bravo 1 3V or F1 3G?

B Hess

B Hess

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Feb 20, 2006
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I will be buying a new hiking/woods knife in the next couple of days. Trying to decide between the Bark River Bravo 1 in 3V or the Falkenkniven F1 in 3G. What say you fine people?
 
Just wondered if there's any particular reason you're going for the 3V or 3G?

I've got a F1 in VG10 (and TK2 in 3G), the F1 is VG10 is a fine knife and has a big following. It is on the thick side though and I find that can be a bit of a pain at times for fine work, that's why I got the TK2 which has a good taper and is slightly more user friendly IMHO. So if it's the super steel you after, it might be worth having a look at the TK2, which is often overlooked.

Sorry, got no experience of the Bravo, have you handled a Fallkniven?; some people find the handles too small and the thermorun not to their liking, others, like me, find they fit really well and find the thermorun excellent. The Bravo does have alot more handle colour options, if thats an issue.

I've had a sheath made by Martin Winkels to complete the package.

hth, John
 
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I had the same decision before I bought the Bark River Bravo 1 in 3V, and before I saw the 3v, I was fine considering the A2. The fact that I found the Bravo 1 in 3V was a plus, and a enough of a advantage for me to pick the Bark River over the Fallkniven. If I were to have been looking for a true Bushcraft knife, I may have picked the Fallkniven, but I was really looking for a versatile, all around good fixed blade knife, and the Bravo 1 proved to be the better choice for me.

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DBAR
 
If you chose the Bravo then stay away from the stainless version. I had two and they both failed me. The Bravo in A2 I played around with was descent and all Bark Rivers are super sharp. I have zero experience with Falkniven except for their folders. Nice knives and I hope to try a F1 soon.
 
I have both. I definitely prefer Bravo1. Much much more comfortable. And not only that...
 
BBQ BOY said:
If you chose the Bravo then stay away from the stainless version. I had two and they both failed me. The Bravo in A2 I played around with was descent and all Bark Rivers are super sharp. I have zero experience with Falkniven except for their folders. Nice knives and I hope to try a F1 soon.
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If you don't mind me asking, How did they fail you?
 
BBQ BOY said:
If you chose the Bravo then stay away from the stainless version. I had two and they both failed me. The Bravo in A2 I played around with was descent and all Bark Rivers are super sharp. I have zero experience with Falkniven except for their folders. Nice knives and I hope to try a F1 soon.
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Well, the orginal poster didn't list the Bravo 1 SS as one of his/her choices, but I'm sure everyone is glad to hear of your experience, or warning. Well, everyone except for Mike Stewart and the rest of the Bark River Family. CPM 154, or 154CM, either way, are true Stainless Steels, and when you go with a stainless steel, you're going to give something up. I read that somewhere, but it does make sense, and it's true. I don't think CPM 154 is the best choice for a knife that has a higher probability of being used for larger chores. That's why most of the so called "Bushcraft" knives are made of carbon steels like A2, 3V, or 1095. Fallkniven uses a creation of laminated stainless steels to achieve a blade that has good toughness as well as good wear resistance, and still being stainless. I'm sure I'm not telling anyone anything that they don't already know.

I think Bark River was trying to satisfy everyone in the market when they decided to go with CPM 154 as an option. There has to be a lot of people out there that wanted to buy a Bravo 1 just because of the origins of the design, and a Stainless Steel like CPM 154 had to of made a product like that, look even better. I'm sure there are a lot of happy customers out there that like the Bravo 1 SS. It just depends on what you want to use the knife for. I myself would have gone with A2, but since 3V was available and the price wasn't all that higher, why not buy the better of the two.

Good Luck out there,


DBAR
 
If you wait, Bark River will be releasing a 3V Aurora soon. Classic bushcrafter.
 
The first time I battened with it the edge chipped and rolled badly. I hit a knot and it rolled the edge very badly. The sec on SS version the tip snapped right off during a 9 day hike/survival EXPO. The A@ seemed good but the SS was by far not. I chunked the knife and didn't even bother contacting Bark River I was so mad. Now I am mad at myself for doing that because I know they would have made it right.
I am considering the Bravo-1 in 3V but I can not put my Busse CABS LE down ever since I got one that was rehandled to be identical to a Fiddleback. I have beat the crap out of that knife for the past 5 days and it still looks minty fresh. I would expect the Bravo-1 in 3V to act the same way, maybe.
 
of those two, i'd get the F1-3G.

or have a close look at the H1-3G or the PHK depending on your needs.
 
BBQ BOY said:
The first time I battened with it the edge chipped and rolled badly. I hit a knot and it rolled the edge very badly. The sec on SS version the tip snapped right off during a 9 day hike/survival EXPO. The A@ seemed good but the SS was by far not. I chunked the knife and didn't even bother contacting Bark River I was so mad. Now I am mad at myself for doing that because I know they would have made it right.
I am considering the Bravo-1 in 3V but I can not put my Busse CABS LE down ever since I got one that was rehandled to be identical to a Fiddleback. I have beat the crap out of that knife for the past 5 days and it still looks minty fresh. I would expect the Bravo-1 in 3V to act the same way, maybe.
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Thanks!!!
 
shunsui said:
If you wait, Bark River will be releasing a 3V Aurora soon. Classic bushcrafter.
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That's good news to me. I would have gone with the Aurora, but it was only available in A2, and I wanted the 3V. I guess I know which knife I'm getting next.


DBAR
 
I went with a F1 3G. I will be aquiring an Aurora 3V when they come out too.
 
I like where you're heading with your options, but I personally have a Fallkniven S1 and a Bravo 1 in A2 and a CABS. I have to say I love them all for very different reasons, but the A2 Bravo is an excellent pick, and I believe is cheaper than the 3V version. If money was no object I'd still go with the A2 version, but I tend to have trouble with particle stainless steels as they are a pain to sharpen in the field (using usual field equipment and not specialized sharpening gear). The A2 stays sharp and is easy to resharpen or fix should I mess up the edge. Just a thought.
 
CapitalizedLiving said:
I like where you're heading with your options, but I personally have a Fallkniven S1 and a Bravo 1 in A2 and a CABS. I have to say I love them all for very different reasons, but the A2 Bravo is an excellent pick, and I believe is cheaper than the 3V version. If money was no object I'd still go with the A2 version, but I tend to have trouble with particle stainless steels as they are a pain to sharpen in the field (using usual field equipment and not specialized sharpening gear). The A2 stays sharp and is easy to resharpen or fix should I mess up the edge. Just a thought.
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3V is not stainless.
 
My experience with a 3V Mini-Canadian is it doesn't take much effort to put a sharp edge on it...and it holds it well. Course, I can't baton with it :)
 
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