Fallkniven A1 Pro or Bark River Bravo 1.5? 2018

Fallkniven A1 Pro or Bark River Bravo 1.5

  • Bravo 1.5

    Votes: 20 31.7%

  • A1 Pro

    Votes: 43 68.3%
  • Total voters
    63
BladeScout said:
If you really want an eye opener, dig up the old threads and search else where on the web for info on the person behind the company.

Saying that he is a 'bit controversial'(yes, I know you said the company), is like saying Pol Pot was a people person.

I personally wont buy blades from BRK. The reputation of the person behind the company, the shady affair of the mix and match steels, many BRK just being pale imitations of other knives (in the best Blackjack tradition), blurry grind lines etc etc keeps me from doing so.
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Only a few days ago I happened upon a thread in which a kind fellow forumite had made a compilation from old threads about the BRKT controversy. I read the most recent thread in that compilation, hence my summary in the above post. Sadly, i couldn't find this thread again, or I would have linked it.

I still stand behind the things I said though. I think that when you consider their knives purely on their own merit, it is still fair to consider them as higher end knives. However, I think it's a good thing to take a company's ethics and business practices into account (if possible) when you buy something. It's why I try to avoid amazon (they treat their workers like crap, they treat the environment like crap).

Your advice is a good one. Ideally, one should read those old threads and form their own opinion. Just keep in mind that some of these things were years ago and ask yourself how things might be different today.

Edit: To be honest I would be looking at other models than the two mentioned before, but that is outside the scope of the OP's question.
 
So there are tons of videos of Falknivens being used very hard. They take a beating.

I ordered my first large bark river a month ago and got it with a 1/4 inch broken off the tip. There was no damage to the box and no bend in the blade at all. It was a brittle fracture. Very disappointing. I returned the knife and it is likely the last Bark River I will invest in. The knife was A2 which is a fairly tough steel. In fact, I have other A2 steel knives that have taken serious abuse.

Looks like it may be more common than just my experience.
 
Although I don't like the look of the Fallkniven as much - that is what I always found myself grabbing when I had both BRK and Fallkniven. The rubber handle is so much more usable in any wet, cold or sweaty conditions. BTW check out massdrop right now. They have some pro models heavily discounted.
 
I would go with the Bark River. Now, both are great knifes but the Fallkniven is a bit to rich for me. The thought of a Mora is a good idea.
I own 5 Bark River Knifes and each have been what was advertised and their quality top notch. I will be buying another BRK in the future. Not saying anything bad about Fallniven.
 
Cobalt said:
So there are tons of videos of Falknivens being used very hard. They take a beating.

I ordered my first large bark river a month ago and got it with a 1/4 inch broken off the tip. There was no damage to the box and no bend in the blade at all. It was a brittle fracture. Very disappointing. I returned the knife and it is likely the last Bark River I will invest in. The knife was A2 which is a fairly tough steel. In fact, I have other A2 steel knives that have taken serious abuse.

Looks like it may be more common than just my experience.
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What became of that knife showing up with a broken tip?
 
Makael said:
What became of that knife showing up with a broken tip?
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Chicago knifeworks has a no questions asked return policy on new items and they honored it. So I got my money back. To bad to because I really wanted that knife. It was a Forrest Bowie replica. But when you have no faith in the product, no point in getting a replacement.
 
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Lodd said:
I have 1 Bark River knife (bushcrafter) and 1 Fällkniven knife (I think the Idun). I hardly use either of them because they are both strongly convexed. I do intend to change that though, now that I have a strop.

I will say this: both knives are quite expensive, but have the fit and finish to match. Fällkniven knives are of good quality and have a good reputation. However, I still think they are too expensive considering the materials used (mine was in VG10). I'm happy they now also offer knives in CoS laminated steel. Bark River knives are often beautiful to look at, with a great selection of handle materials. Their sheaths are also quite good.

However, Bark River's reputation is a bit controversial. Some people swear by their knives, but there was also an incident in 2017 where someone found out their 3V labeled knife wasn't actually 3V but in fact quite rust prone. My take away from that thread is that it was likely a mixup between steels (Bark River also makes a lot of knives in A2). However, while the seller went above and beyond to remedy the situation, Bark River communicated poorly and was silent on the matter.

I, myself, am not quite sure what to take away from this matter. The good people on this forum have a great bullshit detector and won't take kindly to any shenenigans, but sometimes people can be quite harsh. I found myself looking at the Bark River Kephart lately. While I have no complaints about the company myself, the whole situation does give me pause.
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The mix up was 20cv not 3v. It rusted in 10 minutes after use. Brkt was not just silent on the issue, they said it was normal for 20cv, which we all know it isn't. They screwed up and lied to cover it up. That is the kind of company you are dealing with in brkt. Ksf took care of the buyer, thank goodness.

Sold all mine and won't buy any ever again.
 
I have a dozen Bark River knives. IME, top quality, reasonable price and superb customer service.

Don't allow someone's PERSONAL dislike of the owner to influence your decision.
 
craytab said:
Sold all mine and won't buy any ever again.
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I still don’t know what to do with mine. I have a few, but they’re all in categories where they have lots of competition in my knife box. So far, I’ve just stopped using them in favour of others. Hate selling stuff, but I wonder if I can use them without thinking of the crappy stories.
 
Ben Dover said:
I have a dozen Bark River knives. IME, top quality, reasonable price and superb customer service.

Don't allow someone's PERSONAL dislike of the owner to influence your decision.
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It's not personal dislike. There are factual events that have guided my dislike for brkt, the latest of which is brkt telling a customer that 20cv will rust within 10 minutes of use and refusing to admit they screwed up on labeling steels. This is a fact, not personal opinion.
 
Dangerously said:
I still don’t know what to do with mine. I have a few, but they’re all in categories where they have lots of competition in my knife box. So far, I’ve just stopped using them in favour of others. Hate selling stuff, but I wonder if I can use them without thinking of the crappy stories.
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Like I said, I had to sell mine. Couldn't stand using knives from a bad company when I had so many better options.
 
I suppose we are all primarily influenced by our own personal experiences.

My personal experiences with BRKT have been consistently excellent. For both the products and the company.
 
My single Bark River experience was poor quality of knife. Whatever happened with the bark river that was damaged cutting a chopstick?
Wasn't there a grasso bolo that had a massive failure as well?

I don't think it can be argued that you are getting a better product with Falkniven. Maybe not the best cutting geometry though.
 
Ben Dover said:
I suppose we are all primarily influenced by our own personal experiences.

My personal experiences with BRKT have been consistently excellent. For both the products and the company.
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Mine has been mixed. They definitely can make a good knife and have also turned out turds. The owner has also been a stand-up guy at times and has also been rude, lied, and a general all around douche.
 
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