I've been saying for years that they could solve this problem by offering grades. Grade A is perfect and grade B is a factory second and should be sold at discount. That way the customer won't be upset when they get one with flaws.

@Swearengen1980

5 ай бұрын

They'd rather bank on you not returning it when it's disappointing, just accepting it for what it is. It works, just like people who sign up for free trials and forget to cancel in 3 days and get charged the absurdly high monthly fees of whatever. That's just business; it's rarely about the making sure the consumer is always getting what they're paying for.

@michaelcervantez3570

5 ай бұрын

@@Swearengen1980 Yes and they always say, just send it in and we will take care of it with our lifetime guarantee, when they know dang well it should have never left the factory.

@Swearengen1980

5 ай бұрын

@@michaelcervantez3570 They also know most will never send it back because then we're just without a knife we paid for....for what, a few months at best?

@eyeofthetiger4184

5 ай бұрын

G'day mate, yep good idea, though fair to say it depends on how bad the flaw. Having made a few back in the day, I'd suggest, it's virtually impossible to do "perfect" by hand, every time at least, even for the pros. Yes you can use tolerance jigs for replication, and they may well do so, but then what does one consider an acceptable tolerance for the jig to start with. i.e. fractions of a millimeter, (pardon the pun), thousands of an inch ? Cheers Duke.

From my experience, Bark River blades are garbage in terms of fit & finish. Uneven grinds & handles. Despite their denial, they absolutely fry the edge / fatigue the steel by high-speed dry grinding (high rate of edge issues). Quality keeps going down, and the prices keep going up? The last blade i got was abysmal. Massively uneven grinds & the handle was somehow worse. Sent it back & instead of replacing it they ground the handle & blade even more, resulting in a much smaller blade & tiny/thin USELESS handle. Took them like 6 months as well. I will never buy from them again. I think they get away with it because most of their fanboy customers don't even use their blades.

The One bark River I currently have also has an imperfect handle but I do not mind , the handmade craftsmanship gives endless character . And the the cru wear heat treat has performed better than any knife I have had . You will wear yourself out trying to strop a burr off. Even with battoning an entire pile of 3-4 inch logs, feather sticking, and food prep, I can literally wipe it off on my shirt and proceed to shave the hair off of my arm.

I have about 17 Barkies. I love them. 3 are not perfect, but still great cutting knives.

The good news is that Bark River will make it perfect.

I love my Bark River Prototype Seax blade. I never use it but it is a beauty.

I'm still a Joker knife guy in 14C28N... Live in PNW so needs that top notch stainless properties lol...

@eje.cutivo

3 ай бұрын

Im fron spain, and joker make ok knives, but nothing else, just beatifull knives, Bad Head Treatments

Good to see you working with DLT. Look forward to seeing your ongoing thoughts on Bravo 1.25. I feel down that rabbit hole some 12 years ago. I have the old thick Bravo 1.25 in A2 and still love it. My 2 favorites are the Bravo Clip Point and Cub with the Jenna Martin sheath’s. I started with a Fallkniven S1 many years ago and been a fan of convexed blades since.

I had a 1.5 Bravo cpm3v dessert ironwood. The grind was off. Sold it with a loss. It's quantity above quality at Bark River. Now I'm looking for a TRC. Best brand fixed blades, imo.

I got a Bravo 1 recently and ghe blade is done perfectly, but the handle has some imperfections. Now if you are a collector you will probably dislike that but as a user you wont notice...

I’ve owned about a dozen BRK over the years. New & used. My first BRK was a Bravo 1.5 in A2. Fit & finish was 10/10. That was back in 2014. I had a Bushcrafter in 3V made in 2022 and it was also 10/10. The rest of the ones I’ve owned and currently own all have minor defects in the grind and handle fit & finish. They should offer tiers and a reduced price for minor defects. Also should be able to purchase knives without the sheath. Their sheaths are definitely hit and miss.

