail order source carefully - in case you have to return it!

Stainz
 
I have an upswept skinner that is fine. I have another hunting knife with terrible fit and finish.
 
I have four Bear knives, three folders and one fixed blade skinner. I have had no issues. The skinner is beautiful and comfortable, fits nice and tight in sheath. A buddy seen it and bought himself one. I have a small all stainless folder, fit and finish, excellent. One of my larger folders was an EDC for three years, used every day, no issues. The other large folder was a tanto blade, don't know why I bought it, guess because I didn't have a tanto blade. Used it once, not the blade for me. They don't cost an arm and a leg, are made in the good olé USA, fit and finish from my experience is fine.

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The knife on far right was my EDC. The blade is, was partially serrated, still is sort of. I used a cheep, very aggressive hand sharpener on it. I used this knife at work daily and could put a quick edge on it. But ether because of the aggressive sharpener or soft steel of the blade or both caused it to wear down. But that was three years of heavy use.
 
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