just a quick note on some great knives. these things are burly. so many different styles and all reasonably priced. i now own 4. i always have at least one at all times. chek them out. mtnfolk

What do you mean by "burly"? Are they as thick-bladed as the Beckers?

I need to find a place in Chicago suburbia that carries BR knives so I can handle them.

I'm a little hesitant because of the unusual sharpening needs - it is different from what I'm used to with the Sharpmaker.

they are pretty thick. i don't know about the bekers though. they are all full-tang, A-2 tool steel. check out www.dlttradingcompany.com they have the best selection i've found. .i love the northstar, it is meant to be more of a bushcraft style knife, complete with fire steel holster built into the sheath.

I love Bark River knives. They have really good quality convex blades - SHARP! A couple of the blades that might interest those here are the Northstar, The Fox River, the SAR, and the Mikro Slither - the last would possibly fit into a large PSK. The workmanship is top notch and customer service is excellent - prices are completely reasonable for what you get.

Once you get used to it, maintaining the edge is pretty simple. The Bark River section on Knife Forums has detailed instructions, advise and tips for keeping the convex edge super sharp under field conditions and in general.

Hey KenK? Where in the burbs do you live. There are a few dealers in the area. As well as one of the sheath manufacturers. If you are in my area, I can let you see the ones I have, if you are closer to them, you can pretty much see the entire selection of knives. The Bark Rivers "thickness" depends on the knife. Most are made from A2 steel, but they do use other steel as well. All are convex sharpened, and they would most accurately be described as "semi-custom" knives.

Thanks for the kind words on BRKT products.

Ken, If you're interested and have specific questions, please stop into the BRKT Forum or Outdoor Survival Forum at www.knifeforums.com. We'll happily try to answer any questions you may have there. I don't want to step on Doug or Chris's toes here...

M

I'm in the far northwest corner of civilization - near Mundelein & Grayslake. Does Gat Guns in Dundee carry them?

The Bark River Mikro Slither easily fits a PSK. I thinned the scales down on one and it works very well in my AMK PSP. Adding a small Kydex sheath is no problem, IMHO, it beats the heck out of the scalpel in the kit. I tossed the scalpel when I added the Mikro Slither.
Getting a Blaze Orange Mikro Slither with hollow pins (to hold a lanyard) as a PSK knife is a good idea.

No, not too many main stores carry them. I was at GAT on Monday getting some range time. Like SGTMike said. If you go to knifeforums Bark River has thier own section where you can have all your questions answered.