OBX351
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Good point. The profile view looked great. I could see the asymmetrical angle when looking at the tip from the spine. I'll try to take more pics tomorrow.
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Is this normal for Bark River Knives?
- Thread starter OBX351
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I suspect there is some hand work that goes into Bark River knives, as opposed to CNC-machined knives (mostly folders). I used a Dremel to even out the swedge on my Marbles Fieldcraft and also to smooth a couple of quite minor grooves on the upper part of the blade of a Marbles Campcraft -- both in 52100, made when Mike Stewart was there. I didn't consider them flaws -- in fact, I like evidence of hand work. I've used both those knives hard over the years and if anything they've gained more character.
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Hmm... he said he sharpened it and put scratches on the blade. Posted pics of a clearly sharpened blade with scratches. Seems pretty clear to me.
I do gree though that a before sharpening pic would have been better. Further, a before sharpening return of that lemon of a blade would have been best.
OBX351
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I liked the handles, liners and pins too much to return it. I figured I could put a decent edge that I could easily maintain and send it off to get buffed or even reprofiled from the top of the bevel down.
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Why is there a secondary bevel at all on that Bravo? It's supposed to be a fully convexed primary bevel with no secondary whatsoever. My Bravo-1 carves shockingly well for a knife of that thickness, and my Bushcraft scout with the same grind just thinner is probably the best carving knife I own.
hangmanshammer
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I don't believe the scratches on your blade are a result of the blade being that much thicker behind the edge, I think it has more to do with your technique with the sharpening system. IF the blade was too thick in those areas, you would have been removing more metal to get to the edge at all, and your edge looks much smoother than where the scratches are. If I had to guess, the extra scratches are from you wiping your blade between passes, and if so, you most likely wiped it with metal particles from previous wipes, in effect, sanding the blade with it's own metal (or if new diamonds were used, possibly diamond particles) Either way, there are both haters and fanboys out there for this company, so getting a straight forward answer to your question is difficult at best.
Triton
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Second that. He already owns a brk and a survive knife he could get a strider and complete the trifecta of knives by notorious characters
Oops read the rest of the thread. Yes it is normal for these knives. Consider more research in the future.
Last edited:
BlindMouse2of3
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I've had a few bark rivers and they have been ok out of the box. Not great but ok. Sharp but not impressive. Finished but never wow.
My go to is an LT Wright these days. It was wow out of the box. Picked it up at the local shop and felt obligated to buy it.
My go to is an LT Wright these days. It was wow out of the box. Picked it up at the local shop and felt obligated to buy it.
I own two BRKTs that I bought at the very same time. Aurora and Canadian Camp. The Canadian Camp had portions of the edge (a long one, btw) not sharpened at all. The bevels didn't meet in an appex, but I just sharpened (convex edges, so semi-soft base and wet/dry sandpaper + leather strop). One of them (Aurora if I recall correctly) had one of the handle slaps damaged near the ricasso area. Looks like someone had a mishap with the belt grinder and the edge of the belt cut into the linen micarta. I choose linen micarta because it was the cheapest option at the time of the purchase. The pins and tang were not flush with the scales in some spots, maybe they had shifted or the slabs had shrunk or whatever, doesn't bother me though
At that time those were probably my most expensive (and exotic) purchases and I have to say I was somewhat dissapointed. Living in Spain and having bought them from overseas, sending them back was not an option by any means, so I just ate them and fixed them.
Mikel
At that time those were probably my most expensive (and exotic) purchases and I have to say I was somewhat dissapointed. Living in Spain and having bought them from overseas, sending them back was not an option by any means, so I just ate them and fixed them.
Mikel
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Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants, despite logic. Here's hoping you can get those issues fixed and are not treated poorly by the company, like many others have experienced.
Did you read the OP? He sharpened the knife to make secondary bevel.
This will be TD;DR for many...
Philosophy -- has been defined by some as the affection for -- philo -- indifferently reasoned thinking -- sophistry.
