Getting annoying...knife I pick has something wrong!

+1 on what CJ said - Definitley get some use out of them before deciding to spend more money on other knives

I have a bravo 1, and even though it "failed" the knife destruction tests by noss, there are many videos on youtube of it being used, and bluntthruth4u shelter building series with it, as well as another series of videos by doggorunning using it to baton wood and make a fire. Didn't break on either of them, and it still had a good edge after all the use.

As for the F1, I'd like to pick one up one day, and its just as capable as the Bravo 1, and once again there are videos out there of it being used hard, take for example Zyhano's series on it being used in Sweden, this was what convinced me to get one, and he proved that its a very capable knife.

"I need to get this done so I can forget about it and know that my knife will not FAIL using it for its intended purpose."

You said you wanted a survival knife, the Bravo 1, F1 or ESEE 4 would all make excellent choices. Its not like survival (IMO) involves cutting through cinderblocks
 
Take a look at the ESEE 5. Great knife, tough steel, great company. I have an ESEE 4 that I've done a lot with in the woods. Oh, and by "done a lot with" I mean beat the crap out of. :D:D

esee-5.jpg


O.A Length: 10.88"
Blade Length: 5.25"
Maximum thickness: .25"
Weight: 16 ounces (Knife Only)
Finish: Textured Black Powder Coat
Handles: Canvas Micarta w/ Bow Drill Divot
Blade Width: 1.56"
1095 Steel - 57 Rc.
Sabre Grind
Glass Breaker Pommel
Serial Number On Pommel
Standard Equipment: Kyxdex Sheath w/ Belt Clip

You can find them new for about $120 I think.
 
Sometime you have to take what is said or shown on the internet with a healthy grain of salt. You have two knives that have some of the best warrantees in the world. Use them exactly how you want them and make up your own mind. And if they fail you can have them fixed or replaced.

My Bravo1 and F1 (custom on the way!!!) are top notch no matter what some guy in a hockey mask might say.
 
Those are both fantastic knives. I'd say just carry em both, and if one fails use the other. I highly doubt either will fail.

Or you can do what I do and instead of spending $200 on a single knife, buy 10-15 Mora's :D

Anyway, the only reason the Bravo-1's edge would roll is because it was ground too thinly - they ARE sharpened by hand, afterall, and people make mistakes. You can simply send it back to BRKT to have them regrind it at a steeper angle if anything does happen (I am speaking from experience; I had a BRKT knife with a horribly weak edge, and it was fixed no questions asked).

It's very rare to hear about somebody dissatisfied with their Fallkniven, but I don't have personal experience so I can't really comment on one. They do have a very good reputation online, though. The steel used in their knives might chip out a bit if you're too hard on it, but for 90% of tasks you should be fine. Maybe if you slam it into a bone in -20 degree weather, or something, it might chip a bit... big deal.
 
Homo sapiens survived for thousands of years without a bombproof knife, or any knife at all for that matter, nothing has changed except our skill set. Dress and bone out that deer with a piece of broken glass, or a tin can lid sharpened on a rock. You can't buy survival at any price. Chris
 
cj65 said:
Reserve judgement til you have put them to task, and can have your own personal conclusions.
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This is the best advice you can get.

The F1 and Bravo 1 are both well proven knives. You will be very happy with both.
Don't concede a valid opinion to a 3lb hammer
 
Entrek 11 bravo. It's a beast. Entrek's warranty covers everything. Even stupidity. It would be fixed or replaced no matter what. Can't beat that.
 
kman
So I spent ~$350 or so and I still don't have a knife people say is good.
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Maybe you should try out the knives yourself before tossing them in the dust bin.
A great deal of what 'folks say' about things on the internet, are wrong...........

just saying..........
 
I have a Bravo 1 with A2 steel and am thoroughly impressed with it. I have batoned with it, constructed shelters, cleaned game(fish and mammal) you name it. You already choose a good knife.
I suggest you use that internet surf time to perform and practice some tasks with your new knives. Build a shelter, start a fire, make and throw a spear, skin the neighbors cat. etc. You do not need to get into a "survival situation" to see if they work, try a couple tasks a week. If it's dark when you get home from work use a headlight or the back porch light, teach your kids, involve them in the process. This should be a fun hobby!
 