@itsawonderfulknife7031

4 ай бұрын

I live in Canada and bought a Bravo 1.25 and 3V about five years ago. Cost a small fortune coming here. The knife itself was stunning and performs amazing. However, about two weeks after receiving it, I had to send the sheath back for a new one.

@eje.cutivo

3 ай бұрын

I love the brk sheats for me the best in the world

Thanks. Always worth watching your reviews.

Have owned two over the years and won't own another. Recently bought an architect 5.5 in magnacut and love it. Still waiting on the buck 662 alpha scout elite for my hunting needs.

Love the reviews. I have a Bark River Bushcrafter, a Lionsteel M4 & T5 ( based on your recommendation ), and a Winkler Belt Knife; to mention a few. I was wondering if you could do a review on the Winkler. Thanks for all the great information.

Excellent review. Love that knife. Please keep up the great work.

Very fortunate to have a 2003 1st production run BR Montana Guide with black micarta and hollow pins. Absolutely perfect knife.

I have had several Bark River’s but have sold & traded all but one. Ike others have said, the fit & finish isn’t the best & I have seen a lot online with rolled or chipped edges. For what these knives cost you shouldn’t have any of these issues…give me an LT Wright over the BRK&T any day!

I have a Blackjack 1 -7 stacked leather commando-handle and Jet Pilot with a G-10 commando-handle. Both from Bark River. Love them.

i find many flaws on my bark rivers...i guess you live with it as a part of hand finishing.....if you want something high end that works then take a look at TRC....WOW....

You pretty much nailed it. I have Bravo 1.25. In 3v. And I effin love it. Monster of a blade, yet surprisingly slicy and nice with feathers. BUT the fit&finish is far from perfect. For so expensive knife I would have expected something different. Also I dont like the sheath. I bought a JRE industries sheath (which LTWK uses), and replaced that. Imo for the price they should either up their game. Or lower the prices.

The sheath will break in.. My Cub 3v is also off in a few areas. I almost bought my son a Bravo 1 A2 recently but after reading the comments it confirms my thoughts. I recently bought a "Survive EDC 4" in Bohler K890... Fit and dinish was the best I have ever seen. At $240 it was perfect and it had a truly exotic strel. It took forever but it w a s worth the wait. I cant say the same for wither of my Bark Rivers

CPM Cruwear if not as tough as 3v it’s pretty dang close. CPM Cruwear has better edge retention than 3v and isn’t as chippy as 3v. I would take CPM Cruwear over 3v all day and twice on Sunday.

@Leftyotism

5 ай бұрын

Me too! 🥰

CONGRATS on your 250K subs!!!!!

@gideonstactical

5 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 😀

My only Bark River is the JX 4 Bushbat. Chris Tanner absolutely nailed that design for cross over self defense and woods craft.

Bought 5 of them in the past 24 months. All flawless

Bark River only became popular because of guys like Chris Tanner. They are good but way too expensive for the quality you get.

thank you for your honesty

The Bravo 2 in CPM3V is always on my belt when going into the bush

I have a bravo 1.5 with slick dragon scale acrylic, an aurora with linen slick micarta, and a bushcrafter with purple maple burl polished with Vaseline and dawn dish soap. I love the knives! I just wish they had a little more grip.. I’ve even thought about trying to use rough sand paper on them but I don’t want to ruin them.

I have gone through a few Bark River knives over the years. All have been great knives, but I have gifted them away for one reason or another. Finally, I found my perfect BR with UP Gunny. As you stated in the video, it came with a well made leather sheath, but left much to be desired. So, I had a Kydex one made by Yellow Hawk Customs. I now have the perfect Bark River knife and sheath system for my outdoors adventures.

I freaking love Cruwear and 3V. Couldn't say which one I like better. M4 and K390 are close right behind.

@marcinos303

5 ай бұрын

Also try Uddeholm Sleipner and Vanadis 4E - the latter can even split concrete.

Ordered my Brisa Trooper 115 DIY kit earlier today, looking forward to getting that started.

