So Why Bark River knives

J

jforbush

Joined
Sep 29, 2007
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I am somewhat new to the forum and I see a ton of posts for Bark River knives. I carry and enjoy the BK&T line but am wanting to expand my knowledge of other knives. I am hoping that someone can tell me a little about these knives and what the big draw is. Also, are these knives collectors? I have a ton of users and am now getting into the collecting aspect so any info that you guys and gals can lend will be of great help.
 
They are quality knives that cut very well. Use one for a while, and you will realize what a clunker many of the knives on the market are - too many have thick edge bevels and steep grinds. They may be good for stabbing through car doors, but they don't cut.

Bark River knives cut well. They are easy to resharpen on a strop. They come in many different models to satisfy just about any need. And they come in so many different handle materials that it would be hard not to find one that you really like.
 
High quality, top notch customer service, reasonable price, good selection for just about any use. :thumbup:

Not much more you could ask for. :p
 
They are knives designed for use that happen to be collectibles, not knife shaped objets d'art that are good for nothing but staring at.
 
Do you want to know about the warranty? Well listen to this. I posted a bark river to a mate in the states, somehow the tip got got completely bent. I spoke with Mike Stewart (the owner) and told him what had happened. Now this knife was damaged in transit, not even from use so anything could have happened to it. Mike Stewart did not hesitate to tell me to get my mate to send the knife back and he would fix it with no charge! How is that for a knife guarantee. You simply cannot go wrong with these knives.
 
The draw is comprised of several things. I consider BRKT to be high quality production knives at a reasonable price point. The shear number of models and handle combinations is staggering. The warranty is strong, the knives are wicked sharp and easy to keep that way. They are all meant to be users. There are some collectible prototypes out there and maybe some limited edition stuff that may be worth collecting.
 
I think a few companies out there make knives just to be different than the competition, Mike Strewart at Bark River makes knives based on form and function and when it comes down to it the knives just work.
 
I really liked my SAKs years ago, they always had those other functions that overshadowed the dulled blades. Next came Buck knifes - which took/kept a better edge - and, offered quite an assortment - knife-marque-love! Then, this past Christmas Eve, I got a B R 'Huntsman'. No more apologies for a poor cutting knife. I went a bit nutzo - bought four more! I have 'all bases covered' now... right! There will be more - probably sooner than later, too. My 'quest' was under the guise of 'finding' a proper woods-walker/bushcraft knife, which started with a Benchmade 201 'Activator+ in D2, not a 'bad' knife at all - until that 'Huntsman' arrived two days later. They are a proper combination of form and function. It is highly unlikely you can 'try' just one.

Here is my folly, BM 201, Huntsman, Fox River, Gameskeeper, LE North Star, and T.U.S.K.:

IMG_0467_edited.jpg


Stainz

PS My Buck collection isn't going anywhere, either!
 
Mike is 1 of the most experienced knife mfgs in the world. If you look back at Blackjack and Marbles, the companies he ran before Bark River, they have some very collectable knives. This is a very young company and it is too early to tell which knives will be collected. That makes them cheap to acquire now. I sent 6 sheaths from early knives back to them and they sent me the new upgraded sheaths free. Their new leather is very good now. They are the best in the business for customer support and product development. Mike can make a small run of a knife and see if it has support. Not many companies can do that.
 
I have amassed a large quantity of Barkies. My stable includes:

1 Teddy with natural Micarta, no fuller, prototype handle.

1 Teddy with black Micarta, no fuller, no butt cap.

1 SOCOM 7 with green linen Micarta.

1 Rivers Edge, black Micarta.

1 Sandstorm A with black Micarta.

1 Sperati Point with a purple wood handle (my wife carries this one on our hikes).

1 Snowy River with Black Micarta.

1 Bravo-1 with black Micarta.

1 Golok with orange G-10.

1 JD Grind-In knife that I made myself at BRK&T's shop.

I use every single one of them. There are no safe queens in my collection. Mike Stewart would be highly PO'd at me if I did not use them the way had intended!

I plan on adding more knives in the coming year. They include:

A Boone with a 7 inch blade (the handle will be stacked in the configuration of the Southwest Asia Service Medal to commemorate my Gulf War I service).

A Mini Northstar

A Boundary Rider

and whatever else catches my eye.
 
WOW!! Thanks to all for the great responses. You guys provided me with some great info. I will start to look around and will pick a few up. Thanks again for the great responses!
 
I have two of them a Mini Northstar and a Mikro II Canadian. I did not have the current sheath that Mike Stewart now offers with the Mikro II. He told me to send in the sheath that I bought from another vendor. The new style sheath should be on its way. First class customer service all the way.
 
I own several Bark River knives in both A2 and 12C27 steel, all are impecably made. The best reason to buy BRK&T products is the warranty and customer service, if you think about it, once you buy one of their knives you in essence have a new knife for life. They fix anything for any reason, simply amazing!
 
I have nothing significant to add other than my own admiration for Bark River knives. I have a Mini Canadian and a Northstar. They are excellent quality, functional, hard working knives that also happen to be aesthetically pleasing.
 
Barkies are damn fine knives :D. They are one of the best knife companies around. One thing that really stands out has nothing to do with the blades, it's the handles. Mike does his best to make sure there are as many different handle shapes and sizes as there are hands. Never mind the choices in materials used and the fact they cut like a light saber through a Sith.
 
I have 13 Bark River knives. So far I've used 5 of them, mostly the Northstar (fibermiscas handle), the Highland (green micarta), the Fox River (in sheep horn, very rarely), the micro Canadian II (very rarely in stag bone) and the Tanto (once to cut BBQ ed ribs, in Elder Burl). All the others are unused as the wood handle looks very very nice, like snakewood, African pauduk, natural maple burl, mesquite burl, osage orange, bocote. That's right, you can be quite smitten by the bug to buy more barkies, by the wooden handles looks.

How the Tanto was used.

I had invited a professional chef for a BBQ in my house, (not to cook but to eat). When the ribs were done, he took the Shun (which was in used for a year + and sharpened about 3 times with the sharpmaker) and proceeded to cut the 1st rack. When he took the 2nd rack of ribs, gave him the unused Tanto and said, "here use this instead". He sliced through the ribs like butter and was so surprised, he pointed to the Shun and said, "this is already very sharp". He turned over the Tanto and looked the edge in amazement, he didn't say anything but turned the Tanto over and proceeded to finish cutting the 2nd rack and the 3rd rack. The ribs cut with the Tanto were so smooth, you couldn't see any sign of the meat fraying at the cut sides.
 
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