Best bark river?

I love my fox river, and just pulled the trigger on a Canadian Special in ambonia burl.
This forum is going to bankrupt me! (knife supply had some good prices though)
I like the micarta, but it's a shame because it seems these knives are meant to be handled in the natural materials.
 
3wolves said:
Hmm, seems like the fox river is the most popular. I am a bit aprehensive of the thin (width) blade but I do like stag. How thick is the blade stock? I am still kind of leaning towards the bravo-1, I'm a sucker for a wide blade. As for the Canadian special, I kind of like the look but it's a bit too short. Im kind of hesitant as it is to try a blade less than 5" (my personal favorite). Ill probably end up with both a fox river and a bravo-1, but I don't know which one too get first.
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I have both and love them but they are different.

The Fox is my favorite hunting knife. It is the more nimble of the two. For reference I have trouble finding gloves that fit my fat hands well. My hand feels a little crowded in some grips and I think the Fox could use a slightly longer handle. In most usage it is not a problem. If you have normal sized hands I wouldn't worry about it at all.

The Bravo 1 is the perfect survival knife. I take it camping and it lives in my day pack. It is overbuilt in every way and is still incredibly sharp. The handle is contoured and has plenty of room for my hand. The micarta is smooth and doesn't cause any hot spots with long use. Due to the shape of the handle I still feel I have a secure grip. Some people have complained about the thumb ramp and some have even had it ground off. I personally don't find it to be of any great use but it also doesn't get in the way at all.

If you want a high quality classic hunting type knife I would suggest the Fox River. If you want a overbuilt survival type knife that screams "beat the hell out of me" but isn't a sharpened pry bar then go for the Bravo 1.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the tip about knifesupply 3wolves:thumbup:

Most likely,that'll be where I'll get my first(but not last) BRK;)
 
Not all dealers that sell Bark River knives have them in stock, best to check that the knife you want is available before arranging payment.

Here’s a link to the dealers that do stock the knives they show on their web-sites: Get Em Here




Also, Bark River offers a sheath exchange program for their leather sheaths.

Most of the leather sheaths are available in brown and black, as well as right or left handed.

The knives are generally packaged with a brown right handed sheath.

Your dealer can help you exchange the supplied sheath for the one that best meet your needs, or sell you an additional sheath at vary reasonable prices.

They can also supply leather sheaths for most of the knives that come with Kydex, as well as build custom Kydex sheaths for those models that come in leather.
 
It should be illegal to advertise something you do not have in stock.:confused:

Thanks for the tip BigMike:thumbup:
 
SpookyPistolero said:
I've never handled the Fox River/North Star type handle, but it looks like it's a little chunky/angular. Seems it would be a little uncomfortable, is that not the case?
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Feels great to me.

Two issues though.

#1 I remember you saying that your hands are big. I have heard some people say that the Northstar handle is not long enough for them.

#2 I think the handle is totally comfortable. HOWEVER it does taper back to front and the slabs on most of them are slick. SO in the rare occasion where the knife handle is very slick you have to watch to make sure your hand doesn't slide forward onto the blade. This has only happened once to me when it was very sweaty and humid. Now Mike Stewart at one point made some of them with contured handles and if you were really worried about the sliding forward thing you could seek out one of them.:thumbup:
 
I'm not a real believer in the thickness/durability angle often thrown out there when comparing the Bravo and other thinner stock (.170") knives like the fox river and northstar.

Lets face it, these are all relatively short knives between 4.0 and 4.5". I can't imagine being able to generate enough force to flex any of these knives unless you put it in a vice and then lengthened the handle using a hollow bar or something to that effect.

While I don't have a .170" knife for comparison, I do have an RC-4 at .188" and a custom .25" Diotte both at a 4" blade. Although the custom is thicker in specs, there is really very little difference between these two and functionally I can't see any real difference in the strength of these blades nor the relative rigidity of either of them.

Now also consider BRK&T's prototype offering of the USMC wet recon knife which was designed for the same ends as the Bravo-1 but to provide a stainless version for corrosion resistance. It is interesting to point out here that this knife was made much thinner at 0.165" and also longer at 4.75", both qualities that in theory should reduce the stength of the knife (thinner stock + greater leverage). Clearly BKR&T doesn't view >0.2" stock as necessary for absolute strength under tactical conditions.

I think the thicker spin would come into play strengthwise in a longer knife say 7" or more where the thickness can add wanted weight in a chopper and allow greater prying strength under greater force provided by the leverage afforded by a long blade + long handle.

Of course, the Bravo-1 does have a very appealing and distinctive look to it which is a perfectly acceptable reason to desire it!!! I tend to gravitate more towards the Fox River for its lower price, blade profile. The only think I'm not overly keen on is the lanyard ring. I wish they would add a lanyard hole like the upgraded northstars so you can grind off the ring if you like and still have a lanyard option.

(p.s. On my list of knives to buy - Northstar, FoxRiver and mini-CDN)
 
kgd said:
I'm not a real believer in the thickness/durability angle often thrown out there when comparing the Bravo and other thinner stock (.170") knives like the fox river and northstar.
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I would agree, I have a couple of 5” Barkies in .170” steel and they take all that I throw at them. :thumbup:


kgd said:
I tend to gravitate more towards the Fox River for its lower price, blade profile. The only think I'm not overly keen on is the lanyard ring. I wish they would add a lanyard hole like the upgraded northstars so you can grind off the ring if you like and still have a lanyard option.
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The new ones will have both. :)
 
1/8" or 3mm blade is better than thick for most of the stuff I like to do.:thumbup:


I can see where if you wanted a knife for a "knife only" hard core survival type blade that something like a Busse of some thick sort, or the F1, or the Bravo would give you a lot of force batoning wood due to the thick spine:thumbup:

However I have split stuff up to about 2" fine with a 1/8" blade and actually my 3/32 nessmuk is one of my favorites because you can slice bread and potatoes with it without getting the "wedge" effect;)
 
hollowdweller said:
1/8" or 3mm blade is better than thick for most of the stuff I like to do.:thumbup:


I can see where if you wanted a knife for a "knife only" hard core survival type blade that something like a Busse of some thick sort, or the F1, or the Bravo would give you a lot of force batoning wood due to the thick spine:thumbup:

However I have split stuff up to about 2" fine with a 1/8" blade and actually my 3/32 nessmuk is one of my favorites because you can slice bread and potatoes with it without getting the "wedge" effect;)
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Yep this'll be my one knife for everything, Paired up with a wetterlings hatchet and lockblade SAK (OHF), I'll be all set. I will definatly get a bravo-1 but now I can't decide on the handle color:o.
 
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