Bark river knives?

[DapperDan]

Was looking into getting some new knives to process game and have come to the conclusion that I’d like a nice knife to actually skin a small quarter with in the field. I’m leaning pretty heavy on the bark river knives Bc they seem really nice and likely going with A2 steel. Models I’m looking at are the Canadian Special, Fox River, and gunny hunter. The Canadian special and fox river are on the top of my list. May even pack it on back pack hunts as well Bc I was not impressed at all with my tyro while trying to break down an elk. Also wasn’t impressed with a friends havalon as the blades kept popping out on him.

Anyone have any reviews or experience with the bark river or similar knives?


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[Oregonboy]

They make very, very nice knives. Although, you should know that most bark river knives have a convex edge, which is difficult for the average person to sharpen at home. It can definitely be done but it's not as simple as other grinds (such as flat, hollow or scandi).

 

[Ndbowhunter]

I had a fox river, and a few others.

All but one replaced with mora’s ( it was a wedding present)

 

[6mm Remington]

There are lots of excellent knives out there. I have one of each of these Ruana knives and I really like them. They are easy to sharpen and hold an edge very well. Both of these two models of the ones they make are also just a really nice functional size for just about everything.

Ruana Steelhead

Ruana 5AD

 

[ohoopee]

I have several Bark River's. I have the fox and the mini fox and a few others. The Fox is a big knife but effective and you can re sharpen relatively easy. I don't have a Gunny hunter and that would be my next Bark River. The Mini Fox is my most used knife. Its small and can do heavier tasks.

 

[Poeschel]

I’ve had several BR knives. They are well made, come sharp, good steel and good sheaths. My only gripe, and it’s significant to me, the handles. They make beautiful handles in a ton of different colors and materials, but they’re slick as snot. Most are highly polished and need a good sand job to rough them up a bit. Then they lose their luster. Just my thoughts.

 

[manitou1]

I have a Bark River Drop Point hunter that will go to the grave with me. Hard to find now, but I have the S3v steel. I have worked up 3 antelope, a muley buck and a large whitetail buck with this knife thus far this season with only a couple of swipes on a ceramic steel. Still scary sharp. Love this knife...

 

[Beendare]

Bark river makes some great knives....though many are on the heavy side if you are a backpack type hunter.

A2 is good steel but it will rust if you put it away wet or bloody. I thought this wasn't a big deal making a knife from a similar steel PMA11....that little bit of rust from a tiny bit of residual blood is a pain.

I can do 2 elk with my Benchmade Steep countryCPM S30v knife. This is a good compromise between being easy to sharpen and edge retention. Many steels are better but when you start getting up in the CPM S90v, s110v and CPM s10v range....I can tell you those are harder to sharpen.

You can't sharpen those super high grade steels with normal stones....the carbides in the stones are weaker than the carbides in the blade steel...you need diamonds. An S90v is a lot harder to sharpen over a S30v....and something like S110v is very difficult for the avg guy.

Some guys use the cheap steel knives- my butcher is one- as he is OK with steeling that knife multiple times while working on an animal. The cheaper steels will need touch up.

Heres a good chart if you really want a knife that will hold an edge;
Bladeforum knife steel test


Note; As you look at these blades note that Rockwell hardness makes a big difference in edge retention. Rockwell is a log scale, so 2 points makes a big difference, say 58R to 60R....big difference....and you can see it in the link to the chart I posted on how many cuts through manila rope.
....

 

[zacattack]

I don’t have any of those models, but my bark river knife is quite nice and of good quality. Don’t think you can go wrong with them.

Was looking into getting some new knives to process game and have come to the conclusion that I’d like a nice knife to actually skin a small quarter with in the field. I’m leaning pretty heavy on the bark river knives Bc they seem really nice and likely going with A2 steel. Models I’m looking at are the Canadian Special, Fox River, and gunny hunter. The Canadian special and fox river are on the top of my list. May even pack it on back pack hunts as well Bc I was not impressed at all with my tyro while trying to break down an elk. Also wasn’t impressed with a friends havalon as the blades kept popping out on him.

Anyone have any reviews or experience with the bark river or similar knives?


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I have a drop point hunter, that is a very nice solid knife. You wont be disappointed

 

[boom]

i had a few come thru my hands. they are nice looking knives. but the ones my friends had had these beautiful handles that got so slippery cleaning turkeys. i opted not to jump on board. there are so many out there, i cant buy them all...so i tend to over think, think some more, think again..before i buy.

i am trying this elk season with a 3V Benchmade Puukko. i do run the risk of some blood rust.but whatever. maybe the stain will be a good reminder of a succesful hunt. FINGERS CROSSED.