@gideonstactical

5 ай бұрын

That sounds awesome!

@Cabur_Skirata

5 ай бұрын

@@gideonstactical I'm definitely excited. Do you have any idea what the secondary bevel angle is on yours? I'm wondering whether or not my Sharpmaker will be good to use for it.

I love bark river knives I own 6 so far one of my favorite models is the bushcrafter lt in 3v

Cool knives, and boots !

I own and LOVE a big pile of BRK's. All big knives because i love big knives. So that's where the big money goes.. All my BRK'S are BETTER than all the Randall's I've ever had..no comparison. Better design, better steel, better heat treat, cheaper, less waiting time..etc My only issues have been with a couple of their sheath (designs) which i spoke to Mike personally about.. Meanwhile, i do leather work and fixed the issues myself. As far as the issues GT mentioned, yes the leather is tight at first (snaps etc.) However it breaks in well and becomes perfect especially after applying leather conditioner (did my own). I can sharpen knives easily not needing any jig or sharpening systems so all my blades are scarey sharp, and stay that way. Handles are awesome. My one complaint is that so many BRK designs have no hilt which i consider a safety issue. Otherwise the handles are outstanding.

Their bigger knives are amazing. Check out the BRK Bravo Tope Recon, amazing blade, might be your style. Keep up the good content!

My favorite Bark River model is the Aurora. It's like a fancier Fallkniven S1

Great video, first got exposed to Bark River after your video on the Macsog, never really heard of convex blades before that, got my bravo 1.25 after, fast fwd a little bit and about 6 bark rivers now. Then I saw other reviewers pointing out the inconsistencies that you hit on as well, really bothered me at first, for the money I expected better, but someone made a good point that those inconsistencies give each knife a uniqueness, and they are semi custom and not full custom with a much higher price, so unique factor quitetend my internal OCD, and the fine by a person instead of a machine, overall love bark river, but I do like the sheath that comes with the cub and bravo Tope Recon much better than the pouch style for most of the bravos, both great quality but the other just works better for me. Again great video.

@Yann396

5 ай бұрын

They are totally the price of full custom knives.

Hahaha. Watch out for bumbles!!!

To be legendary there is very little aftermarket support for Bark River knives. BRK sheaths suck and finding a decent replacement isn't easy.

@ronp4529

28 күн бұрын

Check out Badger Claw Leatherworks.

I have some bark river knives and have been lucky with fit and finish on all but 1. It wasn't horrible the handle just need better handle finishing. You can't go wrong with a convex grind blade.

I personally love my American made Bark River knives. I can overlook some of the small imperfections. The heat treated blade has done me well with a lot of abuse. There are definitely new choices to consider. Especially since a few of my Bark River knives in CPM 3V have some patina and pitting. Even though I cleaned and oiled them after each use. I do love my collection. However, I'm always looking for other options

As a follow-up to my earlier comment.... Today, two knives arrived at my doorstep: 1. Cold Steel SRK in 3V (made in Taiwan) and 2. Fallkniven A1x in laminated COS (made in Japan). Not exactly "cheap" labor markets. Total cost for both = $361.18, sold by CKW (where C = the largest city in Illinois). Now which is better, this or the $300 Bravo-1 with green micarta scales? In conclusion, whatever BR is doing with their pricing strategy is difficult for me to understand and even harder to process but hey, to each his own.

Nice work!

I bark river sono una lotteria,se ti arrivano perfetti come un mio bravo1.25 in cpm3v,molato alla perfezione punta simmetrica i soldi si spendono volentieri,ma se arrivano come un bushcraft 2 con una molatura asimmetrica terribile e troppo ottusa al filo con uno spessore al filo tale che non penetrava agilmente il legno allora ti senti un pò preso in giro.Anche l'ultimo bark river ,un bravo 1 lite ha la punta asimmetrica,da un lato è molato bene dall'altro hanno mangiato troppo acciaio in punta...credo sarà il mio ultimo bark river.peccato perchè se ti capita quello giusto sono grandi coltelli.

