Is Bark River worth the $$?

TWBryan said:
Cpl.Punishment-Thanks for the nice pics. Is your aurora a full tang? I think at this point I would really like a BRKT,just can't decide which. I like the looks of a number of them,fox river,aurora,canadian spl,slither,etc etc. Is it just me or do those blue G10 handles look great? For some reason they really catch my eye.
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Yes, it full tang.
However. . .it is a full, exposed tang, but they are skeletonized under the scales to give a more blade-forward balance and reduce overall weight. With the metal being left on the outside, I'd say it's still stronger than a stick tang, and so long as you use the blades as they are meant to be used (i.e. not chopping concrete or prying open shipping crates), I doubt it'll ever break.

The Aurora and the Northstar are very close to the same blade, with the Aurora having a longer handle. They are purpose-built bushcraft knives. The Fox River is more of a hunting knife. What you buy really depends on what you want to use it for.

My advice would be to figure out what you want to use the knife for, and buy the one that is best designed for what you have in mind. Like you said, they are pricey, so you're not likely to buy several in a short time span, so I'd buy the one you'd use the most.

BTW, the pics aren't mine, one is off the BRKT site, the other (the sheath one) off the Knivesshipfree website.
 
Well,I have been a little vague on requirement in my mind's eye I envisioned a slender knife(like the slither),but perhaps with less curve. I need something with great steel,the blade design I'm a little fuzzy on. A lot of BRKT designs look great,nive blade,good handle,but then there's no guard. I though about taking a Canadian camp knife and putting a bolster guard on it. I'm thinking about a Rivers Edge,but no idea how big it is compared to say a Fallkniven F1. The F1 is a good knife,but heavy,too broad and a little short.
I think it should be able to do everything well,except remove heads and limbs,I have khukuris for that. Bushcraft,skinning and cleaning game and fish,and last ditch SD.
 
Well, the Northstar and Aurora are the best bushcrafters, IMO. Since you throw skinning in there, while still wanting to bushcraft, the Fox River is probably the better choice.

If you're worried about no guard (why would you need one besides stabbing?), you can put a lanyard on, and use the lanyard loop around thumb, and then wrapped around the hand method (someone here posted a pic of this, don't remember who).
 
I have quite a few Bark River knives, and I do like most of them. I recommend them often to folks who want a quality knife for NOT an arm or a leg.

But I have to say, like most manufacturers, they do have their less stellar moments.

If you decide to go with one of their standard line blades, your luck should be good. Every now and then, though, BR comes out with a prototype which may or may not be quite up to par.

Occasionally the grind lines will be off a bit, or fit and finish not quite as good as it could be. Sometimes they will have a run of a particular blade type which they will market as two or three different knives, but the blades are actually the same or nearly so.

I personally think they get their handles far too slick in the micarta handle offerings, dangerously slick, IMO.

But, having said all that, they have a very, very good warranty program, and I do think that Mike Stewart would bend over backwards to make sure that you could be happy with any knife you bought from him in the end.

Generally speaking, their knives are well made and of very good materials, not to mention nice and sharp from the shop.

If you want hunting knives, you are covered. EDC? Covered. Self-defense? Covered. Woods knives? Covered. Stainless. They have it. Carbon? Most are.

Andy
 
Cpl.Punishment- Thank you,I prefer a guard because I am a firm believer in murphy's law. Under optimal conditions and situations who needs a guard? Depending on an optimal situation is often dissappointing. Fox River is on the short list. :)

Andrew-I have narrowed it down to the Canadian spl,Fox River and ,possibly,the slither. I'd like to try the A2 steel. Shopping around I've found those knives to be around the $100 mark or slightly over.
 
TWBryan said:
Cpl.Punishment- Thank you,I prefer a guard because I am a firm believer in murphy's law. Under optimal conditions and situations who needs a guard? Depending on an optimal situation is often dissappointing. Fox River is on the short list. :)

Andrew-I have narrowed it down to the Canadian spl,Fox River and ,possibly,the slither. I'd like to try the A2 steel. Shopping around I've found those knives to be around the $100 mark or slightly over.
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TW, I have both a Canadian Special and a Slither. I like both knives. The CS has some very pronounced finger grooves in the handle which I am not terribly fond of, and will probably grind down with my belt sander. The blade is nice and hefty, this is a well made knife. It has no guard to speak of.

The Slither is the knife I wear for self defense. It is a slasher, a recurve blade with no guard. IMO, while it could do woods duty just fine, it is more of a fighter.

I don't have a Fox River but they look like very nice knives indeed.

A2 is not a difficult steel to deal with. It takes a nice edge and it holds up to abuse just fine.

