View Full Version : Bark River Bravo 1 vs Gunny
LowSpeed_HighDrag
08-04-11, 23:10
Does anyone have either of these knives? I understand that fit and finish will be superb, but this will be a user. I dont EDC fixed blades, but I do carry them religiously while in the woods and on hikes. My main tasks will be batoning, whittling, carving, and light to medium camp tasks. If someone has both, which do you prefer. Thanks.
i have neither but have 7 Bark Rivers. The Gunny is smaller from what I understand and the Bravo 1 is more of a do it all knife. Both will be tough and perform great but I would assume the B1 will be tougher and ready for more abuse
LowSpeed_HighDrag
08-05-11, 15:04
Newyork, what is your favorite Bark River knife that you own and why?
The Fox River, then the Woodland Special. Fox River has a very comfortable handle and great blade shape. Their convex holds an edge forever and is easy to sharpen and takes an incredible edge. The Woodland Special is more appropriate size for edc though.
I love the Gunny. Don't have a B1 to compare it to, but the Gunny is a very handy size and quite capable as a edc/field carry knife. It has been my most used of the 20 some Barkies I've owned. Easy to sharpen, quick in the hand and rides nice and light on the belt, yet has plenty of blade to get the work done. Here is mine with aged bamboo handle and Bravo Necker when it was newer.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/snappydad/gunnyedc.jpg
The B1 is going to be significantly heavier and of thicker stock. If you'll baton a lot and chop wood more than say cut up veggies and carve or lightly-baton then the B1 may be a better choice. For a all-the-time camp and field blade the Gunny comes in close to perfect for me. Here are some in-hand pics from when it first arrived.
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/snappydad/gunny2.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/snappydad/gunny5.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/snappydad/gunny4.jpg
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p288/snappydad/gunny3.jpg
Probably can't go wrong with either knife, but I recommend the Gunny without hesitation. Hope this is helpful!
that Gunny looks good in the hand. BR offers the B1 without the thumb serrations, I don't know about the Gunny. would you say this is a good thing or keep them?
I don't own either of the knives you mentioned, but I do own this one.
Mike at BRKT will make what you want - obviously within some parameters.
This was made for me as a gift, I speced it, and it says Custom 2006 on the other side.
IIRC it was about $150.00.
The blade is 5.25"
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm280/Storagezone/002-4.jpg
I don't own either of the knives you mentioned, but I do own this one.
Mike at BRKT will make what you want - obviously within some parameters.
This was made for me as a gift, I speced it, and it says Custom 2006 on the other side.
IIRC it was about $150.00.
The blade is 5.25"
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm280/Storagezone/002-4.jpg
looks a lot like my BlackJack Trail Guide. nice knife. any particulars???
looks a lot like my BlackJack Trail Guide. nice knife. any particulars???
I'm embarrassed to admit I don't remember many. I'm bad about details.
Pretty sure the steel is one of the carbons they use.
I wanted something shorter than 6", and found a knife on their site that I liked the profile. Mike said he could cut it down.
I looked yesterday on BRKT's site to see if that knife was there, but couldn't find it.
Handle is black micarta, and has a palm swell, which I asked for. It's a very sure grip, more so when wet, and even more so with gloves.
Mike said he wasn't too keen on making knives with guards, but since I wanted one, he'd do it. I didn't think about it at the time, but wish I had asked for a brass one, or something less shiny - just personal preference.
Have to say the buying experience was great, and I'd purchase again from them. I joined Knifeforums, asked Mike in a thread, and he IM'd me a phone number.
He called me about something, and then told me he had his son cut my blade as he was training him. I thought that was cool - guy is taking the time to show his kid the trade. And if you look at the blade extremely critically, you can see it's not exactly symmetrical. Some folks would have a shit fit over that - makes no difference to me, plus I like the back story.
Maybe I'll email them the pic and ask which knife that blade came from and what type of steel it is.
this is my trail guide. notice the blade profile. I love this knife...
it is A2 tool steel, convex ground, with black micarta handle.
http://blackjack.0catch.com/index/trailguide/bjmictrail.jpg
it's only 4.5" and only has the lower guard so yours looks like a cross with the 5.5" model 5 with the straight spine profile of the Trailguide.
http://blackjack.0catch.com/index/mod5/mod5mic1scopelandsm.jpg
BlackJack was Mike Stewart's company before Bark River so I'm not surprised to see the family heritage. when you have a great design, why fix it? yours looks like a very nice knife that I would love to own...
Man, those are nice ra2. Very nice.
I see the brass guard...wonder if it's even possible to have mine replaced.
And yeah - the blade on your Trail Guide looks just about like mine.
I'm a firm believer of not fixing something that isn't broke.
Man, those are nice ra2. Very nice.
I see the brass guard...wonder if it's even possible to have mine replaced.
And yeah - the blade on your Trail Guide looks just about like mine.
