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

JasonInVa said:
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...
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Dealers knew of the steel issues years ago, it's documented on this forum. They chose to do business with him, they chose to CONTINUE to do business with him, and the due diligence lies solely on the dealer, not the customer to source manufacturer claims.
 
shinyedges said:
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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There's going to be more than those models. I saw a photo from fb where Mike told someone that their bitter root caper wasn't cpm154 like it said but chinese high carbon.
 
DustinK said:
There's going to be more than those models. I saw a photo from fb where Mike told someone that their bitter root caper wasn't cpm154 like it said but chinese high carbon.
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As someone following these shenanigans for nearly a decade now, the knife steel behavior problems are much wider than the models listed. I think they'll try to minimize the impact for obvious reasons, but the honest thing to do is question every knife, given the integrity of Mike stewart.
 
So, a question for those who heard of the BRK steel mislabeling issues years ago and sold their knives on the secondary, are you also equally complicit in hiding the issue? Or were you upfront and told the buyer they may not be getting what is marked on the blade?
 
Official announcement
 

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Boru13 said:
I’m not in the FB groups, does anyone if Mike has made his “official” excuse announcement yet?
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Yes as of 15 minutes ago from Mike Stewart:

“
LET'S MAKE THIS OFFICIAL .This is a Long Read but Important.
BARK RIVER KNIVES IS NOW CLOSED.

All business was concluded on Friday Afternoon March 20th 2026.
This Closing was long overdue - I should have done this over 2 years ago.
I need to say that all of this is 100% totally my responsibility.
As you have seen from the tons of posts I have been taking the heat since Friday.
There are many factors that lead to this but ultimately I'll take the Blame.
Please do not Blame Lesley Stewart or Jim Stewart for any of this.
In addition to my Mismanagement the Choice to use an Alternate Chinese Steel was my choice - not anyone else's Blunder.
Over the last 25 years we have made well over a million knives.
This blunder of mine only effected a few models
Here is the List of them.
Camp Bolo.
Fox River Skinner.
Highwayman 4.
Mini-Manitou.
Gladstone Hunter.
Bitterroot Caper
The Last two Club Knives as well.
We tested the steel it had almost the same edge retention of CPM 154.
It had the same toughness as CPM 154
It had even more Stain Resistance than CPM 154.
All of these were reground with our Convex Geometry.
All were reshaped them to a Bark River Shape
All were processed in our Shop by our Crew.
All of the handle materials were materials we currently use
All of them were etched just like all our models
All were inspected and boxed like all of our models.
By doing over 5 operations on each knife - they meet the criteria of Made in U.S.A.
Yes the steel was mis-marked.
Let me be clear that None of our Dealers knew about any of this and are 100% Blameless for this situation.
It is 100% my Fault.
Let me also clearly state that all other Bark River Knives have been made with the Steel that is marked on the blade - This use of import steel was only for a very short period of Time to keep our Employees working.

IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS.
Jim Stewart will be opening his own Knife Company
100% Independent of Bark River Knives.
Jim has agreed to take over all of the Warranties that would normally go to Bark River.
When he is ready I'm sure he will make the Official Announcement.
I will not have a hand in his new Company.

All I can do at this point is Offer a Very Sincere Apology and with much regret fade out of the knife industry that I have spent the last 50 years in.
I want to thank all of the Folks that have Reached out to me privately to offer their support. It has meant a lot to me.

I wanted to wait to post this until our Dealers had a chance to react and post their positions.
I also wanted to make sure that all of our Employees were paid for working last week. I did that this morning.
My recent Health Problems and Lesley's Health Problems did play a part in all of this but I am not using that as any kind of excuse.”
 
Boru13 said:
I’m not in the FB groups, does anyone if Mike has made his “official” excuse announcement yet?
Click to expand...

Statements out​

LET'S MAKE THIS OFFICIAL .This is a Long Read but Important.
BARK RIVER KNIVES IS NOW CLOSED.

All business was concluded on Friday Afternoon March 20th 2026.

This Closing was long overdue - I should have done this over 2 years ago.

I need to say that all of this is 100% totally my responsibility.

As you have seen from the tons of posts I have been taking the heat since Friday.

There are many factors that lead to this but ultimately I'll take the Blame.

Please do not Blame Lesley Stewart or Jim Stewart for any of this.

In addition to my Mismanagement the Choice to use an Alternate Chinese Steel was my choice - not anyone else's Blunder.

Over the last 25 years we have made well over a million knives.

This blunder of mine only effected a few models

Here is the List of them.

Camp Bolo.

Fox River Skinner.

Highwayman 4.

Mini-Manitou.

Gladstone Hunter.

Bitterroot Caper

The Last two Club Knives as well.

We tested the steel it had almost the same edge retention of CPM 154.

It had the same toughness as CPM 154

It had even more Stain Resistance than CPM 154.

All of these were reground with our Convex Geometry.

All were reshaped them to a Bark River Shape

All were processed in our Shop by our Crew.

All of the handle materials were materials we currently use

All of them were etched just like all our models

All were inspected and boxed like all of our models.

By doing over 5 operations on each knife - they meet the criteria of Made in U.S.A.

Yes the steel was mis-marked.

Let me be clear that None of our Dealers knew about any of this and are 100% Blameless for this situation.

It is 100% my Fault.

Let me also clearly state that all other Bark River Knives have been made with the Steel that is marked on the blade - This use of import steel was only for a very short period of Time to keep our Employees working.

IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS.

Jim Stewart will be opening his own Knife Company

100% Independent of Bark River Knives.

Jim has agreed to take over all of the Warranties that would normally go to Bark River.

When he is ready I'm sure he will make the Official Announcement.

I will not have a hand in his new Company.

All I can do at this point is Offer a Very Sincere Apology and with much regret fade out of the knife industry that I have spent the last 50 years in.

I want to thank all of the Folks that have Reached out to me privately to offer their support. It has meant a lot to me.

I wanted to wait to post this until our Dealers had a chance to react and post their positions.

I also wanted to make sure that all of our Employees were paid for working last week. I did that this morning.

My recent Health Problems and Lesley's Health Problems did play a part in all of this but I am not using that as any kind of excuse.
All reactions:
11
 
He seems to be trying to take all the blame since the consequences could be very severe for all involved. Curious to see how the investigators and courts respond to it all.
 
tltt said:
By doing over 5 operations on each knife - they meet the criteria of Made in U.S.A.

Yes the steel was mis-marked.
Click to expand...
He should try reading the most basic information about what is required for “Made in USA”:

What is the standard for a product to be called Made in USA without qualification?
For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. The term “United States” as referred to in the Made in USA Policy Statement and the Labeling Rule, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

What does “all or virtually all” mean?
“All or virtually all” means that the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.

www.ftc.gov

Complying with the Made in USA Standard

Do you promote your products as “Made in the USA”? Under the law, some products must disclose U.S. content. For others, manufacturers and marketers who choose to make claims about the amount of U.S. content need to know about the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule and Enforcement Policy Statement...
www.ftc.gov www.ftc.gov
 
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