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

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They undoubtedly have a decent number of customer’s knives in their shop for warranty repair or mods (ramp removal). How and when will customers get their property back is a big question not yet answered? Calls to Bark River go unanswered. Looks like Gladstone, MI Police will have an increase in cases.
 
They won’t even have the necessary funds to pay for return shipping on those knives.

The staff who knows everything about them doesn’t work there any more.

They don’t have the machines to complete the repairs.

They don’t have the materials or belts.

I simply can’t see what recourse the customers have than criminal complaints and civil litigation.

Maybe contact the dealers and see if they can raid the place for their customers??
 
Larrin said:
One thing that keeps being ignored in this discussion of contamination is that grinding particles of the same steel can also promote corrosion, even a stainless steel. They are high surface area particles and act as initiation sites for corrosion. Acid passivation is performed on stainless steel for exactly this purpose, removing free iron particles.
Click to expand...

The glasses in your avatar really drives the emphasis of your posts home.
 
I've experienced cross contamination. My Magnacut gyuto did it. 64 HRC, I used scotchbrite belts to finish it and had used the same belts on a variety of other steels, including carbons. After use and drying, I noticed some weird patina/rust splotches. Used a different scotchbrite belt, thoroughly cleaned/scrubbed the blade after with soapy scotchbrite pad and then hot water, dawn and regular dish sponge. Issue never came back. So now I thoroughly scrub all of my knives a few times after the finishing belt steps, regardless of what belt or method I use.
 
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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DrRollinstein said:
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.
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Taz said:
I read that the "receivables" were hit and the accounts frozen so they couldn't get any money out. 3 lawsuits hit in early March for breach of contract and non payment against BRK and I guess one of those got bank accounts frozen?

Employees were ticked and broke the news of the China blanks from what I read when they found out they weren't getting paid last Friday. Supposedly the employees were trying to figure out how to let people know of the China blanks without screwing themselves over, so when they heard they weren't getting paid and BRK was closing, they had nothing left to lose.

There is supposedly a video of when Mike told the employees they were closing and they had no money to pay them according to an employee.
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As far as the employees go assuming they knew what was going on, I wouldn’t hold them responsible at all for the scam but I also don’t feel sorry for them at all regardless of how hard it is to find work in their area.

If they knew what was going on and couldn’t see the writing on the wall and prepare accordingly by finding a new job then they have only themselves to blame for their current situation.
 
Chefget said:
Have any other knifemakers experienced this cross contamination problem with Magnacut?

Has there been another documented case?
Click to expand...
Cross contamination can happen with any stainless steel. Including Magnacut.

Magnacut is stainless for the same reason that other stainless steels are stainless. There is a tightly adhering oxide layer which acts as a barrier to oxygen and water. Corrosion is a reaction between iron, oxygen, and water. All three reactants are required for the reaction to occur. A break in the oxide layer can act as an access point for those reactants, and corrosion can result.
 
knarfeng said:
Cross contamination can happen with any stainless steel. Including Magnacut.

Magnacut is stainless for the same reason that other stainless steels are stainless. There is a tightly adhering oxide layer which acts as a barrier to oxygen and water. Corrosion is a reaction between iron, oxygen, and water. All three reactants are required for the reaction to occur. A break in the oxide layer can act as an access point for those reactants, and corrosion can result.
Click to expand...
It’s happened with H1 knives from Spyderco. I don’t think they pitted or anything, but some people definitely had some rust spots pop up because of cross contamination.
 
knarfeng said:
Cross contamination can happen with any stainless steel. Including Magnacut.

Magnacut is stainless for the same reason that other stainless steels are stainless. There is a tightly adhering oxide layer which acts as a barrier to oxygen and water. Corrosion is a reaction between iron, oxygen, and water. All three reactants are required for the reaction to occur. A break in the oxide layer can act as an access point for those reactants, and corrosion can result.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your answer.

Guess what I meant to ask is this a known problem from various manufacturers of stainless steel cutlery? Though the contamination can happen, is this something that has been experienced by both makers and users such the when BR knives oxidized it wasn't out of the norm?
 
