Rob, I totally agree. When I took a trip to KSF last summer and purchased several BRKT knives (drop shipped to you for your magic); Derrick suggested I go up the road and meet Mike. I did so, not knowing what reception a stranger would get just walking into his factory.I needn't have worried. Mike took me into the inner workings of Bark River, treated me as if we had known each other all our lives. He spent about a half hour with me in tow as he went about his business, explaining knife manufacturing as we went. That day, meeting Derrick and then Mike Stewart, will be one of my fondest memories.Am I impressed with Mike Stewart? Absolutely!
Dr Miniblades is this why he was upset on a few of them and kept working them on the stones that on videos he showed only how about off videos in one of them he could not ever put an edge on his friend's knife plus no one is a knife expert by using and owning knives and it is not the shape of a piece of the most premium steel formed like a knife makes it to be a great tool , the hype of premium steel without the proper process is a joke . I love Reinhard Muller knives Divingsparrowknives , Benchmade ,Spyderco , and U.S. made Buck knives
Still baffled at how much drama for drama's sake has popped up in the cutlery community. I don't care about Mike's past or any controversy. My personal experience with his products is that they are fantastic tools at reasonable prices that both myself and several friends have been very happy purchasing and using. The very few communications I've had with BRKT via email simply concerning questions about products/ care have been very pleasant, informative, and professional. I don't need to know Mike's history and he doesn't owe me that information. As long as his products continue to be the quality I've experienced and his customer service is good then I will continue to support BRKT.
I’m two years late to the party for commenting on this video but as a custom knife maker who knows Mike and his work, I want to say that I completely agree with your assessment. Mike is a traditionalist and an innovator, which is a rare dichotomy. He has done more for the knife industry than most and upholds the highest standards of quality, value, and ethical business practices. He runs his company as a family and has inspired several generations of knife makers and outdoorsmen. He has always supported me as a maker and has provided valuable feedback on many knife related topics. I have nothing but admiration for the man and I think he is a true American legend in the knife industry. Beyond the man, I think BRKT brings some of the very best (if not the best) mid tech working knives in the world. There is no hype or gimmicky features, he uses very high quality steels that are selected for the use of the tool. Much more than can be said of other production companies. And BRKC is consistently striving to improve their product and the performance you can expect. Any of their knives are a good investment for users and collectors alike who may wish to pass their knives on to their children. Finally, as you point out, Mike doesn’t put up with the know-it-alls and riffraff online...which I like. I will always support him and his company.
@corona Bery You know that if you weren't happy about your purchase, as new it has "burned marks", you can reject that purchase? I will never, and haven't ever, accepted any purchase if I wasn't 100% satisfied. As a collector, you wouldn't be putting the steel to work. As a user, if the steel doesn't hold up to the use, you would simply "warranty" said product.
corona Bery Mike and his company absolutely does not lie about the kind of steel, and burned edges are the scapegoat for people using a zero ground convex improperly. 99% of the time, the only reason the edge seems to improve for toughness after resharpening is because the edge angle is being reduced. It’s not a common problem contrary to inexperienced knife users claims. Almost a non-issue, ever. Same BS with “bad heat treatment.” That’s called user error, bad form, improper use, or stupidity. Take your pick. And I’ll reiterate the point that BRK warranty is extremely lenient and they will ALWAYS replace a knife you are not happy with. They’ll even fix a knife that you broke doing something stupid. You won’t find better customer service anywhere and the issues you may have experienced is because BRK does not compromise their edge geometries or heat treatments to accommodate the general public who don’t know how to treat their tools or understand how to use them correctly (like most production companies). Your accusations are way off base. I’m not a BRK fanboy, but I am an experienced custom knife maker who knows Mike Stewart, and I can tell you that he operates his business with integrity.
The first time I saw Mike Stewart on a video I could tell he was a joker. I applaud you Rob for putting your friends story across so well. I sot a couple of Bark River knives and the Blackjack version of the Randall which I think Mike designed, just love that blade form. Its really exciting to hear about plans for quality craftsmen getting together to enhance the art of knifemaking. Walk softly brothers. God bless all.
We live in a new era, an era in which some people think that because they now have more insight into public companies, and access to the Internet, they think they can tell these companies what to do and how to do it. If the company doesn't respond they way they think it should, they go about trying to extract their pound of flesh on various internet frontiers. The same format that provides companies with access to more people and higher sales, also exposes them to the opinions of everyone with a keystation. It's important to remember that not all opinions were created equally. Bark River knives come with a guarantee that is above and beyond what you get with most products these days. I buy from them with confidence.
Yep this is 100% correct. This is why mine is not on Google maps. People have weaponized Google maps and it no longer serves its true purpose because people have lost their integrity.
Very very well said .. I had in the past read a little about where Mike came from... But in our lives sometimes we have to move forward from the past... At this point I do not own a Bark River knife just yet but with so many excellent choices the testers of BushCrafters are showing who are impressed by the quality of BR, I see no reason why I shouldn't buy a few of their knives.. That's my take on it ..
I show up at Mike Stewart's shop in Escanaba, MI all the way from Eagar, Az. I was visiting family in Oshkosh, WI. Glad we made the drive to DLT and Knives ship free, and then to Barkriver. Mike greeted us , answered questions, and gave the whole tour of his outfit. He's a qenuine real deal of an a ,fine man! USA made products, employes people in his community in Escanaba. Guarantees his product, stands behind his product! Whats not to like. I'll support and buy from him, for his stance, on ALL USA MADE PRODUCTS ALONE! God bless Mike Stewart and Barkriver knives, love his products, and I have 3 and will buy more!
Question for the Apostle: How to address the quality issues at Bark River. I do not know if they hired a bunch of newbie, inexperienced people to keep up with production or what, but the swedge and edge were not aligned on my new Grizzly. The lack of bilateral symmetry and sharp forward edge of the choil. My Fox river purchased a few months ago had handle and edge problems besides being shorter than specs for that knife. In sum, I have not been entirely sold on Bark River's quality control.
Valid concerns, Bob. Although all BRK's are freehand ground and freehand finished, and almost always have some symmetry issues because of that, it sounds like you know what you're looking at. I'd suggest a phone call to Escanaba. Their warranty is ironclad, and a good positive discussion might go a long way. Regarding your concern of newbies messing up... 'fraid not. There are still just 6 employees at Bark River who are authorized to grind a blade. Sounds like you might have caught one after Beer:30. Sorry.
This is what happens when people with no formal scientific education try to do science: they make up all sorts of-frankly-stupid ideas that any real chemist would simply laugh at. I applaud you for wading into this one, Rob. You have more patience than I.
I agree completely. all great points. Mike is a good man but is very sarcastic and some don't take that well. What he does for the knife community should speak for itself but there's always haters. Excellent Video Sir, thank you.
He's such a good man that his company sends out knives marked as CPM 154 when they're actually A2. Hmmmm educate yourself and don't just drink the Apostle punch bro
I've always had a very high regard for Mike. Ever since I met him at the SHOT show in Dallas in 1995. He was so much fun to talk to and had such a great "quote" he told me about his Black Jack knives vs Randall Made knives that I laughed the rest of the day and still do today.
I bought a Bark River once and everything was fine with the knife visually even though I never got to use it. Issue I had was the sheath was missing from the box. I called up Bark River and told them where I bought it from and the situation and they told me that they would send a sheath out next week. Several weeks came and gone and no sheath so I sent the knife back for a refund. Now some of you would say " Hey, you are buying a knife not a sheath", but make no mistake the sheath is about 50 bucks if you buy it alone so yes its apart of the price and it was paid for thus the sheaths are NOT free. I've been buying knives for a long time and i'd like to think that I know enough to make a sound judgement on where to spend my money. I have heard the horror stories about Bark River but I always loved how their knives looked so I took a leap of faith and made a purchase on a Bark River Bravo 1.5 in CPM 3V. Now would this keep me from buying a Bark River if I saw one I really liked probably not, but it does make me cautious. I think that they need to work on delivering outstanding service out of their warranty department to the point that it blows away their customers. If a mistake is made the last thing you wanna do is make another one and turn off the customer for good.
