I know this is sacrilege and...

M

MYT1

Joined
Sep 13, 2011
Messages
3
...I know I'm probably just experiencing "sour grapes", the result of getting shut out on my first attempt at "Fiddleback Friday", dang I wanted that Duke, but what will a Fiddleback knife do for you that a Bark River knife won't do, equally well, or better?

Bark River does seem to offer a better selection of blade materials and grinds and, incidentally, you don't have to stay riveted to your computer to get one. The quality seems the same, or better, as well.

I hope I'm not being out of line here. Maybe I just haven't drank enough Kool-Aid yet.
 
Bark river is a great production knife manufacture.

Fiddleback forge are hard working knives with some of the best handles I have ever used! Handmade in every way
I can not even compare the two.
 
Sorry man, definitely does sound like sour grapes. There is no comparison, and of course that is my opinion (probably shared by a few others around here..:D)
 
Bark River makes a great knife. They even did a production run of a Fiddleback Forge Recluse a few years back. But you're comparing a production knife shop with a small hand made shop.

I'm not sure how you've come to the conclusion that a BRK&T knife is of better quality than a Fiddleback if you haven't used a Fiddleback.

There's a reason we're riveted to the computer.
 
MYT1 said:
... but what will a Fiddleback knife do for you that a Bark River knife won't do, equally well, or better?
Click to expand...

Nothing .. but only the cool kids own a Fiddleback.
 
MYT1 said:
...what will a Fiddleback knife do for you that a Bark River knife won't do, equally well, or better?
Click to expand...

Probably nothing. Then again what will a Bark River do that a Mora or Becker wont? The biggest difference for me, and it is a big one because of my strange hands, is that Fiddlebacks fit like a glove and look great doing it. Also, I rather enjoy supporting a small group of knife makers as opposed to another corporation. Add in the fact that Andy is a great guy and the owner of Bark River has been rude to many people and it just makes it easier for me to stick to my boycott of BRKT products.
 
thurin said:
Bark River makes a great knife. They even did a production run of a Fiddleback Forge Recluse a few years back. But you're comparing a production knife shop with a small hand made shop.

I'm not sure how you've come to the conclusion that a BRK&T knife is of better quality than a Fiddleback if you haven't used a Fiddleback.

There's a reason we're riveted to the computer.
Click to expand...

bonafide said:
Nothing .. but only the cool kids own a Fiddleback.
Click to expand...

Joe Duder said:
Wth???

Excellent first post.
Click to expand...

These three responses pretty much sum it up. ;)

It seems like we see one of these posts every now and again :rolleyes:; IMO if the OP wants a BRKT knife, go right ahead, they are great production knives.. but please reserve all other observations / statements as they are unwarranted and subjective. I'm by no means a fan boy to ANY brand, so I'll leave it at this -- Andy's work speaks for itself; heck, probably a lot of BRKT guys would agree. If you truly want to do any meaningful comparative analysis, grab a fiddleback from one of any of the four authorized dealers (in stock now) / from the flea market (knives available right now) / from a FB Friday (can't help you there), and compare it in person to a BRKT. If you don't like the fiddleback, sell or return it; we have one of the most healthy secondary markets on BladeForums. Good luck with your decision and either way, I'm sure you'll wind up with a great knife.
 
The answer to your question is nothing.

I'm a fan of Bark River and Mike has always been very friendly and giving with me. When I was starting out he would take my calls and answer my questions like I was some kind of equal. He never seemed to be in a hurry to get the newb kid off the phone either. Bark River made the production recluse for Knives Ship Free. I have nothing bad to say about them.
 
The answer to your question is nothing.

I'm a fan of Bark River and Mike has always been very friendly and giving with me. When I was starting out he would take my calls and answer my questions like I was some kind of equal. He never seemed to be in a hurry to get the newb kid off the phone either. Bark River made the production recluse for Knives Ship Free. I have nothing bad to say about them.
 
Thanks for keeping it civil. You guys could've really teed-off on me.

Yeah, I should get a Fiddleback before I get on my high horse.

I've been on a scandi blade kick recently, yeah, I just ordered one from Bark River, and I'll try to get a scandi Fiddleback to add to my collection as well.

Thanks for taking my post in the spirit it was intended.
 
Excellent solution: get one of each. This is why my collection keeps growing. I know Mike Stewart's work through my purchases of Bark River and also Marble's knives when he was there, and rate him as one of the top knife makers. Don't have a Fiddleback (yet), but every time I see a post of one my drool response kicks in.
 
I own both. The BRKT is a nice knife that does what it's supposed to do. But that's kinda where the comparison ends for me. My Bocote handled BRKT shows signs of edges and not everything is flush. It's fine, but it's not perfection. My Fiddlebacks are fluid, graceful, and fit and finish are top of their league. Andy also pays great attention to how the handle feels/fits in your hand. My BRKT works, but it sure doesn't meld into every conture of my hand! FF knives are more comfortable to use over long periods of time.

