Thinking about buying a Bark River knife.

Hard to beat a Dozier!
Period!

That said I have had a few Bark Rivers come and go through here.
What is odd to me, is, I find the "First Productions" to be the better steel for some reason?
Not sure why, but I have had a few pass through here, and always kept the "First Productions".
Got a Woodland that most people would kill for as far as "retaining" edge quality!

Killer, in the top 5 edge retention I have ever seen!

A2 "First Production"

I have a "First Production" Canadian Special en route (haven't received it yet).
Should be pretty sweet!
 
byteblock said:
Yeah those Blind Horse knives look great too. So do the Bob Dozier knives.............

damn...
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Have a good think about what you'll be using the knife for. Personally I find the convex grind Bark River put on their knives to be one of the best. In my mind it is probably the most versatile grind allowing you to go from dressing deer to food prep to bushcraft. The Dozier and Blind Horse knives will have the edge on some of these tasks due to their grind type (hollow and flat) but fall down on some others (I wouldn't baton with them for example).
 
I'm all good with a knife having limitations. I just don't see myself ever batoning wood unless they are small pieces. I'm a believer in using an hatchet. I already bought a CS Trail Boss and a Ontario 18" machete. I just want a quality knife now. I'll have the cash tomorrow so the pressure is on!
 
Bark River knives are incredible. Their warranty is great, they will fix or replace anything at little or no cost. I don't like the standard sheaths most of their stuff comes with, but they are getting better.

I would say the Ultra Lite Bushcrafter and Gunny are the best models I've seen and used from them.

Now here's why I don't own any Bark River knives... I find customs I like better for prices either comparable or lower. I am just a custom fixed blade type, I suppose, for numerous reasons. I also prefer thin blades. With that said if Bark River made a Bravo, Gunny, Aurora, or Liten Bror in 1/8" blade stock I'd be all over it and would gladly pay their price for it.
 
I concur that if you want a knife ground thin enough to be a really good slicer you are better off with a custom. Most production knives that are hard enough to give good wear resistance are left pretty thick so they'll survive being beaten with a stick.
 
Ironically I have had the opposite experience. I bought Bark River's production version of Andy Roy's Fiddleback Recluse at a time when I couldn't afford Andy's knives. Bark River's version uses 1/8 stock. More recently I splurged on one of Andy's Bushfingers. It's a beautiful knife but is in 5/32 stock and the grind doesn't come close to Bark Rivers in my opinion.

Agreed about the batoning, not something I do much either. My most used fixed blade at the moment is an Enzo Elver which I made from a kit. FFG and I convexed the edge. Inexpensive, versatile knife. Good handle shape and great user.

My complaint with Bark River would be they don't make any smaller bladed knives with a decent sized handle.
 
I have the Bark River Classic Drop Point Hunter, which I like because it has a 3.5" blade and a 4.5" handle with comfortable contours. It is also a "1st Production Run" and has nice even grinds, much better than the Bark River Fox River that it replaced. The Classic Drop Point is still fairly thick, I measure it at 5/32" and it doesn't have much distal taper.
 
5/32" Fiddlebacks certainly don't slice better than the Bark Rivers I've used, I'll give you that.
 
Wouldn't most people consider the difference negligible between 1/8 and 5/32?

It's just 1/32" more.
 
I wish they'd make a Canadian Camp Knife in 3V, same thickness as before. I think they were 0.186 or so.
 
byteblock said:
Wouldn't most people consider the difference negligible between 1/8 and 5/32?

It's just 1/32" more.
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Again, I guess it would depend what you are doing with the knife. Andy leaves a lot of steel behind the edge with his Fiddlebacks, I'm guessing to ensure he doesn't fluff to many when grinding them and ensure that they will stand up to really hard use. I spent time thinning the edge on mine and blending it into the grind. This improved things but I do a lot of work with green wood and with that you notice the 1/32".

I've heard that Bark river have started to leave more behind the edge too, hopefully not as this is one of their strengths.