I own several Bark River knives, and only one dud out of 6 (chips from the factory, and not all that small). Mike seems like a nice guy in your videos, but I just read some vicious posts Mike made about a customer on knifeforums.com. Really unbelievably rude remarks, and not what you'd expect from someone who cares about customers. The guy complained about rust on his Bark River knife, and was immediately vilified by Mike and his fans for EIGHT pages! The poster apologized, saying he didn't mean to cause trouble, but that just seemed to get the crowd more angry...??? I know that sometimes people's comments get misconstrued while typing on a forum, but these savages spelled it out clearly. Edit: Mike did tell the guy to send the knife back, and he'd make it as good as new. Maybe he should enclose a little piece of paper about knife care in the box. I own a LOT of knives from different makers/companies, and they all include care and feeding instructions.
I've got a bravo EDC in elmax, a fox river ext 1 in 3v, a bushcrafter lt in 3v, and a bravo 1.25 in a2 coming tomorrow. I love them knives from Bark River.
I just got a Lil Canadian 2016. It has .093 blade thickness reduced from the standard .150. It's a great cutter / slicer. If I've ever had a complaint about BRKT knives, it would be the blade thickness. Sometimes the thickness takes away from slicing capability. They probably do this to keep knuckleheads from breaking them.
Being from Escanaba, I'm glad you were able to take advantage of the opportunity to visit our humble little town and the U.P. which to nearly everyone outside of Michigan and Wisconsin is really an unknown. I am glad you took the time to clear the air about Mike and BRKT. BTW....that sarcasm, its a widespread in the U.P. ;-) Great stuff! Keep up the good work sir!
There is always going to be someone who doesn't like one of these knife fellows for one reason or another. I enjoyed seeing and learning about the three knives you showed. The color tempering chart will come in handy thanks. God bless Mike and BRK, may they be prosperous while giving their community opportunity!
As a happy customer of Bark River, owning several different knives different steels, styles etc, I can personally attest to anyone the excellent heat treat of their knives. I had a personal conversation with Mike to tell him this how I felt, and he started going into the details of the heat treat on A2 specifically since that was the one we were discussing. Not a super steel, but of SHOCKING performance capabilities. Really surprising, no lie. I'm not paid or in any way compensated by Bark River Knives. Are there things about their knives I don't like. Sure. Too often their designs lack a decent hilt to protect hand slipping onto the blade (which I keep mine scarey sharp). Also, I find it disturbing not to be able to procure models of knives I like because they flat stopped making them. Also, sometimes their sheath designs are a bit goofy. However, and I told Mike my opinion, I personally feel at this time Bark River makes better knives than Randall. Yes that's correct. Not diminishing the Randall product at all, I have owned a huge pile of them and still have some. But Bark River makes better knives.
I love using Bark River knives. High Quality, one of the best warranty's in thr knife business. The actually take care of their customers, and I trust their product. I own 3 Barkies currently ( own a few also in the past) and also have a pre-order in the works for another blade. Now on Mike's past. Thats what it is " Past" and we can't judge a person by their past. I can say this, Mike Stewart is a Genuine Guy, upfront and honest . He knows his stuff when it comes to knives and knows how to handle business. Anyhow. Thanx for the vid.
What would I give to work for Bark River making knives all day. Thanks for the clarification of the story Rob, I've always liked Bark River just from the feel that their knives give, admittedly though they're a bit out of my price range so despite my love for them I don't own one.
I didn't know about the hoopla regarding Mike Stewart, but I do know how facts get twisted on the internet. Each person who tells a story changes the story a little, and eventually all the facts are so scrambled you don't know what to believe. I have two Blackjack knives made by BR and they are top quality knives. So are the sheath's. The Chinese made Blackjack knives are no where near the quality of US made knives. It takes a talented knifemaker to make convex grind knives consistently well. BR is one of the best. Thanks for the explanation.
Thank you for the responses and this video, Rob! (Never expected to see my e-mail read on your channel, lol.) :) I think that your honesty and perspective on this issue are priceless. Hopefully many others who shared my concerns will see this video.
Very sound science. The sparks flying off the blade during grinding actually carry heat away from the knife. A very similar phenomenon happens when machining at high speeds with carbide bits. No cooling or cutting oil is needed because the heat is carried away by the chips. If the knife is not too hot to touch then it does not come anywhere close to hot enough to ruin the heat treatment.
KendallWorks The Knife Makers Guild isn't a guild in the classical European sense, I.e. a collective bargaining unit for laborers. It exists to pass on the skills of knife making to individual entrepreneurs.
A few years ago I bought a what I thought, and what I still think, was a Bark River Knife from what I thought was a reputable company "on sale". I love the knife but it was either a 'second' or just a knock-off: there are absolutely no markings on the blade and the blade above the belly was (still is) flawed and discolored with slight imperfections that appear to run all the way through the blade. The spine above this area looked like it was batoned with a heavy file. It short, it was rough. Nevertheless, I cleaned it up and started using it; the knife, Bark River or not, and I have been in some wild places and done a lot of skinning, camping, hiking; it has never broke at the imperfection area, and when I head out it goes with me. Moral of the story: even a rough-as-hell unbranded Bark River is still an awesome knife.
I've owned a half-dozen Bark River Knives. I did have one 3V Aurora that had some weird grind where the tip of the blade was off. Knife probably should have been caught in QC, but it was sent down the road. That knife also had micarta scales that didn't sit flat to the blade tang. But that was my only bad experience with BRKT. Other knives had come with micro-bevels when they are suppose to be true convex zero ground. The micro bevel has been macro at point on certain knives. Those are my only complaints. You can get good BRKTs and bad BRKTs. It all comes down to luck.
Thank you for providing your personal observations regarding BR and Mike Stewart. I believe the guy with the chopstick test was virtuovice (I could be wrong of course). I own a LOT of Bark River knives, over 12 (I lose track) and have never had an issue with any of them. That being said I am very satisfied with their product and process. Where I have concern is on the straight business practices of MS. I do not have direct knowledge or experience in dealing with Mike, but I have learned a lot on Blade Forum specifically. There is one famous thread there about a guy who put up 16K with BR to produce a run of knives for him that allegedly Mike Stewart gladly took, then never produced a single knife for the guy and refuses to return the investment. Now, as stated before I was not there, I don't know the full story BUT the evidence put forward by the guy is quite compelling. I would love to hear Mike's side of this story. Have you heard of this one?
Steven Szabo I have, Steven. All I'll say about that is there are most definitely two sides to that story. Also, the "Mike Stewart vendetta" is one of the best indicators of the character that has evolved in BladeForums. There is a core of regulars in BF who seem to drive the discussion and thrive on gossip, strife, slander and character assassination. Although Mike has not been banned from BF (he just doesn't go into that bad neighborhood much anymore), the list of makers and contributors who have been banned is a veritable "Who's Who" of respected members of the knife community. As of January 2017, by my analysis, BF is not a credible source of information.
I do not own a Bark River knife yet. I do however own a Northwoods Iron River in Black Canvas Micarta, and love it. So as Bark River makes this knife for Northwoods I trust Bark River based on my own personal experiences.
I debated heavily whether or not I wanted to purchase a BRK. Based on who I thought deserved my hard-earned money, mostly, weighed on my mind. Decided to forego it from the reputation of the owner and instead purchased from Battle Horse Knives and Lt Wright, which both seemed to be stand-up people. Time will tell, I suppose, as we all have flaws, but if I'm buying something I want my money to go to the right guy.
Same here, late to the party! I had a beautiful fox River with orange g10 scales and the open pins which I absolutely coveted. I'm a Scout leader of over 25yrs in and generally have what you call a bushcraft'y type knife! And the size and orange handles. Being Scouter in the UK size and colour made it look a lot less aggressive making it less of an intimidating statement to the young people. However time, money and experience are the most valuable thing's to us none collectors, CZcams'rs, reviewers(who alot of the time are given these knives as a cheap advertising gimmick and generally reviewed immediately?) while on a survival camp with the Scouts who as general tool use Mora scout knives, I committed the cardinal sin to all knife owners and allowed a Scout to borrow my knife(fool) it was returned an hour later "snapped" in two by the scales, the horror, humiliation and in anger as firstly it was in my huberous that I was the owner of a superior tool! which had failed when other lesser knives were intact! Unfortunately the Scout in question was the son of a good colleague and friend who was mortified and there at the scene of thecrime, "he literally just dropped it" my friend was horrified and promptly pushed his falkniven into my hand as a recompense, which I being a Scouter and trying to set an example to my now growing audience tried to refuse "as accidents happen" Nice knife but not the same, but I just never had the heart to dip my hand(I now know about the warranty 4yrs later, what a fool) in my pocket again on an expensive knife again! I've watched hundreds of BR videos batoning ludicrous lumps of wood, I just think that no matter how well something is lovingly made, and the qualities of the materials involved, Maybe when it's your hard earned money personnel experience is key! I can't say about the after care service as I was to nieve to texperience this, but I can say that the joy of the knife in the use was wonderful "But" the horror in the breaking seems to of remained, nay overwhelmed the knife in use itself! If I use the most neutral view it would have to be my Wife commenting, "Your not buying one of those again as you broke the last one" Sorry about the long winded post but it only just popped on my timeline!