IMO what they have in common is that they are knives. Other then that, Fiddleback trumps BRKT in all other ways.
 
Grinds, fit and finish is better with Fiddlebacks. I have several Bark Rivers and they are nice, but my Fiddlebacks are perfect.

From a purely functional standpoint they will serve you almost as well as a Fiddleback (I prefer Andy's handle shaping)
 
Well...my personal experience with BRK&T is very limited. When I was seriously looking at a Bravo I wrote them and asked some questions I had about options and things that weren't mentioned on their website. I am not a huge fan of A2, I was wanting to know if it could be done in a different steel (they have since made it available in different steels). I didn't get a response after a month, and understanding how things can get lost in the shuffle when you're busy I wrote again. This was repeated twice before I moved on to other knives. The next thing was for me to be called in by a company to take some hi-res photos of some work outsourced to BRK&T, just in case their refusal to pay for the work led to litigation. I have no idea where that has gone, I haven't asked. Different people have different perspectives and different standards. The tools may have been a little out of their comfort zone, but I know Andy well enough that before some of that left his shop it would have been stuck up in a stump and beaten to death with a large hammer. I have read several horror stories here on BF about really poor customer service, bad heat treats and bad grinds, do a search you may find them, it has been a while. Now knowing the industry as well as I do, and how competitive it can be, I know there are cases of intentional sabotage that happen to hurt one company's business in hopes of helping another's. It's sad, but it happens. Knowing that I won't actually judge their knives until I have bought one and fielded it myself. But every time I get close to clicking the buy button, I ask myself do I really have the disposable income to just throw this amount of money away if the horror stories are true. So far the answer to that question has been no. I have also heard some good things about them from other people, so I do hope to land a trade or a good deal on one at some point to see for myself.
 
Welcome to the forum MYT1.

I consider your questions to be valid for someone just getting exposed to Fiddleback knives.

Bark River knives were my introduction into better quality fixed blade knives starting about six years ago. I bought and sold quite a few and I still have a handful of favorites. I even have a filet knife on pre-order from them now. They make a nice production knife that will serve most users well. The steel blanks are water-jet cut and the handle scales are CNC machined, which makes them exactly the same for the most part. All the interim processes are done en masse so the whole shop is working on a batch of the same model at any given time before moving on to the next model. That is the nature of a production (or semi-production) business model.

By contrast, Fiddleback produces approximately 20 to 30 knives per week of mixed models that are completely hand made from cutting the steel blanks from sheet stock, pre-grinding & drilling, heat treat in-house, handle fitting, final shaping, blade grinding by Andy personally, and final finishing. A few things that separate Fiddlebacks from Bark Rivers are; beautiful spalting on the blade, perfect even grind lines, and handles that are hand contoured and shaped like no production knife can match. Each one is unique because it is hand made. You also get beautiful micarta or G10 liner material that looks way better than the thin vulcanized material that Bark River uses for liners.

Take a close look at these photos of a Bark River Ultra-Lite Bushcrafter next to a Fiddleback Hiking Buddy and Patch. I think that you will notice some of what I am talking about.








Good luck with whichever brand you choose. I think that you will understand what we all talk about here and be very impressed if you choose a Fiddleback.

Phil
 
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Comprehensivist said:
Welcome to the forum MYT1.

I consider your questions to be valid for someone just getting exposed to Fiddleback knives.

Bark River knives were my introduction into better quality fixed blade knives starting about six years ago. I bought and sold quite a few and I still have a handful of favorites. I even have a filet knife on pre-order from them now. They make a nice production knife that will serve most users well. The steel blanks are water-jet cut and the handle scales are CNC machined, which makes them exactly the same for the most part. All the interim processes are done en masse so the whole shop is working on a batch of the same model at any given time before moving on to the next model. That is the nature of a production (or semi-production) business model.

By contrast, Fiddleback produces approximately 20 to 30 knives per week of mixed models that are completely hand made from cutting the steel blanks from sheet stock, pre-grinding & drilling, heat treat in-house, handle fitting, final shaping, blade grinding by Andy personally, and final finishing. A few things that separate Fiddlebacks from Bark Rivers are; beautiful spalting on the blade, perfect even grind lines, and handles that are hand contoured and shaped like no production knife can match. Each one is unique because it is hand made. You also get beautiful micarta or G10 liner material that looks way better than the thin vulcanized material that Bark River uses for liners.

Take a close look at this photo of a Bark River Ultra-Lite Bushcrafter next to a Fiddleback Hiking Buddy. I think that you will notice some of what I am talking about.



Good luck with whichever brand you choose. I think that you will understand what we all talk about here and be very impressed if you choose a Fiddleback.

Phil
Click to expand...

That scandi looks more like a saber grind than a scandi.
 
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