Fallkniven A1 Pro or Bark River Bravo 1.5? 2018

[Yves Rouban]

Although I don't like the look of the Fallkniven as much - that is what I always found myself grabbing when I had both BRK and Fallkniven. The rubber handle is so much more usable in any wet, cold or sweaty conditions. BTW check out massdrop right now. They have some pro models heavily discounted.

Thanks, Ill check it out.

 

[Ben Dover]

I must say that I will always trust my own personal experiences over and above what I read on the internet. That's true of knives, guns, automobiles, widgets and etc.

Certainly the experience of others should be examined, but when there is conflict, we quite naturally trust what we have held in our own hand and used for our own purposes. That's human nature.

Unless, and until, I have a less than satisfactory experience with Bark River, or their products, I will continue to use, and recommend, them.

I'm sorry if that displeases anyone, but I personally, will not either praise nor condemn based on the experiences of others.

 

[GermanyChris]

At the pric3 on the A1 pro I think I’d hit up one of the custom makers here

 

[Pinnacle64]

I would go BK Bravo all day nothing against the A1 it’s just not my style of knife.

I have 20+ BK fixed blades which get used almost daily as I was blessed to get a job working in the great outdoors

Never one issue or failure of any kind in years of heavy daily use in all weather conditions. Also none of my BK stainless models have rusted yet

You may also consider the BK Cub it’s a beast I attached a pic of mine next to one of my Bravo 1’s.

Just a note BK knives are what I would call a semi custom knife built mostly by hand by folks here in the USA.

No two are exactly the same even my three Bravo’s have slight differences when you look hard at them. They aren’t made too .0001 tolerances on a computerized CNC machine and robots.

They build 10’s of thousands of knives a year and yes not all are going to be perfect it’s just a percentage’s thing. No company has 100% perfection period.

When you consider that BK has pumped out over 100,000 to 150,000+ knives in the last half a decade you really don’t see a high percentage of owner complaints.

 

[Jhansenak47]

I must say that I will always trust my own personal experiences over and above what I read on the internet. That's true of knives, guns, automobiles, widgets and etc.

Certainly the experience of others should be examined, but when there is conflict, we quite naturally trust what we have held in our own hand and used for our own purposes. That's human nature.

Unless, and until, I have a less than satisfactory experience with Bark River, or their products, I will continue to use, and recommend, them.

I'm sorry if that displeases anyone, but I personally, will not either praise nor condemn based on the experiences of others.

In my personal first hand experience they do a much better job at making knives than they used to. The core BRKT dealers are stand-up guys as well. The late Derrick Bohn would bend over backwards to accommodate people. Mike Stewart is still on my list of shady people though.

 

[Yves Rouban]

I must say that I will always trust my own personal experiences over and above what I read on the internet. That's true of knives, guns, automobiles, widgets and etc.

Certainly the experience of others should be examined, but when there is conflict, we quite naturally trust what we have held in our own hand and used for our own purposes. That's human nature.

Unless, and until, I have a less than satisfactory experience with Bark River, or their products, I will continue to use, and recommend, them.

I'm sorry if that displeases anyone, but I personally, will not either praise nor condemn based on the experiences of others.

Do you have any of their knives in 3V or S35NV? Im leaning to the stainless but I hear that 3V is tougher and still pretty rust resistant. Thoughts?

 

[Yves Rouban]

View attachment 1053087

I would go BK Bravo all day nothing against the A1 it’s just not my style of knife.

I have 20+ BK fixed blades which get used almost daily as I was blessed to get a job working in the great outdoors

Never one issue or failure of any kind in years of heavy daily use in all weather conditions. Also none of my BK stainless models have rusted yet

You may also consider the BK Cub it’s a beast I attached a pic of mine next to one of my Bravo 1’s.

Just a note BK knives are what I would call a semi custom knife built mostly by hand by folks here in the USA.

