I agree that handling the knives would be the best but as of yet I cannot find a dealer to get my hands on them.
Thanks
Deputy,
In case you cannot find a dealer close by here are some general descritpions of the Bark Rivers you are looking at.
Fist of all- none of them are big knives. Look over the size specs carefully. Most folks are sort of shocked at how small many of the Bark River knives actually are. About the only large dimension on them is the blde thickness-usually over 3/16" to .25" at the spine.
The Game series like the Highlands, Fox Rivers etc have a flat sided handle that is tapered from front to rear. The corners are rounded but it is not a hand fitting style handle like the Bravo and gunny knives which have palm swells and end flares on the side.
For a better viaual of the knives, I HGHLY recoomend you check out "Virtuovice"'s reviews on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3UVYskvb9g&feature=relatedHe is a Japanese Surgeon/MD who is actually a part time proffesional Sika deer hunter on the North Island of Japan near Sapporo. He always has about 50 fixed blades in his collection and ha propably hunted with and reviewd over 100 knives in the last 3 years.
He dresses out about 60 head of Sitka deer each season and really anylises and compares the knives in use. He susually does his Feild tests at the beginning of each video and the last part is a "table top" review where he shows in detail the knife from all angles.
He reviews are useful from the hunter's standpoint since they are brutally honest yet respectful of the maker's work. He does not sell advertising or knives. He has no business ties to any knife companies. He's just a very experienced hunter who loves good knives.
It's a GREAT way for anyone in the US to get a good look at a Bark River and other knives before buying one. He is a real fan of Bark River and BlackJack products BUT he also tells it like it is. The new Bravo 1 sheath he got was not to great and he made an entire vidieo SHOWING the problems.
He is one of the real assests to the knife communnity on You Tube. Reid Heikken at Sharpshooter Systems can't stand him because every time Reid makes a crappy sheath design(and it DOES happen sometimes) that little Japanese doctor is on it like "white on rice"..LOl But over all, he has a lot of respect or what the folks at BRK&T produce.
Spend some time looking through his video libraray and you should find all the Bark Rivers you are looking at buying. ;)I have owned most those knives and I still find his reviews very enlightening.
One other thing- he recently killed a MONSTER Sitka stag that he stalked in the mountains on Snowshoes. In 7 years it is his biggest stag and for Sitka- it is a monster-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0Tb-LeZIFk&feature=related 