Rb- Great video. There are always those who troll successful people. It is obvious that Bark River has created a synergy in Escanaba to benefit all (makers, workers, citizenry). I hope to someday make a pilgrimage to Escanaba to see all that is going on and and maybe attend a grind-in.
I have a mini fox river in a2. Had it for probably 10 years I swear it’s my favorite knife of all time. It holds a edge like no other knife I’ve ever used. And I’ve owned pretty much every type of steel and grind you can get. Bark rivers convex is magical
@@JoeyRF I ordered two Bark River Fox River knives from KSfF and they are beautiful. I have them razor-sharp and the leather sheaths are really nice too. Bark River!
In my opinion mike is an amazing person, very genuine guy, currently he is giving me advice on knife making, and he loves loves loves to help other knife makers especially new people in the hobby, and he just loves to defend new makers.
Thanks for bringing some discernment and balance to these issues. It is hard to be in any kind of business and completely avoid controversy. At the end of the day, I can only judge BRK on the basis of my experience of their products and service - both of which have been top-notch. Like GEC and others, they are making great contributions to the knife community, particularly in showing others that quality knives can be made profitably in the USA. And surely that can only be a good thing.
Rob is one stand up guy. He sharpened two of my fixed knives a year ago and they were hair popping sharp. Bites into my thumbnail with almost no pressure. Rob really knows steel and precision angels for optimal performance. I’ve learned a lot from watching his videos! Thank you so much Rob! ✌️
My first Bark River, Bravo Alpha 3v, looks like a drunk blind guy did the grind. A little disappointed but it doesn't bother me all that much as I am more inclined to use something that isn't perfect. I have an A2 Aurora on preorder, if that has an an uneven grind then it will probably be my last Bark River.
I’ll say this, I’m a very good judge of people. I always have been. Mike Stewart seems to me to be a Very nice, very good natured guy who really cares about the craft of knife making. He comes across as honest and sincere! And Bark River knives are top notch in quality fit & finish. He really cares about the quality of every single knife that leaves his shop !
I've heard mostly good things over the years regarding MS. I've also heard a number of bad, cutthroat businessman things he's done. I'd say I have enough evidence that I believe all of it.
how did investors just pull out assuming that their money was already invested in the business and not in cash? This is the part that throw me but I know nothing about business. He got investors because he needed the funds to expand. Presumably all this money was invested in the business, to pay for rent, wages, supplies. How would an investor just pull out? He could stop investing but how would they be able to take any money out of what was spent on the business? I would assume there were legal contracts regarding how much and for how long these folks invested so as not to be some sudden surprise to the business owner. If they pulled out legally than this should have been a foreseen consequence. I do not see how they could have gotten their money and running without having to liquify assets which seems highly unlikely. Its usually the investors who get screwed because its their money that is being used. They take the risk for ,usually, a good return.
Dan Tope seems to be one of the knife makers that he benefited from Mike's knowledge and generosity. I'm in the Bark River knife group and the Tope Nation knife group on Facebook. Both are great knife groups on Facebook.
Just bought a Bark River Kephart and will be buying more in the future. Have another one that my wife bought me years ago. At the time I thought it was too pretty to use. Now, going to use and enjoy them. Their guarantee seems to say it all. Return it we'll make it right. Can't beat that.
This is so true! We run a large cattle ranch close to a small town, you would not believe all the rumors that people say. We have been found guilty of tax evasion, traffic cocaine, rip off everyone that works for us even though we continue to pay them when there is no work, to everything in between. There are a few people in the town who we have had no dealings with, who start these rumors and spread them until the town starts to believe them. Because they are not able to be as successful with cattle farming, they assume that we have to be doing something illegal.
I have no clue about this controversy as im only looking for a knife to buy at the moment, thats why im looking at vids from this fella. However, god i hate it when people call other people "Jealous" for disliking someone. Its often not true and its very inflammatory and unhelpful. Ive heard people calling people jealous for not liking other peoples music, film, books, personality or ever constructive things like finding flaws in arguments or political disagreement. Its naive and non constructive at best and just inflamatory trolling at worst to call someone jealous of someone else. Its a red herring and just plain speculation. I you want to argue a point do that and if you cat argue your point you might just be the one in the wrong. Imho
I called Bark River yesterday to find out if there was steel under the scales of a knife I had for a bowdrill divot. The secretary transferred me. Freaking Mike Stewart took my call! I felt like I met Elvis! 😎🥇🎯
Not a ‘knife guy’. But I wanted one good quality knife. Came very close to buying a BRK Bravo, but in the very end chose a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 as I figured a folder would better suit my needs. I don’t understand how people can get so hung up on ‘Mike’ himself. You’re buying a knife, not the president of the company.
I too hate the neo know it all hipsters that seem to find their way into every craft . Boy am I late to these knives I came to know of bark river knives through my CZcams feed. My interest in bark river is their convex edge, I love my fallkniven f1 , I believe I'll definitely grab one of his loveless drop points . My only critique of bark river is how thin the handles are but that a personal thing , for me it would make a great summertime knife thanks for the video
Yeah… Mike gave up that idea a couple years ago. When you do one thing very well, but struggle with capacity to meet demand, it just doesn’t make business sense to reduce your capacity to do that one thing, in order to make room for something you’ve never done before.
thanks for the video apostle p. however I wished you talked about the controversy where Mike supposedly stole $18,000 from the guy who came to him with the idea of a bark river kephart.
Hunter Tays I think that one needs to be filtered for truth. Does anyone really believe one of the foremost knife historians in the universe (Mike Stewart) needed someone to bring him an idea for Bark River to produce a pattern that has existed, rather iconically, for over a century? Sounds more than a little fishy.
Your response shows your underlying bias. The comment didn't say that Mike Stewart needed an idea on how to make a kephart, it says a person came to him with an idea for a kephart. Bark River has done collaborations and OEM work for lots of people. Some people don't even know that he even did a run of work for Survive Knives (it was a one time thing when Survive first started). On Hunter Tays' comment, this is going back, but it is pretty much documented. A person with an idea for a modification for a kephart that owned a knife store prepaid Bark River some amount of money (I can't remember the amount) to make this custom batch of knives. If I recall correctly, a shipping date or two were missed. The knife store owner reached out to Mike and Mike decided that the store owner would not be able to distribute the knives to Mike's satisfaction (I believe it was related to not a big enough internet presence). Mike further stated he would not return the money until the knives were sold by distributors of Mike's choice. This would result in basically the store owner offer a 0% loan to the sellers of the knives. This was unacceptable to the store owner (and any normal human being). This was made public on forums, and Mike was justifiably crucified. This happened, if you feel like digging it up via google, you can find it. The store owner eventually got his money, if memory serves. Look there are some very good things about Bark River. Mike does know a lot about the business of knife making as well as knife making itself. For the most part, his customer service, warranty, etc are top notch. His mastery of A2 is excellent. He puts out a lot of great patterns with amazing handle materials (unrivaled in this business). He has worked with god knows how many steels, elmax, cpm 154, 154 cm, s30, s35, a2, 1095, 5160, 3v, cpm d2, 20cv, cru-wear, sandvik steels, and that's just off the top of my head and I am not a BRK junkie. However, there are some fair criticisms about him. The QC of BRK can slip at times. its not hard to find, bad handle alignment, blade chipping (like toothpick example), bad grindings etc. Some of that is to be expected when a company makes so many knives. However, the owner of DLT trading has a video on his Ambush knives that he pays extra for higher end QC to avoid these issues. DLT has to be a top BRK seller, so that says something to some people. Other criticisms include that when he takes on new steels, he doesn't always do the best job. There are some that find him argumentative, close-minded or even uninformed in certain areas. There are some people who HATE him and think he is a thief from the EK/Blackjack era (before my interest in knives, so no comment, and I don't care that much either). Not hard to find info on that either. For further disclosure, I probably will buy a JBA one day. Other knives I may buy would be an adventurer and a fox river, maybe a grizzly. I currently own 3 BRK or BRK OEM knives.