I don't care for any factory edge.
Not one of the knives I ever bought was not reprofiled and custom sharpened, often with more than one profile.
Most users will produce an edge that best suits their individual use pattern fairly quickly -- without thinking about it -- because the hand will speak to the edge, as the hand forms the edge, as the hand uses that edge. And the hand CAN do that just about anywhere with whatever comes to *hand*.
I favor a true flat face grind as a default. Then a radiused edge. Then a Japanese style flat on one side and beveled or radiused on the other. At this point it gets weird because the edges have different regions where different things are happening.
The knives I *use* tend to be less expensive. The ones I *hobby sharpen* tend to be more expensive.
Until about 15 years ago all the knives I owned had practical use. The applications changed over the decades and so did the type of knife I was buying at that time.
One grandma indulged me at the age of about nine when she said I could attack her ( well used ) kitchen knives with a ( I now regard as horrid ) counter top knife grinding appliance.
At ten and in scouting, I got ( was gifted ) a basic 'el-cheapo' two-blade congress type "Scouting Approved" knife with black scales and a tiny medallion with wolf-head on it. This I worked on/with for a time -- sharpening it with the Oh-So-Well-Worn pie-shaped kitchen stone passed down from the other grandmother -- ball-park 300-grit.
This was my introduction to free-hand sharpening and accumulating knives and tools in general.
I bought my first knife as a 'professional' in 1976 as a budding line cook -- a Case XX 10 inch chef's knife a scant 1/8"thick. What a great piece of steel. ( still have it and I might re-shape it into a bushcraft knife )
Like a rolling snowball this started a pattern that would just get bigger over the years.
I developed a use pattern founded on specialization of use and a set of knives with narrowly defined specific purposes. Being professional kitchens, almost all of these kitchens had a big black tri-stone with oil-bath used by everyone and paid for by the boss.
*My Philosophy of Knife Sharpening*
The first thing I figured out is that oil is not appropriate for sharpening stones -- ever.
Why?
All oil eventually turns into ( gets cross-linked by oxygen ) gum/goo and clogged pores in the stone. Always. Though I did find that an old stone that feels like an eraser can be simmered for a day or so in industrial kitchen de-greaser and fully restored to use.
Use a solvent -- any solvent -- that will evaporate. I use WATER and sometimes a bit of soap. I use water on my large diamond-plate surfaces. My leather strop has rouge on it and a bit of ~micron diamond dust rubbed in here and there.
The second thing I learned is that -- The hand that wields the blade should sharpen the blade.
No one else should sharpen your knife unless *they* are a master at sharpening and there has been significant the thorough consultation as to specific use or they are just guessing at what you might want.
I have used that old 10 inch CASE to open 55 Gal steel barrels of Olive Oil when the 'bung-tool' could not be found "...right now dammit!". "Chef, I got a knife that will crack that thing but it won't be easy to close it."
This is the knife I use to part-out chicken carcasses. Think of it as a robust chisel with a 10"edge, at 45º maybe an eighth inch of single-bevel.
At the other extreme is what I call my sharp-whisker -- the one I use to break-down any meat with silver-skin, connective issue, or the euphemistic "nerve" -- also a CASE. About a seven inch blade now, it is a radiused edge about a third inch on the flat face, 1/16 at the spine and probably 3º at the leading edge. Extremely flexible I can inverse shave the silver-skin off the tenderloin.
Between these are many and they all live in a carrying case bigger than an old portable typewriter along with an Arkansas Stone, an 7"dual grit corundum stone and a CASE-XX steel I bought when the first old Case was bought at the local hardware store -- I have several Sabattier, a Dreizackwerk, & a selection of Zwilling/Henckels.
I will leave out any thoughts on the 'steeling' of professional knives.
This had nothing to do with the first era Gerber items and a silly number of friction folders, SAKs & lock-backs that all saw regular use and EDC in the Portland area since I was in high school.
