Northwoods Mackinaw

[pertinux]

I would have bought one right away... if I didn't just buy a Fox River LT last week... But I don't have a classic drop point... so I need one of these, right guys?

Derrick from KSF touts this as his design of the perfect knife blah blah blah, but in reality, it looks like just another offering from Bark River that is similar to a bunch of other knives in their lineup.

In general, I'm grateful for the continuation and relative aesthetic uniqueness of the Northwoods line, as seen in recent folding knives (Bullet Jack, Freemont, etc.).

In specific, to my eyes, this fixed blade doesn't rise to the standard of the other recent releases in terms of aesthetics that set it apart. I agree that it looks like just another Bark River, of which there are So Many! (Sadly, the manufacturer alone takes the Mackinaw out of my own consideration, but I would still welcome a model more in keeping with the Standout presentation of the slipjoint counterparts to date, for everyone else.)

PNWJimbo, LT Wright is one of the good guys making good knives.

~ P.

 

[Ryouchijtx]

...
And yes I agree, Derrick has his marketing down. Funny how every news letter that comes out for a "new" knife is reviewed by saying that it's now the "perfect" knife.

That was my point. Don't claim that it's something totally new and "perfect" when it's clear that it's not.

That's all folks!!

I have to agree, I'm rather tired of the specific marketing terminology that comes along with it.

This one in general isn't very 'Northwoods' at all. If there really can be something considered a style of Northwoods considering their wide variety of knives from the Shirley Era to the current ownership under Bohn.

Many think of Rustic finishes (heat scale etc) with Northwoods Knives. It would have been interesting to see something actually new and innovative implementing such (perhaps with Lon Humphrey) rather than simply the Bark River line of fixed blades re-branded "Northwoods" we've seen so far.

 

[knarfeng]

This thread is for discussing knives, not dealer's marketing.

 

[Pomsbz]

On the blade front, is it just me or are most of the fixies being released at present heavily weighted towards skinning rather than bushcraft or other uses? I didn't realise the hunting market was so big.

 

[yeuhs]

Good mine yesterday... great knife, maybe a little large for edc

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[PNWJimbo]

On the blade front, is it just me or are most of the fixies being released at present heavily weighted towards skinning rather than bushcraft or other uses? I didn't realise the hunting market was so big.

Yeah well as discussed above, it is exactly the same pattern as the Loveless or Classic drop point hunter, but with a hidden tang. I do not think this is what the typical Northwoods customer is looking for, but more for Bark River people to have a different option if they're looking at a Loveless style knife.

Good mine yesterday... great knife, maybe a little large for edc

............. PICS???

 

[yeuhs]

Yeah well as discussed above, it is exactly the same pattern as the Loveless or Classic drop point hunter, but with a hidden tang. I do not think this is what the typical Northwoods customer is looking for, but more for Bark River people to have a different option if they're looking at a Loveless style knife.




............. PICS???

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[Shaggy]

Eh? How about meh...I don't see enough change in this model to have people claim that it's some new design that took months to come up with. It's just a blend of what Bark River has already done to death across their product line.

Gotta agree with this. It doesn't inspire me. BRK does have some wild and innovative designs but this one looks similar to several other BRK products.

 

[PNWJimbo]

The black micarta looks great, yeuhs!!! Cmon guys, are you going to tell me that that isn't the loveless perfected??

 

[okbohn]

Wow.

You know what...I do say a knife is the perfect knife a lot. I also say, "this is my favorite."

Want to know why?

Because I get the fever for a new knife like you guys do. I get a new knife in my hand and I go gaga over it. I have said several times in text and in video that I am kind of fickle because my favorite knife is often the one I have in my pocket.

Sorry about that.

FWIW. This knife was a knife I have wanted for a long time. It is very different from any of the Bravos or any other Bark River for that matter. Mike made it from what I wanted. It does have Bark River looks to it just like you can see GEC DNA in Northwoods made by them.

We have lots of new knives in the works. Some of them are going to be very innovative. Some of them are just going to be the knives I like.

I hope you guys like the stuff we do with Northwoods. We will keep trying to make great knives that people like as much as we do. If one doesn't strike your fancy, that is ok.

 

[okbohn]

BTW...sorry I made it to the thread late. I was out of town for a bit.

 

[Aias]

I've got no qualms with the knife--looks good, and if you agree, maybe you buy it. Now, if there was a Bravo 1.5 made by Lon... I'd buy that! Thanks for new knives to consider Derrick

 

[pmew]

Personally, I quite liked the look of the Iron River (I wouldn't get one because I just wouldn't be able to carry it being UK based). I thought the carbon fibre pinned bolster was an interesting juxtaposition of traditional method with modern material - although the northwoods logo still doesn't do it for me I'm afraid ~ sorry Derek ~ the dimensions and style appeared good to my eye. I always wondered why we don't see more of them here, do they do well Derek?


- Paul

 

[Stropping Young Lad]

Funny, I personally like this knife, and most BRKT's fall flat for me. The belly kinda stood out to me.

I'm firmly into traditional folders now, having only a single fixed blade in my Hess Tiburon, but I think this is a cool knife. And lay off Mr Bohn, I get the impression he's just a big ole knife nerd like the rest of us.

 

[geek]

Mackinaw by Northwoods! Dude seriously, Elmax! Hidden tang, perfect size for me and SUPER light.
I love the simplicity of the knife, it's got clean lines and yeah of course it shares similarities with other Bark River knives, it was made there by Mike Stewart's crew (some of the best in the business)

I think Derrick Bohn hit it out of the park with this one, it's under 4 ounces, calls back to classic design with modern awesome steel.
Now I just gotta pick from all these handle choices!

 

[okbohn]

Here are shots with the Bark River Classic Drop Point Hunter.

