Bear & Son knives

C

Charlie_K

Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
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So one of the stores is selling this line of cutlery. Some look a lot like Buck brand knives, and they're priced similarly. But what's the steel quality on them like?
 
Picked up a B&S sodbster out of curiosity. Fit and finish were mediocre, but the price wasn't bad and it does cut. I regard it as a loaner.
 
Go ft a lockback version bear and son in 1095 sodbuster...think they call it a farm hand. Lockback has play up amd down....no confidence in it. Plus has side to side play. More play than I like. Basically not impressed even for the low cost. Havent cut much with it to see how the heat treat is......but im betting its poorly done.....but I might be surprised...dont know til I really play with it more.

In the end id look elsewhere. I know I will going forward
 
I got the Farmhand with yellow handles and 1095 blade. Fit and finish was bad and blade was butter knife dull. Kick myself for not getting a Case Sodbuster.
 
I'd stay away fro Bear & Sons. They could do a lot more with their products, but their overall quality has been terrible in my experience.

~Chris
 
There are many threads on B&S knives on BF. IIRC, the overwhelming conclusion is that they are CR*P. Their products dishonor the "Made-in-America" label.
 
Well you can't expect much out of minimum wage crack heads and retards! I was one of the highest paid hourly employee's when I worked there and I only made $10/hr. 90% of them never make it over $8/hr. There are a few people there that know what they are doing and turn out excellent knives but they are scarce.
 
The retailer that I work for sells a line of Bear and Son knives. In my opinion they are not worth the money. For literally $5 more you can by a Case and get a knife that is leaps and bounds better in fit and finish and out of box sharpness. 1095 can be great steel if heat treated correctly, but if they put the same effort into heat treat as they do fit and finish you're probably looking at something that's as good as Chinese 440A. Its shameful they're made in the US. We can do better.
 
I bought a Trapper to handle and look closely at after handling several of the same model. I was not impressed. No more B&S knives for me. It is pretty much... spend a tad more and get a Case. Rough Rider knives are just about as good.
 
Handled a lot of Bear and Sons knives at my local retailer. Fit and finish is abysmal and God only knows what the heat treat is like. All of their locks have play, their action is not smooth at all unless there's tons of wiggle, and the grinds look to be done by hand by a garage amateur. I made the mistake of buying a Bear Ops balisong that seemed okay only to discover that the hardware doesn't like being tightened when it inevitably backs out.

In summary, stay away.
 
I think I might have got the only good knife to ever come out of Bear and Son. I picked up a trapper and the f&f was on par for the price although the pull on it was a definite nail breaker (literally). It made good first knife for nephew as he can't open it (his nails are strong enough!) without help from an adult. I don't think I'd ever buy one sight unseen after hearing all of the negative experiences with them. Plenty of other manufacturers in the same price range.
 
Because they are USA made, I have tried and tried to buy one, but I just keep finding absolutely pitiful fit and finish, dull blades and flaws in them.
 
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