 

[rileybassman]

I'm a huge bark river fan... Love them and they are my usual hunting carry for myself and my wife.

I have multiple gunny hunters and they are excellent blades for hunting. Also have had a Fox River and currently have the "Fox River ext-1" which is a fox river blade (slightly taller and longer) with the gunny handle.

The EXT1 is my favorite elk knife and the gunny hunter is my favorite deer/antelope knife. I liked the fox river and did several deer with it, but like the other two models more.

The handles can be slightly slick, but after over 20 animals, I've never had an issue with it... The ergos are great and they aren't really that slick IMO.

I recommend going for 3v over A2 (have both). I have had barkies in A2, 3V, S35VN, Cru Wear and elmax and 3V is my favorite. Pretty much superior to A2 (which I do like) in ever regard - toughness, edge holding, and stain resistance. I prefer the tool steels for fixed blades most of the time. 3V is stain resistant enough that after an elk or deer, I can wipe it down with a wipe down my kill kit and it's gonna be ok for a day or so to really deep clean it. A2 needs to be babied a little more ... But it's still better then 1095 or O1.

Great knives, I don't think you will be disappointed.

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[Lawnboi]

Iv had a lot of bark river knives pass through my hands, and still own a lot of them, mainly for kitchen use.

My 2 cents, bark river makes a good knife. Iv got ten a few flops with bad grinds, bad heat treat, but those were sent back. Overall Iv been and am happy with my bark rivers. IMO the knives your looking at, are all pretty thick knives. More than I want for breaking down game. I think bark river goes a little crazy with their knife thicknesses, not everyone wants to beat the crap out of wood with the thing. I also like a little more sweep to the blade for a game knife, more belly/curve to the blade lest the knife do the work more than I. If you want a bark river for processing game I highly recommend to look at the lt models or try to keep the thickness under .125. The mini kalahari sportsman is a kick ass boning knife, if you want to spend bigger money on a boning knife.

As far as steel, no problem with A2 but keep in mind it’s a reactive steel and can/will rust. Keep it clean and your fine. 3v is darn near stainless and very tough. Cpm154 is a nice smooth stainless. I wouldn’t get too caught up, pick stainless or not and grab a knife in whatever it’s made it. You likely won’t notice a difference in use.

Keep in mind that you will need some sharpening equipment, not standard stuff. Strops, stones and sandpaper work great. Some of the harder steels sharpen much better with their emulsions than the standard color block compounds. Different technique. They will dull, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Yea you can send it in for sharpening but if your using it, just learn to sharpen it.

Id highly recommend looking at LT Wright knives. Personally I don’t carry anymore Bark rivers int the field, lt has taken that spot, more user knives, more affordable, and the half dozen I own are all near custom quality.

PM me if you have any other questions

 

[adamm88]

Iv owned a aurora, great quality, it was thick, i bought one used at a great deal, it was too thick for me and i sold it in my knife whoring out days, I would buy a thiner knife but not at retail,


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[Shraggs]

I’m also huge fan of bark river as well other high quality makers. I have over 100 and I use them all.

The models you mentioned are all good, but each has a different role... and very different grips.

Thickness is true, but as the only maker in the US dedicated to full convex you must start with more steel. In recent years as their shop has improved ability to shape steel to convex they are offering many models in .125 or less thickness. Two of the models you mention have light models.

From what you mentioned, I wouldn’t pick any of those models. FR is one of the best field boning knife (short of a commercial victorinox curved boner) I’ve used, but a drop point in general are not great skinners. Gunny has earned reputation as a hunting, survival knife, military carry, bushcraft and does all well imo, but not the best in any, again imo. CS is Mike Stewart version of the grohman #1. With different edge profile, I view as General purpose bushcrafty - although I boned out big whitetail with it and I prefer it to Fox river for that task. The belly is nice but small and not a continuous curved and not a good skinning knife. All three of those have handles that are large and Or contoured - and for me I like slightly undersized handles, personal preference. All of these models plus the loveless replicas can all gut or quarter any animal however.

For the type of mountain processing I do, gutless bone out I prefer a skinning based design. Currently in stock at two online dealers is the classic loveless skinner. Others if you find used are mini kalahari semi skinner, trail buddy. Folks are afraid of skinners because you loose precision. But if the tasks are skin then remove muscles those patterns excel beyond a drop point imho. Interesting internet reading would be the Marbles woodcraft a very famous knife, also referred to as a sticking knife. Early 1900s you would stick one of your stock until it bleed out, then skin it, then remove muscles and butcher them for storage. All with a 4” skinner. Another good light one made by spyerdco the bill moran skinner. They will do everything but not gut very well.

