Benchmade Bushcrafter and bark river gunny hunter

Bobby3326

Bobby3326

Joined
Mar 16, 2013
Messages
2,239
Ok so I have no experience with any bark river knives, but I've been looking at the 3v gunny hunter allot lately. Now I already have the benchmade Bushcrafter and know how it performs, especially after reprofiling the edge a lil.

So my question for those of you who own or have used both, how does the gunny perform compared to the 162 as a Bushcraft knife? I have the chance to make a trade, but don't want to give up my 162 if the gunny is a poorer performing knife.. I also have no experience with 3v but from what I've read the opinions are mixed on bark rivers 3v, some said it's super chippy while others said that's nonsense.

Would love to hear what y'all think, and help me decide whether to keep my 162 or go with the gunny hunter 3v. Thanks
 
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I've had the 162 several times, I even sold one to my buddy and he still has it so I get to visit it every now and again. Great knife.

I've also read bark river is hit or miss on heat treating of 3v, personally I would recommend you get 3v from a more reliable maker like big Chris or Nathan the machinist. It will blow your mind if you get 3v done right, I just don't want you to get a bad impression of 3v from bark river and think ALL 3v is the same. I assure you precise controlled heat treat and cryo make a huge difference.
 
I'm eventually going to get a custom done in 3v when funds permit it... It would be an even swap between the benchmade Bushcrafter and gunny hunter... Just trying to determine from a Bushcraft performance stand point if I was stepping up and not down if I proceeded with the trade.
 
Do you just want to try something new? If so go for it. Lord knows I have liked many knives and then moved on to other knives. If you like the look of the gunny, check it out and if you like it keep it if not put it up for trade or sell it.

As far as performance, what are you comparing? Which cuts better? Which is tougher? Which has better edge retention?

3v will have better edge retention than s30v (depending on hardness) and will be more durable.
 
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I have plenty of bark river's 3v and it performs just fine...I have never found it to be chippy at all. Now I don't have the gunny, but I do have a few bravo 1's and while they are not the same, the gunny is similar sizewise, and the grinds are close with the same steel for each.

The 3v is tough as nails and can actually take an extremely keen edge and hold it. I would say give the gunny a shot-- I don't think you'll be disappointed. Plus the convex grind lends itself to simple maintenance. SiC wet/dry excels at this task.

As far as BRKT's heat treat being "hit or miss," like another member mentioned, thankfully I have not had that problem. I know what a bummer that can be though, especially with the anticipation of putting a new toy through its paces only to have it fail on you. They have a good no-hassle warranty so if that were to happen, I'm sure it would be replaced, no questions asked.

If it helps your decision any, I can tell you that I have at least a dozen 3v bravos --1s, 2s, and 3s respectively--and have not had a structural fail yet and these are no safe queens ;-) They are good performers, well-balanced and reliable workhorses not afraid of heavy use.

As an aside, Nathan the Machinist recently had a run of 3v beauties...of course I arrived late to the party otherwise you bet your you-know-what I would have gotten in on that...Peter's heat treat is second to none and Nathan's designs are elegant and practical.

Didn't mean to bore ya or be long-winded, but I just wanted to share some honest thoughts and observations about a manufacturer I really enjoy.

hope that helped
 
You say that the Gunny is available in a trade for your 162? For me, that brings up the question why the owner is willing to trade in the first place. The other question that comes to mind is this, what do you feel that you would gain or loose in the trade?

I can only think of a few reasons that I would be willing to part with my 162. One, the knife does not fit my hand. Two, the knife does not meets my needs. Three, the knife is excess to my needs. Four, I would be trading up for a much better knife. Five, I need to feed my family.

I have found that people really love or really hate the 162 with very few people in between. Some hate the grip and others can't stand that it's S30V. Personally, I had to learn to enjoy the ergonomics of the knife but will admit the S30V steel was a big selling point for me.

The bottom line, Benchmade offers a very well thought out knife in the 162 so why part with it?
 
shinyedges said:
Do you just want to try something new? If so go for it. Lord knows I have liked many knives and then moved on to other knives. If you like the look of the gunny, check it out and if you like it keep it if not put it up for trade or sell it.

As far as performance, what are you comparing? Which cuts better? Which is tougher? Which has better edge retention?

3v will have better edge retention than s30v (depending on hardness) and will be more durable.
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I figured 3v should hold a longer edge than s30v, was more wondering on cutting performance. Ive reprofiled the 162 to a more acute slightly convex edge. Compared to the factory edge it's a great carving knife now, will make fine feathers easily or will bite deep like a scandi when need be. While I typically convex all my edges, I've never worked with a convex grind, I imagine it would perform similarly...

I guess it comes down to how thin is the grind on a gunny hunter? The 162 has a fairly thin grind near the edge which yields to its performance.
 
The trade opportunity just kinda popped up without much forethought about doing so, I figured rather then rush into it blindly having no knowledge of the gunny I'd look to the knowledge of folks here.
 
