Bark River Gunny Hunter: Outstanding All-Purpose Fixed Blade
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2024
- Here's my initial review of my first knife from Bark River Knives in Escanaba, MI. It's the Gunny Hunter, an all purpose hunting / woods / camp knife in A2 tool steel. The Gunny Hunter is perfectly sized to be a constant companion for the outdoorsman with its3 13/16" blade, 4 1/2" handle and 5.4 ounce weight (8.2 oz. w/sheath). Its handle and blade design complement its dimensions perfectly as well, as it performs a variety of tasks with ease. It's the perfect "if I could only have one Bark River" knife... but who could only have one Bark River knife?! Enjoy, my friends...
My Gunny Hunter came in CPM-3V and I agree that it is a great all-purpose knife. I just reprofiled mine a bit so that it now has a full convex grind. It works a bit better for me that way.
I love your forensic examination of a knife and the way you highlight, even minor, imperfections that most of us wouldn't even spot. You are my 'go to' knife reviewer and, of course, as a showcase for your edges...sublime!
As a "bushcrafter" scandi fan I would have to say that the scandi grind isn't just about feather sticks. The Scandinavian craftsmen who invented this grind, essentially invented a double edged, shallow angled chisel for wood carving. A typical scandi grind knife (like a short puukko for example will have a short belly with a steeper grind to carve curves in wood - something that the convex grind knife will find harder to achieve IMO.
It's all debate...beautiful work and great review!
God bless.
Enjoyed and sure like your new knife brother Rob. Every nice edge you applied and like your set up for the sand paper. Hope you and all have a blessed day.
I have the 3V version. definitely a favorite
I love my aurora! Perfect!
I want the aurora 2 looks absolutely incredible
Bark Rivers A2 steel is easy to sharpen in the field and takes to a strop like an old school straight razor !
Fallkniven is King !! 👑
Bark river a close 2nd
Just got one of these today almost too nice to use but I'm still gonna!
Great video! Great knife! I am a custom knife maker and really like the coke bottle design however, the design is not a classic BR design. It was designed by Robert Loveless I believe. Most classic knife designs were patterned after Loveless designs or inspired by them. Bark River does a great job especially if you take into consideration the volume of knives they produce. It's not easy to make knives quickly to fill orders and maintain a high standard of quality. I would buy one myself if I were not a knife maker! Thanks for the review!
You’re absolutely correct, Terry. Sorry if I didn’t make clear the lineage from Mr. Loveless’ original design. Bob is definitely one of the most influential makers / designers in Bark River’s catalog.
I've watched many of ypur video's and I am shocked to hear you didn't have more experience with a convex. All knives were convex before v grinds came along so to be a true knife lover I'd expect more experience with a convex.
I know! I can't believe it's taken me this long to venture into this grind geometry. But I'm a quick study, and I've come to love the convex grind and sharpening it.
Very nice!
looks like you made the edge thicker and steeper by rounding it. It shows in the shine. Dont raise the spine too much especially if you have soft thick strop under the sand paper.
It's actually a little thinner than factory behind the edge.
+TheApostleP love bark river but not a big fan of micro bevel. looks like you have made the micro bevel larger.
should not use a soft leather backing as what we did a few years back turned out a failure better of with a hard flat tile with as many sheets of printing paper or non at all, its all in the natural action of your wrist
John Huynh its not a micro bevel...the edge is just a lot more polished.there's no way you can put a micro bevel on a knife using leather and sand paper
@@zleggitt1989 Yeah you can, it's just a convex micro bevel. And this knife now has a convex micro bevel. Not the best edge profile for a full convex blade.
Having hosted tours of a newspaper for schoolchildren for years, I'm somewhat familiar with paper and its grain properties. I wonder if you had tried your push cut on the long edge of the paper rather than the short edge if you would have had more luck? Great video, though, thank you.
Bark River makes some awesome knives. I recommend you look into Rapid River Knife Works out of Rapid River Michigan, if you like Bark River, you'll love Rapid River's knives.
Rob, could you carry that as an edc for a month or so and let us know how it performs in that role? I'm considering carrying one.