I'm a firm believer of not fixing something that isn't broke.
the very nice thing about this blade design is the long choil. this allows me to slide up on the knife with my middle finger in front of the guard, pinching the sides of the blade between thumb and first finger. this is great for separating hide from meat, boning, and other delicate tasks that a 4.5" knife might not be the best choice.
the A2 steel and convex grind stay really sharp with just a very light touch-up from the belly to the tip of the blade over the course of several deer.
I've never used this blade on wood or rope or other stuff, I have other blades for that - this one tastes only blood...
LowSpeed_HighDrag
08-10-11, 22:07
I am surprised to see this much knowledge on Bark River Knives here, didnt think they were high speed enough. Its much appreciated Gents. If I could only get one of each in my hands, or at the very least a gunny, then I could really decide. Damn knife stores in Oceanside only carry Smith and Wesson and SOG:no:
misanthropist
08-10-11, 22:12
My BR Aurora is my favourite camp knife...like a Mora on steroids. The Gunny and Bravo-1 are both nice knives, but I like a tip that I can drill with a little more, personally.
But I would still be happy with a B1 or Gunny, I'm sure.
I am surprised to see this much knowledge on Bark River Knives here, didnt think they were high speed enough.
High speed, low speed, all stop - everyone needs a good knife.
:D
I am surprised to see this much knowledge on Bark River Knives here, didnt think they were high speed enough...
this is what the website has to say about the Bravo 1
"The Bravo-1 was developed with the assistance of the training unit of the Force Recon of the U.S. Marine Corp. These folks bought a large number of knives on the commercial market and tested them without saying anything to any of the makers.
The Bark River Gameskeeper came out on top to fit their requirements of a real time general purpose survival/bushcraft knife. Bark River was contacted by them and were asked to make a knife based on the Gameskeeper with a few changes.
The Bravo-1 is the result of their input. "
seems pretty HSLD to me... :D
LowSpeed_HighDrag
08-11-11, 13:47
this is what the website has to say about the Bravo 1
"The Bravo-1 was developed with the assistance of the training unit of the Force Recon of the U.S. Marine Corp. These folks bought a large number of knives on the commercial market and tested them without saying anything to any of the makers.
The Bark River Gameskeeper came out on top to fit their requirements of a real time general purpose survival/bushcraft knife. Bark River was contacted by them and were asked to make a knife based on the Gameskeeper with a few changes.
The Bravo-1 is the result of their input. "
seems pretty HSLD to me... :D
With all due respect to all involved, I work 2 offices down from a Force Recon Maritime Contingency and have yet to see the Bravo 1. They were the guys I went to after reading Bark Rivers site, but they hadn't heard of them. Alot of times a squad or even team will request a specific tool, and a company will say they made it for the entire unit.
With all due respect to all involved, I work 2 offices down from a Force Recon Maritime Contingency and have yet to see the Bravo 1. They were the guys I went to after reading Bark Rivers site, but they hadn't heard of them. Alot of times a squad or even team will request a specific tool, and a company will say they made it for the entire unit.
oh I know. I was just sayin'... :D
I own a Bravo One. It's a nice knife and is built like a beast. That said, if I had to do it over again I probably wouldn't. First, read up on Mike Stewart a bit. I only did so *after* I bought my knife and based on some of his history, that alone would probably have prevented me from giving him my money.
Two, the Bravo One didn't fair all that well in the tests done here:
http://knifetests.com/
To be fair, one can reasonably ask whether these are meaningful tests or are so unrepresentative of actual use as to be meaningless, but I think they still provide an additional data point.
Lastly, while I live in the Pacific Northwest which may be a different environment, I already see some superficial rust on the A2 steel of which the Bravo One is made. It's not affected the blade, but it's still kind of annoying.
I have a BR Boone and it's a sweet knife. It's probably the favorite in my collection. The testing on the site below does seem to indicate a problem with the heat treat on the edge of the Bravo 1. Maybe it's that one knife, I certainly wouldn't expect a bent edge from splitting wood. FWIW, I'd buy another BR in a heartbeat.
the Bravo One didn't fair all that well in the tests done here:
http://knifetests.com/
To be fair, one can reasonably ask whether these are meaningful tests or are so unrepresentative of actual use as to be meaningless, but I think they still provide an additional data point.
I like the site and feel the testing is completely valid. He beats the daylights out of a knife and shows the breaking point. I dig the fact he shows me what will destroy a particular knife so I don't have to! Sure, most would never split steel with their camp knife, but it shows the metal of the maker. (pun intended, of course!)
LowSpeed_HighDrag
08-12-11, 22:23
It sounds like BRKT knives are an acquired taste. I suppose I'll keep searching for my holy grail. I owned a RC4 for about 2 days, could not stand the choil. I owned a Ratmandu but there was no choil to speak of. My Kabar took the most abuse Ive ever seen, but I traded it to an SAS soldier for his Beret in Bridgeport(he thought he got the better end of the deal, but little did he know that the Kabar was nearly 10 years old and rusted). The search continues...
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