Chefget said:
Thanks for your answer.

Guess what I meant to ask is this a known problem from various manufacturers of stainless steel cutlery? Though the contamination can happen, is this something that has been experienced by both makers and users such the when BR knives oxidized it wasn't out of the norm?
Click to expand...
It's not unique to BRK. What's unique is how all the other knife companies deal with it. They don't flat out blame the person who bought the knife.
 
Chefget said:
Thanks for your answer.

Guess what I meant to ask is this a known problem from various manufacturers of stainless steel cutlery? Though the contamination can happen, is this something that has been experienced by both makers and users such the when BR knives oxidized it wasn't out of the norm?
Click to expand...
I would not consider it "normal" because knife makers are expected to take steps to prevent it. But it pops up from time to time if somebody has an oops.
 
Blues said:
Doesn't change how we conduct ourselves here. Those are the house rules.
Click to expand...
I apologize for a previous comment. I honestly didn't know that there was a "Whine and Cheese" section on this forum where the "dirty" stuff can be disclosed. Also on FB this morning a guy that has apparently known Mike Stewart since the 1980's through knife business stuff stated that Mike Stewart isn't his real name. It is Daniel Nigro!
 

Long post By Anthony Lombardo, who was a salesman during the BlackJack Years. He goes by Bladeandbarrel Bladeandbarrel here. It's an interesting historical look at Stewart -​

​

Anthony Lombardo​

·

But the Stewarts are still posting all over the internet like nothing has happened....

I worked for Mike at Blackjack Knives circa 1995 as a sales rep. I worked hard for Mike but in the end, the promises, lies, tall tales and BOUNCED paychecks were too much to take. The rumors coming out of the factory were unreal. I have heard ALL OF THIS BEFORE ..

Lets frame it up-at Pacific Cutlery, Mike was VP of Sales and Marketing-bad decisions importing Japanese Knives put Pacific out of business. Blackjack 1 was born from in 1987 that with an investor named Steven Lewis from South Africa. Blackjack California (Blackjack 1) imported high quality knives designed by custom makers (and Mike) from Japan's top contract makers. The knives were high quality but the designs were unconventional, maybe a little goofy and the business failed and in 1991 was reborn in Effingham, IL. as Blackjack 2 .

Why Effingham, IL? The local community there was impoverished and there were multiple tax and loan incentives for small manufacturers using local labor. Local businessmen invested in the business and everyone lost their money. Lots of promises, etc were made.

It's important to understand that Mike Stewart (Real name Daniel Nigro) had no background in engineering, design or manufacturing. He wasn't a knifemaker. He was a knife enthusiast who had a host of prior failed business ventures including restaurants and a Milwaukee gun shop. He was an early custom knife dealer and made a point to be connected.

He knew people. When he would pitch to local investors and others he would toss the names around of all the people that Blackjack was working with. Mike was marketed as "one of the top 5 knife designers in the world", when all he did was trace patterns on a lightbox in his office. He had no design or mechanical talent. He was never able to design a folding knife. He had met makers at big knife shows and promised them lucrative royalty deals. He was propped up by dealers like AG Russell, Jeff Loffer and other. Highly influential knife writer and Editor of the DBI knives annuals, Ken Warner was a shareholder in Blackjack knives. Mike was essentially protected by these people.

He made Ken's pet projects. He gave the dealers special prices and let them steer the company. They introduced him to famous makers like Bill Moran, Bob Loveless, Jerry Fisk, etc. When Ethan Becker needed a contract manufacturer he went into business with Mike to make and sell the Becker Knife and Tool line-FYI Blackjack never paid Ethan a red cent, in fact the project ended up costing him money.

During this time Blackjack purchased the rights to Ek knives, a legendary combat knife company. They did this because Ek was very easy knife to make with a built in customer base-simple blades with cord wrapped handles or heavy slabs. The buyout of Ek came with a warehouse full of fully ground blades, parts and sheaths from ASIA...the Ek Blades were marketed as USA 440C but they were in fact AUS6 from Japan-BOOM... Some of the Ek fighting knives were being blown out to dealers for $12-13.

