EverydayCommentary take on Survive

Silver Needle said:
Everydaycommentary: High End Fixed Blade Shootout

CFV 4.7 vs Bark River bravo 1 lt vs Fiddleback bushcrafter
https://www.everydaycommentary.com/...y.com/2017/3/26/high-end-fixed-blade-shootout
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Thanks for sharing the review Silver! I don own a Fiddleback yet, but have a few 4.7's and Bravo 1's along with the LT. I would say the new spec 4.1 would be a closer comparison to the Bravo 1LT than the 4.7. They are all great blades and bang for the buck it's tough to beat SK!. Downside is trying to get one versus the Barkies are relatively easy to acquire.
 
supertac916 said:
I would say the new spec 4.1 would be a closer comparison to the Bravo 1LT than the 4.7.
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I agree supertac. The 4.7 is pretty big to compare to the Bravo 1, the 4.1 would be much closer both in size and design. It seemed like a fair-minded review, and although I disagree with a couple of points, I appreciated it. The things I disagreed with were mostly subjective, like handle ergos and liking one or the other aesthetically on the level of polish. Mostly a matter of opinion there according to one's own hand size and what he expects out of a blade.

I think the hole in the review was that I felt like he didn't understand the thinking behind the build of the 4.7, which we know here that Guy built to be locked into a person's hand even when dexterity fails with fatigue or hypothermia, a hell-and-back blade. Again, the 4.1 would be the better comparison blade, but when a guy puts in a lot of work to do a review I've got to appreciate that. Thanks for sharing it Silver.
 
It's a nice review, but all three of those knives differ quite a bit.
I'd like to see him do a comparison with the GSO 4.1, LT Wright Outback saber grind 3v and Fiddleback Forge production Bushfinger to level the playing field a bit.
These are all fairly comparable in size, price and steel type. It would take a destructive heavy hand to mess up or break a 4" knife.
If you can think of any other knives that are similar, please share them. These are all I could think of at the moment because they're on my "knives to buy" list.
 
It's absolutely my pleasure to spread the good word of SURVIVE! :D

I was glad to see Tony still had the knife and thought it was worth it to continue writing about it even after separate reviews were done.

He didn't seem to care for the reasons behind the design of each knife. I don't know anything about the bravo, but comparing a bushcrafting model to a SERE style knife Is hard to do accurately. I'd need to check specs on the FF bushcrafter, but would the 4.5 or LE 4.1 be a closer match than even the GSO 4.1?

I thought the design section of the review was terribly off until I realised that by "design" he meant "aesthetics". That's totally opinion. I think the custom FF looks great, but BRKs have never appealed to me. From the convexing to the polished micarta to the leather sheath, none of that attracts me. When I think design, I think more of the reasoning behind different aspects of a knife and aesthetics don't relate very much.
 
Polished micarta looks pretty but isn't all that satisfactory in the hand.
The one upside is that it doesn't stain as much as rougher micarta.
 
Silver Needle said:
I thought the design section of the review was terribly off until I realised that by "design" he meant "aesthetics". That's totally opinion.
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You said this better than I tried to!

Fancier said:
Polished micarta looks pretty but isn't all that satisfactory in the hand.
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A little bear grease + polished micarta = use at your own risk.
 
Fancier said:
Polished micarta looks pretty but isn't all that satisfactory in the hand.
The one upside is that it doesn't stain as much as rougher micarta.
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I don't own any polished micarta, so I'm missing out on it's merrits, but that is completely just my personal aesthetic taste. I much prefer the look of the production Fiddlebacks compared to the fancy woods and liners and pins and various finishes of the custom line.
 
If I could have only 2-3 blades for the survival/shtf role canvas micarta is the choice. But I wouldn't really care to own 20 gsos with the exact same options, so the ability to swap out various handle types, hardware and sheath options is only a good thing in my book. A pinky lanyard wipes out most of any handles smoothness issues and I use them on most of my blades even if they are textured canvas micarta. Having removable handle options is a big plus for cleaning but I have had several 1st gens that the previous owners never cleaned/oiled under them so there has been rust. Bolts and epoxy would have kept that from happening in that area. Hard to go wrong with any of it- we live in great blade times.
 
