Before You Buy a Bark River Knife...

It's been a few years now since I've started picking up Bark River Knife after Bark River knife. And while I absolutely love them, there's a lot of information that I believe people need to know BEFORE jumping aboard the train to Escanaba. The knives are great and the people behind them are incredibly passionate and welcoming, but that doesn't mean that questions about Bark River's heat treatment, quality control, and public relations haven't ever surfaced. There's plenty to dig through and ultimately learn, but at the end of the day I think odds are you'll love these knives for what they are.
00:00 The love and the hate
01:21 Materials: Steel
05:09 Materials: Handles
06:42 How Barkies are made: Convex King!
09:56 Quality Control? Warranty!
12:20 Who is Mike Stewart?
14:16 Best way to buy a Bark River Knife

[@JustCantGetRight]

Big thanks for watching! Which Bark River Knife are you looking to get?

[@ssunfish]

I have bigger hands. I LOVE Fox River, but it felt horrible in my hand. My friend had a Fox River Magnum. It was great,but wanted a more modest one at the time. Mike Stewart said I could make my own Fox River. It didn't turn out. I got a first run EXT-1. It was my first CPM 3v. I like it and it sure does work, but you asked what I'm looking to get and that is Fox River II LT in 3V.

[@ssunfish]

Cub EDC and Ext-1 Magnacut

[@dualsportedc]

Probably a Bravo 1.5. I already have a Bushcraft Scout and an Aurora

[@davidbock1801]

Entertaining vid. I have a dozen Barkies, and this is spot-on. Half the knives have serious defects. The QC is a joke for a $300 knife.

[@vilhamdutch2962]

Your crazy. I’ve seen so many people cry about a 1/16th-1/8th difference in grind height... it’s pathetic. I call bullshit. If they actually did any camping or bushcraft they would know those knifes are frigging awesome. And make esee look like a complete shit show.

[@christurnerct49]

Do they make it right ? And are their quality control got any better

[@miguellodeiro9671]

Good discussion. I have only a Bravo 1.25 in 3V black canvas for about 8 years now, and it's perfect in every way. Years ago it fell from my hand tip first to concrete floor and the tip was untouched. Since then I trust my Bravo in every aspect. I got rid of the micro bevel and have sharpened it about 8 times, it goes a long way just with stropping. What amazes me about it the most it's the capacity to filet a fish and still be able to chopp wood with the same tool.

[@michiganprotection]

I grind the knives at bark river and also own my own custom knife co. These knibes are hand ground and really hand made for the most part. Sometimes there can be differences in them. That’s why most kydex makers don’t do bark rivers without sending them your knife. I was a customer long before I worked there or started a shop before I worked there. These knives are worth far more than we charge. Convex is king.

[@DEVGRUnotST6]

I've had no issues with the few Bark Rivers I've had over the last decade or so. The only one I have, as of August 2024, is a Little Creek 2. I find it to be fantastic. All my bad luck manifests in Spyderco.

[@obu2108]

Nice vid👍"Perfect" and "Bark River" shouldn't be used in the same sentence. If your grind matches, you're considered incredibly lucky. Mike has a history of screwing people over as well. They've sold many knives stamped CPM 3V but turned out to be A2. Make sure you test your blades! 😉

[@1mataleo1]

Yup. That’s the truth

[@gagelink2457]

"perfect" and "handmade" also don't go together. Humans can only do so much, they fix they shit man idk why people complain about something if they swear to fix it lol I'm not Mike's dick sucker but that A2 shit is not acceptable and only happened once

[@snakeplisken2123]

I’ve got 5 and they are all perfect except one of them has burl scales and it developed a small gap over time. But I haven’t bought one in about a decade. Did they cut quality once they got popular?

[@1mataleo1]

That seems to be what happened. Their quality has dropped significantly in recent years. They now focus on max quantity over quality. Its a real shame, because I do like their designs.

[@snakeplisken2123]

I hate exotic steal A2 and O1 are fine. The hard stuff is too hard to fix. But I would be pissed if I got conned into paying extra for exotic metal and got A2.

[@Robert.Northwoods]

Bark River was my first high end love it is not anymore. They are talented knife makers out there and they are easily competitors or even better. The grind at my last couple of Barkies are a catastrophe. Handle options or whatever are not a good substitute to an uneven grind. Some of Mike's designs are truly great but the execution is worse from year to year. The more I know about knives the less I tend to buy Bark River. Which is sad.