I started collecting properly about 2010. This has lead to specialized steels you guys all know all about -- which is why I come here to read.
I only sharpen by hand.
I can improve an edge on plywood -- on crockery -- on glass -- on cardboard -- on cotton -- on a sink . . . this list just gets silly...
As said elsewhere -- the Best Knife is the one(s) you have with you. If you use it, it will get dull. CPM-110v ain't easy to hone, let alone sharpen. Thats a knife that stays in my medical kit. It really never gets used, rarely looked at or handled.
These days as a retired old fart I EDC s35vn or m390 both of which I can hone on flat cellulosic surfaces. These surfaces I also use to hone my old 'Pearl King First Class' razors from the 1930s. ( for the sake of completeness I also carry an s35vn wallet-tool )
If you are primarily a user then you sharpen by hand for use.
If you are primarily a collector might sharpen with one of those geometry-puzzles to admire.
I do have a specialized tool for sharpening twist-drill-bits.
Otherwise for me sharpening is a meditation.
Philosophy -- has been defined by some as the affection for -- philo -- indifferently reasoned thinking -- sophistry.
I don't care for any factory edge.
Not one of the knives I ever bought was not reprofiled and custom sharpened, often with more than one profile.
Most users will produce an edge that best suits their individual use pattern fairly quickly -- without thinking about it -- because the hand will speak to the edge, as the hand forms the edge, as the hand uses that edge. And the hand CAN do that just about anywhere with whatever comes to *hand*.
I favor a true flat face grind as a default. Then a radiused edge. Then a Japanese style flat on one side and beveled or radiused on the other. At this point it gets weird because the edges have different regions where different things are happening.
The knives I *use* tend to be less expensive. The ones I *hobby sharpen* tend to be more expensive.
Until about 15 years ago all the knives I owned had practical use. The applications changed over the decades and so did the type of knife I was buying at that time.
One grandma indulged me at the age of about nine when she said I could attack her ( well used ) kitchen knives with a ( I now regard as horrid ) counter top knife grinding appliance.
At ten and in scouting, I got ( was gifted ) a basic 'el-cheapo' two-blade congress type "Scouting Approved" knife with black scales and a tiny medallion with wolf-head on it. This I worked on/with for a time -- sharpening it with the Oh-So-Well-Worn pie-shaped kitchen stone passed down from the other grandmother -- ball-park 300-grit.
This was my introduction to free-hand sharpening and accumulating knives and tools in general.
I bought my first knife as a 'professional' in 1976 as a budding line cook -- a Case XX 10 inch chef's knife a scant 1/8"thick. What a great piece of steel. ( still have it and I might re-shape it into a bushcraft knife )
Like a rolling snowball this started a pattern that would just get bigger over the years.
I developed a use pattern founded on specialization of use and a set of knives with narrowly defined specific purposes. Being professional kitchens, almost all of these kitchens had a big black tri-stone with oil-bath used by everyone and paid for by the boss.
*My Philosophy of Knife Sharpening*
The first thing I figured out is that oil is not appropriate for sharpening stones -- ever.
Why?
All oil eventually turns into ( gets cross-linked by oxygen ) gum/goo and clogged pores in the stone. Always. Though I did find that an old stone that feels like an eraser can be simmered for a day or so in industrial kitchen de-greaser and fully restored to use.
Use a solvent -- any solvent -- that will evaporate. I use WATER and sometimes a bit of soap. I use water on my large diamond-plate surfaces. My leather strop has rouge on it and a bit of ~micron diamond dust rubbed in here and there.
The second thing I learned is that -- The hand that wields the blade should sharpen the blade.
No one else should sharpen your knife unless *they* are a master at sharpening and there has been significant the thorough consultation as to specific use or they are just guessing at what you might want.
I have used that old 10 inch CASE to open 55 Gal steel barrels of Olive Oil when the 'bung-tool' could not be found "...right now dammit!". "Chef, I got a knife that will crack that thing but it won't be easy to close it."
