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

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Danny Linguini said:
When you’re being manipulated by a master con artist, things aren’t as black and white as they would be otherwise. Judgment becomes clouded, and decent, smart-thinking people end up doing things that will have you and me scratching our heads. That’s why Mike’s friends and people who have met him face to face (as long as they weren’t complaining about a defect on one of his knives) all think he’s a great guy, and these transgressions were just a minor lapse in judgment. The guy is probably a real sweet talker to your face and an expert in telling people what they want to hear to gain their trust. That’s what con artists do with pretty much everybody. You can’t blame those employees who’ve been working under that kind of influence. Not all of them, anyway.
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He also hired people who may not have been able to get a job elsewhere. It wasn't done to be nice, it was done so he would have undue influence over them.
 
SharpBits said:
He also hired people who may not have been able to get a job elsewhere. It wasn't done to be nice, it was done so he would have undue influence over them.
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yep, highly likely. I have heard things such as this in the past, so I assume it to be true or least somewhat true, without really knowing.
 
Danny Linguini said:
When you’re being manipulated by a master con artist, things aren’t as black and white as they would be otherwise. Judgment becomes clouded, and decent, smart-thinking people end up doing things that will have you and me scratching our heads. That’s why Mike’s friends and people who have met him face to face (as long as they weren’t complaining about a defect on one of his knives) all think he’s a great guy, and these transgressions were just a minor lapse in judgment. The guy is probably a real sweet talker to your face and an expert in telling people what they want to hear to gain their trust. That’s what con artists do with pretty much everybody. You can’t blame those employees who’ve been working under that kind of influence. Not all of them, anyway.
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I agree, but that's in a vacuum. In the real world, word travels and lies and sweet talk only go so far before everyone and their grandma knows exactly what you are, which is the case for MS decades ago.
 
I’m starting to wonder if anyone ever saw Jim Stewart and Charles Manson in a room together. I understand he is a conman. Smooth talker and makes a good first impression, almost like any business owner should.

I’ve hired plenty of felons in my day and they were often times the best employees. I didn’t ask them to do anything illegal or immoral, so I’m not sure what they’d do. It doesn’t excuses anything in my opinion.

Again, how low would they have went if the checks didn’t bounce? But I digress and apologize if this is seen as off topic.
 
Jdottinger said:
I’m starting to wonder if anyone ever saw Jim Stewart and Charles Manson in a room together. I understand he is a conman. Smooth talker and makes a good first impression, almost like any business owner should.

I’ve hired plenty of felons in my day and they were often times the best employees. I didn’t ask them to do anything illegal or immoral, so I’m not sure what they’d do. It doesn’t excuses anything in my opinion.

Again, how low would they have went if the checks didn’t bounce? But I digress and apologize if this is seen as off topic.
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It is off topic.

Stay on topic.
 
A lot of workers are "nose on the grindstone" types (pun kind of intended). They go in, mind their business, do their work from 9-5, and then knock off for the day. Business shenanigans that aren't immediately impactful on their day-to-day responsibilities may not even cross their radar.

I really don't know the work culture at BRKT, or even what it's like in that part of Michigan in general, so it's really just speculation, and a bit of a slippery slope if we're pointing fingers.
 
Has Bluegrass Cutlery issued any kind of statement? As they are the other 3rd of the major distributors, no storefront-they supply other retailers I believe, they should have a dog in this fight as well. Or potential culpability, or whatever appropriate term you like. Slightly different situation than the storefront distributors like DLT and KSF, but possibly affecting far more distributors overall. And I believe they were mentioned as acting as intermediaries in steel and other supply acquisitions for BRK.
Thanks,
Neal70
 
I don't like the idea that some of you folks are trying to make everyone involved with Bark River out to be scam artists.

It's obvious that many of you have never worked in manufacturing. You're standing at your bench for many hours a day. You have a limited set of responsibilities and a clearly defined range of digression. If something is wrong, you flag it and a supervisor makes a decision. If he says 'ship it', you ship it. It may not feel good, but it's your responsibility to do your job within the guidelines set for you. If something goes wrong and it slips by unnoticed, you are likely to get clobbered. Your choice is to work, or take your chances elsewhere. Over very large swaths of the country there aren't a lot of jobs for manual labor types.