I own quite a few BRKs that I picked up at online auctions (no way going to pay retail...) and found fit & finish to be very good. I EDC a Mini Kephart. I'm not going to go into detail, but learning about the background of the company owner has soured me on the brand. There's a large blade forum (for example) where anyone can search for details. PS: Don't say "invest" in a BRK, that's just silly. An investment is made to gain a profit.

Great Review, Awesome Blade ..... 👍🖖

@gideonstactical

5 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

I love my Bravo 1... my wife bought it for me as a "sorry it's not a boy" knife!😂

Trc kicks ass!

I bought a Bark River Cub and it may be the best knife I've ever owned. It was a decision for me to invest that much in a knife, but it's CPM 3v and a very well-built knife. The sheath is also top quality.

Well im late to the show as i often am. My BR knife is a canadian camp first production run in a2 steel micarta handle. Production was in early 2000's. Havnt used it , bought it used from a friend . for me it is one of my few safe queens.

And please for the love of God, don't say they are that way because it's hand made. I have had over 30 bark rivers and some are perfect and some are awful and should have never left the factory. So I know damn well they can do it. It just depends on what employee did the grinding on that particular knife you just bought.

I own over a dozen BRK knives. Some are safe queens, some are heavy users. All have served their roles well for over 15 years. Little known fact, Mike used to host grind ins and several of the prominent names in more recent times got their start in his shop...

@netsmurf

5 ай бұрын

Mike/Bark River still has grind-ins. June and September. I went to one in 2019. Most awesome weekend of my life!

@TacticalTinkerer

5 ай бұрын

@@netsmurf I've been away from the industry insider aspect for almost 15 years...I'm glad he's still doing them. I missed out on the innaugural one in 2007/8ish, but I did send a set of custom scales with my friend to use on his blade...RIP Ron!

Just get an LT Wright knife with O1, A2, or 3V steel and that will kill a lot of story lines. From the new keeping it simple channel.

I have a BRK Bravo 1 LT and have had it for several years great knife but has a sal blemish on the fit around the ramp. By go to is a BRK Kephart 4 wonderful knife would recommend to anyone. My favorites are 2 mini-Kepharts I really love to use. However, my second one did have some minor issues that required a return to BRK and it took approximately p16:44 2 months to get back.

I run a Bigfoot 1.5" gun belt through mine with no problem. Leather stretches. Heres a tip...just the tip first, patience, be respectful.

Its a straight back knife, its good might consider picking one up.

I have a bark river fox ext-1 in cru-wear for a few years. It’s more of a hunting knife with full flat grind and striped maple handle, but is multi purpose imo. Holds a very sharp edge for a long time. I have many knives, and can even make my own, but this is my favorite all around full tang.

@lyman135

5 ай бұрын

Bark River doesn't, nor have they ever made any full flat ground blades. They are all convex.

@jordancoleman714

5 ай бұрын

@@lyman135you are correct.

Still love the both of mine bravo 1.5 green micarta A2 steel and their kephart curly maple red liners 3V steel out of the two the Kephart with the upgraded steel and handles would be my pick. If I could change anything it would be to get a non polished micarta handle on the bravo 1.5 I like the better grip personally.

I collect knives bought and sold dozens of them.. they’ve returned in value at least double or tripled in value some even more. They are great investments.

That's some Condor knifes finishing. Not good for a $300 knife .

@gideonstactical

5 ай бұрын

Hahah not that bad, but I hear you haha

For the micarta handles, they also offer a matte version in almost all the micarta and also a suretouch material.

I eventualy sold all my (10) BRKs because of those impefections, for me most of the time the balde was uneaven ground. I works, but like someone other mentioned, some other knives are hand finished too, but symetrical. The main problem was that Mike will not admit thre is lack of proper quality control. That pisees me off more than uneaven grind itself.

@guysmalley

4 ай бұрын

I am curious why you kept the knives, just Return it

I'd rather go Lt wright or even white river. Never been a fan of bark river. For those prices, hand finished or not, it better not have issues like that.

