I've been looking at some of the Bark River products on the web; they have some pretty nice looking stuff, but I don't know a whole lot about them. Read some good stuff on a custom dealer's site about them, but he sells them, so I didn't expect any negatives. Can anyone give me some info on these knives: quality, fit, finish, etc. Also, I'd be looking for one of their models that would be a top choice for a general hunting knife (deer, mostly). I like drop points, something with a grind that's good for the sharpening challenged, and steel that isn't so hard that it can't be touched up by an idiot in the field. The one that caught my eye was the Fox River. Thanks for any help you can give me.
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Tell Me About Bark River Knives, Please.
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The Fox River is a fantastic field knife. It'll handle deer like a champ. As for sharpening, they have a full convex grind. So, you're going to want to pick up a strop and compound. Knives Ship Free sells a field strop that's exactly what you're looking for.
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Sounds like you've come to the right place! The Bark River Fox River is one of the best hunting knives around. It comes in A2 which is very easy to sharpen in the field and and the convex grind is dead easy for the 'sharpening challenged' like myself.
Fit and finish are excellent. These are hand made knives.
Fit and finish are excellent. These are hand made knives.
Another question, if I may: I'm also considering a Cold Steel Master Hunter and a Spyderco Moran drop point to use this season. I have several Doziers, and I like them, but I'm tired of chasing around trying to find them available and I'd like to move down a notch on the price point. As far as just "using" knives, opposed to "looking" knives, how much better performance am I getting out of something like the Bark River knives over the two I've listed?
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re: convex edges - most of the knives you've used (and sharpened on the sharpmaker, which i like a LOT, have one myself) are v-grind edges. point makes a V as it works to the edge (other edges - chisel grind = 1 side flat, one side is half of that V; hollow grind = instead of a flat v, edges curve inwards along the way to the point like the v you make when you draw a stick figure bird in a picture - better slicer, not as durable an edge).
a convex edge is a continuous curve from the edges to the point, kind of like an upside-down raindrop. my sharpest blades are all convex edges.
-if you use the sharpmaker on one, you'll turn a convex edge into a straight V edge.
i was strop-hesitant too. seems like extra work. now i even strop my V edges after sharpening them on the sharpmaker. takes them from 'yep, that's sharp' to 'holy c*@p that's sharp!'
stropping is a compound (or 2 or 3, depending on your strop) on a strip of leather. you lightly pull the knife (sharp edge trailing) along the strop, alternating sides. 10-20 strokes per side of the strop, weight of the knife is all you need, you don't have to push down while you do it. amazing difference in the sharp-to-REALLY-sharp paper-cutting/arm hair shaving edge it gives. you tube has plenty of videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQCkKPGSOtA&feature=related
and for true sharpening once you beat up on a convex edge - i have a belt sander now, but started with the old mouse/sand paper routine. cheap and works great. same process as the strop - always pull sharp edge trailing - get an old mouse pad, some sand paper - 400g, 800g, 1000g, 1500g (i've also got 2000g, 4000g, 6000g). lay the sandpaper on the mouse pad (gives a little cushion, so it automatically rounds the convex edge as you pull the knife across). same process as stropping. hard to screw up b/c you're pulling away from the sharp edge, you won't ding the edge, you're pulling metal off the tip instead of grinding the tip down like regular V-edge sharpeners.
i've got a lot of knives (A LOT), and can get everything pretty sharp, but as i said before, my crazy sharp knives are all convex edge. it lends itself to SHARP. and a rounded ceramic sharpening stick in your pack is all you need to maintain in the field. about the same size as the mini-stone you'd have for a V-edge.
wow, i rambled on there. sorry about that.
a convex edge is a continuous curve from the edges to the point, kind of like an upside-down raindrop. my sharpest blades are all convex edges.
