Had BRK'S for decades. Became a Mike Stewart fan when he ran Black Jack knives out of Effingham, Illinois. Incredibly sharp and strong, my intro to convex blades. A lot of Mike Stewart "haters" out there that hate for reasons other than steel quality, leather quality, design quality, craftmanship, or warranty. After much comparison and testing (to included Busse Combat Boss Street-Infini, Cold Steel SRK-cpm3v, ESEE 4 and 5, Buck Nighthawk and Vanguard, Survival Lilly APO-1, and others) my Bravo 1 cpm3v is the blade to take me through the apocalypse. Lots of good knives out there and everything is a compromise, but I have confidence that the Bravo will still be with me at the end having never let me down. Hell, I hope to be buried with it for archaeologists to dig up 2000 years from now.

Right on I really love your channel you help me navigate the lower 48 thanks. Buddy again for your channel!

I have a few Barkies, from the Trackker & Companion, to the new release Tundra II and Puukko in 3V and love them. You're right, the handle's ergonomics are awesome. Someday I'll get a Bravo because everyone needs a Bravo in their collection.

Appreciate your insights, thank you!

My only Bark River knife is the Cub. It was pricey but as a CPM 3v knife, I kinda expected to pay more for it. If I could keep only one knife in my entire collection I think this would be the one. I cannot really find a complaint against it. The handle beats just about any other knife I own, and the sheath is superb.

My brk bravo cpm3v never let me down

The Aurora lt in 3V is my go to woodsknife. I've owned and sold many many bark rivers and haven't found real issues with them. I have a Bravo 1 and a gunny I'll probably keep forever. Man, their convex edges are sexy! As for price; when you buy a BRKT knife you buy a semi custom knife that'll last you a lifetime. If you define price by labour, materials and craftsmanship they aren't that expensive compared to similar blades. Availability is an issue if you want a specific blade right now. In this on demand society that's maybe not even a bad thing. Heck, there's a 4 year waitinglist for Rod Garcias bushtool. Great vid, thx for taking the time making it

Awesome review!!!

The Aurora mini makes a great edc defensive blade. Good size. Nice and pointy and good material.

I have a bark river bravo 1.25 and a bravo 1 they are by far my favorite knives and my favorite brand the handle ergonomics are top notch .

I have a rampless Bravo 1, a Bushcrafter 2, an Ultralite Bushcrafter (all in 3V) and a monster Parang in A2. Haven’t regretted a single purchase.

I’ve got 2 brk knives ones grind is super sloppy and the other is good. So it’s really hit or miss with their knives it’s hard to trust a company that has poor QC.

I would just say that knife geometry and heat treat matter before knife steel.

After a lot of research, watching everything I could on this tube thing as well as reading responses and opinions about quality, I ordered a BK Bushcrafter 2, not really sure of what I could expect after all that research etc. Never having had a BK in my hands I was open to whatever and wad s ready to send the blade back if I discovered quality issues etc. Nervous yes, committed, also. Well, the ivory G10 CMP3V arrived and I was determined not to get my hoped up so as as not to be disappointed ... damn, this thing is near perfect. Grind, finish, shape, everything. Wow, glad I did not have to toss it right back in the mails. I have tuned the edge a bit and boy does it like to cut. Cant wait to go play with it a bit to get to know it better. The heft evokes a very comforting feeling and that is rather pleasing. The sheath, not so much right now. Ferro rod leather tube limits the kind of handle on your farro rod; modifying that as I type this. Overall, very impressed by what I hold in my hands now. Relief and satisfaction, bonus.

I have a Bravo1 (3V), Aurora (CruWear), Bushcrafter (3V), mini Aurora (3V), North Country (CPM-154), Bushcrafter Scout (Magnacut), Cub (3V), Fox River Featherweight (S45VN), Ringtail (CPM 154), EXT-2 (CruWear), Gunny Hunter (3), and Bravo edc (3V). All have zero quality control issues. I use the Bushcrafter and the FR Featherweight the most. There isn’t one that I don’t like. My Fallkniven F-1 pro in Elmax sees some use too but I always go back to my BRK Bushcrafter.

You nailed it ! I have a Barkie Gunny Scandi in 3V plain black micarta ......... (Black Micarta) , just like Mike Stewart 🤗

I really grew to like Fallkniven’s convex grinds back in the day. Think it was 2009 that I started looking to upgrade my F1 and S1. I’ve have or had most of BRK 4-6” models. Still waiting for my one big chopper to come into production again. Regret missing out on a few of there models, they seem to always be progressing with the times...