As for the dealers, well, who knows. These guys have to sell knives, and we'll undoubtedly see a range of responses to this fiasco. They will have to strike some kind of balance between keeping their customers happy and preserving their own interests. We're consumers, we can choose who we support or don't.
 
dsutton24 said:
I don't like the idea that some of you folks are trying to make everyone involved with Bark River out to be scam artists.

It's obvious that many of you have never worked in manufacturing. You're standing at your bench for many hours a day. You have a limited set of responsibilities and a clearly defined range of digression. If something is wrong, you flag it and a supervisor makes a decision. If he says 'ship it', you ship it. It may not feel good, but it's your responsibility to do your job within the guidelines set for you. If something goes wrong and it slips by unnoticed, you are likely to get clobbered. Your choice is to work, or take your chances elsewhere. Over very large swaths of the country there aren't a lot of jobs for manual labor types.

As for the dealers, well, who knows. These guys have to sell knives, and we'll undoubtedly see a range of responses to this fiasco. They will have to strike some kind of balance between keeping their customers happy and preserving their own interests. We're consumers, we can choose who we support or don't.
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I worked for a dod contractor who manufacturers a host of different items and assemblies for military vehicles and weapons, one day the what will be brake pedal frame is cut on a laser and the laser cut to far and in my opinion left a potential fail point if someone were to mash the pedal like under stress. While people tossed and turned over whether the already cut parts were to be scrapped or kept I put my foot down (ironic use of the phrase) and said no, I used to ride in these vehicles (I was active army) and no (insert censored explicit word) way we are passing these along for further manufacturering.

They listened and scrapped the entire lot. So no, not everyone has to go along with what higher ups want or say. Had they said we're keeping them I would have raised hell up to and including quitting and contacting general dynamics. I'm not playing.

I ended up being the programmer for that company.
 
Depends on the company. Depends on the product. Depends on the customer.
I've worked aerospace and non-aerospace jobs. In aerospace, you can raise a flag and get the people who make the actual decisions to look at it. In non-aero, not so much, because people's lives are not riding on it.
 
Jdottinger said:
Never been myself. Grew up in a pretty bad area with limited work opportunities though. Google Newport, Tn. So what level would they have stooped to if they were getting paid? It doesn’t excuse their actions. It’s a matter of principle's and morals to me.

I’m sure not every single worker knew about the Chinese blanks. But enough knew that the word would’ve made it around the shop. The ones that did know had 0 issue cashing checks while actively ripping others off for their hard earned money.
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They turned a blind eye within a crooked company so they can put food on the table. Sure, it’s not the most ethical thing, but don’t act like they snuck into your house and stole money directly from your wallet. Mike Stewart has been known as a shady individual for years anyways, so anyone who willingly supported him in recent years is no better than the people who still support Mick Strider.
 
Medieval Peasant said:
They turned a blind eye within a crooked company so they can put food on the table. Sure, it’s not the most ethical thing, but don’t act like they snuck into your house and stole money directly from your wallet. Mike Stewart has been known as a shady individual for years anyways, so anyone who willingly supported him in recent years is no better than the people who still support Mick Strider.
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Agreed. I'm all for ethics and good morality, but you cant eat ethics or shelter under morals. Employees generally arent to blame. That wouldn't work for any other field or organization or company, so it doesnt really work here just because its a knife maker.
 
Thats provided that they supported him knowing full well the unethical business practices and scams he ran and still decided to partner up.
 
I guess it never occurred to MS to do what almost every other large knife maker has done, and announce a budget line of knives.

Clever marketing and some obfuscatory language, along with a few grains of truth, and he could be pumping out the most expensive 3cr13mov knives on the market, and legally.
 
He scammed, lied. Defrauded partners, vendors, customers not because he was in and out of financial ruts but because he wanted to, plain and simple. Wanted to because he saw money in hurting other people for financial gain. Really, his bank accounts should be frozen by the feds because of the amount of crimes he committed and the length of time he did so
 
ShaiHulud said:
He scammed, lied. Defrauded partners, vendors, customers not because he was in and out of financial ruts but because he wanted to, plain and simple. Wanted to because he saw money in hurting other people for financial gain. Really, his bank accounts should be frozen by the feds because of the amount of crimes he committed and the length of time he did so
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This not being his first rodeo of this sort he will have siphoned the bulk of his loot to some sort of shelter where the authorities will not have access to it.
There are stories going around that he was paying family members 10k a month, some even for no show jobs.
 
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