Recommendation- Bark River Bravo 1 or Fallkniven S1?

T

THEMAKKER13

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Mar 4, 2011
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I've narrowed it down to these two knives for my next purchase. I'm looking for a camping/ outdoors knife. Can anyone give me any advice on which is better? Or perhaps some pros and cons of each? Thanks in advance.
 
I only have experience with the S1, but someone in the Busse forums posted this comparing the two (as well as a Busse CABS): http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/900903-CABSLE-Bravo-1-and-S1?highlight=fallkniven

Could be a good read.

Personally I think the S1 might be too large. It's in that odd zone where it's long but not long enough to really help out with chopping should it be my only knife there. So I guess what I'm saying is it's a small camping/outdoors knife that's too long but doesn't really do much with that length. I still love the way it looks though.
 
of those 2, I like the S1 - especially in cold months when the kraton handle doesn't feel as cold.
 
Thanks guys, I am leaning towards the S1. However, I'm starting to think about the F1, because, like you said, the S1 is a strange size. Also, the F1 is offered in 3G, which I've read is a better steel.
 
I got to try the F1 today and it was awesome. I have a short story for you if you don't mind the little read.

I think the S1 looks cooler, so I got it. This was when I was still pretty new with knives. I got a lot of knives because I thought they looked cool and I really, really wanted to make them work for me.

In the end, now that I have a some experience outdoors under my belt, I've found I can't live up to that image. What has proven most comfortable for me is a small, 3-4" knife (much like the F1) paired with a larger knife for chopping, or preferably an axe or something like that meant just for chopping. Now I prefer to carry my Busse Basic 11 (an 11.5" blade, very comfortable resiprene C grip, very light blade, but doesn't "look" cool if I were to imagine myself as a survivalist or as a hero in a zombie apocalypse movie) and a Busse CABS. The CABS is 4.5" long, though I'm starting to have doubts about its performance as a camp knife. I've had an easier time with Fallknivens.

While I feel that if you were to only have one knife out there, bigger is better, but the S1 is just not long enough to fill the role of even a light chopper. You will get tired really quickly trying to chop with it, or at least I did. Perhaps you can make it work. It is odd because it's called the forest knife, but it's better for hunting and fishing probably, as Fallkniven markets it. Depending on what you want to do with a camping/outdoors knife, I would either get a big and relatively heavy blade, or an even bigger and heavier blade with a smaller blade. If you don't mind not being able to chop, I would just get a small blade that can't chop rather than a larger blade that can't chop, like the Fallkniven F1 I tried out today. That's a competitor to the Bark River Bravo 1, I believe, so I would say go with the Bravo 1. This is just going by the specs rather than actual experience, though.

My S1 was a birthday gift from my wife, however, so I can't forget about it :thumbup:
 
The F1 is a phenomenal knife - and can be had with wood scales, rather than the standard rubber grips.
I didn't toss it out there because the OP said he had narrowed things down to the other 2.
 
uyotg said:
I got to try the F1 today and it was awesome. I have a short story for you if you don't mind the little read.

I think the S1 looks cooler, so I got it. This was when I was still pretty new with knives. I got a lot of knives because I thought they looked cool and I really, really wanted to make them work for me.

In the end, now that I have a some experience outdoors under my belt, I've found I can't live up to that image. What has proven most comfortable for me is a small, 3-4" knife (much like the F1) paired with a larger knife for chopping, or preferably an axe or something like that meant just for chopping. Now I prefer to carry my Busse Basic 11 (an 11.5" blade, very comfortable resiprene C grip, very light blade, but doesn't "look" cool if I were to imagine myself as a survivalist or as a hero in a zombie apocalypse movie) and a Busse CABS. The CABS is 4.5" long, though I'm starting to have doubts about its performance as a camp knife. I've had an easier time with Fallknivens.

While I feel that if you were to only have one knife out there, bigger is better, but the S1 is just not long enough to fill the role of even a light chopper. You will get tired really quickly trying to chop with it, or at least I did. Perhaps you can make it work. It is odd because it's called the forest knife, but it's better for hunting and fishing probably, as Fallkniven markets it. Depending on what you want to do with a camping/outdoors knife, I would either get a big and relatively heavy blade, or an even bigger and heavier blade with a smaller blade. If you don't mind not being able to chop, I would just get a small blade that can't chop rather than a larger blade that can't chop, like the Fallkniven F1 I tried out today. That's a competitor to the Bark River Bravo 1, I believe, so I would say go with the Bravo 1. This is just going by the specs rather than actual experience, though.

