I'm done with Bark River

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PharaohX3

PharaohX3

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Up until today I was a huge Bark River fan. I was always very happy with the quality of the knives and had a great deal of trust in the warranty. I own a bunch of them. My big brother seemed to have a good experience when he had a warranty issue in the past. Many of you have probably even seen me rush to the defense of BRKT when the very common "why I dont like Bark River" threads come up. Well not anymore, today I eat my words.

I recently purchased a another Golok from BRKT and on a camping trip a few weeks ago I took it out for a test run. Things were fine at first but after I chopped at some 3in chunks of mesquite I noticed a serious problems with the edge. More than just edge rolling, the edge actually seemed to be bent in three spots, i mean really nasty stuff. This to me seemed to be a heat treat issue rather than the normal edge rolling I'm always hearing about from people and their BRKT's.

I didnt worry about it too much because I was sure that Bark River would stand by their product and cover it under the warranty. Today I finally got around to calling it in. Talked to Mike Stewart about the issue(Ive talked to MS a few times in the past and he always seemed like a cool guy). Mike proceeded to tell me that "I shouldnt be chopping at mesquite with the Golok as it's too hard of a wood".

Now wait a sec, I've just been told by the owner of BRKT that I shouldnt be chopping wood with a tool designed by BRKT to chop wood... Does this sound odd to anyone else? He basically acted like I was misusing the Golok by chopping wood with it. Knives in this price range made of A2 should be able to handle any wood that aint petrified, end of story. I'm sure you all can agree with that.

Well thats not all. I told him that it seems to be a heat treat issue because of the bending. He then told me that having a heat treat issue on a BRKT was "impossible". He said I was wrong and that he could just regrind it and all would be well. Again I insisted that it was heat treat and it would probably better to simply ship me a replacement after he's had a chance to look at the issue when I ship the original Golok back. He flat out refused. Refused without even looking at the Golok first. Now, I come from a family of soldiers and avid outdoorsmen. All are fanatical about knives. My dad has been collecting blades for about 50 years. I myself have been collecting and using(for work and in the outdoors) high end knives for over 25 years. I may not be an expert, but I'm thinking I'm more than qualified to make a judgement about a possible heat treat problem. Guess old Mikey thought otherwise.

During the whole conversation his demeanor was rude and accusatory. He acted like I was an imbecile and was wasting his time. This seemed an odd attitude to take with a long time loyal customer with an easily rectified product issue. Oh well. I politely told him I'd think it over and said my goodbyes. I'll not be sending the Golok back, why waste my time? I certainly dont want a reground heat treat lemon. Nor will I be purchasing any BRKT's in the future. In fact I'll probably sell off all the Barkies I have, after today I no longer have any faith in the warranty or MS himself. I spend a ton of money on knives and I refuse to waste one more nickle on a company who's owner who acts like this.

I apologize to everyone here on BF that I've argued about BRKT with. You were right, I was wrong. Mods, if this is in the wrong place feel free to move it, I posted in General since this is where I often see anti-BRKT threads, figured It would fit right in. Yeah, yeah. I know I'm whining a little bit here but whatever. With all the money I've flushed on Barkie over the years, the owner shouldnt be making absurd excuses and acting like a douche, am I wrong? Oh well, live and learn.
 
It is threads like this that has kept me from high end production models other than Busse and more willing to spend my money on smaller customs. The custom makers have more skin in the game.
 
Is this more appropriate for the feedback sub-forum? I can tell you're worked up and understand that you didn't get the response you wanted. He did say that he would make it right. There may have been some edge burn. Pictures would help the rest of us see what you are talking about. I don't know Mike Stewart. Perhaps he was having a bad day. Perhaps you came on a little strong?
 
jhakken said:
Is this more appropriate for the feedback sub-forum? I can tell you're worked up and understand that you didn't get the response you wanted. He did say that he would make it right. There may have been some edge burn. Pictures would help the rest of us see what you are talking about. I don't know Mike Stewart. Perhaps he was having a bad day. Perhaps you came on a little strong?
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See post #3 :)
 
It sounds like he did a poor job in handling your complaint. However, I have to say that what he said is most likely accurate. The knife (for whatever reason) is ground too thin to chop very hard wood without using extreme care. It's probably not a heat treat issue.
 
This is pretty much what happened to me with my A2 Bravo-1, its also the reason I don't purchase there products any longer. However I was sent a new Bravo-1 (may have been the same knife but I couldn't tell) which is why I try not to be to negative in the BRKT threads but I will never again spend money on there knives. In my eyes for that kind of money should a problem arise the customer should never be questioned.

