Bark River Bravo 1 vs Gunny

[Backstop]

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.

[ra2bach]

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]

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

[misanthropist]

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.

[Backstop]

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.

[ra2bach]

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...

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

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...

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.

[ra2bach]

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'...

[zacbol]

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.

[czydj]

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!)