My S1 was a birthday gift from my wife, however, so I can't forget about it :thumbup:
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I have the CABS and so far it as been a fantasctic knife. What about yours is giving you doubts.
I do use my Fiddleback Bushfinger a good bit. It's a ridiculous 4.5" knife.
 
BBQ BOY said:
I have the CABS and so far it as been a fantasctic knife. What about yours is giving you doubts.
I do use my Fiddleback Bushfinger a good bit. It's a ridiculous 4.5" knife.
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I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I have trouble carving and shaving wood with it as easily as with some other knives. Maybe it's the convex grind, or maybe it's that INFI is a softer steel than some others. Maybe the stock angles are just too wide for me; Busse aims for around 40 degrees, I think. Of course the grind and angles can be changed, but maybe wide convex grinds are ideal for INFI since it's so malleable. I'm also afraid I'll have pinpointed the problem incorrectly and have lost some steel on a pretty expensive knife.
 
I have both the F1 and the Bravo 1, and have used them about the same amount.

The Bravo has, for me, better ergonomics...more comfortable handle, better balance, and superior cutting ability. I have large hands and the handle on the F1 is both a bit small and a bit rectangular and not nearly as comfortable after a few minutes of heavy use as the Bravo1.

The F1's VG10 is, in my opinion, vastly better steel than the A-2 in my Bravo 1. I've had serious problems with the Bravo 1 chipping and edge-rolling when used on normal organic materials. I'm working with BRKT to address that, but all in all the steel does not impress me.

If I were doing it over again I'd get a F1 with a BRKT custom handle, or perhaps a Bravo-1 out of better steel. I know that every steel and every grind is a trade off, but my overall impression of the A-2 in my Bravo-1 is not favorable. If the edge held up to even normal use, it'd be my hands-down pick.

I got the kydex sheath with both knives, and while they both have some issues, the Bravo-1 sheath is much more useable for how I cary a knife, which is usually inverted around my neck. The F1 kydex sheath isn't nearly secure enough to cary a knife this way. After market kydex sheaths of good quality are available for about $25.
 
sutured said:
I have both the F1 and the Bravo 1, and have used them about the same amount.

The Bravo has, for me, better ergonomics...more comfortable handle, better balance, and superior cutting ability. I have large hands and the handle on the F1 is both a bit small and a bit rectangular and not nearly as comfortable after a few minutes of heavy use as the Bravo1.

The F1's VG10 is, in my opinion, vastly better steel than the A-2 in my Bravo 1. I've had serious problems with the Bravo 1 chipping and edge-rolling when used on normal organic materials. I'm working with BRKT to address that, but all in all the steel does not impress me.

If I were doing it over again I'd get a F1 with a BRKT custom handle, or perhaps a Bravo-1 out of better steel. I know that every steel and every grind is a trade off, but my overall impression of the A-2 in my Bravo-1 is not favorable. If the edge held up to even normal use, it'd be my hands-down pick.

I got the kydex sheath with both knives, and while they both have some issues, the Bravo-1 sheath is much more useable for how I cary a knife, which is usually inverted around my neck. The F1 kydex sheath isn't nearly secure enough to cary a knife this way. After market kydex sheaths of good quality are available for about $25.
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I agree. I had two of the stainless steel versions on my Bravo-1. The first Bravo with SS chipped and rolled badly. I mean badly. The second Bravo SS the tip snapped right off. Now, with that being said, I used a friends Bravo-1 in A2 under the same conditions and it did not chip, roll or break under the same task that both of my SS versions did.
i really would not mind trying the F1 with BRKT handle or maybe a custom handle by Fiddleback Forge or J.Oeser.
 
F1 over the br , just right for bushy in all ways . Mines like Oscar golden boy ,it's had some batterings but still looking good.
 
I've got a Bravo 1, as well as a bunch of other Barkies. The Bravo is a little stout for standard woods use, the Aurora or Northstar are more suited for straight bushcraft. That being said, I do take my Bravo camping and hiking, and it does just fine for me. I've had no problems with the A2 steel, through heavy use on multiple models.
 
I just got a F1 in 3G steel and it is amazing. Couldn't think of a way it could be better.
 
Yeah I really don't plan on chopping with it, if I want to, I'm going to bring an axe. My purpose is just for basic camp chores, and if I could use it for hunting too.
 
Just show it a bit of game and it's on the BBQ before you can say pull ,great prep knife aswell really good all rounder n cheap considering .wer you at us or uk if uk I got sheaths coming out my ears for this batboy .cheers Stewart.
 
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