Not to be a buzz kill, but you are fine with what you have. Both the F1 and Bravo 1 are excellent tools. At this point its all personal preference concerning appearance and how well the knife fits your hand. Go out and have fun!
 
Well in my opinion you can relax as far as the F1 goes. The F1 is one of the finest usin' knives ever devised. Not only that but Fällkniven offers a level consistency and uniformity that many other companies could only ever aspire to. They don't blunt easily, they don't rust easily, they don't break easily, and they cut great across a wide gamut of conditions. Below is an F1 blank, as you can see there's nothing about that tang which is weak. The ones that ship with the rubber handle have a marginally smaller tang, but that is only because the tang is enclosed in rubber whereas as blank usually has scales fitted. Obviously if they used the blanks that usually get the scales fitted for a rubber handle that completely envelopes it the rubber handled one would necessarily have a much fatter handle. Still, there's not much in it at all. An F1 stripped of its rubber handle is only marginally smaller than an F1 blank.

fk1206132720.jpg


Rest assured you have bought one of the finest knives form one of the finest companies you could possibly hope to come across. Sure there are different but I don't know of any better usin' knives. I didn't swap mine out to better, I swapped out to different.

On the other hand I can understand some of you concerns about the Bravo. Never had one but I've seen enough that would deter me, but that's for a very specific reason. Apart from people who's opinion I place no value on at all because of what they do to knives I have also seen a video of a very inappropriately ground Bravo rolling really easily doing nothing more than some gentle cuts against a chopstick. I like thin knives that excel at cutting but that was absurd. Further, it made not one jot of sense to grind a knife that hefty to anything like as thin as that at the cutting edge. It is a gross mismatch rather like putting a tack hammer head on a sledge hammer handle. To a point it wouldn't bother me 'cos I'd just redo the edge and make it a bit tougher, but that was a pretty extreme case and I think I'd be pissed enough to send it back. And that leads me to the to the rub – BRTK is not a big outfit and they do their stuff by hand so they don't get the benefits of uniformity and consistency that a larger outfit may offer. You factor that in compared to some of the advantages they offer in flexibility against the heavy players. My opinion of Mike Stewart is also very positive and I'd fully anticipate him making any shortfalls good. But for me it would be a gamble too much 'cos I don't live within a few hundred miles of him so sending it back would be a bunch of hassle at my expense that I'd be immoveably unwilling to tolerate. That said, given I think the chances of me getting a dud that is useless rather low and if I could just pop one in the domestic post to have it replaced at no cost to me I'd relax on this too.
 
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Uh oh, look at the sharp corner in front of the gaurd, that is a stress point and will explode the first time it's hit with a sledge hammer. :D

I think the OP will be happy with either knife. I don't own an F-1, but my Bravo 1(or any of my Barkies) has never let me down.

If you base your opinion of your knives on other peoples opinions, then you will NEVER be satisfied. I'm sure a quick search on this forum would turn up something negative on any knife. Except the one I made, that thing is the best knife ever, although I've had to reattach the handles twice. See? Nothing's free in Waterworld.
 
I am so glad I don't give a crap if someone else thinks my knife is good or not. I use my knives and make my own oppinion based on their performance. Both the knives you list are very good knives, but until you do the things you say you want to do with them, you will never know...

Welcome to the forums
 
I think your problem is you are too worried about what other people think of your knife. Just forget what some guy tells you on the internet about your knives and get out and use them. The only way you will ever find out what the best knife is for you is by using them.

Example I like the Tom Brown Tracker and most people on here wouldn't have one, but that's them. I like the knife, it definitely isn't perfect but I like it. I also use several different knives from Busse and the Busse family.

From my experience there is no one do it all knife. I like to use different knives for different chores but if I had to choose one knife it would be the Chopweiler from Swamp Rat, I just love that knife.:D
 
Welcome to the forum.

The knives you bought are great, not good knives as evidenced by the majority of people supporting them on this thread.