I have received far better custom service from Swamp Rat, ESEE, and Ka-bar which is why when I want a new knife that isn't a custom these are the companies I deal with.

AF said:
It sounds like he did a poor job in handling your complaint. However, I have to say that what he said is most likely accurate. The knife (for whatever reason) is ground too thin to chop very hard wood without using extreme care. It's probably not a heat treat issue.
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Even if it wasn't a heat treat issue in my eyes Mr. Stewart should have said why don't you ship it back to me so we can look at it. I don't think a company should ever blame the customer without first looking at the knife in question. If the OP mailed Bark River the knife and they felt it to be misuse that is one thing but blaming a customer without proof is completely uncalled for.
 
jhackken, no, he actually didnt say he'd make it right. He said he'd regrind it. Regrinding a HT issue wont solve anything. Categorically denying the HT issue without even looking is not making anything right. And no I didnt come on strong. I was actually very polite, being a firm believer in catching more flies with honey than vinegar. The guy is making money hand over fist on knives, so "bad day" should have nothing to do with helping out a loyal customer with a basic issue. As far as pics, I'm trying but my camera really sucks so they arent coming out very well. My wife has a better camera so I'll try to get pics up asap. Yeah you gotta see this, it's really quite remarkable.
 
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AF said:
It sounds like he did a poor job in handling your complaint. However, I have to say that what he said is most likely accurate. The knife (for whatever reason) is ground too thin to chop very hard wood without using extreme care. It's probably not a heat treat issue.
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I can tell you that this is a HT almost for certain. 25 years collecting and using knives. A thin edge wont bend(it will roll or chip), not unless there is a HT problem, not on a high end knife at least.
 
Funny... I was just thinking, earlier today, that we were about due for another major "Bark River screwed me over" thread. They usually come around every few months, on a fairly regular basis. This one's right on time! :rolleyes:

In all seriousness, I hope you can somehow get this worked out. Maybe call/write back, and try to get in contact with someone other than MS himself, who may be more accommodating. Failing that, if you bought the knife from a good dealer, they'd probably accept a return for a replacement or refund.

PharaohX3 said:
As far as pics, I'm trying but my camera really sucks so they arent coming out very well. My wife has a better camera so I'll try to get pics up asap.
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Looking forward to it.
 
Believe it or not, there are some very hard woods out there that one should not chop with a knife and use an axe on (or other heavily built chopping/cutting utensil) instead. In the grand scheme the end user is (and should be) responsible for knowing when not to use their item on a particular material. It's part of being a good woodsman. A "customer" should not automatically blame the product or manufacturer or expect them to warranty such indiscretion, but take responsibility for their own actions of proper usage and care.
 
Karda said:
Believe it or not, there are some very hard woods out there that one should not chop with a knife and use an axe on (or other heavily built chopping/cutting utensil) instead. In the grand scheme the end user is (and should be) responsible for knowing when not to use their item on a particular material. It's part of being a good woodsman. A "customer" should not automatically blame the product or manufacturer or expect them to warranty such indiscretion, but take responsibility for their own actions of proper usage and care.
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Fair enough. But lets be clear here, are you saying that I should not have chopped at a 3in piece of mesquite with a $200+ blade made of A2 from a "reputable" maker, a blade designed specifically for chopping wood?

Edit: BTW I've used every other "chopper" blade I own to process mesquite for many, many years. It's very common here, it's hard stuff but it aint that bad. Never had an issue with any of them, including the other BRKT Goloks I own.
 
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PharaohX3 said:
Fair enough. But lets be clear here, are you saying that I should not have chopped at a 3in piece of mesquite with a $200+ blade made of A2 from a "reputable" maker, a blade designed specifically for chopping wood?
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In order to answer that I would have to physically see the wood and the knife.
 
Karda said:
In order to answer that I would have to physically see the wood and the knife.
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Good call, that makes perfect sense to me. Google "mesquite". Then Google Bark River Golok, making sure to read BRKT's own description of the knife. Let me know what you think :)
 
Dan57 said:
Yup. Hurry up with those pics!
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I'm on it man, believe me. Seeing the knife will help you understand the original product issue. MS's customer service is another matter though, and it's the real issue here of course.
 
I can't say that I am surprised with the results you found from chopping mesquite wood, if it is anything like the mesquite I have encountered.

When I lived in Hawaii, I had similar experiences with Kiawe wood, a naturalized species of mesquite.

It ate machetes, blunted axe heads, and curled back the teeth of saws. I never found anything that would stand up against it without some damage or major dulling.

I just stuck with a saw, and it became a beater really fast.
 
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