Before commenting, read this: The “conclusions” I have drawn in this video are based on design philosophy and geometry. And some of my comparisons are made from the understanding I have from my long term experience using the Aurora in the field. And looking at the aspects that made that good, and bad, compared to the Bushcrafter. On the design and philosophy side, I believe I’ve covered everything accurately... next thing that’s coming, is the real-world field testing and conclusion of both these knives actual performance relative to each other. Stay tuned for that!
Very good review -- this level of detail is really what is needed for an informed decision, as opposed to a short promotional plug or hype. I wanted a detailed review of the Aurora vs. the Bushcrafter and got that here, I am now leaning towards an Aurora.
Sir, that means much to me.. thank you for the kind words... man I had this comment the other day, that really made me want to take down this video so I wouldn’t have to see the stuff some people leave in the comments for me anymore... I deleted the comment, though... and then here I get this comment from you, makes me feel like leaving this video up for the folks who appreciate it.. God bless
@@prestonscott5367 Your actual real world use of these knives gives you a wealth of knowledge in how well they work, their strengths and their shortcomings. All of which are very useful to people like myself who are contemplating purchases of the same knives. Don't let internet trolls who have no life and nothing better to do get you down.
A couple of knives full of outstanding goodness....Those are some nice handles with good character....Good info and enjoy em for sure.....Good stuff....
Thats pretty cool you both favor these models! Must have been happy to click on it!! I don't have a favorite model so far, but man have a lot of good designs have come out!!!!!edit: just noticed rhe o.p.was saying same
No knife is everything all in one. Both have their place, but it's very clear the Aurora is for me. Still want both. One of my Barkies has a gap between the liner and tang. Bugged me too. Still overall most Barkies are flawless and all are solid
@@davezito888 hell no! I didn't want to be absent even if for awhile and the knife was just fine as is. I am glad I decided to not fuss. Besides, it was supposed to be double liners n was only single liner so it wasn't perfect anyways. I didn't mind cause it was a great design! Fox River EXT-1 First production run. It has blue green maple and orange liners. My first CPM 3V knife. SICK ASF!
ssunfish I sent the Bushcrafter back, and it should be here any day now. For me, little things like the gap (which was actually pretty significant) just make me not like it as much, because every time I use it, I’m dissatisfied with it. So yeah, I got it rehandled. Only thing the Aurora does worse is feather sticks. Only thing the Bushcrafter does worse is heavy carving/deep notching. So both have their place. I still feel that the Aurora is the better knife design overall :)
@@prestonscott5367 I will agree! Dissatisfaction is distraction! Hoping you love the new even more than you did on previous to replacement bec you were so happy before.
Great video... Question does a bushmaster have a thicker spine? I just purchased my first knife. I've been using Opinal for years. I just received my first Bark River knife Little Creek. I want something with a longer length that can handle cutting wood. The Bushmaster seems to be very good for that use. What do you think?
It's a toss up for me however if the Aurora had the Bush crafter wood then I'd choose it first.Dont know if I'd send it back for gap in scale , might not get that grain back.
Yeah... I agree. I won’t be sending it in because that wood grain is just too nice to lose. Though. I think the Aurora has a more refined and taylored feeling handle than the Bushcrafter does... it went through two years of development, including field testing and multiple runs. And my Aurora is taylored to me with the custom blade. The handle is more comfortable to me, but the Bushcrafter isn’t far behind in the handle department, it also indexes very well for me. The Aurora’s edge can be fragile at times though, with tasks like drilling due to the thinness behind the edge, but it doesn’t chip, which is good. I heard 3V is more durable, the Bushcrafter will baton a little more comfortably thanks to it’s handle design, and it fills the hand a little more. Shouldn’t be that far behind the Aurora in comfort when it comes to carving, but the narrow front of the handle may cause more pressure on your hand up there Bushcrafter has the advantage with a far superior sheath, much nicer lanyard hole, a good sharpening choil, and the edge should be easier to maintain because the steel is slightly easier to sharpen, and the scandi-vex bevel has less surface area to sharpen compared to the high convex grind of the Aurora. I honestly can’t tell you which is better... but we will test both these knives in the future against each other
Hands down the aurora is the better feather stick knife. The bush crafter bites much deeper with the scandi-vex. Bush crafter is the better batoning knife. A gap in a wood handle can be a major problem. I stay clear of any wood handle. It will ever Eventually break or crack its a flaw and should be solidly fixed. I would never baton a knife with a wooden handle. There are stronger more reliable materials. Oh by the way did the bush crafter handles separate even more?