[@1mataleo1]

That is exactly how I feel about them. I love many of their designs/blade geometry, love convex knives, but their quality control issues are inexcusable for the price point of the knives. LT Wright knives are similarly priced, if not a little less expensive, but every single one I have ever bought was flawless. If Bark River really had the numerous quality control checks throughout each stage of the production process, as Mike claims, then it would be impossible for such glaring issues to slip through. It’s a real shame, because I do like their designs

[@Mr.Lawton534]

What brand you recommend?

[@1mataleo1]

LT Wright. They have exceptional quality control, great performance/function based blade designs, and their warranty follows the knife. If you do ever have to send a knife in to them, they will have it back to you in 1 to 2 weeks. Unfortunately, there aren’t really any other non custom knife makers that do a true convex grind. LT Wright does do convex grinds, but with a micro bevel. If you know how to sharpen, than it takes very little work to get rid of the micro bevel. Their Scandi grinds are great. I could recommend more, but it’s hard without knowing the type of blade you are looking for

[@Robert.Northwoods]

@1mataleo1 LT Wright is good quality but way to thick behind the edge for my taste.

[@1mataleo1]

I don’t find their Scandi grind knives to be to thick, which is what I usually get from them, but I 100% agree with you for their other grinds. I have both a saber ground blade and a flat ground one, and I had to reprofile both to get them to my liking. It seems that these days it has become a trend for commercial knife makers to put overly thick edges on their blades. I hate a thick edge

[@BCreation2023]

Thanks for the info! Ordered myself a preorder og EXT 1 magnacut! But im on the BRK facebooksites. There are trading etc. But one think i cant figure about is pricing in general. I you got to DLT trading, they always list MSRP price, and all their knifes are lover than the «markedprice». But there are 4 places that sells BRK, and atleast DLT and Knivesshipsfree have below MSRP price. So the bushcraftcanada, and the german site used the «markedprice»? 2 places of 4 decide the markedprice? And when you get the box, will the MSRP price be listed on the box, not the salesprice? When people resells their knifes, they dont day what they paid for it, only show the boxprice. It all seems funky to me. Something im missing? Thanks! Great vid

[@ROE1300]

👍 Interesting video. I have owned more than a few Bark River knives. All have been well built and functioned flawlessly. In my few discussions with Mike Stewart I have found him to a knowledgeable and helpful person.

[@YungIroh]

I have a CPM3V bark river ultrite bushcraft in blaze orange bought a few years ago, I love it to death and it is my main knife. I put it directly in my emergency bag because It's one I trust my life with.

[@ssunfish]

It's been fun hearing you talk about Barkies.

[@stektirade]

esee is 3 classes below, they use cheap inferior steel compared to high end/supreme steel. $240 1095 esee < $250 cpm 3v barky

[@hunterglaspell]

You can get most of Essees knives under 150$ where are you buying knives from lol

[@jhonrutger3508]

1095 is not bad as long as the heat treat is good and the shape of the blade I think Larrin Thomas talks about this.

[@user-zk4oe7mc8n]

I have a Bark River Marauder and a Mac Sog Recondo . What do you think of them?

[@plibani4248]

When I buy a knife +200 $+ I expect to receive a perfect product. I don't care about their shitty guarantee. I'm a customer, not the quality control guy...

[@Son_Of_Scotland]

I've been a Bark River knife fanatic for years. This was a fantastic video. Thank you!

[@1mataleo1]

Actually, knivesshipfree let’s you choose your grind. When I pre-ordered an Ultralight Bushcrafter, I requested a full height convex rather than a Scandi grind, and knivesshipfree got it done. They have the best customer service, in my opinion, and I usually order my knives from their site. They don’t require a payment to place a preorder, which is always nice. Theknifeconnection also has great customer service, but they don’t carry as many brands. Now, I usually only order LT Wright knives though. I love Bark River designs and the Convex grind, but I just can not stomach the quality control issues at their price point. Every time you order one it’s a crap shoot. It’s a shame, really.

[@ORIGINALDaveB]

I LOVE knives ship free. They do have great customer service. I've ordered 2 Falkniven F1s, and 2 BRS. A Gunny, and most recently a GORGEOUS Bushcrafter Ultralite in suretouch cammo with mosaic pins. WHAT A KNIFE. It's my new EDC.

[@1mataleo1]

I really have to give suretouch a try. I love the look of the camo suretouch. Do you prefer the suretouch over Micarta or G-10?

[@ORIGINALDaveB]

@@1mataleo1 I haven't tried G-10 but I can assure you the suretouch has sort of a smooth silky feel. I wasn't expecting to be so impressed. The camo looks better in person than in the pic. It is truly my new favorite knife.

