For Those Who Need To Be Caught Up:
Blackjack Knives, founded by Mike Stewart in 1987, ceased operations in 1997 following a period of severe financial instability. After moving the company from Los Angeles to Effingham, Illinois, in 1991 to expand production, the business struggled with cash flow despite high demand. By early 1995, the company was four months behind on loans from the city of St. Elmo and frequently issued bounced paychecks to employees. The company eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, leaving creditors and suppliers unpaid.
Mike Stewart, was convicted of bank fraud following the collapse of his company in the late 1990s. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud related to defrauding the Murphy-Wall State Bank out of $500,000 starting in May 1995.
Beginning in May 1995, Stewart submitted fraudulent documents to the bank to secure funds, ultimately causing a loss of $500,000.Indicted by a federal grand jury in December 1999, Stewart was charged with bank fraud. He subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of the charge.
The fraud was characterized by his defense as a desperate attempt to keep the business afloat and pay employees, rather than for personal enrichment. (Sound familiar?)
In 2000, Stewart was sentenced to approximately 18 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution.
He went to prison. He served his time. He is a convicted felon and did time for fraud. That is an absolute fact. Following the conviction and the bankruptcy of Blackjack Knives, Stewart moved to Michigan and founded Bark River Knives in 2001.
As early as 2006, there are reports that Mike Stewart was passing off Chinese Steel as other steels to his customers.
Here is a report from a verified author. Please notice the specificity of this report-- it highlights specific knives and the steel that was substituted.
Stewart continued to do so for 20 years. Then, he got caught. Again.
In March 2026, Bark River Knives abruptly closed its doors. Stewart admitted to a new scandal involving the use of Chinese-made steel blanks (specifically 9Cr18MoV) which were relabeled and sold as premium American steels like CPM-154 and MagnaCut. He confessed to instructing employees to grind off "Made in China" markings to pass the knives off as domestic products, citing financial desperation similar to the Blackjack era. The same exact playbook he used to defend his fraud conviction. A defense that failed. Again. He got caught
My Story
In May 2007 I designed a full tang Kephart that was to be made by BRKT. Product was to be exclusive to me-- I would be the only approved distributor.
I paid him $16,000. Delivery was promised in 90 days. Almost a year went by. No Knives. Around that time, Mike Stewart told me that he was taking the knives and that my money will be returned after all the knives have been sold. Basically, he had used my money to finance other things.
I, however, do not go down easy. I started a shit show on the forums by stating the relevant facts.
Here's a link to the Bladeforums thread. I cannot link to the other forum which was basically dominated by Mike Stewart because it doesn't exist anymore. But it was brutal. Really brutal. If you read the first few pages of that thread, you'll see details of the fraud. People may be confused about my name: because of my transition, I changed my name. I was SnarlSlayer.
In my last communication to Mike, I told him that when he returns the money in verified funds, I will not mention the issue again on the forums. More delay. Then?
I called the District Attorney for his area and asked them to open an investigation. They do. A few days after that, I got a message from Mike Stewart stating that I would have my money in two days.
He finally kept a promise: in two days I received a check for the full $16,000.
Later, I got a letter from the DA with Mike Stewart's answer to the complaint. Stewart stated (IN WRITING) that I had already been paid.
His response to the DA was dated a few days BEFORE the date of the check. He literally lied to the DA.
I kept my promise. I did not mention this on the internet again. However, now that BRKT is out of business and Mike Stewart has literally admitted fraud I don't think I'll be hurting his sales.
What bothers me is that this could have been prevented. Dozens of well known people in the industry KNEW Mike Stewart was a huckster but said nothing. Perhaps they were in the same situation as I was? I simply do not know. I tried to warn Derrick (KSF) but he, for whatever reasons, would not listen. I sold him my entire stock of Bark River Knives-- around 100 of them. Please note, he was a friend and he was a good, honorable man.
We are in a world now in which the internet is more lies than truth. The internet is also now "The Backroom" where deals take place, money is stolen and little serious research is done by the end users. Staying silent on the condition that you get all of your money back is tempting. I did it. I imagine others did too. And then there's the phrase "I don't want to make any trouble". I am not judging people who make that decision because I have personally experienced brutal attacks on the net for speaking out. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Think about what would happen to a knife maker if they said these things aloud? They would be ostracized by the community for "making trouble" or "Flaming".
Here's SOME of what I learned:
1) Mike Stewart is a convicted Con Artist. And boy is he gifted in that regard.
2) You absolutely CANNOT TRUST any steel in any knives Mike Stewart has produced in the last 20 years unless you ( or someone else) have tested it using industry standard testing equipment. My educated guess is that he did put out SOME legitimate products but I believe he put out more bad products than legitimate in the last few decades.
3) You shouldn't collect a particular brand until you can verify the steel. Not only are there more people like Mike Stewart, there is the problem with counterfeits.
4) My suggestion is that as many internet knife aficionado's as possible get the equipment to test steel. Showing how well you can destroy wood with it isn't enough. From this point on, STEEL NEEDS TO BE TESTED. I cannot think of a better way to avoid this problem in the future: Internet Knife nuts armed with scientific testing equipment and posting the results online-- regardless of the results.
Unleash the Dogs of War!
Think of what would have happened if the DBK tested the steel on every knife they reviewed? They were big fans of Bark River and I guarantee if they made testing a habit, this fraud would have been much more quickly exposed. Testing the steel should become a standard of Knife reviews. I repeat: testing the material is more important than showing how much wood you can destroy. All knife reviews online should contain a verification of materials or at least reference to a legitimate source that has audited the steel.
I have watched and been involved in the Knife Community for over 20 years. What Mike Stewart did to me left a very bad taste in my mouth and I dropped out for years. To be honest, I feel vindicated.
Since this thread is going to be locked shortly after I post this, you can always DM me here.
Gracie