You're right, Alt -- I am biased to give Mike the benefit of the doubt, and I wasn't familiar with the issue before responding to Hunter. I did research it, however. I don't know if it's exactly clear what happened, certainly not to any of us who weren't part of that agreement, and maybe not even to the two who disagreed. But it's obvious that you have a pretty objective and comprehensive position about what BRK does, the materials they use, and what can go wrong with such a wide range of patterns and materials. I appreciate your fair and well-thought-out comment.
Thank you for the compliments. It is easy to have your opinion of him. He genuinely makes nice knives...more style of knives of high quality than most manufactures can dream of. He is a student of history and can talk about knives like few can. If you want some other info, you can message me.
Jeremiah 5: 26 - ''For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.'' My experience w/Bark River is primarily through Derrick Bohn’s distributorship of the BR product, an excellent product in all aspects as is DB’s work.
I have only one Bark River Knife, its the basic Highlander Special, I now in my later years use this knife daily as an edc, as well as work knife. Mine came slightly bent, to the left, an it has actually helped me in the normal uses I use it for. I am a handy man now an trim a lil wood from time to time, an the angle just works! An no I haven't sent it for a fix. Love this knife! An would one day enjoy one of Chris Tanner designs from BRK&T's.
I thought this was a great video . a lot of good info. I am a little late to the BRK game. But these knives are just great. Some of the best knives out there for the price. I have seen bad knives cost way more. Love the product.
you are the expert sir so then if you be kind and allow me to ask your expertise for help and advice SO I have an (air cooled ) A2 steel knife can I grind it on an industrial belt until the sparks fly just like in one video ? and be certain I did not over heat the steel
the video shows grinding at bark river knives with an industrial belt . I should have bought Chinese made at least i know what to expect because when I used to buy American made stuff it was unequal in quality but bark river ?
Hello David Hoback thank you for the reply and yes before heat and temper treatment but not to shape the knife afterwards . LT Wright knives they put a tour on how they manufacture their knives and yes they grid the knives when they come from the heat and temper but just to shape the edge and the grinding method does not even come close to the one of BRK. thank you David and I wish you all the best
Say Heah Rob, I have the Bark River Woodland Special in the G-10 Ghost Green Jade in my 4Knife Set, I have the Bravo 1, Bravo 2, and the Golok, All in A2 and the G-10 Ghost Green Jade Handle's. A lovely piece of kit. ,, .
I guess that's the question of the century. Shoot, throw Sal and Lynn in the mix! Cliff is a sasquatch by his profile photo, but has exceptional knowledge in metallurgy and sharpening.
Domo, thanks for the overview. The argument about dry grinding and the consequences is one of the most inflammatory currently in the industry. I think the science and data is clear and in time I think it is going to fade and wet grinding will take over as dominant. It just takes time because of the prevalence and history. However not everyone agrees with this, there is even a thread on my forum right now where people are defending dry grinding. Science is full of disagreements, without disagreement you can't have science anyway. For a bit of history, this always happens in industry about change. There is some point brought up which is new, everyone freaks out, but if it is true it eventually wins. The same thing happened in the late 90's and early 2000's when knife makers such as Mayer (Blackcloud) challenged that Paul Bos was not heat treating ATS-34 correctly for knives. Everyone went nuts, claiming that Bos didn't know how to harden steel that was insane! However Mayer had metallurgy on his side and even Bos eventually switched and the process that Mayer advocated is even being used now by other makers to try to gain performance in many other steels (Keffler uses it on 3V for example).
I have five newer bark river knifes 2016/2017 production made with Elmax and Cru-Wear steels. Honestly, when compared to other brand fixed blades I own same price range the Bark Rivers seem more refined on average. Materials used are higher end, no issues with workmanship for the price I paid ( I don’t expect a $200 production knife to match a $500+ custom model fit/finish) and overall they are some of my finest knifes for real field use. Yes, I really use my knifes in the field, their not just safe queens :) I did damage my Brk bumble bee Elmax edge while cleaning squirrels totally my fault I was cutting leg bones pushing down with a lot of force and hitting the metal tail gate when it broke through the leg bones. It was late, cold and I was in to big of a hurry. That said I fixed the bad spot pretty easy on diamond stone it’s good as new now. One thing I have learned in life is people all have different strengths. Some are great dealing with people, others are best served dealing with production or numbers (not people ,people ) and so on. Let’s face it, it’s a rare person that’s good at everything. From my take Mike may not be the best customer service personality so he should hire someone with that skill set to manage those issues. He knows how to design, build and sale knifes so stick with that part of the business. It’s called a team approach ;) use everyone’s talents were they are best suited to strengthen your business. Don’t put a accountant in your customer service position LOL
very good information I own a bark river aurora and can say it's the best I have every owned I have personally taken 5 well known brands of knives out and compared them and every time it's bark river hands down out performed them all and iam seriously not talking them up guys it's just a fact
Rob, I totally agree. When I took a trip to KSF last summer and purchased several BRKT knives (drop shipped to you for your magic); Derrick suggested I go up the road and meet Mike. I did so, not knowing what reception a stranger would get just walking into his factory.I needn't have worried. Mike took me into the inner workings of Bark River, treated me as if we had known each other all our lives. He spent about a half hour with me in tow as he went about his business, explaining knife manufacturing as we went. That day, meeting Derrick and then Mike Stewart, will be one of my fondest memories.Am I impressed with Mike Stewart? Absolutely!
I’m absolutely jealous of you.
He’s getting older, but my addiction to various steels is everlasting!
✌️
I own 35 barkies love them all Mike has always responded to my questions personally. Going to keep buying. Great products.
That video against the Bark River custom was made by the CZcamsr "knives and life" not by "virtuovice" virtuovice is a huge Bark river advocate.
Heh....you could fill a room with the number of Bark Rivers that virtuovice has.....
Wako Suzuki is a big fan of Bark River!
Herrow knife people.
Dr Miniblades is this why he was upset on a few of them and kept working them on the stones that on videos he showed only how about off videos in one of them he could not ever put an edge on his friend's knife plus no one is a knife expert by using and owning knives and it is not the shape of a piece of the most premium steel formed like a knife makes it to be a great tool , the hype of premium steel without the proper process is a joke . I love Reinhard Muller knives Divingsparrowknives , Benchmade ,Spyderco , and U.S. made Buck knives
Still baffled at how much drama for drama's sake has popped up in the cutlery community. I don't care about Mike's past or any controversy. My personal experience with his products is that they are fantastic tools at reasonable prices that both myself and several friends have been very happy purchasing and using. The very few communications I've had with BRKT via email simply concerning questions about products/ care have been very pleasant, informative, and professional.
I don't need to know Mike's history and he doesn't owe me that information. As long as his products continue to be the quality I've experienced and his customer service is good then I will continue to support BRKT.
I’m two years late to the party for commenting on this video but as a custom knife maker who knows Mike and his work, I want to say that I completely agree with your assessment. Mike is a traditionalist and an innovator, which is a rare dichotomy. He has done more for the knife industry than most and upholds the highest standards of quality, value, and ethical business practices. He runs his company as a family and has inspired several generations of knife makers and outdoorsmen. He has always supported me as a maker and has provided valuable feedback on many knife related topics. I have nothing but admiration for the man and I think he is a true American legend in the knife industry. Beyond the man, I think BRKT brings some of the very best (if not the best) mid tech working knives in the world. There is no hype or gimmicky features, he uses very high quality steels that are selected for the use of the tool. Much more than can be said of other production companies. And BRKC is consistently striving to improve their product and the performance you can expect. Any of their knives are a good investment for users and collectors alike who may wish to pass their knives on to their children. Finally, as you point out, Mike doesn’t put up with the know-it-alls and riffraff online...which I like. I will always support him and his company.