Thank you, good video ☺️💪💯

I am very happy with my BRK knives. Bravo 1 in A2 and Aurora 2 in 3V. Both flawless quality and finish. The bravo has taken a lot of hard use easily.

They hold a grind In twice a year where you could go make one with their workers. One just ended this weekend

I have many BRK's. If you want a 'custom' handle design expect to wait over a year because as you mentioned, they produce their models in limited runs. In my opinion, they are worth it. A final word. Do not expect a 'perfect' knife. These knives are hand made and you may notice slight variations or imperfections. That said, these knives are very well made and will hold up.

Ive had my BRK EDC PSK in Magnacut for a while its become my favorite edc fixed blade

Bark river knives are worth it, and their warranty is not only transferable but covers the knife even if you break it with user error, they wikl fix or replace it. Not Only that, ive been buying BRK over the years and ive never had any major issues, and one time when i was using a blade for a purpose it wasnt intended for caused it damage, it was fixed free of charge. Mike Stewart, is a very Knowledgeable individual, and has many years of experience. Hes always been friendly, and i consider him to be a friend. He recommended me to get a bravo Crusader, just because he knew i loved to chop with big knives....and this again was an awesome recommendation from him, and I love it. Hope one day to make it to a grind in to meet him and the gang. Now, have they ever had quality issues, of course, they wont deny it either but they care about the knife community and will take care of you. Anyhow, I recommend BRK. Also love the review and thanx for a great video to watch. Appreciated. ❤❤❤

Thanks for sharing. Yes, solid knife and prob the Best handles out there. Although fit n finish lacks. Uneven grinds mostly. I’m a little ocd so it drives me crazy. lol.

Just wanted to let other people know, i got an aurora 2 with maple burl, i lent it to my gf and she used it to baton and hit the handle and it split, but brk did me good and offered to replace yhe whole handle, covered by warranty

I have 3 brk , Aurora .. mini aurora and bravo 1 . They are really good

I have the number of BRKs and most of them are excellent. The mid to large size ones tend to be beautifully ground and profiled. Early in the production history, I got a mini something or other that was beveled like a cold chisel. I'm sure if I sent it back they would have reground it for me, instead I spent a couple of hours with a whetstone rebeveling the blade. A lot of work for a 2 inch knife, but a tribute to how hard the steel is. Note some manufacturers bevel all their knives like cold chisels, or worse... A number of retailers show detailed photos of the exact knife being sold, avoiding this issue.

Correct me if I’m wrong but the Blackjack knives are a BRK subsidiary? I’ve had a BRK but carried a Blackjack Tac Ops 6 while in the Marines for awhile.

They do take a beating. I like barkies for hard use. I.seem.ti get good luck with good heat treated blades. I find the ONE gripe with them is the slippery as he'll handles that come stock from factory. Literally the only brand of knife I have dropped multiple times is barkies. I just sand away it a little to bring grip to the handle and use a file to add.some.notches for extra grip. I have a bravo edc in Elmax.for my.edc neck knife And a matterhorn in g10 and s45vn steel . Epic combo. I am also not entirely sold on the covering grind I find if I reprofile to 20 or.17*

I have a couple dozen knives that are either BRK or made by BRK. I have Bark River Knives that date back to 2006 and has 12C27 blade steel 😆

I got the basic Bravo 1 in black canvas in A2. I wanted their least fancy version so I would hopefully actually it. Too pretty/fancy I will never use it and I don't want safe queens.

Nice knives Man

For me, sharpening a convex blade in the field is a big problem. Sharpening convex blades of super steel only with a leather does not work. I prefer flat grinds for this reason. Thanks for your thoughts.

I bought a camel bone arora and i noticed it didn't have the shape on the handle that the other handle options had. It is flat and doesn't firt the palm like my bushcrafter or bravo. So i called them and they said the reason they couldn't shape the camel bone handle like the the other materials is because the camel bone chip chips easily. Watch out for those exotic materials if you are looking for something other than a pretty display 🤣🤣

I think hearing about all there Bad quality control is too much for me. I would own one but seems to much of a risk. Sending knives back and fourth when it should jst be QC

Lot of hand work. Some handles are cnc cut 75-80% then hand ground once on the blade to final shapes.

Bark River makes nice knives but they are not cheap by any means.

You must!

The answer depends on one's knowledge and needs.

