Crap bark river cub 3v

carnifex knifeworks

carnifex knifeworks

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2022
Messages
2,643
I picked up a brand new bark river cub from an online retailer. I like the blade shape and the blade steel. The design of the knife has a lot of appeal to me.

I've read reviews that Bark River quality has really gone down and that there have been issues with grinds and handles, Etc. I decided to take a chance because for every bad review there are two good reviews. I really wish I hadn't.

The first thing I noticed was that the fuller in the blade didn't appear to be properly ground and finished. I tried to capture a picture of it, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to see what I'm referring to. The fuller is so rough that it feels like you're dragging your finger across concrete. Looks like I'll be hand sanding it to the finish it should have had to begin with.

Then I noticed that the Mosaic pins in the handle aren't fully sealed. There are gaps and spaces.

I'm pretty disappointed.

This is the first and last Bark River knife that I will ever buy. For the price you pay none of these things should be something that shows up on your knife.
 
Last edited:
carnifex knifeworks said:
I picked up a brand new bark river cub from an online retailer. I like the blade shape and the blade steel. The design of the knife has a lot of appeal to me.

I've read reviews that Bark River quality has really gone down and that there have been issues with grinds and handles, Etc. I decided to take a chance because for every bad review there are two good reviews. I really wish I hadn't.

The first thing I noticed was that the fuller in the blade didn't appear to be properly ground and finished. I tried to capture a picture of it, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to see what I'm referring to. The fuller is so rough that it feels like you're dragging your finger across concrete. Looks like I'll be hand sanding it to the finish it should have had to begin with.

Then I noticed that the Mosaic pins in the handle aren't fully sealed. There are gaps and spaces.

I'm pretty disappointed.

This is the first and last Bark River knife that I will ever buy. For the price you pay none of these things should be something that shows up on your knife.
Click to expand...
I recently got mine with mosaics too. The fuller on mine is not as rough as yours, but looks unfinished. My mosaics look great. The grinds are off a smidge. I am sorry that the knife is not as great as it should be. Great size and shape, but for the price point should definitely be more refined.
 
King of the Cheese said:
Every Bark River I’ve owned has been flawless. Some people call for warranty work or return the knife when they have an issue… others post a thread bashing the brand and abandon all hope. To each their own.
Click to expand...
My Crusader is flawless as well. My Cub will be an edc user, so perfect appearance is not imperative to me. I certainly understand the OP’s frustration- those pins should have been stopped at QC imho.
 
I frankly don't care if BRK knives are good or bad. (Hint, they aren't that great. Assuming you get the type of steel advertised, no other maker has such disproportionate amounts of catastrophic failures and warranty issues.)

The owner is a complete douchebag. That alone should be reason enough not support his criminal, fraudulent, immoral and unethical actions.
 
King of the Cheese said:
Every Bark River I’ve owned has been flawless. Some people call for warranty work or return the knife when they have an issue… others post a thread bashing the brand and abandon all hope. To each their own.
Click to expand...
Or I'll fix it myself since the company couldn't do it right the first time.
I wouldn't trust them to fix it without ruining the temper.

I guess some people don't mind overpaying for subpar craftsmanship. To each their own.
 
beeinak said:
I recently got mine with mosaics too. The fuller on mine is not as rough as yours, but looks unfinished. My mosaics look great. The grinds are off a smidge. I am sorry that the knife is not as great as it should be. Great size and shape, but for the price point should definitely be more refined.
Click to expand...
The grind on the tip is off a bit on mine too, but since it's hard to get it to show in the photos I didn't mention it.
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
I picked up a brand new bark river cub from an online retailer. I like the blade shape and the blade steel. The design of the knife has a lot of appeal to me.

I've read reviews that Bark River quality has really gone down and that there have been issues with grinds and handles, Etc. I decided to take a chance because for every bad review there are two good reviews. I really wish I hadn't.

The first thing I noticed was that the fuller in the blade didn't appear to be properly ground and finished. I tried to capture a picture of it, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to see what I'm referring to. The fuller is so rough that it feels like you're dragging your finger across concrete. Looks like I'll be hand sanding it to the finish it should have had to begin with.