@corona Bery You know that if you weren't happy about your purchase, as new it has "burned marks", you can reject that purchase? I will never, and haven't ever, accepted any purchase if I wasn't 100% satisfied.
As a collector, you wouldn't be putting the steel to work. As a user, if the steel doesn't hold up to the use, you would simply "warranty" said product.
corona Bery Mike and his company absolutely does not lie about the kind of steel, and burned edges are the scapegoat for people using a zero ground convex improperly. 99% of the time, the only reason the edge seems to improve for toughness after resharpening is because the edge angle is being reduced. It’s not a common problem contrary to inexperienced knife users claims. Almost a non-issue, ever. Same BS with “bad heat treatment.” That’s called user error, bad form, improper use, or stupidity. Take your pick. And I’ll reiterate the point that BRK warranty is extremely lenient and they will ALWAYS replace a knife you are not happy with. They’ll even fix a knife that you broke doing something stupid. You won’t find better customer service anywhere and the issues you may have experienced is because BRK does not compromise their edge geometries or heat treatments to accommodate the general public who don’t know how to treat their tools or understand how to use them correctly (like most production companies). Your accusations are way off base. I’m not a BRK fanboy, but I am an experienced custom knife maker who knows Mike Stewart, and I can tell you that he operates his business with integrity.
The first time I saw Mike Stewart on a video I could tell he was a joker. I applaud you Rob for putting your friends story across so well. I sot a couple of Bark River knives and the Blackjack version of the Randall which I think Mike designed, just love that blade form. Its really exciting to hear about plans for quality craftsmen getting together to enhance the art of knifemaking. Walk softly brothers. God bless all.
I just ordered my first Bark River Knife I can't wait till I get it thank you and God bless you sir!!!
A little heads up from personal experience..you will buy buy and buy more bark river knives!!!hope you got the cash
Very interesting video sir, as always I learned some things. Love the smallest knife of the three. What a cool little knife.
We live in a new era, an era in which some people think that because they now have more insight into public companies, and access to the Internet, they think they can tell these companies what to do and how to do it.
If the company doesn't respond they way they think it should, they go about trying to extract their pound of flesh on various internet frontiers. The same format that provides companies with access to more people and higher sales, also exposes them to the opinions of everyone with a keystation. It's important to remember that not all opinions were created equally.
Bark River knives come with a guarantee that is above and beyond what you get with most products these days. I buy from them with confidence.
Yep this is 100% correct. This is why mine is not on Google maps. People have weaponized Google maps and it no longer serves its true purpose because people have lost their integrity.
Great video! Very interesting & informative.
Well that was only the most incredible CZcams video I’ve ever seen. You earned my subscription. God bless.
If you read these comments Mike and the Stewart family, I appreciate everything that you do for us, and you as well Rob!👍🏼
thank you for that history lesson. I learned a lot today.
Bark River customer for life here my friend! Thank you, I enjoyed listening to this again 🙏🏼
Very interesting. I have 2 BRKs and I adore them both. One is practically a safe queen because the other is so good to carry. I couldn’t be happier.
Very very well said .. I had in the past read a little about where Mike came from... But in our lives sometimes we have to move forward from the past... At this point I do not own a Bark River knife just yet but with so many excellent choices the testers of BushCrafters are showing who are impressed by the quality of BR, I see no reason why I shouldn't buy a few of their knives.. That's my take on it ..
I show up at Mike Stewart's shop in Escanaba, MI all the way from Eagar, Az. I was visiting family in Oshkosh, WI. Glad we made the drive to DLT and Knives ship free, and then to Barkriver. Mike greeted us , answered questions, and gave the whole tour of his outfit. He's a qenuine real deal of an a ,fine man! USA made products, employes people in his community in Escanaba. Guarantees his product, stands behind his product! Whats not to like. I'll support and buy from him, for his stance, on ALL USA MADE PRODUCTS ALONE! God bless Mike Stewart and Barkriver knives, love his products, and I have 3 and will buy more!
That sarcastic streak in Mike is a real English trait .
He'd do well in England 😃
Listening to this makes me want to buy a Bark River Knife.
tim beasley I met mike too. He’s an awesome guy.
Question for the Apostle: How to address the quality issues at Bark River. I do not know if they hired a bunch of newbie, inexperienced people to keep up with production or what, but the swedge and edge were not aligned on my new Grizzly. The lack of bilateral symmetry and sharp forward edge of the choil. My Fox river purchased a few months ago had handle and edge problems besides being shorter than specs for that knife. In sum, I have not been entirely sold on Bark River's quality control.
Valid concerns, Bob. Although all BRK's are freehand ground and freehand finished, and almost always have some symmetry issues because of that, it sounds like you know what you're looking at. I'd suggest a phone call to Escanaba. Their warranty is ironclad, and a good positive discussion might go a long way. Regarding your concern of newbies messing up... 'fraid not. There are still just 6 employees at Bark River who are authorized to grind a blade. Sounds like you might have caught one after Beer:30. Sorry.
I realize this is not the forum to carry on a discussion. Thanks very much for your response. Good suggestion, I'll call.
@bobinmontana So it's been over 6 months, how did that go?
This is what happens when people with no formal scientific education try to do science: they make up all sorts of-frankly-stupid ideas that any real chemist would simply laugh at. I applaud you for wading into this one, Rob. You have more patience than I.
Yeah like relying on color for the heat treatment of modern steels is very scientific...
Never met the man but the products are nothing short of awesome!
I agree completely. all great points. Mike is a good man but is very sarcastic and some don't take that well. What he does for the knife community should speak for itself but there's always haters. Excellent Video Sir, thank you.
He's such a good man that his company sends out knives marked as CPM 154 when they're actually A2. Hmmmm educate yourself and don't just drink the Apostle punch bro
How do you know?
Can you provide any substance to back up that bold claim?
Your video makes me want to buy another Bark River. Thanks for the info.
I don't always buy knives, but when I do, I buy bark river.
I've always had a very high regard for Mike. Ever since I met him at the SHOT show in Dallas in 1995. He was so much fun to talk to and had such a great "quote" he told me about his Black Jack knives vs Randall Made knives that I laughed the rest of the day and still do today.
I love bark rivers and I think that you have made me want another I may buy one right now or wait for a Thursday sale
I bought a Bark River once and everything was fine with the knife visually even though I never got to use it. Issue I had was the sheath was missing from the box. I called up Bark River and told them where I bought it from and the situation and they told me that they would send a sheath out next week. Several weeks came and gone and no sheath so I sent the knife back for a refund. Now some of you would say " Hey, you are buying a knife not a sheath", but make no mistake the sheath is about 50 bucks if you buy it alone so yes its apart of the price and it was paid for thus the sheaths are NOT free.
I've been buying knives for a long time and i'd like to think that I know enough to make a sound judgement on where to spend my money. I have heard the horror stories about Bark River but I always loved how their knives looked so I took a leap of faith and made a purchase on a Bark River Bravo 1.5 in CPM 3V.
Now would this keep me from buying a Bark River if I saw one I really liked probably not, but it does make me cautious. I think that they need to work on delivering outstanding service out of their warranty department to the point that it blows away their customers. If a mistake is made the last thing you wanna do is make another one and turn off the customer for good.
I own several Bark River knives, and only one dud out of 6 (chips from the factory, and not all that small). Mike seems like a nice guy in your videos, but I just read some vicious posts Mike made about a customer on knifeforums.com. Really unbelievably rude remarks, and not what you'd expect from someone who cares about customers. The guy complained about rust on his Bark River knife, and was immediately vilified by Mike and his fans for EIGHT pages! The poster apologized, saying he didn't mean to cause trouble, but that just seemed to get the crowd more angry...??? I know that sometimes people's comments get misconstrued while typing on a forum, but these savages spelled it out clearly.
Edit: Mike did tell the guy to send the knife back, and he'd make it as good as new. Maybe he should enclose a little piece of paper about knife care in the box. I own a LOT of knives from different makers/companies, and they all include care and feeding instructions.
Frank Butta multiple be people have gotten cabin blades labeled as stainless. There's on CZcams. The test proves it
I've got a bravo EDC in elmax, a fox river ext 1 in 3v, a bushcrafter lt in 3v, and a bravo 1.25 in a2 coming tomorrow. I love them knives from Bark River.