Bought one years ago, sent it back.

The sheath loosens up with some use and if you bend it around some that helps too. The scales will get tacky if you get your hands wet. For a better dry grip get their Suretouch scales instead.

I have 3 Bravos - the 1 in A2, 1.25 LT in 3V and the 2 in A2. The fit and finish on the 1.25 and 2 are perfect. The grind on the 1 is a little asymmetrical and the pins have an ever so slight lip where they are not sanded perfectly smooth with the micarta. I could send it back and they would fix it no questions asked but it just isn’t that big a deal to me. I can understand why others feel differently though. When you pay a premium price you expect it to be perfect. But Mike Stewart stands behind his knives and if you aren’t happy with it then send it back and he will make it right. As far as the sheaths go, I don’t have a problem with them. Yes they are very basic but they are high quality and they are functional and if they gave you something fancier then they would have to charge more for the knife. I would rather have a simple sheath and pay less for the knife and then get a custom sheath made for it if I want something better.

I love Cru-wear. I don't think it's as tough as 3V, but it definitely has better edge retention.

Have this knife in full flat grind. Very similar, the scales were poorly finished being somewhat asymmetrical.

They have interesting designs (i have more than 10 brkts) but they have glaring issues that have even gotten worse with increased production volume. QC is just non existant. Grinds are often very bad. steels being mislabeled (labeled higher end steels like 3v or cruwear but when tested they are actually a2) and then there is the problems of severely burned edges. they press the blades into beltsanders without cooling. it has been tested with ultrasound hardnesstesters that they are about 5 hrc (sometimes even more) softer at the edge than the spine and on severe examples its not just a small part of the edge but nearly a full centimeter up from the edge. And if anyone points out a problem with a knife the official answer is just "its a handmade knife thats how they are" or even get insulted (also by the owners themselves)! This is definitely not good customer service and absolutely unacceptable. (any constructive criticism on their facebook page is met with bashing the poster or just deleting the post)

Keep them sharp.

Just buy already hardened 14C28N from Sandvik directly. >:D

Cruwear has about 8% Cr, D2 is one of the 12% Cr tool steels, I don’t think they are of the same familiy.

Most of the knives that I own are between $50 and $150. Five or six years ago I broke down and saved up my money for a Bark River Bravo 1.25 in 3V. I can’t remember the exact amount I paid for it, but it was a small fortune as I live in Canada. It hasn’t been out a ton, but it has performed incredibly every time I’ve taken it out.

I dig this tool. I’d get it in 3v tho. I have the BR quartermaster and love it.

I wish I could get that Bark River Quartermaster EDC in Brown Stacked Leather🤩 I waited to long and and far as I know they are not made anymore.

I've bought so many knives due to watching you. Haha

I am a fan of Bark River, but I will be the first to admit they have had some fit and finish issues over the years. I have had one knife that I sold off at a discount that had an abysmal asymmetric grind, and I could see no way for it to be fixed without removing a ton of material and drastically affecting the blade. With that being said, most of my other BRK models have been outstanding, and they are guaranteed against anything. For those who do not like the sheath, this sheath was a compromise option because of all the people who complained about previous generations of sheaths on the Bravo line. While it wasn't flashy or anything, the team at Bark River put a great deal of thought and features into a "basic" sheath. I carry one of these sheaths on my belt daily with a Bravo 1 in A2. The longer you let the blade sit in the sheath, the easier it gets to insert and remove it without fear of puncturing it. If you do puncture it, guess what! It's completely covered under warranty!

I own some knives with CPM CruWear and it's a great steel. For example my Bark River Aurora Scandi CruWear (60-61 hrc) is a really good knife, but my absolutely best knife with CruWear is my Benchmade Adamas 375-1 and 64-65 hrc and no edge problems at all (I one two) and with the top notch handle scales from tpgrips (Toni is a great guy) the knife is outstanding.