This is the knife I use to part-out chicken carcasses. Think of it as a robust chisel with a 10"edge, at 45º maybe an eighth inch of single-bevel.
At the other extreme is what I call my sharp-whisker -- the one I use to break-down any meat with silver-skin, connective issue, or the euphemistic "nerve" -- also a CASE. About a seven inch blade now, it is a radiused edge about a third inch on the flat face, 1/16 at the spine and probably 3º at the leading edge. Extremely flexible I can inverse shave the silver-skin off the tenderloin.
Between these are many and they all live in a carrying case bigger than an old portable typewriter along with an Arkansas Stone, an 7"dual grit corundum stone and a CASE-XX steel I bought when the first old Case was bought at the local hardware store -- I have several Sabattier, a Dreizackwerk, & a selection of Zwilling/Henckels.
I will leave out any thoughts on the 'steeling' of professional knives.
This had nothing to do with the first era Gerber items and a silly number of friction folders, SAKs & lock-backs that all saw regular use and EDC in the Portland area since I was in high school.
I started collecting properly about 2010. This has lead to specialized steels you guys all know all about -- which is why I come here to read.
I only sharpen by hand.
I can improve an edge on plywood -- on crockery -- on glass -- on cardboard -- on cotton -- on a sink . . . this list just gets silly...
As said elsewhere -- the Best Knife is the one(s) you have with you. If you use it, it will get dull. CPM-110v ain't easy to hone, let alone sharpen. Thats a knife that stays in my medical kit. It really never gets used, rarely looked at or handled.
These days as a retired old fart I EDC s35vn or m390 both of which I can hone on flat cellulosic surfaces. These surfaces I also use to hone my old 'Pearl King First Class' razors from the 1930s. ( for the sake of completeness I also carry an s35vn wallet-tool )
If you are primarily a user then you sharpen by hand for use.
If you are primarily a collector might sharpen with one of those geometry-puzzles to admire.
I do have a specialized tool for sharpening twist-drill-bits.
Otherwise for me sharpening is a meditation.
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- Jun 6, 2021
- Messages
- 360
I did, but if he had poor performance with the convex grind he surely wasn't gonna get a better carving performance on a really high angle V-edge put on a convex grind. I was just surprised he didn't get okayish performance to begin with since my impressions of carrying the Bravo-1 for a few months was that despite it's thickness, the convex grind made it a pretty damn good cutter and overall carver. And just in general, regardless of knife, a convex grind has always carved wood better for me than even a low angle v-edge secondary bevel on a knife of the same thickness.
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Dudes with eight posts acting like they have the clout to tell others to stop sharing their experiences crack me up. Bark River knives are like the company's owner: trash. Plenty of excellent makers out there who make great knives and who aren't scumbags. Maybe look into one of them?
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Unironically telling people they don't have the "clout" to post their opinion on a knife forum of all places is cringe as hell. No one here has "clout", we're all just a bunch of nerds and geeks that like often overpriced sharp and pointy things. Your opinion with over 18,000 posts is no more or less valid than his with 8 posts. You think the OG legendary American knife makers like Bill Scagel had bladeforums accounts so they could posts enough times for the "clout" to make their opinion on knives valid? And even if they did somehow have bladeforums accounts in some bizzare alternate reality, you think they'd be the guys who spend all day posting online about their cool knives or would they be the dudes with relatively few posts who spend most of their day actually making and using their knives? Because I know who's take on knives I'd trust more.
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- Apr 25, 2000
- Messages
- 10,958
I believe the OP’s question has been answered, not much point in this continuing.
There are numerous threads concerning Bark River quality issues, using the search function will reveal those.
The following links mainly deal with Mike Stewart.
Thread Closed
There are numerous threads concerning Bark River quality issues, using the search function will reveal those.
The following links mainly deal with Mike Stewart.
Thread Closed
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