I’m interested in is the bark river better at edge holding. I don’t personally see $150 difference. Unless the benchmade is to soft which I have heard was a problem on early ones. That is probably the only benchmade I would get.
I can say that the Bark River seems to have a better heat treat, but that is subjective and I haven't tested it scientifically. Remember that with Bark River you are paying for people who hand assemble, and then hand grind the blade and the handle, and then hand finish. You are paying for human labor that is skilled. No knife is the same as another. With Benchmade your are getting a machine made knife. It is up to you to determine what is worth your money for sure, but know that your money is supporting workers who are skilled at a craft if you do spend it on Bark River.
Both Companies get their steel from Crucible, so they shouldn't be any different. I have both of these blades, and for the price point, I'd go Benchmade every time. Handles are different, but for my XL glove hands, both have advantages. Cold or wet weather, Benchmade wins again.
What do you think of the Leuku vs something more budget? specifically the Garberg Stainless. I just ordered the Garberg for my first Bushcraft knife and wondering if I should have got the Benchmade Leuku instead. I'm not quite ready to drop $300+ on a BarkRiver yet. But I will eventually be getting either an aurora in cru-wear or 3v, or a gunny scandivex in 3v if I can find it. But between the Garberg and BM Leuku which would you recommend for a beginner? (I'm in Canada so the Mora was $120 and the Leuku I can get for $210.)
Interesting question. I had a Garberg for a few days - it was okay. You can get Bark Rives new for around $250 US shipped in black micarta. If you can't swing that right now, I might actually get a cheaper knife for a bit and save up for a Bark River. You can just get a cheaper Mora if you want to stay stainless (don't worry about full tang), or get their carbon buschrafter, or a Condor Terrasaur or Bushlore. They all have scandi grinds and are fine for bushcraft. The BM Leuku comes with a scandi with a secondary bevel, which I really didn't like the feel of. I reground it to convex and liked it a lot better. So if you want to resharpen, then it is a pretty good option. Also remember the knife is a bit longer than what most would consider a bushcraft knife - but again I'm not sure what you want to be able to do with it. And remember that the handle is, in my opinion, too rough Honestly I would get the Bark River and just be done. My recommendation is the Gunny Hunter LT which is 3v and has a .125 thick blade - its so comfy and great for everything - I don't think you really need thicker, the 3v is super tough and they have a lifetime warranty in case you do somehow manage to break it. They just slice better when they are thinner - for $260 www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-gunny-hunter-lt-3v-black-canvas-micarta-matte-722 If you want a thicker blade for some reason, you can get the bushcrafter which is scandi for $250 - it has a .164 thick blade www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-bushcrafter-3v-black-canvas-micarta-matte-328 Or is you want an aurora, you can also get that for $260, also 1.6 thick blade but with a 4.5" length, (the gunny and bushcrafter are just a little under 4") www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-aurora-3v-black-canvas-micarta-matte-120
@@blueredleaves Thanks for the great answer! Right after I posted the comment I cancelled the garberg and ordered a condor terrasuar instead. $77 CAD with tax and shipping included. Basically half the price of the mora. I do like the extra length of the Leuku, for the visual proportions as well as function. I won't be doing much carving, mostly fire tasks, baton and feather. The extra length would be useful for batoning, but I would definitely put a convex on it like you did. But the handle material is holding me back...and if I'm going to spend $200 I would just save another hundred and get a BR. I think the terrasaur will suffice for this season, and I will get myself an Aurora, Bravo 1, or Bushcrafter when I can. The gunny Hunter LT sounds really nice, but a bit small for my taste. I think I will try for the Bravo 1 1.25 LT (rampless, drop point)...it is pre-order only right now though. www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-bravo-1-25-3v-lt-pre-order So maybe the bushcrafter. www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-bushcrafter-3v-blue-denim-328 Thanks for the tips on the BR knives, very helpful.
@@joshireland5835 Just so you know. DLT just released Aurora Scandi(vex) Magnacuts. This is a pretty irresistible option and seems like exactly what you are looking for... www.dlttrading.com/bark-river-aurora-scandi?sort=priceasc You get the performance (edge and toughness) of cruwear with stainless like corrosion resistance