I am done with Bark River!!

BTW, you have done more to take this thread off its original track than any of us "irate" forum members.[/QUOTE]

The irate forum post was specifc to the referenced snarlslayer post, not anyone in this thread. And you're right - sorry for taking this thread off track.
I suppose I could go back through the posts and court documents, but really don't want to anymore for BRKT than I do for any other maker. What they may or may not have done in the past doesn't seem to effect knife performance or customer service, so if I am overlooking these issues in my knife choices then I guess it is guilty as charged.
 
'Round and 'round the circle we go ...
The knives are defective and customer service isn't making it right.
But Mike Stewart is a man of unquestioned integrity!
No, he is not a man of unquestioned integrity. He is a notorious fraud.
But that has no effect on the quality of the knives or customer service -- the knives and customer service are wonderful!
The knives are defective and customer service isn't making it right.
Where it stops, nobody knows....
 
Kind of sorry about this thread I had a feeling it would take off like this. I did not mean to disappear after starting the thread, but with 13 final exams in 5 days this week my schedule was full and I did not want to fan the flames too much.

I'll reiterate my main points:
Mosaic pins with 7 holes
Dull tip
Unfinished grinding of base of blade (cannot get a good pic- sorry)
Poor sheath finishing
Promise that such workmanship issues would NOT happen with this specific knife as it did with the other 2 from the set I ordered.

I will follow up with this next week as time allows, but again I ask if anybody can give me an email to contact Mike with, at least to get the ball rolling. Another negative that developed with this thread is the fact that Mr. Steward knows of my issue, yet it seems that pride keeps him from finding the customer. I know it seems petty, but all he has to do is sign on and send me personal messages/emails and never even post here. After the experience I had with my last return I am unsure if I even want to try the cross border return. I know I was very picky with the rest of my points, but after getting disappointed again I was very critical, but I tried not to be overly emotional with pointing out wrongs. Everybody is entitled to their opinion on the matter (no matter what I may think of their opinion) and this is mine.

One thing I would like to change- the marks on the lanyard loop were and epoxy or such, as they flaked off with pressure using my Leatherman.


After handling the knife I do like it, and am surprised that it is nearly as large as the Canadian Special- I had thought it would be smaller, and the handle is larger than I had thought it would be by reading posts here.
 
I'm not trying to be an apologist for anybody, but the sheathmaker for Bark River is JRE industries, and they also make sheaths for other knifemakers too and have a pretty-good reputation.

Cuts Like a Kris, you may as well just wash your hands of Bark River and sell your knives either here or on eBay, there should be plenty of buyers for them, especially custom orders. Heck, you can even charge for shipping.
 
gunknifenut said:
Get a Full refund... it wont make Bark Rivers issues go away, but it will make them go away for you. If more folks sent knives back, something would have to get done inhouse. Also, when will they start using corby bolt instead of pins? I have had and still have Barkies with loose slabs...I think its from over polishing??? I dont know, but thier glue dont hold, thats for sure.
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That just means that he doesn't peen his pins. Pins will hold up pretty much as well as corby bolts if they've been peened right. I've noticed however that a lot of people don't peen their pins. Which is a shame.
 
CWL said:
I'm not trying to be an apologist for anybody, but the sheathmaker for Bark River is JRE industries, and they also make sheaths for other knifemakers too and have a pretty-good reputation.
Click to expand...

Not JRE for a while. It's Sharpshooter Sheath Systems.
 
Not JRE for a while. It's Sharpshooter Sheath Systems.
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Sorry, didn't get the names correct, just remember that the sheathmaker makes sheaths for more than just BRKT.
 
"Not JRE for a while. It's Sharpshooter Sheath Systems."

Now there's a pair who deserve each other.
 
This thread just saved me a fair bit of money.

I too would be irate with a 2 year waiting period for product like that, similarly I waited 2 years for my car to be finished its build to get back sub-standard work well out of my spec for what i paid. It is very disheartening to go through that.
 
shotgunner11 said:
Alot of the makers here on BF are turning out knives with MUCH better fit and finish than BR these days and for about the same prices.

No reason that a factory operation like BR can't do what a one man gig is doing at the same price or much lower.
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This is a great point, and pretty much should have closed this thread down right here...

OP, I don't get why you even want to talk to anyone at BR at this point?
Or why you'd want a replacement, or a "fixed" product. You've been sold lousy product, waited forever, and had awful customer service. Return the knife, take your money, and buy from a custom maker.

I'd personally suggest JK Handmade or Landi Knives. Both well within your price.
Wouldn't it be nicer to be able to talk directly to the individual who is making the knife for you?
 
The main reason that I do not want a return is the set of 3 knives is for a memorial plaque, and after waiting this long I just want to be able to complete it.
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
Another negative that developed with this thread is the fact that Mr. Steward knows of my issue, yet it seems that pride keeps him from finding the customer. I know it seems petty, but all he has to do is sign on and send me personal messages/emails and never even post here.
Click to expand...