Then I noticed that the Mosaic pins in the handle aren't fully sealed. There are gaps and spaces.

I'm pretty disappointed.

This is the first and last Bark River knife that I will ever buy. For the price you pay none of these things should be something that shows up on your knife.
Click to expand...
Why not just send it back?
 
Triton said:
Why not just send it back?
Click to expand...
If you mean send it back to be fixed:
1. I have to pay return shipping. Why should I pay anything more? I shouldn't have to.
2. I don't trust them to fix it without ruining the temper or messing something else up
3. I can fix it myself and know it's done right

If you mean return it for a refund:
1. I have to pay return shipping
2. I like the design of the knife, just not the poor execution. Once I fix it, it will be the knife I wanted and paid for.

My issue is that for the prices they charge, these knives shouldn't have these kinds of issues and definitely not this many.

The reason I made this post is because I read a good number of reviews talking about quality issues. I decided to take a calculated risk and got a subpar knife. So now my voice joins the reviews of other discontented customers. Contrary to fan boy belief, I'm not bashing the brand. I'm stating exactly what the company gave me and that I won't purchase from them again.
 
carnifex knifeworks said:
If you mean send it back to be fixed:
1. I have to pay return shipping. Why should I pay anything more? I shouldn't have to.
2. I don't trust them to fix it without ruining the temper or messing something else up
3. I can fix it myself and know it's done right

If you mean return it for a refund:
1. I have to pay return shipping
2. I like the design of the knife, just not the poor execution. Once I fix it, it will be the knife I wanted and paid for.

My issue is that for the prices they charge, these knives shouldn't have these kinds of issues and definitely not this many.

The reason I made this post is because I read a good number of reviews talking about quality issues. I decided to take a calculated risk and got a subpar knife. So now my voice joins the reviews of other discontented customers. Contrary to fan boy belief, I'm not bashing the brand. I'm stating exactly what the company gave me and that I won't purchase from them again.
Click to expand...
IMO :The dealer should pay for return shipping and refund every penny you paid them ...and apologize !

They sold you a badly and obviously flawed product . It's not like you just changed you mind and want to return for no good reason .

Assuming you explained your issues , I wouldn't buy from them again if this is their normal policy .
 
shane45-1911 said:
I frankly don't care if BRK knives are good or bad. (Hint, they aren't that great. Assuming you get the type of steel advertised, no other maker has such disproportionate amounts of catastrophic failures and warranty issues.)

The owner is a complete douchebag. That alone should be reason enough not support his criminal, fraudulent, immoral and unethical actions.
Click to expand...
This. I don’t understand why this company gets the kind of ongoing support and forgiveness they do between the constant QC issues, “accidental” misuse of the wrong steel, and their long history of screwing over customers.
 
That fuller appears to be unacceptably rough.

The mosaic pins aren't great but I will say this issue (and other things) are inherent issues with mosaic pins and not exclusive to Bark River knives. Over time, I think most people will be disappointed with mosaic pins. They can look cool but generally I believe they're a bad idea.
 
Burke said:
This. I don’t understand why this company gets the kind of ongoing support and forgiveness they do between the constant QC issues, “accidental” misuse of the wrong steel, and their long history of screwing over customers.
Click to expand...

Ignorance and selfishness on behalf of some of the members on this forum.

And their usual defense is "he's done nothing to me." Well, he sure as hell has f'd over a lot of other people.
 
I'd return it to the knife dealer you purchased it from. For free. No reason to pay for a substandard blade and the dealer will have more pull with BRK than any one individual. The quality will never improve if everyone accepts substandard work.
 
Having owned dozens of Bark Rivers and previously been a member of the BRK FB group, I can tell you that the blind loyalty and groupthink is unrivaled. If you so much as question the quality of their work in even the most objectively constructive way, you will be shouted down by a core group of blowhards, one of which is the company’s owner since he spends more time on social media being a jerk than caring about how knives are made, and then your thread will be deleted.

The collective cries of “bUt It’S hAnD gRoUnD!” are deafening.

To be clear, I still own many of their knives, but I will not be buying any more moving forward. Their old stuff was pretty good.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top