Sounds to me like your letting the minority dissent shape your view of the knives you own, don't. Get out there and use them and see for yourself what they can do.

If you don't like them go to the Trade section and get involved with a whole new drug, flipping knives until you get the one you really want.

Until then support the good guys of Becker, ESEE, Fiddleback, Busse, Swamprat and the many other fine makers that make Bladeforums the best in the business.
 
baldtaco-II said:
Well in my opinion you can relax as far as the F1 goes. The F1 is one of the finest usin' knives ever devised. Not only that but Fällkniven offers a level consistency and uniformity that many other companies could only ever aspire to. They don't blunt easily, they don't rust easily, they don't break easily, and they cut great across a wide gamut of conditions. Below is an F1 blank, as you can see there's nothing about that tang which is weak. The ones that ship with the rubber handle have a marginally smaller tang, but that is only because the tang is enclosed in rubber whereas as blank usually has scales fitted. Obviously if they used the blanks that usually get the scales fitted for a rubber handle that completely envelopes it the rubber handled one would necessarily have a much fatter handle. Still, there's not much in it at all. An F1 stripped of its rubber handle is only marginally smaller than an F1 blank.

fk1206132720.jpg


Rest assured you have bought one of the finest knives form one of the finest companies you could possibly hope to come across. Sure there are different but I don't know of any better usin' knives. I didn't swap mine out to better, I swapped out to different.

On the other hand I can understand some of you concerns about the Bravo. Never had one but I've seen enough that would deter me, but that's for a very specific reason. Apart from people who's opinion I place no value on at all because of what they do to knives I have also seen a video of a very inappropriately ground Bravo rolling really easily doing nothing more than some gentle cuts against a chopstick. I like thin knives that excel at cutting but that was absurd. Further, it made not one jot of sense to grind a knife that hefty to anything like as thin as that at the cutting edge. It is a gross mismatch rather like putting a tack hammer head on a sledge hammer handle. To a point it wouldn't bother me 'cos I'd just redo the edge and make it a bit tougher, but that was a pretty extreme case and I think I'd be pissed enough to send it back. And that leads me to the to the rub – BRTK is not a big outfit and they do their stuff by hand so they don't get the benefits of uniformity and consistency that a larger outfit may offer. You factor that in compared to some of the advantages they offer in flexibility against the heavy players. My opinion of Mike Stewart is also very positive and I'd fully anticipate him making any shortfalls good. But for me it would be a gamble too much 'cos I don't live within a few hundred miles of him so sending it back would be a bunch of hassle at my expense that I'd be immoveably unwilling to tolerate. That said, given I think the chances of me getting a dud that is useless rather low and if I could just pop one in the domestic post to have it replaced at no cost to me I'd relax on this too.
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I admit it, I did not read a word you said. :o

But I literally drooled when that pic came up, man I miss my Fallkniven.
 
august west said:
homo sapiens survived for thousands of years without a bombproof knife, or any knife at all for that matter, nothing has changed except our skill set. Dress and bone out that deer with a piece of broken glass, or a tin can lid sharpened on a rock. You can't buy survival at any price. Chris
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..+1..
 
Forget about what others say of your knives on the internet. I had an F1 and wish I had not traded it. Barkies I've owned have been fine, also. Too many people on here think that if you don't use what they do then you are not using the "best". Forget goofy knife tests on youtube, also. Get some practical experience with the knives you have and if you decide you don't like them for any reason, then sell 'em or trade 'em or send 'em to me.
 
kman300 said:
So I spent ~$350 or so and I still don't have a knife people say is good.

Someone PLEASE tell me what knife to buy for <$200 that is a survival/bush knife.
I don't know if I can still cancel my orders or ship them back. If not I will have to try and resell the knives and most likely lose some money.

HELP?
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I have a Bravo 1 and have beat the crap out of it with no problems. I even have a spare, not because I'm afraid it will fail, but in case they quit making them. I think both knives would be good. Take both of them. The chances of both failing is so remote as to be inconsequential, and beside everyone likes to have a backup with them in case they lose one.
 
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