- Joined
- Aug 1, 2008
- Messages
- 491
As many of you know, Bark River has excelled at design and function, specifically for extended use tasks. Whether you needed an edge to perform or ergonomics to hold you through to the very end of your game dressing or camp chores, they have obviously, to the discerning user, proven themselves and have given credibility to their knives that have been rivaled by very few. Introducing a, quite frankly, radical new design to the line up, built from the bottom up with leather and steel, is a challenge to nearly anyone. Thinking "outside the box" is re-defined for the brand new, Bark River improved Loveless style, computer designed and engineered Sharpshooter pants wearing, 2009 Drop Point Hunter.
When my knife came in today, I was actually on the phone with Derrick from www.knivesshipfree.com as I saw the postman step out of his truck. As I watched the postman near my house, I told Derrick that I was not sure if I could put this knife in my hand at first...that I had reservations on it given just how radically contoured it was in the preliminary pictures. He assured me that when I pulled the knife from the box, I would not be able to resist holding it and would fall in love with it...
He was 50% correct.
I did pull the knife from the box...obviously. I did "hold" the knife to unwrap it, but I didn't HOLD it. Rather, I laid the knife on the coffee table and looked at it. I proceeded to unwrap the brand new and completely re-engineered Sharpshooter Sur-Loc sheath and then stared at that, wondering just what I was looking at. You see, I am used to a Sharpshooter Bushcraft sheath for most of my Bark Rivers. Maybe a modified pouch style sheath as well, but nothing like this. As the entire package unfolded, I realized I was not opening up a knife, but I was engaging in a small evolution. Something different...groundbreaking for both companies.
As a machinist, I scrutinize details. It is what I do. I look at how something works, the design of complimenting parts, attributes that indicate full proof function and the like. Most knife and sheath combos go like this...take knife and sheath out of box, carefully insert knife into sheath, put sheath and knife combo on belt and enjoy. Great! All of us really really like that. It is what we know and what we have come to expect. Until now.
As many of you know (and for those that do not, I will tell you), I have never pretended to be something I am not. If I do not know something, I ask. If someone asks a question and I don't know, I will tell that person that I do not know. I say this for one reason...up until about a year ago, I never heard of Bob Loveless. Matter of fact, I never heard of a lot of folks...Kephart, Wade and Butcher, Lile etc. I say this because I feel it lends credibility to this review. Sure, I can hype the Drop Point Hunter up given the pattern it follows, but really, I feel ignorance is bliss and I form my own opinion. Now I am ready to put the DPH into my hands.
Did I mention I had reservations about this knife because of how contoured it was? Not any more. This handle had a lot of thought and effort put into it. I can see why it was heralded by Mike Stewart as the most difficult handle he had ever tackled. What becomes immediately obvious is how the knife settles into your hand and basically forces you to hold it correctly. That doesn't mean that you are limited to how you can hold it, but rather, regardless of how you DO hold it, the grip will be correct. The balance is supreme on this knife, coming in at the first Loveless bolt, which by the way, did anyone notice that it also has 2 tone brass and steel bolt sets? Very cool! The sculpting in front of the first finger groove suffices well as a means of choking up on the blade for fine detail work.
Mike Stewart took a proven handle design by Bob Loveless and also went a step further to improve it by adding a palm swell behind the second finger. It is not too big or too small, but just right. He improves on the knives he has designed many times over...why not this one right? It worked and it worked VERY well. Most of you know the value of a well designed ergonomic feature. In that regard, this knife has extraordinary value.
As you notice, the size of this knife is similar to the popular Fox River and Highland Special models, but what sets the Drop Point Hunter apart is the raw size of the handle. I do not care how big your hands are, if you had a minor issue with a Bark River's handle size being a bit small for your very large hands, this is the knife for you. The size is very apparent in the picture.
An accessory that seems to almost have been made for this knife is the Sharpshooter Hunters sheath. The picture is enough to tell the story on how well the combination of the DPH and the Hunters sheath works. They were made for each other.
Speaking of sheaths, and coming in as mentioned before as another first, is the brand new and redesigned Sharpshooter Sur-Lok sheath. Many of you know the exact fit of kydex. It is used apart from leather because of it's skin tight fit and excellent retention of a blade. That was all well and good until this sheath was designed. I had the privilege of actually seeing the computer imaging of this sheath on a CAD program...I had really never heard of leather work being done on a CAD system before. I mean who would have thought that leather could be made to fit so accurately and precisely? This sheath is a quantum leap in design, and one I am positive i will see in the future from Sharpshooter Sheath Systems.