The big jobbers loved Ek-a historic knife that used to sell for $129 was now a closeout at Cutlery shoppe and Brigade Quartermasters for $29.95. Mike killed the brand.

Blackjack ended up as a blight on the Effingham community. See below. Even though there was evidence linking Mike to years of fraud and unethical business practices they only got him on one charge.

"Stewart accused of bank fraud; former Effing resident was founder of Black Jack Knives

Jan 7 2000 12:00AM By By DONNA RILEY-GORDON Daily News

The founder of Black Jack Knives, which had facilities in Effingham and St. Elmo, appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in federal court in East St. Louis Thursday on charges of bank fraud.

Michael Stewart, 51, of Gladstone, Mich., and a former resident of Effingham, was indicted by a federal grand jury for bank fraud on Dec. 15, according to a press release from W. Charles Grace, U.S. attorney for the southern district of Illinois.

The federal indictment charges Stewart with defrauding the Murphy Wall State Bank in Pinckneyville starting in May 1995. The indictment states that the bank lost $500,000 as a result of the alleged bank fraud scheme.

If convicted, Stewart faces up to 30 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $1 million and a term of at least three years and not more than five years supervised release following incarceration.

An investigation, which resulted in Stewart's indictment, was conducted by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the Bureau's Effingham field office.

The case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. States Attorney Robert L. Garrison for trial.

Stewart moved his company, founded in 1987, from Los Angeles to Effingham in 1991. In early 1995, St. Elmo city officials began talking about foreclosing on Black Jack Knives, which had fallen four months behind on its Community Development Assistance Program loan. At that time, St. Elmo Mayor John Spitler said late payments were a common occurrence.

Although Black Jack paid the amount owed to St. Elmo in one lump sum, money problems continued to plague the company until it closed its doors a few years later. Before the company completely shut down, employees were working without getting regular paychecks or received paychecks that bounced. Before long, Black Jack Knives had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Federal agents then raided the Effingham plant in the industrial park, but they would not confirm a raid had even taken place at the time or that an investigation was underway."

DA Fishman's great post here sets the table for Bark River

The 2000 bank fraud case against Michael Stewart (founder of Black Jack Knives) ended in a guilty plea, though it did not stop his career in the knife industry. Stewart eventually moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and founded Bark River Knives in 2001, which remains a prominent company today. ()
Follow-up on the 2000 Case:

• The Outcome: Stewart eventually pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud related to the Murphy-Wall State Bank in Pinckneyville, Illinois. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment (reports vary, but typically cited as around 18 months) and ordered to pay restitution.

• The Defense: During the proceedings, Stewart's defense often emphasized the "rolling" nature of the company’s financial struggles, characterizing the fraud as a desperate attempt to keep the business afloat and pay employees rather than a scheme for personal enrichment.

Life After the Case:
Despite the legal turmoil surrounding the collapse of Black Jack Knives in Illinois, Stewart remained a highly influential figure in the cutlery world.

• Marbles Knives (1990s–2001): Between the fall of Black Jack and the start of his next venture, Stewart worked with Marbles Knives in Michigan, helping to revitalize their production line.

• Bark River Knives (2001–Present): After serving his time and moving to Gladstone/Escanaba, Michigan, Stewart founded Bark River Knives. The company is famous for its "convex grind" blades and has a very dedicated following.

• Current Reputation: In the knife community, Stewart is a polarizing figure. He is widely respected for his design talent and for pioneering production-grade convex edges, but he is frequently discussed on forums (like BladeForums) regarding his past legal issues and business disputes with various vendors.
The current situation with Bark River Knives (BRK) has escalated significantly, following a pattern eerily similar to the Black Jack Knives collapse in the 90s.

The 2026 Shut Down:
Current reports from employees and industry observers indicate that Bark River Knives effectively ceased operations as of Friday, March 20, 2026.

