Is Bark River worth the $ for a field dress knife?

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wolverine_173

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I have a bk16 and ontario tac both in 1095 i use for field dressing. Will i notice much of a difference with a bark river in a2

The bk and tac ar $65 dollar knives and bark river is around 150 used
 
A2 is my favorite fixed blade steel, ive been carrying my bravo 2 pretty frequently and im lovin it. Its tough as hell, better edge retention i believe and not as liable to rust.
 
A2 should be tougher, so if you bang the edge alot on bones, THEN you might notice a difference. Otherwise no.
 
Depending on the model of Bark River you may find it a better knife for field dressing. You've not mentioned what BR knife so hard to say.
Having owned and used the BK16 and now a Bark River drop point hunter I'd give the nod to the drop point because it is a shorter blade allowing better hand and finger control when dressing.
Whether 1095 is as good/better/etc. than A2...I'll let others who know more about metallurgy say. I like both steels. They are both easy to to sharpen in the field. Edge wise I'd again give the nod to the BR over the BK16 because I've found the convex edge is a bit easier to touch up in the field...only needs a strop or small, fine hone to keep the edge very sharp.

I also like the handle shape of the BR better than the BK...again depends on the Barkie...my experience is with the drop point hunter only.
 
I have the fox river in a2, and so far its held an edge far better than my esee 4. The thinner edge bark river should make this blade very good at skinning game. My only fault with the fox river is the polished micarta handle, I have yet to get my hands bloody with it but I imagine that it will be very slick.
 
I believe it is ur getting USA made knife in a great steel with hundreds of handle materials to pick from. I just picked up a TrailBuddy and TrailMate with wooden burl handles and love them both! The TrailBuddy will be my field dressing knife and skinner
 
I think the BK-15 is far superior for field dressing over the BK-16. I love mine. From the Bark River stable, the Fox River is brilliant.
 
As a skinner the TrailBuddy is hard to beat due to the large belly it has.....you should check out that model if looking for shinner at 4inches
 
Bark River knives are nice. But, for me at least, they've increased in price so much I can't justify buying any more.

If it were me, I'd be keeping an eagle eye on the For Sale By Maker forum section. Some really great custom drop point hunting knives in there for about the price of a Bark River.

On the other hand, if you've always wanted a BRKT, I'm confident you'll be satisfied with the purchase.
 
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