As you notice, the fit is nearly as good as kydex. This comes with a little something extra to do on your part as a consumer when you get this knife in for the first time. You need to give the sheath a squeeze.
When my knife came in today, I was actually on the phone with Derrick from www.knivesshipfree.com as I saw the postman step out of his truck. As I watched the postman near my house, I told Derrick that I was not sure if I could put this knife in my hand at first...that I had reservations on it given just how radically contoured it was in the preliminary pictures. He assured me that when I pulled the knife from the box, I would not be able to resist holding it and would fall in love with it...
He was 50% correct.
I did pull the knife from the box...obviously. I did "hold" the knife to unwrap it, but I didn't HOLD it. Rather, I laid the knife on the coffee table and looked at it. I proceeded to unwrap the brand new and completely re-engineered Sharpshooter Sur-Loc sheath and then stared at that, wondering just what I was looking at. You see, I am used to a Sharpshooter Bushcraft sheath for most of my Bark Rivers. Maybe a modified pouch style sheath as well, but nothing like this. As the entire package unfolded, I realized I was not opening up a knife, but I was engaging in a small evolution. Something different...groundbreaking for both companies.
As a machinist, I scrutinize details. It is what I do. I look at how something works, the design of complimenting parts, attributes that indicate full proof function and the like. Most knife and sheath combos go like this...take knife and sheath out of box, carefully insert knife into sheath, put sheath and knife combo on belt and enjoy. Great! All of us really really like that. It is what we know and what we have come to expect. Until now.
As many of you know (and for those that do not, I will tell you), I have never pretended to be something I am not. If I do not know something, I ask. If someone asks a question and I don't know, I will tell that person that I do not know. I say this for one reason...up until about a year ago, I never heard of Bob Loveless. Matter of fact, I never heard of a lot of folks...Kephart, Wade and Butcher, Lile etc. I say this because I feel it lends credibility to this review. Sure, I can hype the Drop Point Hunter up given the pattern it follows, but really, I feel ignorance is bliss and I form my own opinion. Now I am ready to put the DPH into my hands.
Did I mention I had reservations about this knife because of how contoured it was? Not any more. This handle had a lot of thought and effort put into it. I can see why it was heralded by Mike Stewart as the most difficult handle he had ever tackled. What becomes immediately obvious is how the knife settles into your hand and basically forces you to hold it correctly. That doesn't mean that you are limited to how you can hold it, but rather, regardless of how you DO hold it, the grip will be correct. The balance is supreme on this knife, coming in at the first Loveless bolt, which by the way, did anyone notice that it also has 2 tone brass and steel bolt sets? Very cool! The sculpting in front of the first finger groove suffices well as a means of choking up on the blade for fine detail work.
Mike Stewart took a proven handle design by Bob Loveless and also went a step further to improve it by adding a palm swell behind the second finger. It is not too big or too small, but just right. He improves on the knives he has designed many times over...why not this one right? It worked and it worked VERY well. Most of you know the value of a well designed ergonomic feature. In that regard, this knife has extraordinary value.
As you notice, the size of this knife is similar to the popular Fox River and Highland Special models, but what sets the Drop Point Hunter apart is the raw size of the handle. I do not care how big your hands are, if you had a minor issue with a Bark River's handle size being a bit small for your very large hands, this is the knife for you. The size is very apparent in the picture.
An accessory that seems to almost have been made for this knife is the Sharpshooter Hunters sheath. The picture is enough to tell the story on how well the combination of the DPH and the Hunters sheath works. They were made for each other.
Speaking of sheaths, and coming in as mentioned before as another first, is the brand new and redesigned Sharpshooter Sur-Lok sheath. Many of you know the exact fit of kydex. It is used apart from leather because of it's skin tight fit and excellent retention of a blade. That was all well and good until this sheath was designed. I had the privilege of actually seeing the computer imaging of this sheath on a CAD program...I had really never heard of leather work being done on a CAD system before. I mean who would have thought that leather could be made to fit so accurately and precisely? This sheath is a quantum leap in design, and one I am positive i will see in the future from Sharpshooter Sheath Systems.
As you notice, the fit is nearly as good as kydex. This comes with a little something extra to do on your part as a consumer when you get this knife in for the first time. You need to give the sheath a squeeze.