[@dualsportedc]

I own a couple of Bark Rivers. A Bushcraft Scout in Magnacut and an Aurora in A2. I do enjoy them and I am lucky enough to have gotten knives with excellent fit and finish. That being said, I do have knives that I carry more often because they just hold an edge better or feel a bit better in my hand

[@christurnerct49]

What knives do you carry more and who makes better ? I just ordered a bravo 1 Lt but know after this video I’m kinda nervous now

[@dualsportedc]

@@christurnerct49 my most carried knife is my Primitive Bear Knives Hunter's EDC in Magnacut. I also have it in Cru-Wear and 80CRV2. I also have a PBK Edisto in Cru-Wear and a prototype of my own design in AEBL. All are better than any of my BRK knives

[@christurnerct49]

@@dualsportedc I’m just in my iooo

[@jeffhanson2621]

Great video! Liked and subscribed

[@mightydagon]

I own about a dozen Barkies, each one of them fine tools. I’ve not had any problems with grinds, edge, quality of any type. And if there’s ever a problem, BRK will repair or replace, no questions asked. The only time I’ve ever had any problems with the company is their imprint line, like Blackjack, which run a little cheaper. The grind lines and ergos were seriously messed up. I’ll stick with the main lines and pay the extra money.

[@lousassle6149]

How is the grip on the lager g10? Can decide between that and the resin mesh or acrylics?

[@JustCantGetRight]

G-10 feels colder and harder than acrylic, without a doubt G-10 is a lot stronger than acrylic, but acrylic is a little bit more grippy and warmer in hand.

[@lousassle6149]

@@JustCantGetRight thank you brotha! I’m looking to pick up an Aurora but can’t decide what handle material. Between toughness and grip / little bit of looks as well

[@Lazzoboy]

Whats the model you first pulled out, just in the beginning??

[@JustCantGetRight]

That was an Aurora Scandi in CruWear - Red Texas Fencepost handle scales.

[@blairbarrington3737]

Speechless...

[@eliteknowledge7298]

I must start to think people doesn't really own as many they claim or they exaggerate the imperfections on these knifes. 😏 Since I own more than a dussin of them and NEVER had any serious issues if any, with any of them. 🤔

[@thomasgronek6469]

does BR still dry grind, and ruin the edge of the knife ?

[@cantgameright]

The only thing that will ruin the edge steel is bringing the steel's temperature past the temper temperature. Bark River's high end steel underperforms next to custom knives because Bark River tempers at the highest possible temperature to prevent ruining the edge while dry grinding. I'm fully confident that Bark River knives aren't ruined while grinding because their people touch the blades with their hands while they grind. Human skin gets destroyed past 72 degrees Celsius (162 F) while knife tempers get ruined only past 200 C (400F). Again, the knives are not poorly heat treated, they are conservatively heat treated; those are two separate concerns.

[@jhtsurvival]

I recently bought a used Bark River Bravo EDC in Elmax at a Flea Market for 80 bucks. It's fit and finish were so bad I assumed it was a fake... after looking into it in guess it just means it is original.. if this knife is an example of how their quality is I would never pay for a new one. I'm also suspect that it's not really Elmax as it had some rust spots and sharpening was pretty easy. It seemed kinda like A2 IMO. I might be wrong though.

[@JustCantGetRight]

That's something I plan on getting into for the sequel to this video. Since Bark River grinds blades after heat treatment (nothing wrong with that, btw) they want to be very careful that their grinding doesn't ruin the temper. One of the ways you can protect your temper from grinding is with a 900 degree (F)+ temper that some steels require, like 3V, but can also work on stainless steels like MagnaCut and Elmax... BUT, the issue with doing this with a stainless is that dissolves the chromium on the surface and the steel loses stainlessness, and of course, without the chromium carbides on the surface it will also be easier to sharpen the first few times. That's probably what was done with yours. No way for me to know for sure though.

[@jhtsurvival]

@@JustCantGetRight this elmax also had small rust spots. I mean I know stainless doesn't mean 100% stain proof but I was kind of questioning the quality... check out some of my videos. I show it in a short and in a video of my finds

[@JustCantGetRight]

@@jhtsurvival gave your shorts a look! nice stuff :D

[@jhtsurvival]

@@JustCantGetRight thanks

[@1mataleo1]

You’re lucky you found out early and didn’t pay full price. You can probably resell it to a Bark River fanboy for double the price.

[@isaiah_b_3798]

I have about a dozen barkies and all but one are perfect. I have a slight uneven grind on a fox river featherweight but it is minor, cosmetic only, and doesn’t affect performance. That said I won’t be buying a lot more because the prices are getting out of control.