I just got a Lil Canadian 2016. It has .093 blade thickness reduced from the standard .150. It's a great cutter / slicer. If I've ever had a complaint about BRKT knives, it would be the blade thickness. Sometimes the thickness takes away from slicing capability. They probably do this to keep knuckleheads from breaking them.
Being from Escanaba, I'm glad you were able to take advantage of the opportunity to visit our humble little town and the U.P. which to nearly everyone outside of Michigan and Wisconsin is really an unknown.
I am glad you took the time to clear the air about Mike and BRKT.
BTW....that sarcasm, its a widespread in the U.P. ;-) Great stuff! Keep up the good work sir!
There is always going to be someone who doesn't like one of these knife fellows for one reason or another. I enjoyed seeing and learning about the three knives you showed. The color tempering chart will come in handy thanks. God bless Mike and BRK, may they be prosperous while giving their community opportunity!
Mike is a great character. Thank you for sharing
As a happy customer of Bark River, owning several different knives different steels, styles etc, I can personally attest to anyone the excellent heat treat of their knives. I had a personal conversation with Mike to tell him this how I felt, and he started going into the details of the heat treat on A2 specifically since that was the one we were discussing.
Not a super steel, but of SHOCKING performance capabilities. Really surprising, no lie. I'm not paid or in any way compensated by Bark River Knives.
Are there things about their knives I don't like. Sure. Too often their designs lack a decent hilt to protect hand slipping onto the blade (which I keep mine scarey sharp). Also, I find it disturbing not to be able to procure models of knives I like because they flat stopped making them.
Also, sometimes their sheath designs are a bit goofy.
However, and I told Mike my opinion, I personally feel at this time Bark River makes better knives than Randall. Yes that's correct. Not diminishing the Randall product at all, I have owned a huge pile of them and still have some. But Bark River makes better knives.
I've been looking into the brand after having just discovering them. I'll be getting a Bark River soon.
Look forward to buying a bark river knife soon enough. Great video and discussion.
I love using Bark River knives. High Quality, one of the best warranty's in thr knife business. The actually take care of their customers, and I trust their product. I own 3 Barkies currently ( own a few also in the past) and also have a pre-order in the works for another blade. Now on Mike's past. Thats what it is " Past" and we can't judge a person by their past. I can say this, Mike Stewart is a Genuine Guy, upfront and honest . He knows his stuff when it comes to knives and knows how to handle business. Anyhow. Thanx for the vid.
What would I give to work for Bark River making knives all day. Thanks for the clarification of the story Rob, I've always liked Bark River just from the feel that their knives give, admittedly though they're a bit out of my price range so despite my love for them I don't own one.
My wife works there.
I would find it really hard to believe that I can brake even a kitchen knife in a chopstick.
I didn't know about the hoopla regarding Mike Stewart, but I do know how facts get twisted on the internet. Each person who tells a story changes the story a little, and eventually all the facts are so scrambled you don't know what to believe. I have two Blackjack knives made by BR and they are top quality knives. So are the sheath's. The Chinese made Blackjack knives are no where near the quality of US made knives. It takes a talented knifemaker to make convex grind knives consistently well. BR is one of the best. Thanks for the explanation.
Thank you for the responses and this video, Rob! (Never expected to see my e-mail read on your channel, lol.) :) I think that your honesty and perspective on this issue are priceless. Hopefully many others who shared my concerns will see this video.
Very sound science. The sparks flying off the blade during grinding actually carry heat away from the knife. A very similar phenomenon happens when machining at high speeds with carbide bits. No cooling or cutting oil is needed because the heat is carried away by the chips. If the knife is not too hot to touch then it does not come anywhere close to hot enough to ruin the heat treatment.
I just got my first two BR knives and they are superb! I wish they would start making some large fighters again, we might be needing them soon. 😉
I own a Bark River Fox River and couldn't be happier. S30V steel. Good info in this video.
KendallWorks The Knife Makers Guild isn't a guild in the classical European sense, I.e. a collective bargaining unit for laborers. It exists to pass on the skills of knife making to individual entrepreneurs.
gso 5.1 vs bravo 1.5 in your opinion which one is best and why? thank you for all the vids
Bravo because you can actually get one..if you ordered a gso the time you made this comment you still wouldn't have it..
Liam Hoffman recently also posted about tempering steel/ ruining heat treat...both you guys agree great videos
This was a great video. I'm a huge bark river fan and have spent a lot of time chatting in the facebook group. Mike is truly a caring guy.
A few years ago I bought a what I thought, and what I still think, was a Bark River Knife from what I thought was a reputable company "on sale". I love the knife but it was either a 'second' or just a knock-off: there are absolutely no markings on the blade and the blade above the belly was (still is) flawed and discolored with slight imperfections that appear to run all the way through the blade. The spine above this area looked like it was batoned with a heavy file. It short, it was rough.
Nevertheless, I cleaned it up and started using it; the knife, Bark River or not, and I have been in some wild places and done a lot of skinning, camping, hiking; it has never broke at the imperfection area, and when I head out it goes with me. Moral of the story: even a rough-as-hell unbranded Bark River is still an awesome knife.
Who else is here because of Virtuovice? I'm new to this level of knife craft. Great teaser video. Will look into it further.
Rob
very well said
thanks
Bill
I've owned a half-dozen Bark River Knives. I did have one 3V Aurora that had some weird grind where the tip of the blade was off. Knife probably should have been caught in QC, but it was sent down the road. That knife also had micarta scales that didn't sit flat to the blade tang. But that was my only bad experience with BRKT. Other knives had come with micro-bevels when they are suppose to be true convex zero ground. The micro bevel has been macro at point on certain knives. Those are my only complaints. You can get good BRKTs and bad BRKTs. It all comes down to luck.
Good info. Ty.
I'll continue buying BRK God willing..
Really good video.
Thank you for providing your personal observations regarding BR and Mike Stewart. I believe the guy with the chopstick test was virtuovice (I could be wrong of course). I own a LOT of Bark River knives, over 12 (I lose track) and have never had an issue with any of them. That being said I am very satisfied with their product and process. Where I have concern is on the straight business practices of MS. I do not have direct knowledge or experience in dealing with Mike, but I have learned a lot on Blade Forum specifically. There is one famous thread there about a guy who put up 16K with BR to produce a run of knives for him that allegedly Mike Stewart gladly took, then never produced a single knife for the guy and refuses to return the investment. Now, as stated before I was not there, I don't know the full story BUT the evidence put forward by the guy is quite compelling. I would love to hear Mike's side of this story. Have you heard of this one?
Steven Szabo I have, Steven. All I'll say about that is there are most definitely two sides to that story. Also, the "Mike Stewart vendetta" is one of the best indicators of the character that has evolved in BladeForums. There is a core of regulars in BF who seem to drive the discussion and thrive on gossip, strife, slander and character assassination. Although Mike has not been banned from BF (he just doesn't go into that bad neighborhood much anymore), the list of makers and contributors who have been banned is a veritable "Who's Who" of respected members of the knife community. As of January 2017, by my analysis, BF is not a credible source of information.
Thanks brother, I appreciate your input greatly!
I do not own a Bark River knife yet. I do however own a Northwoods Iron River in Black Canvas Micarta, and love it. So as Bark River makes this knife for Northwoods I trust Bark River based on my own personal experiences.
I debated heavily whether or not I wanted to purchase a BRK. Based on who I thought deserved my hard-earned money, mostly, weighed on my mind. Decided to forego it from the reputation of the owner and instead purchased from Battle Horse Knives and Lt Wright, which both seemed to be stand-up people. Time will tell, I suppose, as we all have flaws, but if I'm buying something I want my money to go to the right guy.
