Whats the truth about the Bravo 1?

J

justintyme

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On the bark river knife and tool web page they talk about how the begining of the bravo 1 was a marine corp secret testing where they tested several knife companies knives without there knowledge and the only knife to remain in 1 piece and even stayed sharp was brkt's Gameskeeper. So in there search for a new survival/bushcraft knife they chose brkt to manufacture a new knife with the changes made to the Gameskeeper that they wanted... The only place ive seen this info was on brkts site and then on another thread some1 hinted that there was no truth to this story and my curious mind wants to know whether or not its true. Do any of you have any info pertaining to this?
Maybe it doesnt matter 1 way or another, for if its a good knife then its beginnings are irrelevant but still if its just a story id like to know...
 
I think your summary says it best, it doesn't matter one way or the other. It's a very good knife and how it got there seems irrelevant, at least to me. I say let it go and start thinking about your next new knife:)
 
Gotta admit that im abit curious what the real story is....but i dont think itll change my opinion about the Bravo. I think its a great knife.
 
I have done a search for an NSN number for the Bravo 1 that came up negative. Means it wouldn't be purchased through regular channels for a military unit.
 
I also looked into it and found it was all BS, no proof that it ever was used by a Military unit.

If it ever really was it would be easy to find out like the Strider SmF (Issued), K-Bar (Issued) and others that really were used and some still ARE used.

It doesn't really matter what people carry if they buy them with their own money, I carried a lot of different blades when I was in the USMC, but the only one ISSUED was the K-Bar when I was in. ;)
 
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It would'nt be the first time companies did that to sell a knife.The Bravo 1 is a great little knife,regardless.
 
BRKT claims that the knife was developed for a special training unit for Force Recon. That could be almost anything, even a civilian-run course. It is certainly not a regular issue item for regular Marines. Force Recon is the elite of the elite- the Marine equivalent to the SEALs- although now they have the SOCOM units as well. So the Bravo-1 may be a sort of Marine version of the CRKT Yarborough knife. The Yarborough is not a regular issue item either, buy no one questions its credibility. I have a friend who was Force Recon, but I've lost touch with him over the years- I wish I could ask him about it. I tend to believe the story, but honestly I don't care much one way or another. The Bravo-1 is an amazing knife- my favorite, actually. The thing WORKS, that's all that matters to me.
 
GRIM 62 said:
It would'nt be the first time companies did that to sell a knife.
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I am going to vote marketing. The story seems too good to be true. Maybe I'm jaded, I work in commercial advertising and I see stories like this being cooked up all the time for PR reasons. I could be wrong, and I hope that I am.
 
Its getting a bit tired though, all these manufacturers who use the military to sell their knives. I mean come on, any soldier will tell you he uses his multi-tool WAY more than any knife.

When they asked Carlos Hathaway what he used his knife for in battle he said to spread peanut butter on his crackers while he waited for his next shot.
 
i enjoy the marketing and hype out there, but someone said once ,, buy the knife not the story..
 
justintyme said:
Maybe it doesnt matter 1 way or another, for if its a good knife then its beginnings are irrelevant but still if its just a story id like to know...
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It's beginnings may be irrelevant but trying to sell it to me based on a lie is not. This is kind of like a used car salesman trying to sell me a car and telling me it only has 50k on it when he knows the car has rolled over once already. The car may be a great car but that's kind of beside the point. I just bought a Bravo 1, but if It came out that Bark River told lies to sell their knifes I would never buy another, even if it cut diamonds. What is happening to integrity.

Personally I believe the story is true, even if it has been somewhat embellished.

Bill
 
I smell bs on this one. It's been out for a few years, the who, what, when, why, would've made its way down to collectors by now. It's a field knife, nothing that anyone would need to be tight lipped about.

I think when everything comes out, it will be at best, a private purchase knife that was bought/gifted to a few Marines, who may have been Force Recon.

Nice knife regardless.
 
Buffalohump said:
Its getting a bit tired though, all these manufacturers who use the military to sell their knives. I mean come on, any soldier will tell you he uses his multi-tool WAY more than any knife.

When they asked Carlos Hathaway what he used his knife for in battle he said to spread peanut butter on his crackers while he waited for his next shot.
Click to expand...

Carlos Hathaway?:rolleyes:
Or are you referring to Carlos Hathcock USMC Sniper?:cool:
 
It wouldn't be a good business move to produce a whole run of knives based on a few guys from a small unit deciding that they want one. Bark River seems to calculate the odds of selling a knife based on stronger footing than that. I know that marketing takes a certain amount of embelishment but the small manufacturer can't afford to speculate like this. I believe that the Bravo-1 had its origins according to the story.
 
There is no "force recon" knife. Just as in sog groups from other branches of the military, sog guys usually buy their own blades . the standard issue force recon knife is the same one every marine gets, the ontario one. Randalls are usually at the top of the list of Sog guys amongst other higher end makers..:cool:..Chop
 
I have read the claim too. Unless I read it wrong, they never claimed that the Bravo-1 was actually issued to Force Recon or any other unit...

The statement I read was that Force Recon tested the Gameskeeper and contacted BR to make a knife like a Gameskeeper with a few changes and the Bravo-1 was the result..
There was no mention of it going any further than that.
 
Buddy of mine was a SEAL tm Cmdr and like everything else there was no special Seal knives, just the standard issue type, it came down to individual purchases.

I too am a proud Bravo 1 owner and was wondering if any reconners carried them.
Rat Pack #222
 
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