I don't have a gunny so I can't speak to the edge geometry but I imagine it could be thinned to your desire. I liked the 162 very much, let us know what you decide. And good on you for finding info about a potential knife you're interested in. Better to find out as much as you can before you jump in to it.

Bobby3326 said:
The trade opportunity just kinda popped up without much forethought about doing so, I figured rather then rush into it blindly having no knowledge of the gunny I'd look to the knowledge of folks here.
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I think I'm going to keep the Bushcrafter, I didn't realise the blade on the gunny was shorter than the 162 (3.77 vs 4.43)...May not seem like much but I already find the 162 a lil short at times.
 
shinyedges said:
Do you just want to try something new? If so go for it. Lord knows I have liked many knives and then moved on to other knives. If you like the look of the gunny, check it out and if you like it keep it if not put it up for trade or sell it.

As far as performance, what are you comparing? Which cuts better? Which is tougher? Which has better edge retention?

3v will have better edge retention than s30v (depending on hardness) and will be more durable.
Click to expand...

I cannot find a source rating 3V as having better wear resistance than S30V. Tougher? Sure. Can you help?
 
Here you are, http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...based-on-Edge-Retention-cutting-5-8-quot-rope

My personal experience with s30v / s35vn in comparison to 3v reflects his testing, from my use I'd say 3v is a good bit more wear resistant. Honestly 3v has better wear resistance than some of the other steels in category 4 as well. I've talked with ankerson about this on more than one occasion and he agrees.

Thomas Linton said:
I cannot find a source rating 3V as having better wear resistance than S30V. Tougher? Sure. Can you help?
Click to expand...
 
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Good call
Bobby3326 said:
I think I'm going to keep the Bushcrafter, I didn't realise the blade on the gunny was shorter than the 162 (3.77 vs 4.43)...May not seem like much but I already find the 162 a lil short at times.
Click to expand...
 
I have both, the Gunny is in Elmax though.
The Gunny is a small knife

It's the same length as a Mora companion blade and handle.

My Gunny cuts the wood much better but its on the small side for large glove hands.

Also, I wouldn't change the stock geometry to a zero grind.
 
DeadboxHero said:
I have both, the Gunny is in Elmax though.
The Gunny is a small knife

It's the same length as a Mora companion blade and handle.

My Gunny cuts the wood much better but its on the small side for large glove hands.

Also, I wouldn't change the stock geometry to a zero grind.
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That was my other worry, I read a few say it was on the thin side. That just confirms my decision to wait on a bravo 1lt.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Good choice.

The Bravo LT might be a great middle ground between the Gunny and the bravo 1.
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I looked at bravo at my local sportsman warehouse, and didn't like the thickness, I have a bk2 I don't need another thick slab of steel lol... It seems the lts are out of stock for most designs currently, atleast ones I'm interested in...don't want the ramp and either blue/black g10, black micatra/red liner, turquoise micarta/white liner, blue ctek, or blue/gold burl/red liner handles. All of which are available on the gunny...go figure lol


Also thinking about the Bushcrafter as well.
 
Bobby3326 said:
I looked at bravo at my local sportsman warehouse, and didn't like the thickness, I have a bk2 I don't need another thick slab of steel lol... It seems the lts are out of stock for most designs currently, atleast ones I'm interested in...don't want the ramp and either blue/black g10, black micatra/red liner, turquoise micarta/white liner, blue ctek, or blue/gold burl/red liner handles. All of which are available on the gunny...go figure lol


Also thinking about the Bushcrafter as well.
Click to expand...

I had a chance to check out knives in person before knivesshipfree moved out of state.
Warning: personal opinion ahead.
I would stare at pictures online of the bushcrafter for hours
However,
In person, I didn't like the bushcraft.

The handle felt unusual.

It's scales are very thin near the blade and taper thick towards the end.

The grind also didn't have a crisp shoulder at the primary grind like in the pictures. It was very muddled. It also has a micro bevel.

It wasn't what I thought it was.

I'd rather have a higher grind with a microbevel with a better palm swell.

Like the Bravo 1 LT or a Gunny
 
DeadboxHero said:
I had a chance to check out knives in person before knivesshipfree moved out of state.
Warning: personal opinion ahead.
I would stare at pictures online of the bushcrafter for hours
However,
In person, I didn't like the bushcraft.

The handle felt unusual.

It's scales are very thin near the blade and taper thick towards the end.

The grind also didn't have a crisp shoulder at the primary grind like in the pictures. It was very muddled. It also has a micro bevel.

It wasn't what I thought it was.

I'd rather have a higher grind with a microbevel with a better palm swell.

Like the Bravo 1 LT or a Gunny
Click to expand...

That was one of the things that looked odd to me was the handle...I googled it and saw various angles of it and thought maybe it was a camera effect that just confirmed it....saved me some wasted money thanks...

For actual use I love the 162's handle design, I get allot less fatigue carving over extended use. It feels weird when you first hold it especially when use to more traditional handle shapes, but Damn that thing is comfortable in use.
 
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