-if you use the sharpmaker on one, you'll turn a convex edge into a straight V edge.
i was strop-hesitant too. seems like extra work. now i even strop my V edges after sharpening them on the sharpmaker. takes them from 'yep, that's sharp' to 'holy c*@p that's sharp!'
stropping is a compound (or 2 or 3, depending on your strop) on a strip of leather. you lightly pull the knife (sharp edge trailing) along the strop, alternating sides. 10-20 strokes per side of the strop, weight of the knife is all you need, you don't have to push down while you do it. amazing difference in the sharp-to-REALLY-sharp paper-cutting/arm hair shaving edge it gives. you tube has plenty of videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQCkKPGSOtA&feature=related
and for true sharpening once you beat up on a convex edge - i have a belt sander now, but started with the old mouse/sand paper routine. cheap and works great. same process as the strop - always pull sharp edge trailing - get an old mouse pad, some sand paper - 400g, 800g, 1000g, 1500g (i've also got 2000g, 4000g, 6000g). lay the sandpaper on the mouse pad (gives a little cushion, so it automatically rounds the convex edge as you pull the knife across). same process as stropping. hard to screw up b/c you're pulling away from the sharp edge, you won't ding the edge, you're pulling metal off the tip instead of grinding the tip down like regular V-edge sharpeners.
i've got a lot of knives (A LOT), and can get everything pretty sharp, but as i said before, my crazy sharp knives are all convex edge. it lends itself to SHARP. and a rounded ceramic sharpening stick in your pack is all you need to maintain in the field. about the same size as the mini-stone you'd have for a V-edge.
wow, i rambled on there. sorry about that.
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The guy behind Bark River Knives is Mike Stewart, who used to head up the knife-making division at Marble's before it went defunct (he had left by that time). The knives he produced while at Marble's were in 52100, IMHO the best high carbon steel for knives. I have three of these (one on permanent loan to my BIL), and they are among my top picks. At Bark River Mike uses a variety of alloys. I have a Woodland first production run in A2, another superb steel. I believe there is no one who knows heat treat better than Mike. He gets the absolute best out of whatever steel he's using. The Bark River designs are innovative, simple (which is a lot harder to achieve than you think), classical, and made from the best materials available. Hard to go wrong with any of them.
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I also have many knives, and of the 8 Bark Rivers I've owned, they were all extremly sharp, no flaws in the grind, and most of the handles were perfect.
The only non-perfect handle was the STS-3, which is one that has removable scales. The F&F of their knives is usually top notch, especially when the handle is epoxied, pinned, and shaped with the tang at the factory.
Stropping the convex edges is great, the easiest way to get the sharpest knives, IMHO.
The only non-perfect handle was the STS-3, which is one that has removable scales. The F&F of their knives is usually top notch, especially when the handle is epoxied, pinned, and shaped with the tang at the factory.
Stropping the convex edges is great, the easiest way to get the sharpest knives, IMHO.
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You have Doziers, a most excellent brand. Why not just use the ones you have, knives that probably better than ones you are looking to spend more money on?
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I don't own those two knives, but the biggest difference is going to be the grind. The convex edge will cut through material eaiser than most of my other "V" grind knives. I was just amazed at how easy the Barkies cut through material. Once you try them you'll get it.
Bark River has a an excellent reputation for making quality semi-custom knives (the blades are mass produced but the handles and edges are hand finished). It is very easy to maintain a convex edge with a strop, even easier than for other edge types. A2 steel is a high quality tool steel that holds an edge extremely well and is easy to sharpen. If the edge gets too bad for you to sharpen (from not maintaining it), you can send it back to Bark River and they will resharpen and polish the edge back to a factory finish just for the cost of shipping. Bark River's attention to detail and great blade geometries and heat treatments are lauded in the knife community.
Knivesshipfree.com has excellent videos on how to sharpen convex edges. You can pick up a cheap (but quality) strop from DLTTrading.com with black and green compounds for $22, which has allowed me to keep my knife hair popping sharp. The best hunter/skinner knives in the line are the Fox River, Canadian Special, and Highland Special. The Bravo-1 and Gunny are also extremely popular as all-purpose knives. If you want to see some outstanding tests and reviews of Bark River knives, check out Virtuovice on Youtube, IMO the best knife reviewer on the net.
