Just saw this.....Bark River is no more?

shinyedges said:
If the pics above were real, taking stickers off Chinese made kits and grinding them into bark river profiles... the employees would be complicit.
Click to expand...

I don’t know the making process, but is it possible that the ones that did the final assembly not know after getting the altered blanks from up the chain? Maybe a few who got the kits and did the grinding and told to not say anything? If that is the case then it was from higher ups in a management. Now it would be even sadder if the workers were threatened with being fired, then that is quid pro quo and is abuse and charges could be filed.

Follow the money. I am still giving DLT athe benefit of the doubt for now.
 
zigbot said:
Has anyone seen the photos of the alleged Chinese steel? I’m seeing tonnes of claims and blames but haven’t seen the alleged
Photos yet
Click to expand...
kreole

Post in thread 'Just saw this.....Bark River is no more?'

kp4KL67.jpeg

oYGRDxO.jpeg


$418 on smkw for that knife, ouch
  • Like
  • Wow
 
Guys, everyone has opinions and thoughts on the matter, but the only ones that are of value are the ones based upon facts. So, we might want to put down the pitchforks and torches while we sort out the situation in a (hopefully) reasonable manner.

I try to deal with facts, like those I used to present as evidence at trial. It has nothing to do with whether or not I like the accused. It has to do with fair play.

So, let's not start throwing a noose over a limb until all the facts are in. Which is why I asked nsm nsm into the conversation.

Thank you.
 
I guess if I was having to buy steel for a maker because he couldn’t do it himself, yet he’s producing knives to be sold in steels I hadn’t bought, it would raise some red flags.
I guess it’s also possible that Mike was claiming they were made from whatever steels that DLT had ordered as well.

But, who knows what kind of snowballs Mike was tossing.
 
Last edited:
See attached photos. It was confirmed by Mike they did in fact use Chinese blanks for some models.

Photos are not mine.

One thing I will say is the community in that town is very close knit. Even if someone doesn’t work in the knife industry, they probably have an uncle whose cousin whose brother knows someone who probably worked there once. Everyone knows everyone. So I can understand it being challenging for employees to openly come forward.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1891.jpeg
    IMG_1891.jpeg
    147.7 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_1892.jpeg
    IMG_1892.jpeg
    207.6 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_1893.jpeg
    IMG_1893.jpeg
    156.3 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_1894.jpeg
    IMG_1894.jpeg
    163 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_1895.jpeg
    IMG_1895.jpeg
    168.5 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_1896.jpeg
    IMG_1896.jpeg
    169.7 KB · Views: 1
  • IMG_1897.jpeg
    IMG_1897.jpeg
    164 KB · Views: 1
SharpBits said:
kreole

Post in thread 'Just saw this.....Bark River is no more?'

kp4KL67.jpeg

oYGRDxO.jpeg


$418 on smkw for that knife, ouch
  • Like
  • Wow
Click to expand...
While it is totally possible, and i’m not trying to defend BRK here, those pics are low quality and hard to see. I think there are at least 2 different knives being shown if the purpose is to show that they ground the finger grooves down. The stickers are different and in different placements. It would have been helpful if they took a photo of the whole knife too.
 
Jack of All Blades said:
See attached photos. It was confirmed by Mike they did in fact use Chinese blanks for some models.

Photos are not mine.

One thing I will say is the community in that town is very close knit. Even if someone doesn’t work in the knife industry, they probably have an uncle whose cousin whose brother knows someone who probably worked there once. Everyone knows everyone. So I can understand it being challenging for employees to openly come forward.
Click to expand...
Well, it’s good to hear that DLT and other retailers were just as in the dark as everyone else.

Also, I love how Mike was trying to blame the creditors for finding him out. Still not taking full responsibility.
 
Jack of All Blades said:
See attached photos. It was confirmed by Mike they did in fact use Chinese blanks for some models.

Photos are not mine.

One thing I will say is the community in that town is very close knit. Even if someone doesn’t work in the knife industry, they probably have an uncle whose cousin whose brother knows someone who probably worked there once. Everyone knows everyone. So I can understand it being challenging for employees to openly come forward.
Click to expand...
Oh buddy. If he did it once, he did it before. I'd say unbelievable but truth is, totally believable if you know what he's done to other people who trusted him. Disgusting.
 
It would be useful to know the timeline when dlt and others started supplying steel. It would make sense for it to start when BRKT was using Chinese blanks since that was when they were having problems obtaining real steel stock presumably. That would out into question whether the dealers supplying steel knew nothing (they still certainly could have been fed a lie like BRKT was running out rather than out, but it still seems worth digging out of this what the case is).

Dlt should be talking about what they knew today, so we'll see.
 
The True North said:
I wonder how many other makers/companies are being dishonest about their materials and have not yet been discovered.
Click to expand...
In the information age we live in it would be difficult to completely hide that behavior. Mike's reputation was known for quite some time. I doubt anyone thought it was this bad though.
 
StuntDouble said:
Well, it’s good to hear that DLT and other retailers were just as in the dark as everyone else.

Also, I love how Mike was trying to blame the creditors for finding him out. Still not taking full responsibility.
Click to expand...
I don't think Mike would have told them (dealers he was using Chinese steel) when he falls on hard times he reverts to this tactic. The years and years of wrong steel issues now make sense, my issue is, if as a dealer you have consistent wrong steel issues why or how do you brush that under the rug and double down on investing into said company?
 
StuntDouble said:
Well, it’s good to hear that DLT and other retailers were just as in the dark as everyone else.
Click to expand...

shinyedges said:
I don't think Mike would have told them (dealers he was using Chinese steel) when he falls on hard times he reverts to this tactic. The years and years of wrong steel issues now make sense, my issue is, if as a dealer you have consistent wrong steel issues why or how do you brush that under the rug and double down on investing into said company?
Click to expand...
Or why do you deal with someone that has a history like that in the first place?
 
I suspect, and hope, that DLT & KSF where trying to help the workers and community of Escanaba and not Mike himself. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished.
 
K.O.D. said:
I have to wonder, that if they were using Chinese blanks, AND purchasing steel from DLT, what happened to the legit steel from DLT...
Click to expand...

This doesn’t make sense.

DLT orders steel.

The steel is sent to water jet and heat treat.

BRK receives blanks from heat treat in the steel that DLT ordered and cut in the profile they ordered.

BRK finishes and handles the blade.

DLT wasn’t shipping raw materials to BRK.
 
somber said:
This doesn’t make sense.

DLT orders steel.

The steel is sent to water jet and heat treat.

BRK receives blanks from heat treat in the steel that DLT ordered and cut in the profile they ordered.

BRK finishes and handles the blade.

DLT wasn’t shipping raw materials to BRK.
Click to expand...
The end knife that is shipped, who can tell what went where? All dlt knows is they get a knife, what Mike did with the real steel versions only he knows.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top