Bark River: Bravo 1 SS
By Victor Ross
I collect survival knives. Though I am seldom in the swamps nowadays, I still like to test them on my property. After all, the terrain here is left pretty wild. I had to have the latest Bravo-1.
Specs:
Overall Length:9.065 Inches
Blade Length:4.250 Inches
Blade Steel:CPM 154 @ 58 rc
Blade Thickness:.215 Inch
Weight:7.9 Ounces
I consider the Bravo-1 SS to be in the same category as my other smaller stainless steel survival knives. It was devleloped for Marine Recon as a survival knife.
Here it is with some others. Top to bottom:
Mora 2000, Bravo-1 SS, Ritter Mk 3, Fosters Fears survival knife, Bayley Bear Grylls knife, and the Fallkniven F1.
As you can see, the Barkie is the thickest of these at .215" thick at the spine. It has a high saber convex grind clear to the edge, or a "zero" grind. There is no secondary bevel. This makes the Bravo a real cutter. And it came shaving sharp. I have big hands, so the generous room of the micarta handle fits me well.
I did some slicing and notching on a piece of hard maple. Don't laugh at my fuzz stick! The Bravo did this well, and the handle goes nearly to the edge, so leverage in notching is good.
It also chops well for a 4.25" Blade, cutting down this pine sapling and bucking the little limbs with ease.
Then I used the Bravo to drill a hole in the maple. Not being a recon Marine, my hands aren't all that tough. The edges of the butt dug into my hand a bit. But the Barkie did the job. I really think the rounded shape on the butt of the Ritter is a bit more comfortable for this task.
Having the tang go all the way to the butt makes pounding on it with a baton to drive the point work well, with little or no damage to the handle.
Even after all this, the blade would still shave my arm.
The knife came with a good high ride kydex sheath, but I prefer this Sharpshooter pouch type sheath better. It is a Loveless design that locks the blade in securely.
In summary, this new stainless Barkie just may be my finest small survival knife. The CPM154 steel seems to hold an edge well, though this wasn't that much use. And being down here on the coast, I appreciate the corrosion restistance.