• Employee Impact: Multiple reports from internal staff on social media and forums claim that the closure was sudden, with no prior notice given to the workforce. There are serious allegations that final paychecks have not been issued, leaving several dozen employees in the Gladstone/Escanaba area stranded.

• Supplier & Customer Issues: Vendors have noted that BRK had been liquidating stock through massive "clearance sales" and "waffles" for months, which many now see as a last-ditch effort to raise cash. Customers who placed deposits on long-delayed pre-orders (some dating back to 2021) are now reporting difficulties getting refunds.
 
tltt said:

Long post By Anthony Lombardo, who was a salesman during the BlackJack Years. He goes by Bladeandbarrel Bladeandbarrel here. It's an interesting historical look at Stewart -​

​

Anthony Lombardo​

·

But the Stewarts are still posting all over the internet like nothing has happened....

I worked for Mike at Blackjack Knives circa 1995 as a sales rep. I worked hard for Mike but in the end, the promises, lies, tall tales and BOUNCED paychecks were too much to take. The rumors coming out of the factory were unreal. I have heard ALL OF THIS BEFORE ..

Lets frame it up-at Pacific Cutlery, Mike was VP of Sales and Marketing-bad decisions importing Japanese Knives put Pacific out of business. Blackjack 1 was born from in 1987 that with an investor named Steven Lewis from South Africa. Blackjack California (Blackjack 1) imported high quality knives designed by custom makers (and Mike) from Japan's top contract makers. The knives were high quality but the designs were unconventional, maybe a little goofy and the business failed and in 1991 was reborn in Effingham, IL. as Blackjack 2 .

Why Effingham, IL? The local community there was impoverished and there were multiple tax and loan incentives for small manufacturers using local labor. Local businessmen invested in the business and everyone lost their money. Lots of promises, etc were made.

It's important to understand that Mike Stewart (Real name Daniel Nigro) had no background in engineering, design or manufacturing. He wasn't a knifemaker. He was a knife enthusiast who had a host of prior failed business ventures including restaurants and a Milwaukee gun shop. He was an early custom knife dealer and made a point to be connected.

He knew people. When he would pitch to local investors and others he would toss the names around of all the people that Blackjack was working with. Mike was marketed as "one of the top 5 knife designers in the world", when all he did was trace patterns on a lightbox in his office. He had no design or mechanical talent. He was never able to design a folding knife. He had met makers at big knife shows and promised them lucrative royalty deals. He was propped up by dealers like AG Russell, Jeff Loffer and other. Highly influential knife writer and Editor of the DBI knives annuals, Ken Warner was a shareholder in Blackjack knives. Mike was essentially protected by these people.

He made Ken's pet projects. He gave the dealers special prices and let them steer the company. They introduced him to famous makers like Bill Moran, Bob Loveless, Jerry Fisk, etc. When Ethan Becker needed a contract manufacturer he went into business with Mike to make and sell the Becker Knife and Tool line-FYI Blackjack never paid Ethan a red cent, in fact the project ended up costing him money.

During this time Blackjack purchased the rights to Ek knives, a legendary combat knife company. They did this because Ek was very easy knife to make with a built in customer base-simple blades with cord wrapped handles or heavy slabs. The buyout of Ek came with a warehouse full of fully ground blades, parts and sheaths from ASIA...the Ek Blades were marketed as USA 440C but they were in fact AUS6 from Japan-BOOM... Some of the Ek fighting knives were being blown out to dealers for $12-13.

The big jobbers loved Ek-a historic knife that used to sell for $129 was now a closeout at Cutlery shoppe and Brigade Quartermasters for $29.95. Mike killed the brand.

Blackjack ended up as a blight on the Effingham community. See below. Even though there was evidence linking Mike to years of fraud and unethical business practices they only got him on one charge.

"Stewart accused of bank fraud; former Effing resident was founder of Black Jack Knives

Jan 7 2000 12:00AM By By DONNA RILEY-GORDON Daily News

The founder of Black Jack Knives, which had facilities in Effingham and St. Elmo, appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge in federal court in East St. Louis Thursday on charges of bank fraud.

