Formerly known as Bark River Knife & Tool, BRK
is a family owned company located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
BRK is run by veteran knifesmith Mike Stewart who teaches and employs a
number of skilled artisans who create some of the prettiest production
knives on the market today.
One of my favorite Bark River designs is the Fox River “Magnum” Knife.
This knife of 11 1/4 inches features a 6 1/4 inch long, A2 steel drop Point blade that has a Rockwell hardness of 58-60 .
It also features a very ergonomic reverse taper handle available in a wide range of handle slabs from different colors of Micarta,
to hard wood, to burl wood, to exotic hard wood, to natural materials
such as antler and bone. Each of these materials can come with or
without a metal bolster which you can choose for yourself.
The BRK Fox River Magnum is supplied with a heavy-duty, pouch-type, leather sheath made by Great Lakes Leatherworks.
FYI, as hunting knives go, a knife with a four inch blade has somehow
become the standard length these days and hunters who carry knives with
longer blades are often viewed as either neophytes or
paranoid! However, it has been my experience that a knife with a six
inch blade is VERY handy not only as a camp/survival knife but as a
hunting knife as well. And I believe that many professional guides will
agree with me.
Consequently, the Fox River Magnum knife tends to fill this bill with near perfection.
As a part of BRK’s Professional series, not only is the Fox River
Magnum large enough for general camp chores, it is absolutely perfect
for removing the hide from, and then processing, large game animals such
as elk and moose.
In addition, not
only does the drop point blade shape place the tip out of the way when
skinning game, the edge has a slight positive forward angle which gives
you more leverage when cutting. Plus the blade is flat ground for the
best possible combination of toughness and sharpness.
However, the A2 steel used in this knife is not a stainless steel and
thus, it does require more care than a stainless steel blade to prevent
it from rusting.
On the other hand, this steel contains 0.95% – 1.05% Carbon, 4.75% –
5.50% Chromium, 0.90% -1.40% Molybdenum, 1.0% Manganese, and 0.15% –
0.50% Vanadium and 0.30% Nickel. This composition makes it a very hard
steel. Molybdenum and the Manganese makes it durable and tough and the
Vanadium content highly refines the grain structure of the steel so that
it will take and keep a finer edge
Last, I really like the fact that the handle is specifically designed to completely fill the hand without being over sized.
Consequently, I am highly impressed with the BRK Fox River Magnum knife.
In fact, the ONLY thing that I would change about it is the steel
because I have a distinct preference for stainless steels over
non-stainless ones.
Apart from that, I am extremely pleased with the design of this knife
and I would be very pleased to carry it as either a dedicated survival
knife or as a large game hunting knife.
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