I don’t have any Bob D. Knives... bark river (though I didn’t highlight them much) makes a lot of minor fit/finish mistakes... or at least, it’s common.. A few of which I’ve experienced are, slightly wavy grinds, rounded edge from factory (a clear accident, but shouldn’t have happened, and took 3 hours to fix) slight recurving from lack of good sharpening choil, and liner gaps) And I’ve only had two knives from them... I got the Bushcrafter with gaps rehandled, I ignore to very slight and gradual recurves on my Aurora and Bushcrafter, and I’ve sharpened out all the imperfections in the edges on both knives. And now, they’re my favorite knives ever... a well finished and well used bark river, is a satisfying tool, and I’ll always be happy with mine. Take a chance on one and try it out, factory performance may not blow you away, but as you sharpen and use the tool, it’ll become perfect 👌 good luck (If you feel the other brand would be better for you, then don’t hesitate, and get that one)
No sir, I had my aurora shortened 3/4” because I found that I like that length a little better... thought I mentioned that.. oops 😂 it’s the bushcrafter 1
It really depends on what kind of carving you’re doing as to which will excel at carving. For instance, the Bushcrafter does very fine feathersticks. The Aurora on the other hand wants only to bite deep into the wood. It does not like to shave, and it takes considerable strength and control to get it to shave. But with the Bushcrafter, shaving wood is effortless. I used the Aurora all last year. And this year I’m exclusively using the Bushcrafter. So I have experience in both. My friend has the Ultra Lite Bushcrafter and it also feathersticks very well. If anyone wants to understand why an acute bevel bites into the wood and remove chips, and a wide bevel likes to skim the surface and make fine shavings, just study a plane blade that has both bevels. You’ll see that putting the wide bevel downward shaves wood paper thin. If you were to turn the plane blade over it would no longer plane over the wood - it would want to bite in and dig deep.
Yeah, I know what you mean, the beauty though, is you can play with the convex at the very edge to make it skim and make very fine feathers and shavings, but also still bite really good when you want it too... just by widening or thinning the bevel, so I agree with tou for sure! I’m learning, even since I made this video.... always becoming better and better at sharpening, and/or stropping to make the edge perform how I want it to, in the wood I have in my area. Carving notches, and shaping things, or, making a bowdirll is a good example of the Aurora’s strong suit. Processing wood and making fire (feathersticks, batoning, etc...) is a good example of the Bushcrafter’s strong suit. Would you agree? Anyway, thanks for the comment, God bless
Prestonscott536 Yep I agree with everything you’re saying. Virtuovice has a good video on how to re-profile acute angles to do better feathersticks. But I’m yet to re-profile my Aurora. I’m still in the process of putting a mirror finish on one of my Auroras, and that’s A TASK with highly wear resistant Cru-Wear! I did make the edge of my Bird & Trout a little more blunt to keep the edge from rolling over so quickly, and I think it performs just as good now, but without the excessive rolling. So far I’m enjoying the Bushcrafter, and that will be my primary knife in the woods (I might get a BCII at some point). I can make a Bushcrafter bite into wood easier than forcing an Aurora to do fine feathersticks. I always carry a smaller knife on me for food processing, and between the two knives I think I can get most tasks accomplished sufficiently. In the old days I just carried a Buck 119 and made that do everything - and the edge on that is far from ideal for most tasks. Thanks for the video
Sorry you got a problem with my voice...Turn up your volume a little if you can.. You seem to be the only one with a problem hearing me that I know of.
