Which Bark River would you choose?

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NeedItCheaper

Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
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I have been using a Bravo 1.5 (3v) for a little while now and am now convinced to get a smaller blade, but I do want it to do certain things. Must be in 3v.

One I want a blade that can make finer feather sticks. Now I know someone will likely respond telling me that skill is all it takes, but I'm not here to debate that. Two knives with the same skill, one will do better than the other(my experience).

I plan on beating on it and doing lots of batoning. And the tip needs to be plenty strong, strong enough I can stab into wood and repeatedly dig wood pieces with it. I do this with my Bravo 1.5 all the time.


My knife choices I am looking at are North Star, Fox River, and Bravo Lt. The North Star looks the best to me, but it appears as if Bark River thinks more highly of the Fox River's capabilities. Regardless, if the performance difference is minimal I will get the North Star.


Last, I want custom scales, and I believe I can only do that when Bark River is making new knives of that kind. Are all three in production? Dates? A lot of stuff I'm writing here, thanks for help in advance.


Note: Yes I posted this on another forum.
 
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I do not own a Bravo LT. But I have heard they are pretty thin and taking you needs into consideration, that one might not be a good choice. Sounds like you have consistent hard use in mind for the knife. I do own a Fox River and it is a well designed and stout knife. One thing about the Fox River, it does not have a guard. So if you are going to be "stabbing" into wood, it could be possible your hand might slip forward onto the blade.

Have you considered a regular Bravo 1? The B1 is a great all around knife for what you intend (IMHO). Heck, get all of them. That is more fun!
 
cutchu said:
I do not own a Bravo LT. But I have heard they are pretty thin and taking you needs into consideration, that one might not be a good choice. Sounds like you have consistent hard use in mind for the knife. I do own a Fox River and it is a well designed and stout knife. One thing about the Fox River, it does not have a guard. So if you are going to be "stabbing" into wood, it could be possible your hand might slip forward onto the blade.

Have you considered a regular Bravo 1? The B1 is a great all around knife for what you intend (IMHO). Heck, get all of them. That is more fun!
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I want something slightly thinner than what I have now, so the Bravo 1 is out. The Fox river is looking more and more like the one for me.


Anyone with North Star experience?
 
cutchu said:
I do not own a Bravo LT. But I have heard they are pretty thin and taking you needs into consideration, that one might not be a good choice. Sounds like you have consistent hard use in mind for the knife. I do own a Fox River and it is a well designed and stout knife. One thing about the Fox River, it does not have a guard. So if you are going to be "stabbing" into wood, it could be possible your hand might slip forward onto the blade.

Have you considered a regular Bravo 1? The B1 is a great all around knife for what you intend (IMHO). Heck, get all of them. That is more fun!
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The LT is not thin by any means. It is just thinner than the Bravo which is pretty massive. :)

NeedItCheaper said:
I want something slightly thinner than what I have now, so the Bravo 1 is out. The Fox river is looking more and more like the one for me.


Anyone with North Star experience?
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Fox River or North Star would be a great choice. Have you watched any youtube videos? I don't have any experience with either of those knives unfortunately. I did just get a Bravo 1.5 in and I really dig it; but it is on the thick side. :)
 
Any of those would be a good choice.

The Fox River was designed by Mike back around the time the Northstar was being designed. I have/had all three models you're looking at and am presently using a Fox River (in 3V.)

I saw a Northstar lose a tip after some aggressive stabbing into wood but I suspect one could snap the tip off of any knife if they tried hard enough. :)

I think the Bravo LT is a whole different animal from the Northstar/Fox River--more of a heavy use knife designed for brute force applications instead of finesse if that makes any sense. It still cuts all day long but in the hand it'll just feel more substantial and the blade stock is thicker than the other two. Let me see if I can snap a pic of the Fox River/Bravo LT side by side. I don't own a NS any more but had been using one since before they came out.

B
 
Brian_T said:
I think the Bravo LT is a whole different animal from the Northstar/Fox River--more of a heavy use knife designed for brute force applications instead of finesse if that makes any sense. It still cuts all day long but in the hand it'll just feel more substantial and the blade stock is thicker than the other two. Let me see if I can snap a pic of the Fox River/Bravo LT side by side.

B
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The Fox River is described as .17in thick while the Bravo Lt is .156........ With that said, you would definitely say the Bravo Lt is stronger than the Fox River? Does it look like the wider blade with flat at the spine make it use more steel resulting in more strength?
 
NeedItCheaper said:
...you would definitely say the Bravo Lt is stronger than the Fox River?...
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Looking at them closely, yes the Fox River IS thicker but marginally so I'd say your numbers were accurate. :)

Stronger? No. Both knives of 3V will be very comparable but one (the Bravo) is definitely designed for rougher work. The handle is both longer and thicker on the Bravo. The tips are comparable with a thickness edge going to the Bravo (i.e. it tapers to a point closer to the tip.)

If you're going to dig with the tip, the Bravo is probably your best bet. The Fox River should handle it but I wouldn't personally give it a try unless I needed to. I have definitely used the FR with a baton and had no problems.

B
 
You can get custom scales and configurations done within a certain window of the production process. Within that time you can choose handle material, liners, pins, lanyard extension removal, grind type, and blade point (to name a few). After the preorder window is closed you are left choosing between the selection that is made, you can't have a finished blade rehandled.

For the most up to date production schedule check out page here http://www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-knives-production-schedule We're doing our best to put up as much info as possible and to make sure the list is as accurate as we can.
 
Eric@DLT said:
You can get custom scales and configurations done within a certain window of the production process. Within that time you can choose handle material, liners, pins, lanyard extension removal, grind type, and blade point (to name a few). After the preorder window is closed you are left choosing between the selection that is made, you can't have a finished blade rehandled.

For the most up to date production schedule check out page here http://www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-knives-production-schedule We're doing our best to put up as much info as possible and to make sure the list is as accurate as we can.
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Sadly no Bravo Lt right now :hopelessness:
 
All of those are still in production except the Northstar. The Northstar has been out for a long time.

The Bravo LT is a great knife. I wouldn't worry about the thinness--it is plenty thick for real world use.
 
The Fox River was a catch & release for me as I did not like the handle ergos. I like the Bravo 1 but for the intended use described I think I would be considering the Aurora or Liten Bror. I I also really like the Canadian Special 3V and Gunny Clip Point Scandivex 3V for general woods knives, both of which I use more than my Bravo 1 3V.
 
I'm showing 67 different handle options right now on pre-order knives. If you're looking at in stock products from us or from Derrick, you are limited to what's currently on hand.
 
Eric@DLT said:
I'm showing 67 different handle options right now on pre-order knives. If you're looking at in stock products from us or from Derrick, you are limited to what's currently on hand.
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What you wait time, I contacted Bark River, and they said production scheduling is done for this year, and if it is only once a year and it just ended, then I'm looking at 1 year wait time.

I am looking for Blue canvas/linen with white liners(MATTE) rampless---> I am a little flexible if it's pre-made. I am talking with kniveshipfree and am looking at settling for the year and buying a second(selling the first) when I get the chance.
 
Which model were you looking for out of the ones you have listed? There is a fox river LT currently on the production schedule.
 
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favorite deer knife. the north star is sweet. had one in A2, sold it off to a good friend and bought 2 in 3v. Black and The one in the picture, Antique Canvas. Buy one, you will like it. Knivesshipfree still has some in stock.
 
I have the Bravo 1 Lt and a Gunny in 3v. Both are excellent knives. I would have recommended a Kephart till I read you were going to be beating on it. I just couldn't put mine through that. Get a Kephart and an axe
 
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