Do let us know what you pick all, all your options sound tasty. I've been tempted by Bob Dozier's knives for a while....
 
Bark River's Bumble Bee and IMP both have smaller blades with a full size handle, IMO. It's sometimes an issue with hand size, how much of your pinky gets involved can vary.
I own many Barkies, carry my Custom Highland Special in CPM S35VN almost daily(can't carry it at my work). Love my Mountain Man, one of the thinnest fixed blade knives I own, other than kitchen knives.
 
avoidspam said:
Have a good think about what you'll be using the knife for. Personally I find the convex grind Bark River put on their knives to be one of the best. In my mind it is probably the most versatile grind allowing you to go from dressing deer to food prep to bushcraft. The Dozier and Blind Horse knives will have the edge on some of these tasks due to their grind type (hollow and flat) but fall down on some others (I wouldn't baton with them for example).
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I beat on my Blind Horse Bushcrafter like its going out of style and it has never once had the edge chip, which is more than I can say for my old Bravo 1. My Blind Horse is O1 and my Bark River was 3V, the Bark River should have been a good bit tougher given the steel differences and the grind (convex vs full flat) however this was not the chase. While the Bravo was a very nice knife to look at it did nothing better than my Blind Horse. I will take two Blind Horse knives over one Bark River any day of the week.
 
PatrickKnight said:
I beat on my Blind Horse Bushcrafter like its going out of style and it has never once had the edge chip, which is more than I can say for my old Bravo 1. My Blind Horse is O1 and my Bark River was 3V, the Bark River should have been a good bit tougher given the steel differences and the grind (convex vs full flat) however this was not the chase. While the Bravo was a very nice knife to look at it did nothing better than my Blind Horse. I will take two Blind Horse knives over one Bark River any day of the week.
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And there lies the rub. Given the way Bark River grind to leave a fine edge I wouldn't beat on them. Perhaps they have made an error by portraying some of their knives as hard use. I wouldn't do any more with mine than batoning knot free wood. Again I'm happy to have a knife that is lively in the hand and cuts well. I'll reach for the Axe or Billhook if brute force is required.
 
byteblock said:
I'm all good with a knife having limitations. I just don't see myself ever batoning wood unless they are small pieces. I'm a believer in using an hatchet. I already bought a CS Trail Boss and a Ontario 18" machete. I just want a quality knife now. I'll have the cash tomorrow so the pressure is on!
Click to expand...

Nice to have some cash for a new knife burning in the pocket!

As You have chopping tools already, an allround fixed beltknife will do the job and the Mora certainly fulfill that role.
The Bark River models are a lot more than a Mora and I understand why You want a new knife.

You have had many suggestions already and they all seems good in my book.
The Aurora stands out with the Bushcrafter as a more compact choice.

My most used BR is the now discontinued Journeyman in A2.
The blade is just under 4" and the knife & sheath combo is easy to carry and pack.
It covers the same needs as a Mora, but in a more dressed up style.
It came with a thin edge, but I have set the cutting edge to a thicker geometry and the knife both cuts and hold the edge.

My most recent purchase of a Bark River was the Sperati Point.
It's a larger 4.75" version of the Journeyman and in Sandvik 12c27 stainless.
These were made in 2005, but are still availible in fancy stabilized burls at a South Dakota hunting store.

View attachment 323632View attachment 323633View attachment 323634

I have many Bark Rivers, but this Sperati Point stands out as a knife with very high fit & finish.
It's built with pommel and guard in aluminium for lightweight in hand.
The pommel is bolted to the tang with a pommelnut and this is a feature I really like!
The rest of the handle is epoxied and watertight.
The sheath is made in Croatia and of high quality.

I have very good experiences with BR's in 12c27 and after I have set the edge to my needs, it's a go for cuts also in harder woods.
Maybe this is not what You seek, but this is a BR I enjoy very much.

Regards
Mikael
 
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