Hard Knocks said:
I agree supertac. The 4.7 is pretty big to compare to the Bravo 1, the 4.1 would be much closer both in size and design. It seemed like a fair-minded review, and although I disagree with a couple of points, I appreciated it. The things I disagreed with were mostly subjective, like handle ergos and liking one or the other aesthetically on the level of polish. Mostly a matter of opinion there according to one's own hand size and what he expects out of a blade.

I think the hole in the review was that I felt like he didn't understand the thinking behind the build of the 4.7, which we know here that Guy built to be locked into a person's hand even when dexterity fails with fatigue or hypothermia, a hell-and-back blade. Again, the 4.1 would be the better comparison blade, but when a guy puts in a lot of work to do a review I've got to appreciate that. Thanks for sharing it Silver.
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I definitely agree with you as well HK in the original purpose for Guy's design of the 4.7 as a "Hell and Back" blade. I do appreciate when anyone puts the time in to review and compare different brands, models, and steel types as well. We all have different personal opinions when it comes to what we are looking for in our blades for whatever we may use them for. In my opinion the 4.7 is more of a hard use "Survival" blade, the Bravo 1LT is a nice all around blade for basic camp chores for backpacking, camping, and hiking, and the Bushcrafter is for Bushcraft tasks. All of them are capable of doing what the others do, but each were designed for different purposes than the others. As you also mentioned, it relatively subjective depending on the individual.
 
Standard78 said:
It's a nice review, but all three of those knives differ quite a bit.
I'd like to see him do a comparison with the GSO 4.1, LT Wright Outback saber grind 3v and Fiddleback Forge production Bushfinger to level the playing field a bit.
These are all fairly comparable in size, price and steel type. It would take a destructive heavy hand to mess up or break a 4" knife.
If you can think of any other knives that are similar, please share them. These are all I could think of at the moment because they're on my "knives to buy" list.
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I would add a CPK Field Knife in D3V to the list of comparable and interesting blades. I agree it'll take a pretty destructive and heavy hand to mess up or break any of these knives. It would actually have to be on purpose in my opinion and way out of the category of "Normal" use. The guys that cut nails, concrete, stick the knives in anvils and lateral flex them to the max. Those reviews are interesting to see what the blades will withstand, but I'm not going to test my blades like that. :)
 
supertac916 said:
I would add a CPK Field Knife in D3V to the list of comparable and interesting blades. I agree it'll take a pretty destructive and heavy hand to mess up or break any of these knives. It would actually have to be on purpose in my opinion and way out of the category of "Normal" use. The guys that cut nails, concrete, stick the knives in anvils and lateral flex them to the max. Those reviews are interesting to see what the blades will withstand, but I'm not going to test my blades like that. :)
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I thought about throwing the FK in the mix but kept it out only because it's discontinued.
I'll agree that those tests that push these knives to the limit are cool, but there's no way I'm doing any of that on purpose!
The accidental staple beating my Cruforge 4.7 took was enough to make my face pale. It basically took out two 8d nails without much of an issue.
 
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Unexpected staples can be a real PITA when you are breaking down boxes.
I'm impressed that the CFV 4.7 took two and kept going.
In my experience they'll flatten an edge in a single pass.
 
I can't believe it took this long for the field knife to come up!

It can be entertaining to see others finding exactly where the breaking point of a knife is, so I don't have to! It can be pretty crazy to see something that I use to cut up wood withstand seriously destructive forces.
 
Fancier said:
Unexpected staples can be a real PITA when you are breaking down boxes.
I'm impressed that the CFV 4.7 took two and kept going.
In my experience they'll flatten an edge in a single pass.
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The damage was very minimal, but enough to catch a fingernail on.
IMG_6565.jpg
 
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