Best first Bark River Knife?

Geez, good question! Of course, it leads to your next post "Best second Bark River Knife?"
 
The Hudson Bay is my favorite...though by an extremely narrow margin. I disagree, however, with the Bravo 1 (and similar geometry blades) losing performance due to the heavy convex geometry. I have put the heaviest of Bark River geometries through many a$$ whoopins, and the thinnest as well. It really becomes a moot point. I just reviewed the Smoke Jumper which is probably the heaviest of them all on geometry and it did everything I asked of it effortlessly. I was actually pleasantly surprised. :thumbup:
 
My first set of three knives was the OKC the Ranger RD 9, Afghan, and the Browning Independence all orange G-10 handles, then I got the Swamp Rat set, the Rodent 9, Ratmandu, and the Rodent Solution they can be deferential tempered, my Bark River set in the A-2 steel is only air hardened, I have the Golok, Brave 1, and the Woodland Special I got this set at DLT Trading at great price, one thing I can say all my BR's stay very sharp and I do take them to their paces, my favorite from the BR set is the Bravo, I practically beat it to death, and it still shaves my arm, the Woodland I hang around my neck, its not as tuff as the Bravo, but a great go to knife for more delicate work.
 
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JTR357 said:
What no mention of the Aurora?

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Aurora is probably my favorite.
The new Bravo 1.5 is pretty awesome too, fits a spec ops sheath perfectly.
 
Wow 3.5 yr old thread! I like my Bravo-1, if anyone cares anymore! :P
 
Funny, I was just thinking about what my second BRKT should be. Started off with a Golok, now seriously considering the Aurora
 
zcd said:
Funny, I was just thinking about what my second BRKT should be. Started off with a Golok, now seriously considering the Aurora
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I've owned the Bravo 1 (then sold it coz it just wasn't quite right for me), and handled a lot of the other BRKTs mentioned in this thread, but none of them really fit me well. Photos can be deceptive and what I thought were going to be quite large knives really struggled to fill my hand. Then I found the Aurora and fell in love. It kicked my Barkniven F1 out of my bag and is now my go-to bushcraft blade. Love it.
 
I got my first Bark River the other day; a Fox River. I have just moved and have not gotten a new kitchen knife set yet, so I decided to use it for some food prep. It ended up staining quite bad, and when trying to wash/scrub it of with soap the stain would not budge. Is this common with A2?
 
Not if You wipe it dry with cloth after use!
I have used the Woodland Special in A2 for a wet week onboard the boat, but no staining.

If You leave it wet for a while it will start to take a patina, but a patina will only prevent rusting.


Regards
Mikael
 
I did, but the stain was still present. I have washed, wiped, oiled and scrubbed, and the stain will not go away from neither side. I was quite surprised by this, although I have heard that A2 stains quite significantly. It is still a great steel, but the stains annoys me considering it is a brand new blade.
 
Hm, I have had red rust on a blade in 50100-B that was inserted in a wet leather sheath.
However it was easy to clean up the blade and there's no sign of rust since then.

None of my A2 Bark Rivers has had any trouble like You describe.
If You can upload pic's via photobucket, it would perhaps be easier to see what's going on with Your knife.


Regards
Mikael
 
Hi Mikael.

Thanks for your response. It might just be patina, like you said, but I was surprised how quickly it stained, despite cleaning, and how difficult it seems to be to remove it. I have not experienced this so quickly with any knife in my collection. Have attached some pictures for you.

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As Wako/virtuovice would say: "Sigh...its a beauty. But the sheath is a crap".
 
Right!

These are good pic's!
There' s nothing to worry about, just use the knife and let the patina grow until fully developed.

If You don't like patina, use chromepolish like Autosol to remove it.
I use Autosol as a stropping compound on a piece of leather and this prevents the development of patina.


Regards
Mikael
 
Thanks for your help Mikael.

I will follow your advice and just let the patina develop. I don't care too much about cosmetics (other than knife design), but was merely curious about this.

Thanks again!
 
Ant metal polish will work to remove the patina. It will also lighten the Bark River etch on the blade, but on a user, that's not very important.
 
There are so many different Bark River models that it's hard to choose. I have been personally thinking about either the Woodland Special or Trailmate as my first. I have a couple Blackjack classics, so I am familiar with Bark River quality and A2.

When I first started looking at Bark River knives, I was inclined toward the North Star or Bravo, but as I use knives more, I find that a smaller blade is more useful for me for general purposes.
 
For the first Barkie I suggest Gunny the best all around knife they make IMHO

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Fox River is excellent too especially if you dress game

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