My First Bark River!!!

The three I have on order are the Mini and Micro Canadian and Northstar- all in Blue DayGlow G10 with Mosaic pins. After that I am looking at a Fox River or Aurora, and maybe a Lil'Nesse down the line- although it will probably be next year before I order any more (wedding to save up for now that it is planned).
I am not worried about no Kydex, I make my own if I need one for a necker but I can understand the want!!
Keep the pics coming!!
 
Here's another photo for you: (my 'tography skills are terrible)
BRKT-02.jpg
 
Sweet Barkie:thumbup: I just got my Bravo 1 not to long ago and I love it.
 
Stretch- You should think about adding that pic to Mike's comparison thread on KF. It's a rare shot of some you don't see together!

I don't think you can add it yourself, but if you send it to him, he probably will.

Chewy
 
I like the new style sheath on the Mini Northstar. Mine (green canvas, hollow pins, KF logo) is a few years old and the new sheaths look more secure. :thumbup:
 
CUTS LIKE A KRIS said:
The most surprising thing was the knife came fairly DULL!!!!:confused:
Click to expand...

I too got my first Barkie, a Highland Special, a couple of weeks ago and it was so dull that it wouldn't cut the tape on a second package I tried to open with it. I have managed to get it to where it will cut tape but it still isn't right.

Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't my first one. I expected a razor sharp edge after all the great things I have heard about Barkies and to be able just to maintain it to the original sharpness. This way I have no standard of comparison and I may be doing some harm in my efforts to fix it.

It's a real nice knife and I expect I will eventually get another Barkie but I've got to admit I was disappointed. I imagine I could get it resharpened if I sent it to the factory but it's kind of a drag going thru that trouble and expense for a new knife.
 
That's odd. All 3 Barkies I've bought so far (Mini Northstar, Mikro Slither, Mikro Canadian II) were razor sharp. The Mini Northstar had the sharpest factory edge I've ever felt out of the box. :confused::eek:
 
I'm waiting the scaled down version of the Bravo-1, named Gunny, to come out! In the mean time, I might order a Mini Northstar and PSK...
 
Bark River will re-edge those new knives free - chipped edge may get you a new knife - try out their customer service.

I elected to try a BM 201 Activator+ and a B R Huntsman as my Christmas - the BM arrived Saturday, the B R arrived Monday (Christmas Eve). I ordered four more - a Fox River, Gameskeeper, LE North Star, and a T.U.S.K. from DLT's post Christmas sale. The only down side... I got the MC bill last week and had to pay it!

They are shown in the order I listed, from L-R below. The BM Activator+ probably would have sufficed as a 'woods walker', aka 'bushcraft-lite', if I just had never ordered that first B R K&T Huntsman. I have limited funds... and opted for Micarta examples - my favorite, anyway. Oddly, it is their least expensive handle material. Of course, check out Falkniven F1s in rubber for ~$100, Micarta for $240! Some folks think 'more' of it. I wanted users.

IMG_0467_edited.jpg


That Huntsman, and a Nuwai/River Rock TM-311X ($9.99 at Target! Super bright 2xAAA LED.) are shown in my very stretched KSF pocket sheath below. KSF handles a Peak Solutions 'Matterhorn' flashlight that is an easier fit to the sheath. The Huntsman is a great fit. Still, this combo has proven to be undetected - and useful. Don't resheath with the sheath in the pocket, of course. The Huntsman's .187" blade is deceptively sharp. I didn't think so when it arrived - but what an armhair popper/shaver! Oh, and don't drag your thumb across it to test it... you may just need that thumb one day!

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Barkies are addictive. I still maintain that they are alien seed pods that self-germanate in your desk drawer, subsisting off your credit cards... resistance is futile... and, yeah, try to buy 'just one'!

Stainz
 
Stainz, that TUSK is a really impressive small knife!

As for micarta, I think it's their best scale option as I'm not so struck on some of their wood choices.The Colonial Patch I have in Bocote has begun to shrink back from the handles due to excessive dryness.The Classic Lite Hunter I have in Red Maple burl lies more or less unused in the cupboard,whereas the Natural Canvas version gets out a lot! I also think the newer sheathes (Sharpshooter) on the Mini Northstar & Classic Lite Hunter are a step up.Still don't like the way all Barkie sheathes jab you in the ribs when you sit in the car....
 
Most of BRKT's blades are made from A2 tool steel or 12C27 stainless. There are other steels they use, but most are of those two. They have the widest selection of handle scales of any knife manufacturer that I know of. Their blades are convex ground, which is said to be a more time consuming and difficult primary grind. They are 100% made in America. Their lifetime warranty is second to none. Those are a few reasons I can think of. Their prices range from about $55 to $250

www.dlttradingcompany.com
www.knivesshipfree.com
www.knifepro.com
etc.
 
Thanks, tony. I'll have to buy one from DLTTrading. I bought a Bravo-1 from them last year with the Micro-Canadian Skinner. and firesteel. The handles are big horn sheep on both knives, and fire steel. I also bought a black sheath that holds all of em! ;)
 
Your welcome...As I noted earlier in this post I ordered matching Green canvas micarta handles on the Bravo & PSK w/ black leather sheath....I already have a black&green micarta Northstar and black mikro canadain II, well less than 5 minutes ago I picked-up another Northstar with Yellow scales with matching Yellow firesteel....Guess I will be looking for another small Barkie to couple with it.... maybe a slither ? LOL !
 
Update..... I have been carrying it for the last couple of days now. It takes a bit of getting used to getting my ribs poked as I can't stand for long yet, but the sheath is very secure. I have been sheathing it kind of like a samurai sword when I am not looking at the sheath- just run the back side of the blade along the top of the sheath until it clears the throat and guide it in with my left hand. Works well.

I sharpened it myself using a mousepad and 600 grit sandpaper to fix all of the chips in it. I am not too used to the convex edge (only my Blackjack Quick has one- and I've been reprofiling the last 1" of edge for a while) and while I got it hair shaving sharp I am still not that happy with it. I guess I'll have to use it till it dulls and then try again....and again.....and again until I get it right.

If anybody is looking for a mini-bushcraft knife I think this is the one for you. It has the same general shape, a very sturdy blade for being 1/16", and has stood up to what I have put it through. I am surprised that nobody else has chimed in with experience of their own. This could just be Bark Rivers "sleeper" model people!!!
 
Cuts, I see I am not alone in disliking the bruising effects of Bark River sheathes? Fantastic knives but I can't understand the logic of their sheathes...try carrying a bigger knife like a Nebula and you won't want to sit down if the knife's on your belt!
 
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