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

somber said:
What’s the implication?

Speak words to power instead of trying to hide behind insinuations.

DLT bought steel to support a dealer who has zero financial acumen, someone with criminally bad financial ability.

If BRK was defrauding customers, they were defrauding Jason first - he’s their biggest customer.
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I don’t think DLT had a hand in the fraud, but BRK didn’t have a flawless reputation going into this. I understand they sold like hotcakes, but BRK is plastered all over their homepage and DLT is stamped on BRK boxes. I won’t stop shopping at DLT, but this could be a lesson to many knife vendors. Getting too close in bed to a company with a spotted reputation comes with some risk. Those wholesale prices must have been tremendous.
 
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.
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According to Mike, Jim didn’t know anything and is now going to start his own company… one has to wonder if Mike will be involved behind the scenes with this new company.
 
Boru13 said:
According to Mike, Jim didn’t know anything and is now going to start his own company… one has to wonder if Mike will be involved behind the scenes with this new company.
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Also that requires believing Mike that Jim new nothing. Besides the history of lies, there's the fact he's trying to save the company for his son. Hard to put much trust in that. I wouldn't throw my dollars that way
 
Hammer67 said:
I won’t post a link to a non-sponsor, but I’d highly recommend reading the response that was just posted on Jason Thoune’s website.
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Personally, I really appreciate him putting those statements on their site. I know BRK made up a significant portion of their sales, but DLT has a pretty great reputation and carries lots of great products- so I hope they can side-step any bad press. They will not lose me as a customer.
 
Hammer67 said:
I won’t post a link to a non-sponsor, but I’d highly recommend reading the response that was just posted on Jason Thoune’s website.
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Thank you for sharing that. Coming from a dealer heavily invested in BRK stock, IMO this statement is a stand-up way to approach this mess.

From the statement:

"Bark River Knives closed its doors as of Friday, March 20, 2026."

And:

"Three Bark River Knives models have been identified as Chinese-manufactured blanks that were labeled and sold as "Made in the USA." Employees at the Bark River Knives facility have confirmed that foreign-origin markings were removed from these blanks and that the knives were finished and presented as if they were fully manufactured at the BRK facility in Michigan."
 
"Three Bark River Knives models have been identified as Chinese-manufactured blanks that were labeled and sold as "Made in the USA."

Which models? Do we know these?
 
kreole said:
Also that requires believing Mike that Jim new nothing. Besides the history of lies, there's the fact he's trying to save the company for his son. Hard to put much trust in that. I wouldn't throw my dollars that way
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Jim's been at high levels in the Stewart related businesses for 25+ years now.

A lot of ex-workers are now putting their names behind posts that Jim knew and was one of the most gung ho about that type of thing. That "Bark River Problems" group on Facebook is a great read. Also it looks like everyone that was physically there knew the China scam was happening.

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Another interesting is all the MCA type loans that are being called in and sued over, I saw 3, and I bet more are coming. From the numbers mentioned, BRKT was at least high 6 figures under. For those curious search under "Stewart Knives LLC".
 
somber said:
Store credit isn’t really fair, in my opinion. They should be offering a full refund, cash on demand, essentially.
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I feel like store credit is meeting the customer more than half way, considering everyone including the retailer is a victim. If the customer wanted a knife I am sure they can find something equivalent on the same site to replace it with...
 
There's also the issue of if they used Chinese steel kits now, had they done so in the past? How many knives not listed in those "affected models" are even in the correct steel? The incorrect steel problems definitely expand beyond those models and this time frame. I'd also wager, Jim knew. Did he just fly in from Antarctica and have no contact in the business for the last 25 years? I doubt it.
 
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