DJ,
That description is accurate and is my experience as well.
There are some who claim a Bark River at $150 to $200 with those fit and finish issues is not as good of a value as some custom maker's hollow and flat ground knives at the same price.
The problem with that is in both knife size and blade grind they are comparing applies to oranges.
Most Bark River knives are bigger blades compared to most of the customs knives you see in the $50 to $200 price range. They are also made from much thicker blade stock and perhaps most importantly, have hand convex blade grinds which many custom makers simply will not or even cannot do.
When one considers that most custom knives of the same exact size ,handle materials and blade grind of the Bark Rivers usually sell for 50 to 100% more, then they look like the solid value they are.
And having said all that- they are getting better all the time. The handle shape issues are going away quickly because they are reshaping more and more handle scales on CNC centers before they hand fit and hafted on the blades.
Bark River made more knives in the last 12 months- over 15,000- than most fulltime custom knife makers will build in two entire lifetimes. And come very close to the overall quality of most customs in the process. Evbrything in life is a tradeoff and Bark River knives are no execption.
One thing I will say- at least Bark Rivers knives are 100% made by them in MIchigan rather than companies like Fallkniven who cannot even figure out how to build a knife without having the Japanese make them..