 

[black mamba]

Thanks for the comparo, Derrick. Similar, but not really the same, at all. I like the newer one better.

 

[Dangerously]

I just got one of these in the mail. I love the Fallkniven F1, but I've wanted a more traditionally styled fixed blade with similar characteristics, and the blade blanks aren't common anymore. This Northwoods seems to fit the bill.

Here is a well-loved Fallkniven F1, the Mackinaw in bocote, and a Bark River Drop Point Hunter. I love that the Mackinaw has a sharpening choil.

The blade is within a couple of mm of the F1 in length, almost the same in height and width. And the grind profile is very similar. The Mackinaw is thinner than the F1 at any blade height. I will have to see if it holds up as well going through tough wood or along bone. But it does cut like crazy! I don't judge a company for factory edges, as they get sharpened out pretty quickly, but this Mackinaw came out of the box able to cleanly slice paper towel, and could push-cut phone book paper at 90º against the grain. Incredible job.

The handle feels just slightly smaller than the F1 handle, but I don't think I'll notice in use. The smaller, hidden tang really lightens it up, though. It is noticeably lighter than both the F1 and the drop point hunter. The handle swells are similar to the F1, but not identical.

Overlaying the Mackinaw on top of the F1, you see the curve of the drop point is identical. The drop point hunter has a more pronounced drop.

They are close enough in size that I was able to use the leather sheath custom made to fit the F1. This will push out my F1 for the next few camping trips. I hope it fulfills my expectations as a traditionally styled replacement with excellent blade steel and good looks. It is also much lighter and less handle-heavy than other small bladed Bark River knives with full tangs.

Thanks, Derrick, for choosing to put these features together, that I couldn't find elsewhere: a hidden tang with nice wood handles, sharpening choil, F1 blade and handle profile, thin(!) convex grind, and a nice shiny bolster. Great design choices. Given how popular the F1 is, I'm surprised that it hasn't attracted followers as a classier, more modern take on it. Then again, I haven't used it yet except to slice paper towel and take pictures.

 

[PNWJimbo]

Well I have a very obvious reason/need to resurrect this thread! The Mackinaw has been clawing at the back of my brain stem for this entire time and I finally pulled the trigger on one. Our knife collection journeys sure take funny turns. I've always been captivated by the classic loveless drop point hunter but never got a "classic drop point" from bark river for a couple of reasons, mostly because the first "keeper" bark river I ever got was a Fox River LT in CPM 3v with cocobolo handles. (Now that cocobolo has been put on the new list of hard to import woods, I'm definitely never selling that!) Anyway, I scored a great deal on a BRK Featherweight Hunter and fell in love with it instantly. This is basically an EDC pocket sized loveless drop point. Getting this knife in my hand, with its thin blade stock and silver bolster just made me finally want to pull the trigger on a full sized version. And I had 2 to choose from... the BRK Classic Drop Point or....

Meanwhile during this time many Northwoods knives have come and gone through my house through various means. I've been blessed to earn the trust of many fine gents around the world which has enabled me to get my hands on some pretty incredible pieces. At one time, there were about 8 Northwoods at my house of all sorts of handle material and pattern. But there was only one that got my gears turning on overdrive: The Esky Zulu in Black Linen Micarta. Something about my knife just drove me wild and I decided I finally needed to keep a Northwoods! I have a few bark rivers in Mike Stewart's classic Black Canvas Micarta, but after doing a bit of research, I learned that Derrick only produced 2 Northwoods slippies in Black Linen Micarta: The Esky Zulu and the Fremont Jack. My new quest began, the hunt for the black fremont. I posted in every forum and facebook group I knew, searching for what felt like an eternity!! (probably about 3 weeks ) During this time I felt like all hope was lost. No one would want to part with their precious black fremont, I knew I wouldn't!!! And out of desperation I found myself on Knives ship free, browsing.... Mackinaws. Black Canvas, Black Canvas hollow pins, Black and green Canvas.... Black... Linen? The BLM Solid pins was taken but the single hollow pin Black Linen Northwoods Mackinaw was still available! I couldn't pass up the chance to add this 1 of 2 black linen northwoods to my collection and jumped on it, adding a black sheath for good measure.

They both showed up yesterday and I have to say I am very pleased and impressed initially. The black sheath is like the bark river fox river sheath but is a bit slimmer, is missing the firesteel loop (which I always cut off so I'm very happy about that) and has a nice northwoods logo stamped into the back. The knife feels amazing in hand and I can tell why the loveless drop point is a classic and revered design. I will also say that I immediately noticed the different feeling of a hidden tang knife after being so used to the full exposed tang feeling of bark rivers. Wow! Nice stuff!! I was very busy in the afternoon fixing my house's pipes again but my girlfriend made a nice floral arrangement for my Black Linen collection as it currently stands. I must admit that there is an even happier ending to this story. Just yesterday, on the same day my mackinaw arrived, someone posted a BLACK FREMONT for trade, but only looking for DENIM HAWTHORNE JACK! Luckily I had secured one of these knives during the first of 2 most recent drops of hawthonres, but had sold it at cost to a close knife buddy. Well extremely luckily for me, he not only had kept it as mostly a safe queen but was willing to trade me out of it to. Had to let go of one of my favorite barkies and he definitely got the better end of the deal $$ wise, but you do what you gotta do when a grail becomes available! By the way, it was an Adventurer 3 in Black Canvas that I traded him and it looked stunning with the zulu. I hope you enjoyed this read, and I hope this inspires more people who have purchased this knife to post some pics and share their story, and I also hope you enjoy a few pictures of the knives mentioned above.

-Jimbo

 

[155440]

Great story Jimbo. That pairing in Black linen micarta look pretty sweet.