Andy
 
Does anyone know if the Golok will be made again?!?! I've been looking for one for a while, but am starting to get impatient :p
 
Andrew I think if I get one it will be a fox river,in blue glow if at all possible. For now my Fallkniven F1 will do.

pbubsy-My understanding is that some goloks are hitting the shelves now. They just finished a run of them.
 
TWBryan said:
I was considering the aurora ,but it doesn't seem to have a full-tang.
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The Aurora is a full-tang knife. Great knife for woods-bumming. :thumbup:

The Slither is definitely a self-defense knife, not a woods knife, though I think someone did a review of it using it for bushcraft-type tasks.

Personally, I generally don't like a guard cuz they get in the way. Mike's handle philosophy is that the shape of the handle should anchor the knife in your hand, not the roughness of the handle material. That said, there is a very simple way to increase the grippiness of the micarta handles:

BRKT uses a wax-based compound to finish the micarta handles; some of the compound gets embedded in the micarta fiber. By washing the handle in warm water with a mild dishwashing detergent, the compound is removed and the fibers exposed. This makes the handle a bit grippier. The effect is most noticeable when the handle is wet (because the water makes the fibers swell), which is just when you really want it.
 
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Grampa said:
The Aurora is a full-tang knife. Great knife for woods-bumming. :thumbup:

The Slither is definitely a self-defense knife, not a woods knife, though I think someone did a review of it using it for bushcraft-type tasks.

Personally, I generally don't like a guard cuz they get in the way. Mike's handle philosophy is that the shape of the handle should anchor the knife in your hand, not the roughness of the handle material. That said, there is a very simple way to increase the grippiness of the micarta handles:

BRKT uses a wax-based compound to finish the micarta handles; some of the compound gets embedded in the micarta fiber. By washing the handle in warm water with a mild dishwashing detergent, the compound is removed and the fibers exposed. This makes the handle a bit grippier. The effect is most noticeable when the handle is wet (because the water makes the fibers swell), which is just when you really want it.
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Grampa, thanks for the tip on the handles, that is good to know! That will save me from taking a belt grinder to most of them!

Honestly I have no problem with most of their handles, just some of them are too slick for my tastes. I'll try the soap and water thing.

:thumbup:

Andy
 
I think I have 15 or 16 Barkies now and love them. Great values, and Mike has more types of exotic woods available for handles than I've seen anywhere. As a general rule I prefer natural materials for handles, stag, bone, impala, rams horn, etc., but I have ironwood and micarta and burls on several. Any problems send them back and he'll make it right.

Most of mine have early sheaths that don't have firesteel loops. (I kick myself for not buying more of his custom handled firesteels as well when the prices were down last year; he figured out how much time was being spent making them and had to raise prices.)

Favorites: Rogue Bowie, custom mini-skinner (green & gold elder burl), ironwood Snowy River, stag Slither, Lil' Chute (in Sharpshooter kydex) and Montana Guide (cross-ref to Gameskeeper and Bravo-1.)

To get on my list: Bay de noc, Bravo 1, Highland, Woodland, and absolutely the new 1855 Hunting Bowie.

Ones I wish I had snagged: early Tanto, Northwind sword (some unscrupulous collectors have TWO Northwind swords!!! :eek::confused: ;)) [Ted needs to apologize for this injustice and sell one. :D]

Norm
 
As has been said before, "Yes and Yes." I just happened to be one of the very lucky ones who won a Bark River in the big giveaway contest they had at another place.:thumbup: :D
With my memory going to hell I can seldom remember what the model is called but it's like the old and very famous Will and Finck's Daggers/Bowies and is one of the sharpest knives I have. Granted it doesn't cut much but doggie treats but in all the while I've had it it's never been sharpened and only stropped on a piece of cardboard a couple of times.:thumbup: :cool:
 
Grampa-I remain a full believer in murphy's law and guards. The Aurora might be bigger than what I need,but I love the way it looks.:)

Svashtar-What do you think of the river boat bowie?

Yvsa-Good to see you posting again. Are you feeling better?
 
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Yvsa, I remember that knife, I think it's called the Sutter Creek. I won a knife in that contest too.

Bark River are excellent knives. I now have two, and my favorite is the Rogue bowie. It is a good sized knife with a 7" blade. If guardless knives make you nervous I don't blame you. BRKT knows how to sharpen a blade. If you aren't paying careful attention they will bite you and I don't doubt that a BRKT knife will take off a finger.

Once you find a model you want in the handle material you should immediately jump on it. The knives aren't cheap, but they aren't expensive either. Quality costs money, and when you buy a Bark River knife you are getting an American made tool with first-class materials.
 
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here are my recommendations:
small/EDC: Highland or Woodland Special
medium/field blade: Fox River or Canadian Special
camp blade: Canadian Camp or the Bay de Noc, or Rogue Bowie if you're looking for a BIG blade
 
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