Thanks Brother.
this is buy far one of my favorites, also the edge starts high which is what gives you a nice gentle slimming to the apex os micro sec bevel. i believe in cutting some med soft wood and if it still cuts paper i am sure you would agree, just cutting papaer says nothing of retention, if you have a micro bevel do not strop as the factory bevel will stay the same and go up to the thicker part of main bevel. you musy get rid of that micro secondary. bhk. in my oppinion did this because people would uo getting micro chips and instead of fixing it it was costing bhk a lot to fix everyone's knives for free. use the the harder or thinner of leather or even an amount of print paper. you dont want the leather to to be the defining equipment in getting the edge you want. when i was younger the first grind from begginning of cutting first edge was the secondary and of course done first in most cases and the and the primary done second in the grind process was the primary as this was the primary cutting edge, and the what is called today secondary it thickest part which should never be over.02 of an inch was called the relief but in times the names and words of the masters changed, back in the late seventies my first book and only book on understandinf knives and sharpening was from John Juranich , althoug h i learned alot more on my own and from people John got me there
Old video yes, but I have a question. This is paper micarta. How is the lasting properties with this handle compared to linen or canvas. Btw I agree it's a beautiful knife
thanks for the great video library - really good. I would be curious which knives you yourself own and carry - maybe a video on that?
I believe The Bark River Aurora is their original bushcraft knife and it's convex.
Sweet knife.
Maybe you know this already, but the belt loop on the sheath is designed to hold back the retaining strap, preventing you from accidentally cutting the retaining strap when withdrawing the knife.
One thing I dislike about the ergonomics of the Gunny is the flare at the butt of the knife. Combined with the squareness of the butt, it is really uncomfortable when choking back on the knife, which is apparently something I like to do. Did you notice that in your testing?
I look forward to seeing your upcoming BRK videos. CZcams needs more high quality, full length reviews on these knives.
+Marl 71 I did figure out the strap retention feature shortly after making the video, in the Obenauf's application phase of getting to know the Gunny. I also noticed that the retention strap can be overcome if the knife catches on something, and it can come out without unsnapping the strap :(
+TheApostleP I just tried mine and it does not come out unless unsnapped. Although mine is a rampless Gunny, not a Gunny hunter. They should be almost the same with different grind heights. Righty EEP sheath, same design.
Thats a really dry piece of wood also! very nice factory edge
A tabletop review of a fixed blade, okay now I’ve seen everything.
Sean B Don’t watch many knife reviews, huh?
Great choice on your first BRK. After your sharpening, is that still a zero grind?
no he has a micro bevel on it
If you reprofile a knife, then it shouldn’t have a microbevel on it
that is a fine knife, really nice contour and drop to point, would you custom sharpen a new gunny, oh, maybe not needed, thanks for the tips on fixing edge. a will do
What was your impression of the Bravo EDC while you were in their shop, Rob?
I am very interested in getting one of them, but I generally don't want to spend $200 just to find out what it's like...
Like gunny or bravo handle better? have a vid showing both side by side?
Nice one !
Nice knife! :-)
Nice vid Rob. What i am curious about: What specific advantage offers a convex grind compared to a scandi (f.e. Mora) or a flat grind (f.e. Esee) or hollow (f.e. Tops). Maybe another vid about this?
Congrats with this nice purchase. And enjoy it.
scandi/zero grind is easiest to control into the wood and easy to maintain of you have flat stones that is. a full flat grind is often the best for slicing and cutting etc into wood and kitchen tasks but here is the blade geometri and secondary bevel incredible important that is flawless. but its the best grind in my eyes if done good.
hollow is just useless in my eyes for other than a skinner. you cant thin it etc like you can. its weaker than any other grinds. it carves slices good until it meet shoulders and often the very edge must be thicker as its to thin higher up.
and a full convex is strong and carves good to
Ok, thanks for your full explanation.
+KnifeCollector031 The Netherlands (Messenhobby) no problem, just asking whu did you wonder? looking for a grind for you?
Was curious for the opinion of The ApostlP. FOr myself i like a flat grind because for me it is the most overall usefull i think. Although i like my Bark River knives, i never use them.