[@MovieGuy666]

I'll take an esee over any of the Bark Rivers you have in the video.

[@JustCantGetRight]

Do it!

[@garyjacobs2789]

You are right. They are just overpriced by 50%. Esse are better steel for hard use . Not mystery steel

[@shroomsrus5116]

@@garyjacobs2789and they don’t have a weak child owner who criticises anytime you bring up an issue with their blades

[@sharpfactory3705]

Man this is a knife KZbin who really know what He is talking about, when i tell people knifes can be hardend to 60hrc but one is tough sharpens easely and have good edge retention and the other one dont they didnt believe it its about how you get the knife on the hrc

[@MovieGuy666]

no he's just spent too much to admit he bought a bunch of overrated crap.

[@christurnerct49]

Has the quality control gotten any better ? Question for everyone?

[@photorailfan]

Bark River is the best but I hate stainless steel because it never shows charecter. Otherwise, Bark RIver is extremely recomended. Worth every penny. I also respect the owners old school mentality as I grew up with, lived with & worked with and for the old school mentality. God bless Mike Stewart.

[@petermccann2561]

Bark River QC is inconsistent, and not up to USA quality standards. The last one I bought was so poorly finished, a monkey could have failed it. Returned it, and haven't bought another since. I'm busy working hard to pay for the nice items I own. Spending valuable time, dealing with sub-standard QC, is not something any company should regularly expect of its' customers. Sending out poor quality is disrespectful to customers, and to their time.

[@kevinj2334]

I have such a Love hate relationship with my bark rivers lol I get so upset but keep ordering them, but with these prices going up I've been buying less

[@svensvensson627]

I love bark r knives, but.... the grind is super uneven. The heat treat is bad, look at KZbin. But the are designed very well, convex is superior. Geometry cuts. But for the money, I don't know. You can't review the knives. The sell " unique " knives. So when you buy one, it's off the list. No one can see the what you thought. We it's shady. Buy a black heart convex instead. Stout and real convex

[@Anson120]

Yeah , I own 5 of them. I dont even use them because I have clinical OCD ,and dont use my knives and most valuable possessions (Yeah, it is bad I know). They are too nice. The only thing is weird is, the ramp on the bravos. It is supposed to be a ferro rod striker and not a thumb ramp. It works perfectly as a thumb ramp. Why? So weird. And where is the "designer" "Sgt Bravo". He should comment about the design at least. I should have never watched "Blunttruthforyou" vids. So much money gone lol

[@pstaehlin]

I own about 10 Bark River knives and every single one is PERFECT! Everywhere I go I highly recommend people buy their knives. For those who complain or have quality issues this is where Bark River really shines with their warranty. Send it in and they'll fix it! Bark River is WORLD CLASS!!

[@shroomsrus5116]

Send it in? For anyone outside the continental us it’s like 100 for shipping, then you have to wait months to likely get back a blade that has similar issues and now has less blade material

[@user-pm7pw1tl3t]

bark river crooked grind bad quality controll to expensive and bad quality controll ! yes its so bad it needs it twice. the guy in charge is also a shady creep but if you get one that works you won a tiny lottery ! and i wish you great times with it !!!

[@pstaehlin]

....who taught Fallkniven how to do a convex grind?.... Mike Stewart!

[@rigajykra3159]

Source? (Genuinely intrigued)

[@plibani4248]

Yeah Mike Setwart also invented the wheel, hot water and even breathing.

[@dualsportedc]

False. Fallkniven doesn't even know that BRK exists. Both make nice convex knives but they have never met

[@shroomsrus5116]

Who taught him to make knives? That’s the real question, as hot grinding heat treated steel is a ridiculous knife making process for a master that’s been in the game 50 years

[@schlooonginator1227]

Doubt the Japanese need lessons in blade grinds.

[@lukedawg357SIG]

I think they are nice knives but not perfect i own several and Mike is always great in Bark River groups with up dates and answers for people.

[@jusme8060]

Uneven grinds on all 3 I've bought, none were sharp. Popularity kills great companies.

[@mrglock2313]

I have many bark river knives that are great, however I just received a pre order classic drop point and it is terrible. The handle geometry is Way off and uneven grind. This is unacceptable for what I paid. This will be getting returned. I am going to stay away from them until they can prove they have fixed their QC issues.

[@journeytoisrael1581]

Mike Stewart…the Ip Man of knife makers.

[@RobertSmith-us7gs]

Hype...