Fallkniven f1 or Bark River Bravo 1?

K

kickplate69

Joined
Jan 26, 2011
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Im looking at either knife for a purchase soon. I want to know good and bad comments about both if you have them. I want to use the knife as a bushcrafter, not a chopper or food prep knife. I was looking at some youtube destruction tests on the Bark River and the edge seems a little on the delicate side. Some of the comments were taking jabs at the A2 steel on the BR, but I felt that it was because the blade has a more pronounced hollow grind ( perhaps? ) and therefore there is less steel when you get to the sharp edge. Keep in mind I have a lot to learn and take the attitude of a "knife student" if you will. Im leaning toward the Fallkniven, but I'm open to any comments on either knife. Thanks guys.
 
I've never owned a bark river because I don't like their designs but they have a good rep on this forum. But honestly you can't go wrong with the F1. Fallkniven always delivers an awesome product and I think that Lam Vg10 is a better bush crafting steel than A2 because of its stain resistance and ability to take a downright nasty edge very easily.
 
either of those will serve you well, both have convex grinds, the Bravo1 is bigger, thicker, longer, and looks a lot better in my opinion (at least compared to the thermorun rubber handled F1), and may cut somewhat better because of the thinner edge
I have the F1, and its a great knife to have outdoors, solid, stainless, and a great wood cutter, but I wouldn't mind to have a Bravo 1 too :D
IMG_5704.jpg
 
the only complain I heard for the regular F1 was about the slim handle, and there are some that prefer a thicker one...
Besides that, is a great knife, highly recommended, but so is the Bravo 1 :D ...tough choice...
 
Search the forums, there are a couple threads on this, I have the Bravo 1, and the F1 is on my list "to buy". From all the reading I've done, and in my experience with BR's A2 and VG-10, A2 is tougher and will hold an edge longer. You won't have to worry about VG-10 rusting really, since its thinner it will slice a little better. Both are convex ground, which means you'll have to use sandpaper/stropping to sharpen them, A2 (and carbon steels in general) will be easier to sharpen, but the softer 420J2 outer of the F1 will help. Check out Bluntthruth4u's youtube review of the Fallkniven F1 (2 part vid).
 
even if the F1 is a good all around knife, good for many things, a slicer it ain't, and i find it to be more like a do all knife
yes, it will cut meat just fine, wood, and so on, but as an example, it will split potatoes rather than cut them :D, but that stands true for many knives...
It can do any job, but it excels at nothing, except being damn tough and dependable, after all it is marketed as a survival knife, so is plenty strong to take some abuse
well, you can't have it all, and is one of the reasons why we have/need more than one knife
 
I have both and honestly I use the F1 much more than the Bravo1. It's just too heavy for what I need in a bushcraft/utility knife. I recently got a Barkniven (F1 with a Bark River handle) which is just fantastic.

BTW, the Bravo1 is a lot of things but "delicate" isn't one of them. It is a complete tank and MUCH tougher than the F1 (which is a pretty tough little knife itself).

 
I have both of these knives. To me, they are very different. The F1 and its sub four inch blade (3.8 in) is closer to the Bark River Gunny, available in both A2 and stainless steel, than the larger Bravo-1 available in A2 and CPM154 stainless. While 4.25 inches doesn't seem like much more than 3.8 on paper, its a big difference in these knives, mainly due to the Bravo-1's larger, wider blade. The Bravo-1 is my "go to" all around field knife. It will do just about everything you need and I don't have to worry too much about it, not that I worry about my F1 breaking. I don't baton and I don't abuse my knives. I like the handle size better on the Brravo-1 as I have large hands with long fingers. However, the F1 is also fine for me.

If you need stainless, got with the F1, or S1, as there price point is much less than the CPM154 Bravo-1. I now use my F1 as a back up knife which lives in my flight bag. I carry the Bravo-1 a lot. Either are very fine choices, and you should get both at some point. Everyone needs at least one F1.

Edit:

From a previous post of mine:

I have both the F1 and Bravo-1. (Actually have two Bravo-1's).