@mnchefmo

5 ай бұрын

Where can I get to grips currently?

@achimgeist5185

5 ай бұрын

@@mnchefmo searching tpgrips

Very cool. A good budget version might be the joker nomad.

@gideonstactical

5 ай бұрын

Totally

@Yann396

5 ай бұрын

True and the Nomad will have a superior fit and finish. And to be honest most people wont see any difference between A2 & N695

@clintwestwood3539

4 ай бұрын

@@Yann396the one showed is cruwear…cruwear and 440c (n695) are night and day.

@Yann396

4 ай бұрын

@@clintwestwood3539 🙄🙄🙄🙄

@clintwestwood3539

4 ай бұрын

@@Yann396 if you like 440c it’s fine. It’s still incomparable to CruWear. Even if it was 3v or 154cm it’d be incomparable lmao

You should test the Leatherman Garage 6 fixed blade knife. It looks nice.

Just some info on the sheaths they are intentionally made to fit very tight the idea being that the leather will stretch and if they fit them looser right away then 5 years down the road the sheath won't hold the knife another thing to keep in mind is their lifetime warranty does extend to their sheaths so if you did slice the sheath by accident you can just contact them and they will have you send it to them for repair or replacement

Bravo..!

Its crazy what a thumb ramp can do for esthetics. The rampless one to me is, meh. But the one with the thumb ramp looks super dope.

Omg i cant take it anymore! All these knifes on your videos i want damn it

Love me some BRKs!

Gotta say though, I looove CruWear on smaller knives a whole lot! 🥰

Can you review the Bark River Gunny LT in Magnacut please.

Check out the Tops Mountain Lion ❤

I've been wanting a BRK Cub for a while.

I like these knives have a couple but there are only for wood or metal I don’t find them to be good as a general use like the ka bar or something like the durability of the okc s3 bayonets. I do really like them but they need a hard use carbon back up. IMO. Still love them just not a one and done. For me the ultimate knife is the OKC s3

With lifetime no question guarantee sending her to them helps them to improve quality control and you will get the perfect blade you deserve.

@mnchefmo

5 ай бұрын

So sending in a knife that has quality issues that you just paid $300 for is acceptable?

@DaryooshF.Sh.P-vq6mu

5 ай бұрын

@@mnchefmo it’s more pragmatic solution I suppose.

I mean, it doesn't seem as if it's tough enough when you want to really weight in on it, or does it?

How does this stack up with the White river Ursus?

@gideonstactical

5 ай бұрын

They are different but I like the Ursus handle more

Have a Bark River Bravo Alpha in 3V. none of my other knives batton or feather stick like it. The convex grind is great. The handle is too slippery though, and the sheaths work great but are boring to me and feel uninspired. Been wanting a Falkniven to get the convex performance with a more useful grip.

I have Bravo’s 1, 1.5, and Alpha in 3v and a Gunny in magnacut. There is only one way to buy BR’s… pick a few on the retailer’s website, ask the sales person to pull and inspect them, set expectations for even grinds and so on. DLT has always been straight with me and all have arrived as expected. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many used BR’s for sale over the years that look like it was training day and they sold em anyway. Pretty shameful really.. smh. Nowadays, I buy from 100% predictable makers.. TKC, TRC, Bradford, ZT, Tops, Esse, LTW. All around favorite is a tossup between Bradford 5.5 elmax, TKC 5.5 3v, and TKC/LTW Forest Trail scandi in A2. Guess it depends on what I’m doing…

@ozcampnhuntdan7858

5 ай бұрын

Great point but one should not have to do this to buy a knife in this price bracket.

Threw mine in the bottom junk draw. Got tired of fixing the chips. My Tac1 runs circles around it.

I've always liked and fancied getting a Bravo and still do, but they are expensive especially in UK depending on which model you could pay three times the amount of say a Joker Nomad, I'm not sure I could justify that.

Looks like a big steak knife

If you take a little time to research BRK you will find tons of documented quality complaints.