So let me understand this. You are desperate to complete a memorial plaque for your mother, but insist that the company who can assist you in doing so become a member of a forum first? How would BRKT know to communicate with you here if you were not able to contact them in the first place, hence alleviating any need to communicate through a third party? Or are you waiting for BRKT to happen upon this thread? In whatever business you are in, do your customers request you to join websites and do web searches to find out what their questions are, or just contact you directly? Why do you not simply call them?
 
If anyone wants some of the lowdown on MS, the threads are here at BFC. You really don't have to dig all that hard. I especially like the one where Jerry Fisk points out how MS never paid the promised royalties on a knife design.

Go to Blade, where MS will be noticeably absent. Talk to people who've been in the industry for a long time. Which would you believe? That there's a conspiracy or a pattern of behavior?
 
i feel that the $150-200 price range is the upper limit of where you can expect to have a few imperfections in a production knife.

we (generally) put up with those imperfections because we get a wide-range of choice of high-quality blades that are available for your immediate purchase/gratification.

i think that counting on a production knife to satisfy all of the criteria that we might have regarding what a custom knife should be is simply naive. production is production, and you always have the option to exchange a severely defective product.

from what i can see, the quality of the OP's knife is within tolerances for this price point. no, it was not worth the added wait, but then again, no production-class knife would be.

my experience with BRKT knives is limited, but the quality of their products is exceptional. i got my knife within two days of picking it out.
 
judging from my 5 mins of reading on blade forums....MS is a crook, fraud and shouldn't be touched with a ten foot poll.....sell the knives, save ureself the head ache and find ureself a recommended manufacturer already on this forum. there are loads.....or bring those knives to another manufacturer....

i mean if they are gunna charge u for repairs, u might as well get someone who knows what they are doing / with some skill and time.
 
kycolonel said:
So let me understand this. You are desperate to complete a memorial plaque for your mother, but insist that the company who can assist you in doing so become a member of a forum first? How would BRKT know to communicate with you here if you were not able to contact them in the first place, hence alleviating any need to communicate through a third party? Or are you waiting for BRKT to happen upon this thread? In whatever business you are in, do your customers request you to join websites and do web searches to find out what their questions are, or just contact you directly? Why do you not simply call them?
Click to expand...

:confused: IIRC he did contact them on the phone. There are people on here who also frequent the other forum where BR's sub-forum is.
Trust me, they know about this thread


Guyon said:
If anyone wants some of the lowdown on MS, the threads are here at BFC. You really don't have to dig all that hard. I especially like the one where Jerry Fisk points out how MS never paid the promised royalties on a knife design.

Go to Blade, where MS will be noticeably absent. Talk to people who've been in the industry for a long time. Which would you believe? That there's a conspiracy or a pattern of behavior?
Click to expand...

I don't recall reading about any of this in the past..
It's not the first time I've missed something though. It has peaked my interest.

ExMachina said:
i feel that the $150-200 price range is the upper limit of where you can expect to have a few imperfections in a production knife.

we (generally) put up with those imperfections because we get a wide-range of choice of high-quality blades that are available for your immediate purchase/gratification.

i think that counting on a production knife to satisfy all of the criteria that we might have regarding what a custom knife should be is simply naive. production is production, and you always have the option to exchange a severely defective product.

from what i can see, the quality of the OP's knife is within tolerances for this price point. no, it was not worth the added wait, but then again, no production-class knife would be.

my experience with BRKT knives is limited, but the quality of their products is exceptional. i got my knife within two days of picking it out.
Click to expand...

For 150 - 200 bucks IMO, there shouldn't be a quality issue. Not when there are companies that put out knives all day long for 30- 50 dollars and the overall quality is good and sometimes very good...
 
338375 said:
For 150 - 200 bucks IMO, there shouldn't be a quality issue. Not when there are companies that put out knives all day long for 30- 50 dollars and the overall quality is good and sometimes very good...
Click to expand...

i guess it's all relative, but i've owned many, many kershaws, benchmades and spydercos in this price range and they are not immaculate. yes, they'e very nice and their function is solid & flawless, but there are always small cosmetic flaws, burrs, unevenness in the fit, and the blades may or may not show grind marks. yet, if i started griping about poor quality i'd proibavbly get very little sympathy since that level is pretty much par for the course.

no, we're not talking about tolerating major flaws in this price range, but the OP's knife didn't look to have any major flaws. moreover, BRKT offered to do what we expect any reputable production company to do--offer a replacement if the QC standards slipped on a particular knife specimine...
 
i feel that the $150-200 price range is the upper limit of where you can expect to have a few imperfections in a production knife.
Click to expand...
Would those same imperfections be tolerated on a custom knife in that range ?
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
Would those same imperfections be tolerated on a custom knife in that range ?
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well, i would hope that the MAKER would not tolerate them.

for production knives i think the standards are different. at a given price point, we trade off certain expectations of quality for the added convenience of being able to choose from an immediately-available selection of knives.

i agree w/ others here who have said that the OP would have been better served by going to a custom maker in the first place. two years of waiting for a custom production knife ain't worth it.
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
Would those same imperfections be tolerated on a custom knife in that range ?
Click to expand...

i have a $50 hunter with less imperfections then that...for $200 and a 2 year wait i'd be expecting one hell of a knife (longer i wait for anything the higher the expectation i get).
 
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