The Cold Steel Master Hunter has a pretty good reputation from what I hear. According to Virtuovice, the thin blade geometry on the Moran lends itself to chipping when it comes into contact with bone.
Knivesshipfree.com has excellent videos on how to sharpen convex edges. You can pick up a cheap (but quality) strop from DLTTrading.com with black and green compounds for $22, which has allowed me to keep my knife hair popping sharp. The best hunter/skinner knives in the line are the Fox River, Canadian Special, and Highland Special. The Bravo-1 and Gunny are also extremely popular as all-purpose knives. If you want to see some outstanding tests and reviews of Bark River knives, check out Virtuovice on Youtube, IMO the best knife reviewer on the net.
The Cold Steel Master Hunter has a pretty good reputation from what I hear. According to Virtuovice, the thin blade geometry on the Moran lends itself to chipping when it comes into contact with bone.
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They are really very nice looking knives. Good shapes, veriety of sizes, nice materials, both blade and handle. I am eyeing them for quite a while now. A bit pricey from my point of veiw though. That is compared to some other alternatives available. But we will see - I think eventually I will buy one. Just waiting for a proper ocasion...
They are excellent, no doubt. However, the ones I have aren't his best general purpose designs, and I haven't been able to find any of the models I really want available anywhere. His wait is now about 18 months. Also, I find them very hard to resharpen, and my wife isn't thrilled when I drop $250 on another knife she doesn't see a reason for! The BRKs are edging up on that kind of money, but not quite, and I saw some that looked like really simple, utilitarian designs. I also understand (from what I've read here) that A2 is easier to sharpen than D2 as hard as Bob makes it. I just like knives, really, and am always looking for something that I might like better, you know what I mean?
From my own personal experience: the knives are average at best, and priced far above their quality level. The fit and finish is haphazard, as are the edges. You will find uneven scales, scale shapes that do not match from one side to the other, and uneven grinds on the blades with swedges that don't match. The sheaths are mediocre products compared to other knives in their price range.
I know that this doesn't match with what others have said, but you asked.
I know that this doesn't match with what others have said, but you asked.
Thanks for the info on the 2 knives I mentioned. I've owned two CS knives that I was very satisfied with, so I wanted to know what others thought of that one. I also have been satisfied with several Spyderco products in the past. Thanks again.
Hey, no problem, like to see what it's like on both sides of the fence.
No problem, you really should check out Virtuovice's channel on Youtube, he's a deer hunter in Japan that literally owns dozens of Bark Rivers and objectively evaluates each one. Rarely you'll hear about fit/finish issues but never anything that will affect performance. In the unlikely event you have a problem, you can contact BR as they have very good customer service and will make it right. My BR's are pretty awesome in fit and finish with great edges that cut better than any of my other knives.
I used to think BR's were a little overpriced, but after I learned more about what goes into them I realized that they are fairly priced. Convex edges require hand finishing, so that is why factory produced knives never have them. It is much easier for a machine to simply make micro V-edges (which don't cut as well). A-2 steel is 3 times the price of 1095 (one of the most common knife steels) but has many more metal alloys such as Chromium, Vanadium, and Manganese, which give it improved wear resistance, strength, and corrosion resistance. Chris Reeve uses it in his knives. These and other factors make BR knives exceptionally good at cutting and a good value. I know I sound like some kind of BR evangelist but this is simply my own experience and research.
I own a Cold steel AK-47, pendleton lite hunter, and mini-AK-47 and I'm very happy with them for their price. I don't have experience with the VG-1 San Mai steel that the Master hunter uses but I've heard it keeps an edge pretty well. It is a stainless steel, so it will probably have similar or slightly better edge retention but much less toughness compared to A-2 (A-2 is very tough).
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When confronted by a convex blade that someone has allowed to become quite dull, I have resorted to sand paper on a mouse pad. The mouse pad allows the sand paper to conform to the curve of the convex blade. I polish by stropping on cardboard. Chinese cardboard works faster due to higher level of grit.
I own several Bark River knives and have been satisfied with their quality. That is why there are several.
I own several Bark River knives and have been satisfied with their quality. That is why there are several.
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