What steel should the Bark River Bravo 1.5 have?

B

big.me

Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
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Hey guys,
Thinking of pre-ordering a BRKT Bravo 1.5, but I am wondering what steel I should order it with.
These are the 3 steels that the bravo 1.5 will be made in; S35VN, A2, CPM 3V.
These 3 steels are amazing in their own league. But what steel would suit the bravo 1.5 if I am planning to do some light chopping/batoning with it, making fuzz sticks, food preparation, etc?

One last thing, what sheath should I order it with? The leather or the Kydex?

Cheers
big.me
 
Depends on what properties are the most important to you. from best to worst (though not necessarily bad). I'm probably going to go with 3V myself, but am very tempted by S35VN (basically S30V, with 30% added toughness, making it more suitable for a fixed blade than S30V, which s30V does fine with anyway: Spartan blades, CRK fixed blades, etc) I'd get both if I could swing it, or maybe a Bravo 1 in S35VN and 1.5 in 3V.

Edge Holding:
1. S35VN
2. 3V
3. A2

Toughness
1. 3V (by a lot)
2. A2
3. S35VN

Stainless
1. S35VN
2. 3V
3. A2

Ease of sharpening in the field
1. A2
2. 3V
3. S35VN

Price
1. A2
2/3. 3V/ S35VN
 
All my Bark River knives are A2. Ease of sharpening and toughness go a long way. My vote is for good old A2 with a leather sheath.
 
I have a couple of blades from Bark River in A2 and CPM S35VN. Both steels get an excellent HT from BR, and my Custom Highland Special in S35VN has a hardness of 61-62 if I remember correctly. That steel will loose some of it's edge during use, but only a little bit. Then it stays working sharp for a long time. I cut some pork ribs up, and it cuts through bone with no chipping or rolling, it did take on a bit of a stain. Almost a faint browish color in a couple of spots. Those stropped out where I touched the strop.
I have not sharpened CPM S35VN, I have only had to strop. I've cut up pork ribs, numerous chickens (cutting through bones), make fuzz sticks, tent stakes, and I EDC it.
A2 has it's own reputation of course. It's easy to sharpen, takes a great patina, and is known to be tough, BR has that steel's HT down, as long as a particular knife is not ground too thin, it never has chipped or rolled on me.

Edit: Go with leather. Get the EEP(Extreme Environmental protection) if you can/think you'll be getting it wet. The BR kydex, at least what I've owned, has been thinner than other brands' kydex. The Bark River Kydex will also scratch up you blades, custom kydex sheaths could be great for the B1, depends on maker and style. I got the kydex with my B1, then ordered a sharpshootersheath in tan EEP, never used the kydex. The treatment on their leather is not as noticable on that tan leather as it is on the SSS for my ESEE 4, that sheath is thick, but so saturated that it's almost too soft and flexable.
 
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I may be wrong....
I thought BRKT had nixed Kydex from their products. It's even been dropped for the current Bravo run.

On the steel. I'm happy w/ A2, but I'm going to give S35VN a try next.
 
I like 3V.

The exceptional toughness allows the thin edge to take more abuse.

BRKs' cut so well because they are thin. The B1 even though is almost a 1/4" thick is ground to a pretty much zero convexed edge.

Combine that with it being semi stainless and very good abrasion resistance and you have the perfect steel for the knife design.

I have some knives that are 3V and ground to a true zero scadi bevel. The edge is noticeably tougher than some of my other scandis.

I think that all Bravos' will now come in leather ........ which is good.

Personally, I'd get a rampless drop point with matte finish on the scales.

I've had one in particular since early 2008 and it is awesome ...... I removed the ramp, softened the edges and sanded down the handle. It is a monster cutter and my go to blade ..... can't put it down.
 
markpmc said:
I may be wrong....
I thought BRKT had nixed Kydex from their products. It's even been dropped for the current Bravo run.

.
Click to expand...

I'm glad to hear that, the BR kydex I have is cheap feeling, and never liked the way they attached their belt loop to it.
 
So any idea when we will see any of them? I had read that the fisrt of tehm would be produced last summer?
As for the steel I want a S35VN. I have a Gunny, Bravo 2 and Auroa in A2 and a SOCOM 5.5 on 1095 so I want to try the tougher stee,:thumbup:
 
To see the BRKT production schedule go to the BRKT site go to bottom of page and click the link that says, "Click Here for Full Production Schedule"

I would have given a direct link to the schedule if it wasn't located in The Other Forum :eek:
 
RandomAyes said:
To see the BRKT production schedule go to the BRKT site go to bottom of page and click the link that says, "Click Here for Full Production Schedule"
Click to expand...

Sweet...

Thinking of the 3V now. Just seems like a better steel than A2 on what michaelm466 said. Anyone here used 3V before? I know from other forums that A2 is one of the best carbon steels in the market.
 
big.me said:
Sweet...

Thinking of the 3V now. Just seems like a better steel than A2 on what michaelm466 said. Anyone here used 3V before? I know from other forums that A2 is one of the best carbon steels in the market.
Click to expand...

Read my post up the page a bit (#6) ........ I have several Barkies in 3v and the steel is a great match for their blade geometry. That is why they are starting to use it.
 
I think it will be worth the wait. Jason from DLT is a good dealer and it will happen. Your time frame is probably correct.
 
big.me said:
that sucks, hoped that it'll come earlier and that my estimation was wrong!
Click to expand...

There's many of us that have been waiting years for the Bravo1. It's exciting that it's just around the corner.

I preordered one in 3V, full height grind, no ramp.
 
id probubly go with a2 as i dont mind taking care of my knives and am likely only using it in dry weather anyway. would love to have one in 3v or s35v but not if its going to mean another hundred bucks or so for the same knife.
 
Well, the difference between the A2 version of the Canadian Special and the 3V version of the Canadian Special is about $30. So, somewhere around there I would expect, maybe a little more.
 
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