Bark River Knives at Crystal Falls Trading Company

Bark River Bravo-1 in Green Canvas Micarta

Bark River Bravo-1

The Bravo-1 knife was developed with the assistance of the U.S. Marine Corp Force Recon Training Unit. These folks bought a large number of knives on the commercial market and tested them without saying anything to any of the makers.

The Bark River Gameskeeper came out on top. It fit their requirements of a "Real Time General Purpose Survival/Bushcraft Knife". Bark River was contacted by them and asked to make a knife based on the Gameskeeper with a few changes. The Bravo-1 is the result of their input.

The Bravo-1 comes with a Kydex sheath. You can change the sheath from right to left hand carry, upright or inverted carry. You can also attach an optional firesteel carrier and a smaller knife like a Mikro-Canadian in an optional Kydex sheath.

The Kydex sheath is designed to grab the front part of the handle. You need to rock the knife a little to get it in and out a bit easier. It is not meant to come out easily. The Force Recon guys wanted it secure but without a strap that had to be unsnapped to withdraw it or snapped to retain the knife. The Kydex sheath will scuff the front part of the Bravo-1 handle. A little cosmetic scuffing was of little concern. If this is a concern you might want to consider the optional leather sheath that has a snap.

Specs:
Overall Length: 9.065 Inches
Blade Length: 4.250 Inches
Blade Steel: A-2 @ 59 rc
Blade Thickness: .215 Inch
Weight: 7.375 Ounces

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Kydex Sheath Front Side

Kydex Sheath Back Side

Bravo Necker piggybacked into a Bravo-1

Bravo-1 Ramp

The Ramp on the top of the Bravo-1 is not actually a Thumb Ramp. The ramp serves two purposes. 1. The rear part of the ramp is notched to engage the firesteel. 2. The front part of the ramp aids in putting more pressure over the plunge line for notching.

Bravo-1 Design
Bravo-1 Prototype	Gameskeeper
In 2006 the U.S. Marine Corp Force Recon Training Unit purchased about $5,000.00 worth of knives for testing. They bought a pretty wide selection of knives by a lot of makers. Mostly high end knives and some issue level models. What they wanted was a real survival knife, not a fighter. They said they have zero use for a fighter. They maintain that guns and bullets are for fighting and knives are tools. It had to be strong, compact and able to withstand all the rigors of hard use. They Set about testing without telling any of the manufactures. When all the tests were complete the Bark River Gameskeeper was the winner. They said the Gameskeeper was the only knife that was still in one piece after the test and still sharp. Mike Stewart of Bark River was contacted after the testing was complete. He was just as much in the dark on the whole testing process as all the other knife makers. They liked everything about the Gameskeeper but wanted a few changes. 1. Eliminate the choil for more cutting edge. 2. Make the guard a self guard, built into the handle, not attached. 3. Add a small ramp to the spine to be able to put more direct pressure on the blade at the plunge line for notching. Mike sent them a drawing of the Gameskeeper with their modifications. With this basic concept approved Bark River started the process to make prototypes. The Balance of the knife had to be on the first finger. This was achieved by skeletonizing the tang to put the weight evenly over the first finger position. Production started in April 2007.	First Drawing First CAD Drawing Skeletonized Blade

Optional Bravo-1 Leather Sheaths
Black Sheath with Custom Firesteel	Brown Sheath with Mikro Sheath Attached

Leather Sheath Features Shop Leather Sheaths

Bark River Custom Firesteels
Green Canvas Micarta Fire Steel	Sambar Stag Fire Steel
Bark River sheaths are designed to work with the Swedish FireSteel - Army model or the custom Bark River fire steels. Custom firesteels are avaliable to match your knife handle. All materials are available Micarta, G-10, Jigged Bone, Sambar Stag, Woods, etc.

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Bark River Bravo-1 Knife
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