Michael Stewart, 51, of Gladstone, Mich., and a former resident of Effingham, was indicted by a federal grand jury for bank fraud on Dec. 15, according to a press release from W. Charles Grace, U.S. attorney for the southern district of Illinois.

The federal indictment charges Stewart with defrauding the Murphy Wall State Bank in Pinckneyville starting in May 1995. The indictment states that the bank lost $500,000 as a result of the alleged bank fraud scheme.

If convicted, Stewart faces up to 30 years imprisonment, a fine of not more than $1 million and a term of at least three years and not more than five years supervised release following incarceration.

An investigation, which resulted in Stewart's indictment, was conducted by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to the Bureau's Effingham field office.

The case has been assigned to Assistant U.S. States Attorney Robert L. Garrison for trial.

Stewart moved his company, founded in 1987, from Los Angeles to Effingham in 1991. In early 1995, St. Elmo city officials began talking about foreclosing on Black Jack Knives, which had fallen four months behind on its Community Development Assistance Program loan. At that time, St. Elmo Mayor John Spitler said late payments were a common occurrence.

Although Black Jack paid the amount owed to St. Elmo in one lump sum, money problems continued to plague the company until it closed its doors a few years later. Before the company completely shut down, employees were working without getting regular paychecks or received paychecks that bounced. Before long, Black Jack Knives had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Federal agents then raided the Effingham plant in the industrial park, but they would not confirm a raid had even taken place at the time or that an investigation was underway."

DA Fishman's great post here sets the table for Bark River

The 2000 bank fraud case against Michael Stewart (founder of Black Jack Knives) ended in a guilty plea, though it did not stop his career in the knife industry. Stewart eventually moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and founded Bark River Knives in 2001, which remains a prominent company today. ()
Follow-up on the 2000 Case:

• The Outcome: Stewart eventually pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud related to the Murphy-Wall State Bank in Pinckneyville, Illinois. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment (reports vary, but typically cited as around 18 months) and ordered to pay restitution.

• The Defense: During the proceedings, Stewart's defense often emphasized the "rolling" nature of the company’s financial struggles, characterizing the fraud as a desperate attempt to keep the business afloat and pay employees rather than a scheme for personal enrichment.

Life After the Case:
Despite the legal turmoil surrounding the collapse of Black Jack Knives in Illinois, Stewart remained a highly influential figure in the cutlery world.

• Marbles Knives (1990s–2001): Between the fall of Black Jack and the start of his next venture, Stewart worked with Marbles Knives in Michigan, helping to revitalize their production line.

• Bark River Knives (2001–Present): After serving his time and moving to Gladstone/Escanaba, Michigan, Stewart founded Bark River Knives. The company is famous for its "convex grind" blades and has a very dedicated following.

• Current Reputation: In the knife community, Stewart is a polarizing figure. He is widely respected for his design talent and for pioneering production-grade convex edges, but he is frequently discussed on forums (like BladeForums) regarding his past legal issues and business disputes with various vendors.
The current situation with Bark River Knives (BRK) has escalated significantly, following a pattern eerily similar to the Black Jack Knives collapse in the 90s.

The 2026 Shut Down:
Current reports from employees and industry observers indicate that Bark River Knives effectively ceased operations as of Friday, March 20, 2026.

• Employee Impact: Multiple reports from internal staff on social media and forums claim that the closure was sudden, with no prior notice given to the workforce. There are serious allegations that final paychecks have not been issued, leaving several dozen employees in the Gladstone/Escanaba area stranded.

• Supplier & Customer Issues: Vendors have noted that BRK had been liquidating stock through massive "clearance sales" and "waffles" for months, which many now see as a last-ditch effort to raise cash. Customers who placed deposits on long-delayed pre-orders (some dating back to 2021) are now reporting difficulties getting refunds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting. Ken Warner was a good guy that got mixed up with mike. All of kens Seki Japan made knives were awesome. Those seki made blackjacks were great knives, I still have a few,
 
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