For elk I carry the Classic loveless skinner in wood handle and weight 4 oz, and I carry their pro scaple II for my initial skin incisions, skin out lower legs and cape the head if I’m so lucky, and it’s a general camp chore knife. It weight 1.5 oz. if I were going after deer it would be the trail buddy.

Another reason I love bark river is their steels. Yep have a few duds like lambs mentioned but they took good care of me. If you’re fair at sharpening I’d stay with a2. Excellent overall performance and forgiving. If you can sharpen I like a few super steels but not all. My preferences are cpm 154, s35vn (altered version of sv30), 3v, cpm d2 (not d2) and a2. 3v and a2 will rust but if you can keep your knives vertical in pack that won’t. I coat mine anyway in veg oil.

So many excellent points already posted, mine is just another and in no way definitive to others. My experiences and a crazy knife nut who seeks out my way to process kills.

 

[JohnIrish]

I like s90v and other high end steels.... I sharpen them at home (diamond stones).... then never have to touch them up in the field. I have quartered out an elk before and it still easily slices paper. I also agree with the others on a thin blade....cuts much better.

 

[rileybassman]

I like s90v and other high end steels.... I sharpen them at home (diamond stones).... then never have to touch them up in the field. I have quartered out an elk before and it still easily slices paper. I also agree with the others on a thin blade....cuts much better.

I think someone said above, but they make some models in the "LT" variation which is thinner.

I will say, the full height convex cuts extremely well despite some thicker stock on some models and usually out performs a marginay thinner ffg or saber knife of standard 20-25 dps... For example a .156 barkie may cut closer to like a .125 thick ffg or saber. All depends on edge angles, but generally speaking I have found this to be true.

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[dutch_henry]

They make some beautiful knives. I bought and sadly returned a Canadian Special. The finger grooves just didn't work for me, though others rave about them. Really liked the blade shape and size through.

I've found that a lot of hunting knives from semi-custom makers (Bark River, LT Wright, Fiddleback) are better described as do-it-all hunting-bushcraft-survival knives. That's great if you need that utility. Plus the the heft feels good and is nice for quartering. But over time I've come to appreciate less knife rather than more.

Maybe look at Bark River's LT models. Thinner blades and imo much better as a dedicated hunting knife.

 

[DapperDan]

They make some beautiful knives. I bought and sadly returned a Canadian Special. The finger grooves just didn't work for me, though others rave about them. Really liked the blade shape and size through.

I've found that a lot of hunting knives from semi-custom makers (Bark River, LT Wright, Fiddleback) are better described as do-it-all hunting-bushcraft-survival knives. That's great if you need that utility. Plus the the heft feels good and is nice for quartering. But over time I've come to appreciate less knife rather than more.

Maybe look at Bark River's LT models. Thinner blades and imo much better as a dedicated hunting knife.

What I’ve researched and found is that it seems that the convex blade angle is great for bush crafting uses but not so good at all when used to cut through hide or meat


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[Shraggs]

What I’ve researched and found is that it seems that the convex blade angle is great for bush crafting uses but not so good at all when used to cut through hide or meat


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Not true at all...

Convex is superior in cutting hide and flesh. In parts much like an axe parts wood with their convex edges. Scandi grinds or flat grinds if 20 degree or less are superior on wood and way too sharp and delicate for game.

 

[dutch_henry]

What I’ve researched and found is that it seems that the convex blade angle is great for bush crafting uses but not so good at all when used to cut through hide or meat


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I think the difference would be minimal if there is one at all. Some is preference, just like some prefer a toothy edge and some like a polished edge. If you find a knife you love but a grind you don't, you could always reprofile it, or even send it to a sharpening service for the initial fix.

In terms of which grinds, I'd think more in terms of how you like to sharpen and what tools you have available. A belt system like the Work Sharp is all about convex (as is sandpaper on a mousepad). Flat grinds need a guided sharpening system (or freehanding on stones). Supersteels will require diamond stones.

In terms of steels, one advantage to steels like A2 (bark river), VG10 (spyderco, falkniven), or 1095 (esee) is that they're easy to strop back to being hair-popping sharp. That's more important to me than extreme durability, but ymmv. I rarely have to sharpen...but I strop quite often.