Same here, late to the party! I had a beautiful fox River with orange g10 scales and the open pins which I absolutely coveted. I'm a Scout leader of over 25yrs in and generally have what you call a bushcraft'y type knife! And the size and orange handles. Being Scouter in the UK size and colour made it look a lot less aggressive making it less of an intimidating statement to the young people. However time, money and experience are the most valuable thing's to us none collectors, CZcams'rs, reviewers(who alot of the time are given these knives as a cheap advertising gimmick and generally reviewed immediately?) while on a survival camp with the Scouts who as general tool use Mora scout knives, I committed the cardinal sin to all knife owners and allowed a Scout to borrow my knife(fool) it was returned an hour later "snapped" in two by the scales, the horror, humiliation and in anger as firstly it was in my huberous that I was the owner of a superior tool! which had failed when other lesser knives were intact! Unfortunately the Scout in question was the son of a good colleague and friend who was mortified and there at the scene of thecrime, "he literally just dropped it" my friend was horrified and promptly pushed his falkniven into my hand as a recompense, which I being a Scouter and trying to set an example to my now growing audience tried to refuse "as accidents happen" Nice knife but not the same, but I just never had the heart to dip my hand(I now know about the warranty 4yrs later, what a fool) in my pocket again on an expensive knife again! I've watched hundreds of BR videos batoning ludicrous lumps of wood, I just think that no matter how well something is lovingly made, and the qualities of the materials involved, Maybe when it's your hard earned money personnel experience is key! I can't say about the after care service as I was to nieve to texperience this, but I can say that the joy of the knife in the use was wonderful "But" the horror in the breaking seems to of remained, nay overwhelmed the knife in use itself! If I use the most neutral view it would have to be my Wife commenting, "Your not buying one of those again as you broke the last one"
Sorry about the long winded post but it only just popped on my timeline!
Sir, yours is an excellently worded and thought out comment that i very much enjoyed reading. Cheers to you
Rb- Great video. There are always those who troll successful people. It is obvious that Bark River has created a synergy in Escanaba to benefit all (makers, workers, citizenry). I hope to someday make a pilgrimage to Escanaba to see all that is going on and and maybe attend a grind-in.
Your video and interview of Mike convinced me; I just ordered two Bark River Fox River knives from Knives Ship for Free.
I have a mini fox river in a2. Had it for probably 10 years I swear it’s my favorite knife of all time. It holds a edge like no other knife I’ve ever used. And I’ve owned pretty much every type of steel and grind you can get. Bark rivers convex is magical
@@JoeyRF I ordered two Bark River Fox River knives from KSfF and they are beautiful. I have them razor-sharp and the leather sheaths are really nice too. Bark River!
It's incredible how much these "controversies" rile up the Bladeforums hen-house!
You know how to be a friend.
In my opinion mike is an amazing person, very genuine guy, currently he is giving me advice on knife making, and he loves loves loves to help other knife makers especially new people in the hobby, and he just loves to defend new makers.
If my economy was good, I would probably order a bunch of them. These are indeed very atractive designs and collaborations.
Mike is a good guy and stands behind his stuff. He makes good stuff and thats it. What else do you need to know.
Thanks for bringing some discernment and balance to these issues. It is hard to be in any kind of business and completely avoid controversy. At the end of the day, I can only judge BRK on the basis of my experience of their products and service - both of which have been top-notch. Like GEC and others, they are making great contributions to the knife community, particularly in showing others that quality knives can be made profitably in the USA. And surely that can only be a good thing.
Rob is one stand up guy.
He sharpened two of my fixed knives a year ago and they were hair popping sharp.
Bites into my thumbnail with almost no pressure.
Rob really knows steel and precision angels for optimal performance.
I’ve learned a lot from watching his videos!
Thank you so much Rob! ✌️
My first Bark River, Bravo Alpha 3v, looks like a drunk blind guy did the grind. A little disappointed but it doesn't bother me all that much as I am more inclined to use something that isn't perfect. I have an A2 Aurora on preorder, if that has an an uneven grind then it will probably be my last Bark River.
I have a lot of BR knives , i think they are close to custom knives without the custom knife price . Ive never had to return one for QC errors .
I’ll say this, I’m a very good judge of people. I always have been. Mike Stewart seems to me to be a Very nice, very good natured guy who really cares about the craft of knife making. He comes across as honest and sincere! And Bark River knives are top notch in quality fit & finish. He really cares about the quality of every single knife that leaves his shop !
I've heard mostly good things over the years regarding MS. I've also heard a number of bad, cutthroat businessman things he's done. I'd say I have enough evidence that I believe all of it.
how did investors just pull out assuming that their money was already invested in the business and not in cash?
This is the part that throw me but I know nothing about business.
He got investors because he needed the funds to expand. Presumably all this money was invested in the business, to pay for rent, wages, supplies.
How would an investor just pull out? He could stop investing but how would they be able to take any money out of what was spent on the business?
I would assume there were legal contracts regarding how much and for how long these folks invested so as not to be some sudden surprise to the business owner. If they pulled out legally than this should have been a foreseen consequence. I do not see how they could have gotten their money and running without having to liquify assets which seems highly unlikely.
Its usually the investors who get screwed because its their money that is being used. They take the risk for ,usually, a good return.
Dan Tope seems to be one of the knife makers that he benefited from Mike's knowledge and generosity. I'm in the Bark River knife group and the Tope Nation knife group on Facebook. Both are great knife groups on Facebook.
Just bought a Bark River Kephart and will be buying more in the future. Have another one that my wife bought me years ago. At the time I thought it was too pretty to use. Now, going to use and enjoy them. Their guarantee seems to say it all. Return it we'll make it right. Can't beat that.
I wear my mountain Bowie everyday . BRK. Hands down the best knives on the market . If you disagree you don’t know better. Stewart family . Bad asses.
The more successful you are the more people become jealous. That's, that.
This is so true! We run a large cattle ranch close to a small town, you would not believe all the rumors that people say. We have been found guilty of tax evasion, traffic cocaine, rip off everyone that works for us even though we continue to pay them when there is no work, to everything in between. There are a few people in the town who we have had no dealings with, who start these rumors and spread them until the town starts to believe them. Because they are not able to be as successful with cattle farming, they assume that we have to be doing something illegal.
I have no clue about this controversy as im only looking for a knife to buy at the moment, thats why im looking at vids from this fella.
However, god i hate it when people call other people "Jealous" for disliking someone. Its often not true and its very inflammatory and unhelpful.
Ive heard people calling people jealous for not liking other peoples music, film, books, personality or ever constructive things like finding flaws in arguments or political disagreement. Its naive and non constructive at best and just inflamatory trolling at worst to call someone jealous of someone else. Its a red herring and just plain speculation. I you want to argue a point do that and if you cat argue your point you might just be the one in the wrong. Imho
Randall was my favorite knife until I seen my first Blackjack in the 1990s I own few Effingham and a few made at the new factory .
Next capital investment = folding knives. I can't wait to see what the BRKT can do.
First I heard of controversy, I don't care. I have bought 13 Bark Rivers all are top quality.
I called Bark River yesterday to find out if there was steel under the scales of a knife I had for a bowdrill divot. The secretary transferred me. Freaking Mike Stewart took my call! I felt like I met Elvis! 😎🥇🎯
Patrick Germond The only difference between Mike Stewart and Elvis is that Mike NEVER leaves the building 😉😎
Not a ‘knife guy’. But I wanted one good quality knife. Came very close to buying a BRK Bravo, but in the very end chose a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 as I figured a folder would better suit my needs.
I don’t understand how people can get so hung up on ‘Mike’ himself. You’re buying a knife, not the president of the company.
I too hate the neo know it all hipsters that seem to find their way into every craft . Boy am I late to these knives I came to know of bark river knives through my CZcams feed. My interest in bark river is their convex edge, I love my fallkniven f1 , I believe I'll definitely grab one of his loveless drop points . My only critique of bark river is how thin the handles are but that a personal thing , for me it would make a great summertime knife thanks for the video
5 years later and we're still waiting for that BRK folder.
Yeah… Mike gave up that idea a couple years ago. When you do one thing very well, but struggle with capacity to meet demand, it just doesn’t make business sense to reduce your capacity to do that one thing, in order to make room for something you’ve never done before.
thanks for the video apostle p.
however I wished you talked about the controversy where Mike supposedly stole $18,000 from the guy who came to him with the idea of a bark river kephart.
Hunter Tays I think that one needs to be filtered for truth. Does anyone really believe one of the foremost knife historians in the universe (Mike Stewart) needed someone to bring him an idea for Bark River to produce a pattern that has existed, rather iconically, for over a century? Sounds more than a little fishy.
