So as not to hijack another knife forum, the name Bark River Knives came up. Not being familiar with them, I looked them up. Nice stuff. That looks like that could be a deep rabbit hole

I’ll have to check them out as I’m unfamiliar with them as well.

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Some Might Say.

I’ve got a couple and have been quite pleased with them. This is the only one I have a pic of at the moment, Bravo 1 with golden elder burl scales. Don’t recall the specs but the blade is a nice thickness and the convex grind cuts well. Sheath is nice quality as well.

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BCCI Life Member #2068

I guess us Barbie fans haven’t talked about them enough!
American Made, from small to really big, they use about every steel and handle material available!
They make so many models, variations, blade lengths, improvements-changes that they can be confusing!
And often they put models into production , then stop that one and move on to another!
When you are slow on the trigger, it’s sad singing and slow driving!
YES, I WANT A CHUTE KNIFE!
Out of production and going up in value like Fighter with Burner lit.
Here’s my Largest Bark River.
It’s a Smoke Jumper, middle Knife.
Randall on top, Bottom - Loveless Pattern Dixon Fighter - made by NM Knife Whiz Hank Kubiabo.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

No fair for us Country Boys to have all the fun!
Here’s a Bark River Loveless Pattern City Knife.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I will speak pure blasphemy in a public forum—I think any Bark River knife equals any Randall. There I said it!

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Possum—The other white meat!

Bark Rivers are nice knives, and yes, the rabbit hole is deep...

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NRA Life Member

When I set up at gun shows I have My knives in a display case so people have to ask to see one. I have Randall, Ruana, Morseth, CR Sigman and My partner puts in some of His WWII knives and two Bark River knives. What do the Philistines walking the aisles ask to see? The Randall, Ruana, and WWII knives. Only names they know.

I have a few:

Classic Drop Point Hunter in 4V
Classic Utility Caper
Wilderness Explorer in Cruwear
Kalahari Thorn
Springbok, one in BCM, one in Desert Ironwood
Featherweight Fox River
PSK EDC
Survivor
Bird & Trout
Kalahari Mini Sportsman
Kalahari Sportsman
Bushcrafter

They use great steels and good quality designs and handle shapes.

Very good blades.

So far, I have one Bark River and like it a lot. Want more.

Bark River Knives is family owned & operated AFAIK. I like that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pretty much all of the more well-known makers from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Bark River, Rapid River, Hess, etc., make good quality knives. Most of the guys up there worked at Marble's in Gladstone at one time or another and are well-familiar with producing quality classic Scagel (influenced by Webster Marble and who influenced Bo Randall)-type knives. You really can't go wrong with any of them.

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SWHF #448

More names to explore. The rabbit hole deepens!

I have (or have had) a half dozen Randalls and a dozen or so Bark River. I would never say Bark River is as good as a Randall but I wouldn't feel unarmed and powerless with a Bark River.

I've owned several Bark River knives, and still have three. One is a discontinued model, but is one of fifteen Mike Stewart made especially to try out my suggestion that instead of a metal guard he use a contrasting Micarta one. He was gracious enough, for some time afterward, to refer to that guard design on subsequent models by my name.

All the Bark Rivers I've owned have been pretty early ones, all with blades of splendidly cryo-treated A2 steel, convex ground. All were fiendishly sharp from the box, held an edge extremely well, and could be stropped back to sharp on a piece of corrugated cardboard.

My favorites of the ones I've owned have been a first-production Highland Special with a four-inch drop point blade with a thickness of 0.170" (compared to a later one I acquired with a 0.25" thick blade, which I liked but thought it was a bit less agile than the older one); and a Mini-Canadian with a 2.5 inch blade.

All three knives had green canvas Micarta handles. I carried the Mini-Canadian in a hip pocket wallet-style sheath for cutting up boxes, etc. The Highland Special was to my way of thinking just about the perfect field knife--versatile, virtually indestructible, felt wonderful in my hand, and a ferocious cutting tool.

Nowadays Mike seems to be pitching heavily to collectors, with a bewildering range of designs and materials. But I'd bet the old homestead that anything he produces will still be one hell of a cutter.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Say ya to da UP!

I been known to tell folks-
I been Everywhere -
I been to the PI, DI, ZI and the UP.
I can say Escanabia but I can’t spell it!
You can still go to all of them except the DI.
They tore it down!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I found them because of the "KnivesShipFree.Com" website. They are also good folks to deal with.

Tim

Hmmmmmmm... I did not see a model named Shouldazagged?

I think I am getting dangerously close to buying one of these Bark River knives

They have blades from petite to super beefy. They have a few with blades exceeding .25 inches thick. I have a Dakkar and it is one heck of a chopper. If you plan to use your knife heavily, I suggest sticking to tougher handle materials like micarta.

Couldn't have said it better! Being from Michigan and having relatives in Escanaba, I get up there quite a bit. And the collection of all of these has been reproducing for decades now (starting with Marble of course). You simply can't go wrong at the price point. Just don't Google Marble Knives because you'll only see the cheap Chinese ****.

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Pass it on.
Mark

Just ordered a Magnum Fox River. Needed another, dang it.

Nope, he used my real last name to describe the guard only, which he used on several models. I wasn't Shouldazagged on the knife forum anyway. I have printouts of entries on the forum in which he discussed the guard.

I thought it was a really nice gesture on Mike's part. It was years ago. I have no idea if he still uses the design feature, or if he uses my name on it if he does. I doubt it. I haven't been on that forum for years. He probably thinks I've croaked.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I see non metal bolstered barkies show up from time to time; people can pre order stuff like that, too on upcoming models and Jim Stewart is running their custom shop there with different options.

I am kind of liking Bark River Bravo 1 with either the black micarta or the black with green thunderbolt handles

Few of my blue handled Barkies

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What model is the big one?

Looks like a Bravo Survivor.

That blue pattern on the top knife really grabbed my attention; seems like a really cool pattern to have another pair of grips made for my 92S. Gonna have to check out that DS again, see how if there's a close option. That large knife IS a badd-looking tool!

Corrects its a Bravo Survivor! Classic drop point hunter is the small one and wilderness explorer is the medium one. They are blue burlap for the cdph and denim micarta for the wilderness explorer.

You might also want to check out Rapid River Knife Works. Rapid River is about 50 miles east of Bark River (give or take.) They have a really nice plant and show room on U.S. 2 east of Rapid River. When I know I'm going to be in the area, I always take my knives in (I have 3) to have factory edges applied free of charge. Check out their website. (rapidriverknifeworks.us)

Its amazing that the U.P. has so many custom knife makers.