After running into too many people who claim they intentionally mislabeled their steel to cut corners and save on costs. People complained on the forums that their cpm 154 knives rusted up when they shouldn't have, as if they were really made with A2 just stamped cpm 154 I'm not saying I'm blindly believing but I'm extremely apprehensive about BRK Still haven't made up my mind but until I see ironclad evidence to the contrary I can't buy their products

Addressing your comment about questionable quality of recent, I can say I just received my BRK Bushcrafter (original design) in CPM 3V and green micarta and the quality is flawless. It is a beautiful example that is showroom nice. I want another now !

Bark Rivers are beautiful knives, but in my experience, they are not the toughest knives on the market.

I love brks knives, unfortunately I've had bad luck with them. The first brk i got they lost the one that i wanted which was a black micarta with mosaic pins jx5 in 3v. And ended up sending me a brass pin maple handle jx5. The handle reminds me of an old steak knife lol. And then i ordered a brk Dark timber Grizzly, with mosaic pins and desert ironwood burl handle and the handle wood had large cracks and was warping off the blade and the glue was obviously not good. They offered to fix the grizzly but i declined because i live in Canada and sending it back means chancing it being confiscated by an over zealous border customs guard. So i figure a cracked handle is better than no knife at all.

So what do you or should I say how do you answer people that make claims that bark river mislabeled their steel?. I had 2 bark knives, one in A2....one in 3v. Both were stamped 1st production knives. Mike personally told me his 1st production knives were pinned with brass! True fact and I'll take a polygraph to prove that. With that said my bravo 1 first production in 3v was pinned with stainless ....and I still have that knife. How would you explain that? Both knives handles were desert ironwood burl, and may I say were georgeous.gorgeous.. I had to sell the one plus other knives because my dogs got porcupined and didnt have the cash at that moment to take them to the vet. Yea I really loved my mini fox river in a2 with that ironwood burl. Such a nice knife, but it had brass pins unlike my bravo1

Not to sure what you were saying here. You, till the last 2 min of this, were saying BR was okay and 3V was okay. Yet you say your go to is a BR 3v. love the vids though. just very all over the place.

What bark river is that in the thumbnail???

I want to love their knives because i love all the styles/designs. But ive bought 4 brand new ones and all were terrible fit/finish. If you complain on their fb page you'll get attacked by the members because "every Bark River is perfect" in their eyes and a snarky response from the owner Mike. After hearing about the "warranty" ten million times i sent one in to fix the uneven grinds and it literally came back the exact same way after 4 months. There are tons of complaints about the fit and finisg and the owner just regurgitates the same answer that they make a bajllion knives and only a few complaints a year so theyre doing pretty good in his eye.

You missed it, they have popular for a while

I've had 3 bark river knives and I sold all three very quickly. The black micarta was just like slick plastic. Every time I was left thinking...what have I paid for here? Seems to me you can go two ways, you can ignore the problems because you paid a fortune for it or you can sell it and hope to get your money back

There a great camp knife but not a good hunting knife.

There are a lot of great knives. No doubt about it. But BrK River and it’s warranty makes what ever knife you buy from BRK a no brainer. Personally I love their 3V and convex blades. Anyone who wants bad mouth BRK knives is just a wanker. I have so many bushcrafter knives and love them all. But truth be told when I’m going out to the bush it’s always my BRK Bravo 1.25 in 3v. 5’ blade not so thick that it slices and it batons like butter.

I have one BRK. It is functional, no problem with it other than way over priced. the finish on the blade it terrible. I will never buy another BRK.

There are so many other great brands out there that buying a "Bark River" knife is probably not a good idea.

The answer is no

I bought two. BOTH had brown rust pits and came dull as a butter knife. CHEAP and awfully feelings sheaths that looked equally ugly. Never again! Purchased 1 TRC and saw what a company with pride is all about and the respect for their customers too. Now I own 4 TRC. BRK is a shit company. There's NO excuse for getting 2 in a row this bad. If you get a good one, you got lucky, but there are simply TOO many bad ones going out the door to support such business.

I received a Bravo 1 LT Rampless Magnacut today and as far as quality control its Perfect. The edge on this thing is insane.Have a Bravo 1.25 LT 3V, sweet but wanted something more suited for very wet environments specifically the Everglades, 3V doesnt quite like the Glades while Magnacut should be just swipe your pant leg and your done. Spent a bit time beating the crap out of this thing today and can honestly say its a tough bitch, it will be in salt water this weekend camped on a beach 30miles out in Everglades national park, Im guessing as good as 3V less the rust and staining,,,,

Not today they are not.