Your response shows your underlying bias. The comment didn't say that Mike Stewart needed an idea on how to make a kephart, it says a person came to him with an idea for a kephart. Bark River has done collaborations and OEM work for lots of people. Some people don't even know that he even did a run of work for Survive Knives (it was a one time thing when Survive first started).
On Hunter Tays' comment, this is going back, but it is pretty much documented. A person with an idea for a modification for a kephart that owned a knife store prepaid Bark River some amount of money (I can't remember the amount) to make this custom batch of knives. If I recall correctly, a shipping date or two were missed. The knife store owner reached out to Mike and Mike decided that the store owner would not be able to distribute the knives to Mike's satisfaction (I believe it was related to not a big enough internet presence). Mike further stated he would not return the money until the knives were sold by distributors of Mike's choice. This would result in basically the store owner offer a 0% loan to the sellers of the knives. This was unacceptable to the store owner (and any normal human being). This was made public on forums, and Mike was justifiably crucified. This happened, if you feel like digging it up via google, you can find it. The store owner eventually got his money, if memory serves.
Look there are some very good things about Bark River. Mike does know a lot about the business of knife making as well as knife making itself. For the most part, his customer service, warranty, etc are top notch. His mastery of A2 is excellent. He puts out a lot of great patterns with amazing handle materials (unrivaled in this business). He has worked with god knows how many steels, elmax, cpm 154, 154 cm, s30, s35, a2, 1095, 5160, 3v, cpm d2, 20cv, cru-wear, sandvik steels, and that's just off the top of my head and I am not a BRK junkie.
However, there are some fair criticisms about him. The QC of BRK can slip at times. its not hard to find, bad handle alignment, blade chipping (like toothpick example), bad grindings etc. Some of that is to be expected when a company makes so many knives. However, the owner of DLT trading has a video on his Ambush knives that he pays extra for higher end QC to avoid these issues. DLT has to be a top BRK seller, so that says something to some people.
Other criticisms include that when he takes on new steels, he doesn't always do the best job. There are some that find him argumentative, close-minded or even uninformed in certain areas. There are some people who HATE him and think he is a thief from the EK/Blackjack era (before my interest in knives, so no comment, and I don't care that much either). Not hard to find info on that either.
For further disclosure, I probably will buy a JBA one day. Other knives I may buy would be an adventurer and a fox river, maybe a grizzly. I currently own 3 BRK or BRK OEM knives.
You're right, Alt -- I am biased to give Mike the benefit of the doubt, and I wasn't familiar with the issue before responding to Hunter. I did research it, however. I don't know if it's exactly clear what happened, certainly not to any of us who weren't part of that agreement, and maybe not even to the two who disagreed.
But it's obvious that you have a pretty objective and comprehensive position about what BRK does, the materials they use, and what can go wrong with such a wide range of patterns and materials. I appreciate your fair and well-thought-out comment.
Thank you for the compliments.
It is easy to have your opinion of him. He genuinely makes nice knives...more style of knives of high quality than most manufactures can dream of. He is a student of history and can talk about knives like few can.
If you want some other info, you can message me.
Jeremiah 5: 26 - ''For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.''
My experience w/Bark River is primarily through Derrick Bohn’s distributorship of the BR product, an excellent product in all aspects as is DB’s work.
Thoroughly enjoyed this video and learned about metallurgy. Thanks.
Hmmm... maybe I should get in contact with Mike, see if we can start doing some fixed blades...
Do it!
I have only one Bark River Knife, its the basic Highlander Special, I now in my later years use this knife daily as an edc, as well as work knife. Mine came slightly bent, to the left, an it has actually helped me in the normal uses I use it for. I am a handy man now an trim a lil wood from time to time, an the angle just works! An no I haven't sent it for a fix. Love this knife! An would one day enjoy one of Chris Tanner designs from BRK&T's.
I love sarcastic humor
I thought this was a great video . a lot of good info. I am a little late to the BRK game. But these knives are just great. Some of the best knives out there for the price. I have seen bad knives cost way more. Love the product.
Love BR knvies
you are the expert sir so then if you be kind and allow me to ask your expertise for help and advice SO I have an (air cooled ) A2 steel knife can I grind it on an industrial belt until the sparks fly just like in one video ? and be certain I did not over heat the steel
the video shows grinding at bark river knives with an industrial belt . I should have bought Chinese made at least i know what to expect because when I used to buy American made stuff it was unequal in quality but bark river ?
Hello David Hoback thank you for the reply and yes before heat and temper treatment but not to shape the knife afterwards . LT Wright knives they put a tour on how they manufacture their knives and yes they grid the knives when they come from the heat and temper but just to shape the edge and the grinding method does not even come close to the one of BRK. thank you David and I wish you all the best
Say Heah Rob, I have the Bark River Woodland Special in the G-10 Ghost Green Jade in my 4Knife Set, I have the Bravo 1, Bravo 2, and the Golok, All in A2 and the G-10 Ghost Green Jade Handle's. A lovely piece of kit. ,, .
Doesn't Mike continue to make Blackjack Knives for the present owners?
David Childers SSSHHHHH! No one is supposed to know that no American made Blackjack knife ha ever been made by anyone but Mike Stewart.
Nice nail nick on the big one ;)
iaxable
Those are called a fuller, I love them too, they look great!
Everyone loves to attack people when they have no idea what happened. Buisness gets way more complicated than alot of people understand
I would enjoy a conversation with you, Cliff Stamp, and Mike Stewart.
SailfishSoundSystem Who's Cliff Stamp? LOL!
I guess that's the question of the century. Shoot, throw Sal and Lynn in the mix! Cliff is a sasquatch by his profile photo, but has exceptional knowledge in metallurgy and sharpening.
@ManiacallyYours You saved it! I was trying to make a little joke after purposely not using Cliff's name in the video.
Domo, thanks for the overview. The argument about dry grinding and the consequences is one of the most inflammatory currently in the industry. I think the science and data is clear and in time I think it is going to fade and wet grinding will take over as dominant. It just takes time because of the prevalence and history. However not everyone agrees with this, there is even a thread on my forum right now where people are defending dry grinding. Science is full of disagreements, without disagreement you can't have science anyway.
For a bit of history, this always happens in industry about change. There is some point brought up which is new, everyone freaks out, but if it is true it eventually wins. The same thing happened in the late 90's and early 2000's when knife makers such as Mayer (Blackcloud) challenged that Paul Bos was not heat treating ATS-34 correctly for knives. Everyone went nuts, claiming that Bos didn't know how to harden steel that was insane! However Mayer had metallurgy on his side and even Bos eventually switched and the process that Mayer advocated is even being used now by other makers to try to gain performance in many other steels (Keffler uses it on 3V for example).
Cliff Stamp Thanks, Cliff!
Mike is the reason why most of my BRKT knives have black canvas scales.😅😊
I have five newer bark river knifes 2016/2017 production made with Elmax and Cru-Wear steels. Honestly, when compared to other brand fixed blades I own same price range the Bark Rivers seem more refined on average. Materials used are higher end, no issues with workmanship for the price I paid ( I don’t expect a $200 production knife to match a $500+ custom model fit/finish) and overall they are some of my finest knifes for real field use. Yes, I really use my knifes in the field, their not just safe queens :)
I did damage my Brk bumble bee Elmax edge while cleaning squirrels totally my fault I was cutting leg bones pushing down with a lot of force and hitting the metal tail gate when it broke through the leg bones. It was late, cold and I was in to big of a hurry. That said I fixed the bad spot pretty easy on diamond stone it’s good as new now.
One thing I have learned in life is people all have different strengths. Some are great dealing with people, others are best served dealing with production or numbers (not people ,people ) and so on. Let’s face it, it’s a rare person that’s good at everything. From my take Mike may not be the best customer service personality so he should hire someone with that skill set to manage those issues. He knows how to design, build and sale knifes so stick with that part of the business. It’s called a team approach ;) use everyone’s talents were they are best suited to strengthen your business. Don’t put a accountant in your customer service position LOL
steel1911
very good information I own a bark river aurora and can say it's the best I have every owned I have personally taken 5 well known brands of knives out and compared them and every time it's bark river hands down out performed them all and iam seriously not talking them up guys it's just a fact
I THINK you may or may or may not have just confirmed traditional folders from brkt Rob...
And i cant stop looking at that handle on the springbock Rob. 😍😍😍