military classic r1 or bark river classic

J

JTC

Joined
Dec 22, 2002
Messages
1,398
I'm considering purchasing a knife of more traditional materials. That is micarta, leather,etc. I like the looks of the Cold Steel Military Classic. I came across a knife on A.G. Russells website from Bark River that is called the "classic" I believe. I know they are both copys of a Randall but a Randall is way out of my budget. What do you guys think? The Bark River knife is about $40.00 over the Cold Steel knife but is made of 154cm. Thanks for your thoughts!

John Crites:)
 
I just ordered one of those myself. It looks like it should be the next best thing to a real Randall. The only problem is that A.G. Russell says it will be 10 to 12 working days before I get it. That is rather slow delivery compared to most internet dealers.
 
IIRC it is a 3 year wait for a Randall.
:eek:
(hope that makes the wait easier)
Let us know how you like tht BRK&T!
 
I've had two Cold Steel R1's, one of which served me very well during my trip to the Dominican Republic. My only complaint was that the micarta handles tend to get slippery when wet. I remedied that first with surfboard wax, and then later with a small length of inner tube. The Aus-8 takes a very nice edge and I can't really see much of a difference between the edges of my Aus-8 knives as compared with the 154 stuff.

As for previous Bark River stuff, I haven't been impressed with theirquality control. I have a few Expedition Knives (a takeoff of the John Ek knives that Blackjack once owned, and now Bark River) and I am less than enthusiastic about the manufacturing tolerances.

Keep us posted on the Bark river stuff. I sincerely hope that such bad quality control exists across the board because I would really like a few different types of good quality Randall clones.
 
Hello MelancholyMutt,

That is very suprising that you have not observed much difference between AUS8 and 154, given that ATS-34/154CM has a much better reputation than AUS8. Do you think it could be that the heat treatments of your AUS8 knives have been better than the heat treatments of your 154 knives?

I do hope the Bark River Classic will be well-made. What attracts me to the Randall knives is their designs. I like the traditional knives with ample guards better than the newer designs which often have minimal guards. On the other hands, there are numerous people out there who say that the cutting performance of the newer brands, like Busse, Strider, Reeves, etc. is much better than that of the Randalls. Randalls are like Rolexes - there are better Swiss watches, but most people want a Rolex because that is all they know about.
 
Just got the Bark River Classic in the mail, much faster than A.G. Russell had promised it. Overall it seems to be well-made. The top guard is shorter than the bottom guard, but the fit and finish is good.

My only complaint is with the leather sheath. It is thread stitched only - no rivets to reinforce it. I prefer sheaths that have reinforcing rivets.

I am glad I bought the Bark River Classic rather than the Cold Steel Military Classic. It is made with better steel, and more importantly, it is made in America.
 
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