Please Tell Me Why ?

pitdog

pitdog

Joined
Apr 13, 2007
Messages
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I have a problem......I have been looking at the various knives made by BRKT and know from reading stuff on here that they are superb knives, they perform great, look great and are just the design types that I like !!!

So my question is why can't I get over my obsession for Scrapyard and Swamprat knives ?

I dare not buy a BRKT because I know that I will most likely want the next offering from these companies and they are the only ones I trust 100%....WHY ?:confused:
 
Bark River has a great warranty as well, PITDOG...buy one, you'll like it alot. I still buy Busse and SwampRat, Scrapyard..I have one of each, and might get more later....But Barkies have a huge selection of styles and a couple steels to choose from. I gaurantee...buy an Aurora, and the Dumpster Mutt gets left at home....Its a tough knife, but so is the Aurora and IMO it is the better woods knife.:)
 
What kind of got me with the Busse/Swamp Rat/Scrap Yard knives is that any given model is available for a short period of time and then unavailable (except the secondary market) for a long, long time. It kind of feels like if something comes up I've got to snag it right then or I will have missed my chance forever. Well, maybe not forever but it sure feels that way. With the BRKT line, or most production knives for that matter, aren't quite as spotty in their availability so it feels like I could pick one up any time. It isn't even an issue of the quality or design of the knives at all (for me), it just doesn't feel so urgent.
 
ITS ANOTHER ADDICTION


once you buy one BRKT.......its all over


ive only got 2 right now but...
 
Because knife nuts have a huge elitist streak in them, and Swamprat & Scrapyard have a reputation (deserved or not) for being the best. I happen to think Barkies are probably just as good, and a way better value for the money, and much much easier to come by. But still, when you're looking at that hard-to-find Swamprat or Scrapyard, the knife nut looms large and you just HAVE to have it.

It's like someone buying a Rolex when a Timex will do just as well, and for a ton less money. If you have to ask why, you probably don't "need" the Rolex in the first place.
 
gunknifenut said:
Bark River has a great warranty as well, PITDOG...buy one, you'll like it alot. I still buy Busse and SwampRat, Scrapyard..I have one of each, and might get more later....But Barkies have a huge selection of styles and a couple steels to choose from. I gaurantee...buy an Aurora, and the Dumpster Mutt gets left at home....Its a tough knife, but so is the Aurora and IMO it is the better woods knife.:)
Click to expand...

Aurora over a mini northstar?
 
Don't question these things Pitdog, just relent and give in!;)
 
Rockywolf said:
Aurora over a mini northstar?
Click to expand...

YUP...I own a couple bushcrafty blades...and the Aurora fits all the desired qualities very well. Don't get me wrong, I like a ton of Bark River's knives..but if I had to pick just one..it would be the Aurora hands down..just to be clear..I have owned about 12 different Barkies to date. I know that their are a couple that I might change my mind on..like my Bravo1, I just removed the thumb ramp last week, so I am taking it out for a hike on Sunday, to do some carving..I think it might inch its way close to the Aurora. I was using my Fox River 2 days ago in the kitchen, and it was great..and I never feel under knifed with my Nebula either.
PIT...do you see what these guys are talking about...just steer clear of the Barkies...they are addicting..
For example, I loved my Aurora with antique ivory slabs so much, I decided that I needed one with a wood handle and got another. I have about 10 more barkies on my wish list, and its growing....I think you should just accept that you want one.....go with the flow man.
 
Yeah I must admit I'm very tempted !

I love Carbon steel and A2 is great stuff !!!
 
Both Jerry Busse and Mike Stewart are masters in their craft. Do what I do? Buy both! Do you only drink one kind or beer or liquor?? ;)

You probably, as I did, will find that some blades from each will appeal to you greatly and, more importantly, fit your grip well. Some won't. To name two that I sold because they didn't feel right? The Dumpster Mutt *and* the Northstar.

My ratio of Busse to Barkie is heavily swayed to the Busse side of the scale but I enjoy looking forward to what see each offers next. I will have one of the upcoming Barkie Bay de Noc camp knives!
 
it gets complicated. :)

If you like the Aurora, you should like the Nebula, too. The new Wet Environment knife is a Nebula beefed up for the same Marines who got the Bravo-1, but it's for ... a wet environment. So the steel is 12C27 instead of A2.

You can't lose.
 
Just echoing what a few others have said - barkies are great knives too! A2, properly treated, is a fantastic steel, and Mike Stewart definitely knows how to treat it.

They also come in a wide array of handle materials, more even than Busses do!

Fit and finish is superb. I've handled quite a few, although I only own two (Fox River in A2 and Nebula in 12C27) and they've all impressed me.

They come sharp from the factory (often sharper than Busses) and are easily taken up to a hair-popping edge with a bit of stopping. They keep their edge very well and withstand a lot of hard use.

Mike's customer support is outstanding and he takes as much interest in his forum and his customers as Jerry Busse does in his, maybe even more.

I do find the A2 steel takes some rust; but if you've read any of my comments on rust before you'll know that I seem to have a problem with rust. It even rusts through the tough-cloth if I touch the blade after wiping. That's nothing to do with Bark Rivers though, more to do with my acidic/salty skin and continually damp environment (NW England!). That's really the reason that I don't own more Barkies and prefer to buy infi steel which doesn't rust on me (yet!) Shame as I really do like a lot of Barkies.

Like the Busse and co. offerings, some of the designs appeal to me, some don't. Some fit me, some don't. But they are all high quality, tough, outstanding knives.

Got for it: Get a Barkie. (or two)
 
I think Barkies and Scrap Yard/Swamp Rats can peacefully coexist on Vancouver Island Pit. I have a few Barks as well as a nice Swamp Rat Howling Rat, they play together well. You really need to get a BR and see what all the fuss is about.
 
I have a barkie mini slither and it's the sharpest knife I own, beautiful convex grind.
I really like it, but I want a mini canadian. (The woman I bought it from said it was a mini C, didn't know the difference.)
 
I think that the BRs are great knives. My only beef with some of the line has been little-to-no handguard on a knife I'd want to use for hunting.

In all fairness, while the BR selection is more widespread than SR or SY, you can sometimes have trouble finding a model. This is because Mike Stewart and Co. also put out knives in batches. However, BR will revisit a model after a while, whereas the Busse line tends to pretty much let go of a model once it's run its course.
 
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