Why are the carbon steels so much easier to sharpen than the super steels? I use water stones free hand. I’m ok with bark rivers and such but man I stink at super steels. Not sure if I’m just impatient or it takes so many passes on the stone with super steel that have too many mismatching passes.
I'm looking at this and the Gunny. What is your opinion on the different steels? A2 vs 3V vs 35VN. I'm looking for an all around EDC/bushcraft knife
michael gerber look at the gunny scandi in cpm 3v
Gunny hunter or Fox River EXT-1 for EDC??? I CAN'T DECIDE AHHHH?!?!?!
Oh dear Rob, this one is going to make the League of Internet Bushcrafters very upset! You thought the Association of Mall Ninjas was scary...
Is this “coyote brown” handle?
Nice.
What's a2 edge retention like in comparison to 3v?
with bark rivers heat treatment 3v has quite a lot more edge retention...it is also tougher and has a higher wear-resistance. But generaly A2 can be a very sick steel when treated differently.
Looks great , but it looks also that it have no grip at all.But hey it looks awsome!
+BrotherBeard75 Bark River definitely depends more on handle design and shape for a secure and comfortable grip, rather than texture. They do that better than anyone.
have you ever had any experience with the Bark River Manitou?
Travis H Yes. It’s a masterpiece.
@@TheApostleP if that is one you have, could you do a review of it?
Travis H I don’t own one, but next time I have one for sharpening, I’ll do a review.
Why do you like sharpening notches?
Thore Tyrson It’s kind of a long answer. Watch my video “Jacked up Choils and Plunge Grinds.”
TheApostleP thx, rgr, will do
whats the difference between a zero grind and a convex?
+zleggitt1989 The convex on BRK's A2 knives is also a zero grind, as in no micro-bevel... the grind goes all the way to the tip. They do some knives in other steels that do have micro bevels though, and aren't zero ground.
so the only difference between the two is one has a micro bevel? i knew they were very similar but i didnt know the exact difference if there was one. thank you for the info
+zleggitt1989 Actually, Jeremy's comment isn't accurate. All Bark River Knives are convex ground to the edge. While they don't classify the edge as having a micro bevel, the curve of the convex is shaped at a tighter radius than the face of the blade, and is polished to 3000 grit. If the blade were full flat ground with a v-ground secondary bevel, that's sort of what BRK does, but both are convex instead of straight. No Bark River knives have a v-ground bevel of any kind, main, secondary or micro. They don't even have a piece of equipment in the shop to apply such a bevel, no matter what steel they're working with.
very interesting thank you for the information, but what is the difference between the convex grind and a zero grind? are they essentially the same? or is a zero ground blade completely different? for example, how is bark rivers convex grind different than maybe a rockstead zero grind?
TheApostleP Thanks for the great info. Maybe they were done differently awhile back, virtuovice always had to get rid of the micro bevel on his cpm 3v models, but yeah, what you're saying sounds right. I really enjoyed your tour video of their shop.
i would get rid of that micro bevel you should try water stone sharpening it works way better than what you do check out dbk and virtuvoice videos
May I ask why you went A2 and not 3V? Thanks for the video!
+Mike Kinsey I wanted my first one to be in the classic BRK steel. I also think A2 lends itself to convex sharpening (and stropping) better than some of the more current super steels. As sort of a beginner doing convex sharpening, I wanted to start here.
I've had the original gunny for a long time. I love the knife design, but mine is sandvik 19c27 and I dislike that steel with this knife.
Hey thats pretty rare! I think only a small number of gunnys exist in that steel
I don't think it looks any sharper after the treatment.
6 dislikes? Why?
would've been good to see you field dress a dear with it
it would work effortlessly as long as shoulder of micro sec. relief is removed and turned into a full but strong pure convex and you exhausting job of feild dressinf would be a much better experience. i dont have cameras and all that equipment to show that i hunt , but i know nothing or have finances of patience to get into filming now
Bark River makes some awesome knives. I recommend you look into Rapid River Knife Works out of Rapid River Michigan, if you like Bark River, you'll love Rapid River's knives.