F1 pro vs BRKT Gunny/Bravo

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I am deciding if i should get a brkt gunny or bravo or f1pro. I prefer the bark river cpm 3v over cos. I prefer the look of the f1 pro but feel of the gunny and bravo.
 
For the price of the F1 Pro, commission a custom in a similar style with 3V.

Best of both worlds!
 
If you get a bravo I think the bravo lt in cruwear would be the best choice but out of the three I prefer the gunny... get one with liners it makes a huge difference in actually looking for an elmax gunny with liners now. It's kind of a small knife but it can handle anything you throw at it and has one of the best ergonomics in my opinion. Let us know what you decide!!
 
if you prefer the look of the F1 but want 3v steel, why not go with a Cold Steel master hunter? They look almost identical but the CS has 3v steel. I'd trust the 3v steel on the Cold Steel over the 3v of the BRKT as well.

CS36CC.jpg


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I have a master hunter in 3v and cold steel definitely heat treats this steel pretty good... I dropped this knife out of my sheath onto the concrete tip first with almost no damage st all (except the concrete haha) I did have a very very minor chip though I didn't even notice until a month or two later.. still sharp as hell though
 
The only caveat with the CS master hunter is how thin that tip gets in comparison to the F1 or brkt. The distal taper on it is crazy.
 
Dangerously said:
The only caveat with the CS master hunter is how thin that tip gets in comparison to the F1 or brkt. The distal taper on it is crazy.
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Which is even more crazy how I dropped that knife and barely had any damage at all.. I can try to take a picture later but I can't seem to upload any photos from my iPhone to bladeforumns because the media is too big
 
I do believe cold steel knows what they're doing though.. they make very good performing knives for the money.. depending on the steel they may change the grind or thin out the edge on a certain model like the master hunter.. the San mai version and the vg1 did not have a distal taper like that in pretty sure
 
I have the F1 in G1o, the Bark River Gunny in A2, and the CS Master Hunter in San Mai. Yes, all different steels, and grades of steel. It is hard to beat the CS for the money, and I like the slightly larger blade. That being said, by favorite is the Gunny. I just like the way it feels in my hand.
 
This is an interesting comparison. I wondered what owners of both would say. If you are easy on your gear, then I would pick the knife with the most comfortable handle paired with the thinest geometry. I may pick up the winner of this matchup as they are on my list of knives to try.
 
KingMC said:
if you prefer the look of the F1 but want 3v steel, why not go with a Cold Steel master hunter? They look almost identical but the CS has 3v steel. I'd trust the 3v steel on the Cold Steel over the 3v of the BRKT as well.
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Why is that? I haven't heard of problems with BRKTs 3V. A search on bladeforums and Google only contained praise for their rendition of 3v. Do you have anything to give substance to that claim?
 
The 3v gunny does come a little thicker behind the edge then the other gunnys with different steel.. not extremely thick but thicker then I liked I had to slim it down..
Jhansenak47 said:
Why is that? I haven't heard of problems with BRKTs 3V. A search on bladeforums and Google only contained praise for their rendition of 3v. Do you have anything to give substance to that claim?
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Never heard anything bad of bark rivers 3v.. like you said only praise
 
Jhansenak47 said:
Why is that? I haven't heard of problems with BRKTs 3V. A search on bladeforums and Google only contained praise for their rendition of 3v. Do you have anything to give substance to that claim?
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Yes, I had a Bravo 1.5 that another friend bought and then sold to me before I sold it, it came new with a tiny chip in the edge and got a few more from general camping duty where my Becker BK9 survived worse without even a dent. It put me off of BRKT because that kind of money buys better quality elsewhere, and seeing more than a few stories of chippy edges around the forums (plus plenty other less savory issues with 'em) I'd put my money towards CS first and a few other brands before I go for BRKT.
 
KingMC said:
Yes, I had a Bravo 1.5 that another friend bought and then sold to me before I sold it, it came new with a tiny chip in the edge and got a few more from general camping duty where my Becker BK9 survived worse without even a dent. It put me off of BRKT because that kind of money buys better quality elsewhere, and seeing more than a few stories of chippy edges around the forums (plus plenty other less savory issues with 'em) I'd put my money towards CS first and a few other brands before I go for BRKT.
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Interesting, I have seen BRKT chipping threads, but this is the first I have seen one involving their 3V. They are sometimes accused of thinning the edge to the point lateral stress easily causes chips. I had a Spyderco Puukko in S30V ground to zero that chipped until I put a secondary bevel on it. Did you eliminate the edge thickness as a contributing factor?
 
Jhansenak47 said:
Interesting, I have seen BRKT chipping threads, but this is the first I have seen one involving their 3V. They are sometimes accused of thinning the edge to the point lateral stress easily causes chips. I had a Spyderco Puukko in S30V ground to zero that chipped until I put a secondary bevel on it. Did you eliminate the edge thickness as a contributing factor?
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I didn't mess with the edge before or after the chipping, I just sharpened the chips out and sold it at a discount.
 
Jhansenak47 said:
Why is that? I haven't heard of problems with BRKTs 3V. A search on bladeforums and Google only contained praise for their rendition of 3v. Do you have anything to give substance to that claim?
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Seems like the mention of BRKT on this site brings out a bunch of members that will always try to talk you out of buying one. Mostly politics and drama involving BRKT's past, etc and very little having to do with personal experience with their current products. Lots of theories about their heat treat being affected by grinding. I've owned five of them and have yet to encounter any of the issues people go on about. Overall they're a bit overpriced, but they make a nice knife. My BRKT in 3V was just fine.
 
KingMC said:
Yes, I had a Bravo 1.5 that another friend bought and then sold to me before I sold it, it came new with a tiny chip in the edge and got a few more from general camping duty where my Becker BK9 survived worse without even a dent. It put me off of BRKT because that kind of money buys better quality elsewhere, and seeing more than a few stories of chippy edges around the forums (plus plenty other less savory issues with 'em) I'd put my money towards CS first and a few other brands before I go for BRKT.
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Doesn't mean it was the heat treat.. the edge was probably too thin.. I'm pretty sure brkt sends their knives off to be heat treated but I could be wrong.
 
Gradyw said:
Doesn't mean it was the heat treat.. the edge was probably too thin.. I'm pretty sure brkt sends their knives off to be heat treated but I could be wrong.
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Their 3v knife chipped on me, only 3v knife I've had that chipped. Edge thickness, heat treat, etc., for that kind of money it shouldn't have had that issue regardless of the reason for it. Combined with their other issues I'm just not happy recommending them considering with their price point you can get better.
 
KingMC said:
Their 3v knife chipped on me, only 3v knife I've had that chipped. Edge thickness, heat treat, etc., for that kind of money it shouldn't have had that issue regardless of the reason for it. Combined with their other issues I'm just not happy recommending them considering with their price point you can get better.
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That's understandable and I agree with you however I still do understand that it can happen and will continue every once in awhile. Not every knife that leaves bark river is going to be perfect but I'd be more interested in how they would handle that issue. It does t sound like you tried to get in touch with them which for me would have been the first thing I would've done but Either way that sucks
 
KingMC said:
I didn't mess with the edge before or after the chipping, I just sharpened the chips out and sold it at a discount.
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That is too bad. I actually like their knives, but I also like working on knives. I have never been satisfied with Bark Rivers so I always put new handles on or used my round chain file and sandpaper to refine the handle contours. With some elbow grease they have been some of my favorite knives. For what they cost I would expect better QC. Honestly though I haven't bought one in a few years and always bought them expecting to do work on them.
 
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