IMHO, they are very different knives. I like the stainless of the F1, and its a good, versatile woods/survival knife. Mine lives in my flight bag, but doesn't get used much, hence why I like the stainless. It is a SMALL, compact knife, with a 3.8 inch blade.

The Bravo-1 while only a bit longer is a much larger knife. Its thicker, with a wider, slightly longer blade at 4.25 inches. It feels much bigger than the F1 and gives me more all around confidence for the woods. I carry this knife on day hikes as well as backpacking/camping.

Hopefully somebody will post side by side pics. A better comparison to the F1 would be the ESEE-3, BRKT Gunny and Fiddleback Forge Production Recluse. I have these as well and its hard to pick from them. They are all that good.
 
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I had both, I sold the Bravo 1, and I kept the F1, the Bravo just seemed pretty bulky, and in my opinion is somewhat of a tactical knife, so for bushcraft I think the F1 is a better choice.
 
I'd suggest handling both if you have that option, the Bravo felt pretty good in hand but the ramp was a no go for me- it can be ground off (or occasionally found w/o it), if you have really large hands the thermorun F1 might be too small (perfect for my medium-ish hands :))

I agree w/ the above poster that the Gunny is probably a closer comparo to the F1- overall- gunny 8.4", F1 8.3"; blade length- gunny 3.7", F1 3.8"; blade thickness- gunny 0.154", F1 0.18, weight- gunny 5.62 oz, F1 6 oz
 
Heres a rampless Bravo1 with a swedge on it along with some other Barkrivers. Its the second knife down.
HPIM2884-1.jpg
 
Both are great convex blades,


...but for me, the Bravo-1 handle makes all the difference.









Big Mike
 
Reading what you will be using the knife for , I would go with the F-1 ... will be a little lighter and has a thinner blade.
Like my F-1 alot and the VG-10 STEEL takes a hair popping edge no problem and holds up well .
Long as you do not baton it into the dirt and rocks.
The rubber like handle has better grip to it than micarta by far too which makes it more user friendly.
In defense of BARK RIVER ... I own 4 or 5 of them and never had any edge problems what so ever.
I would like to own a Bravo-1 someday just because I consider it the perfect size belt knife.
 
The F1 handle has no exposed tang, so it ought to be more comfortable in very cold (or hot sunny) conditions than the Bravo 1.
 
i have a rampless bravo one. i would go for ramplaess because the ramp gets in the way and you can strike a fire steel just fine with the spine.
I had this knife for about a month and a half, and i had not used it very hard. one day i was out and i needed a fire to cook some beans. i was spliting up a small peice of pine that had splinterd of of the trunk of a fallen tree. it was so small that i was just pounding the blade through with my hand. i went to make a featherstick from the piece i had split of and i noticed a chip just before the sweep of the belly about a millimeter deep and 2 millimeters wide. when i got home. i emailed bark river about what happened. they told me to send it to them and they would take care of it. they thickend the edge and sent it back to me as good as new. the whole proces only took 4 weeks, and thats with me living in ontario. Since then it has worked great for me.
Annyway, for the thickness of the knife it carves and slices very well. and i have dug out the bowl of a spoon out of a piece of dead willow (being smart about it) had no damage at all. and the thick blade also makes it more compfortable to bear down on it with your thum. Iv never held an f1 but i have held simalar cold steel handles and i find i prefer the smooth beefy handles of the bravo 1. aot of people dont like the smooth handles because of the lack of grip, but i have never had anny problems with slipping and have never felt that i could loose the knife while chopping. it is very compfortable in all of the bushcraft grips i know.
 
I have a Barkniven (a VG10 F1 with a Bark River blue denim micarta handle).

fkf1denim.jpg


It's replaced my Bark River Bravo 1 SS CPM154 with hard rock maple handle as my backpacking knife.

B_1_SS_Hard_Rock_Mpl.jpg


In my opinion, the F1 VG10 is easier to keep sharp and feels better in my hand.

However, I've not had any issues with the Bravo 1 and consider it to be a fine knife.
 
I will be definitely considering the upgrading the Bravo1 when it comes out in CPM3V and CPMS35VN in a few weeks or months. Haven't decided which I'll choose... hell I'll just get both! But I will get rampless this time, that thing just gets in the way.
 
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