No two are exactly the same even my three Bravo’s have slight differences when you look hard at them. They aren’t made too .0001 tolerances on a computerized CNC machine and robots.

They build 10’s of thousands of knives a year and yes not all are going to be perfect it’s just a percentage’s thing. No company has 100% perfection period.

When you consider that BK has pumped out over 100,000 to 150,000+ knives in the last half a decade you really don’t see a high percentage of owner complaints.

Do you have any experience with their S35NV? I hear its a great stainless. Or is the 3V just plain superior?

 

[Pinnacle64]

Personally, In BK’s I prefer A2, CPM-3V and CPM-154 stainless. I own S35 and Elmax BK’s however for heavy use fixed blades I don’t think those steels would be the best choice as I have rolled edges with Elmax and S30v blades working with wood and cutting bones on game.

BK does a great job with their 3V and cpm-154 really those would be my top choices if given a choice at the time. Their cpm-154 blades are really under rated they are tough, hold a edge well and I find them to resharpen to a razor edge fairly easy compared to some other steels. I also like their blades with cruwear steel but find them to be more work to resharpen.

 

[Cobalt]

Really pretty knives. They look untouched. Any hard use videos?

 

[Pinnacle64]

The Cub is one of my newest knives. I’m really not a big blade knife guy most of my fixed blades are under 4.5” blades. That said I like the feel and balance of the Cub a lot. Still, I don’t see this one as a EDC blade for me it’s just larger than I really perfer personally. I’m also curious to see how the carbon fiber scales wear over time compared to micarta.

I have three Bravo 1 LT’s (two 3V and one Cru-Wear) which get carried the most of all my BK’s. I just find it a good size and weight knife for daily carry/use for me. I walk miles daily in rough terrain and all weather conditions so all my gear and pack has been fine tuned to save weight. The old saying oz’s make pounds.

I’m also not out hacking wood all day for fun LOL. I carry and use a knife for basic task, preparing meals afield and such.

 

[Cobalt]

You mentioned heavy daily use. Which is why I asked. So not heavy use, just use then.

 

[Pinnacle64]

You mentioned heavy daily use. Which is why I asked. So not heavy use, just use then.

I guess you could go with “daily use” vs “hard use” have no issue calling it that. I’m not out abuseing my gear for fun and I was raised to take great care of my gear so clean and oil my blades after use whenever possible.

I just went with hard use because I carry a knife almost daily on the job outdoors in all weather conditions doing outdoor task. Most folks don’t spend that much time outdoors using a knife because they have office or indoor jobs.

 

[Cobalt]

True for most folks. Not for many folks in here. You are not the only one.

 

[Pinnacle64]

Nope, one of the lucky ones for sure

Can’t imagine being stuck In a office all day staring out a window. That said I’m sure plenty of folks would perfer AC/Heat/no bugs also to each his own I guess.

 

[Cobalt]

Neither can I

I will tell you this. People complain about packing weight. Yet most could use to take much of that weight off themselves. lol.

But back to the knives. Although the A1 pro in my opinion is a little to thick for it's geometry, I know they make a fine product. I would probably go with the std A1 which is a bit thinner. I had an A1 a long time ago and it was an excellent blade.

 

[SteelJunkee]

Fällkniven are more suited for all weather uses and are great quality, their Lam COS is amazing. Their handles have state-of-the-art ergonomic with a very resistant low thermos-conductor material.

I`m not very fond of their sheaths, but there is plenty of aftermarket available that fills that gap.

The A1 is a overall excellent product in all aspects of it`s construction. And I find the blade design more practical than the bravo. But it is with the handles, they are really making a big difference and it is where I think Fällkniven definitely surpasses Bark River.

If you are looking for a pretty knife, that might not be it. But if you want a workhorse, there is no contest, I would go with the A1 or A1 pro.​

 

[Yves Rouban]

Thank you for all your comments, I really appreciate the input. After much consideration I got a Bark River Bravo. I prefer the look of the knife as well as the 3V steel and the lifetime warranty.