Are Bark River and Tops going to crush everyone?

Ok I'll bite, bark river has issues mostly with honesty, outsourcing work and quality control problems, they do have some good designs and those sheaths are nice!. Tops has had a couple quality control issues but they seem to have fixed that permanently. I like a quite a few Tops designs but they should update their steel choices and go with a bit thinner stock. Murray Carter seems like he used to make some good stuff but I doubt you get much of his "hands on" work these days, and he bugs me so...
 
Quiet said:
Hey, if they work for you, entirely fine. But they aren't crushing anyone. There are more companies selling fixed blades now than at any time in the past. Hell, there's another small bespoke fixed blade company popping up every other day it seems these days. TOPS makes good knives, I've had several, but there are other companies whose knives are just objectively better. Also, these days, I (as politely as I can say this without it sounding arrogant) am fortunate to be at the point in my life where I don't have to buy on value, or "for the price". Carothers knives for example, cost a good deal more than TOPS knives, but Delta 3V is definitely what I'd want on my side over 1095. Is what it is. THAT'S value for my money.

Going back to price, if you were actually buying at a price that couldn't be beaten, you'd take that money you spent on a single TOPS knifem or a Bark River, and buy several Moras instead. They cut amazingly well. It's all relative. 🤷
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My friend, I would sign under what you wrote. I agree with every part.
 
Tops Prather War Bowie and USMC are among their best designs but they arent taking the world by storm…
 
Smithhammer said:
iu
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I think we're safe; Blues got in on the thread early. 😁

Unless some chucklehead comes in and derails it.

For my part, I have some cheap Victorinox kitchen knives I got 10 years ago that I still like. They don't have the class or style of these you're talking about here, but they do the job well.
 
In my limited experience, nope.

They are heavy enough to do some damage though, especially when dropped.
 
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droddy386 said:
My recent experience with both has been exemplary.

Tops produces quality knives in 1095 that are just absolute workhorses.

Bark River does a semi-custom business, with great knives in 3V and can do custom rework and warranty repairs in weeks.

Stick with one steel, do it well, do volume and semi-custom work. Take advantage of this now.

I am also big on Murray Carter’s high end stuff for kitchen knives and others like the FS1, but the price point is much higher. (You are paying for the hands of a master.)

Thoughts?
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You’re right about Bark River using one steel, they just label it as something else and sell it at a premium 😂

Tops are nice for overbuilt beaters. Not impressive cutters in my experience

Murray carter makes a great product and have the sharpest edge I’ve ever experienced. Dang laser beams
 
droddy386 said:
I thought the same, but recently I’ve been using theirs and - they work well, hold up, and for the price really can’t be beat. There are great customs out there, but they can’t do volume, so you end up in the collectors market.
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Do you want to buy volume ? Or do you want to buy one knife ? In case of the latter, you can buy good customs for use, for not much more than Bark River prices. Check out the makers in the Exchange.
 
TOPS is fine, with loads of silly designs and, honestly, pricey for what they are, but fine.

Bark River is run by, IMO, a conman and have sent out incorrectly labeled steel on several occasions.

I can think of half a dozen companies I'd prefer for users or collectors, including Becker/Ka-Bar, Mora, White River, CPK, ESEE and Reiff.
 
19-3ben said:
Strider crushes both of them.

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Unwelcome hot take - in terms of fixed blade quality, that's true... the Strider fixed blade I owned was a bizarre sharpened S30V pry bar that nonetheless shaved cleanly, and Bos did their heat treat for quite a while.

TOPS and BRKT actually do have a couple similarities. Both companies maintain high production and have like hundreds of designs active in any given year. TOPS sticks to one formula - powder-coated 1095 with thick Micarta handles. BRKT is best known for their handle and steel variations in the same model.

However, BRKT fit and finish is typically... rough, and they've had some issues with quality control getting steels mixed up.

Both companies have strong niche markets, bit they're not going to crush anyone anytime soon. There's plenty of space for the people already in the market and room for more.
 
In terms of quality, I agree, Carothers Performance Knives is absolutely in a league of their own for production fixed blade knives. But even the evil genius is not going to crush everyone else, because I don't think they have any desire or the ability to manufacture BRKT or TOPS sorts of volumes.
 
I don't know about crushing, but both have garnered a nice little share of the fixie market.

I'll step away from the others and say that I have both, have used both, and love both. If I had to put-together a "Top 5" fixie list, just for me, I can honestly say that both would probably be in there. If it were a "Top 10" list, both would definitely be in there.

Hell, TOPS make my favorite fixie in my collection...and I own ESEEs, Beckers, Busses, Carothers, Gossmans, etc., etc., etc.
 
I’ll bite. With Ontario and cold steel and, etc, etc, Yes I think affordable US made carbon steel fixed blades is getting smaller and smaller. So yes, tops, brkt, esee, kabar, etc gonna have solid hold on market. I don’t get why Chinese made knives are getting pricier and more expensive every day. Tops has great 1095 with solid treat. They have so many models that even the “they’re too thick” crew could find a model that works for them. Brkt has very aesthetically pleasing handle and design options, the convex edges strop to a popping sharpness.
 
madcap_magician said:
Unwelcome hot take - in terms of fixed blade quality, that's true... the Strider fixed blade I owned was a bizarre sharpened S30V pry bar that nonetheless shaved cleanly, and Bos did their heat treat for quite a while.

TOPS and BRKT actually do have a couple similarities. Both companies maintain high production and have like hundreds of designs active in any given year. TOPS sticks to one formula - powder-coated 1095 with thick Micarta handles. BRKT is best known for their handle and steel variations in the same model.

However, BRKT fit and finish is typically... rough, and they've had some issues with quality control getting steels mixed up.

Both companies have strong niche markets, bit they're not going to crush anyone anytime soon. There's plenty of space for the people already in the market and room for more.
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Wow. I hadn’t heard that they got steels mixed up. Which ones? (What’t that story?) Just curious.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
TOPS is fine, with loads of silly designs and, honestly, pricey for what they are, but fine.

Bark River is run by, IMO, a conman and have sent out incorrectly labeled steel on several occasions.

I can think of half a dozen companies I'd prefer for users or collectors, including Becker/Ka-Bar, Mora, White River, CPK, ESEE and Reiff.
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What‘s the steel mix up story?
 
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