In The News

[just bob]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... 2f44&ei=82

[1967redrider]

Bark River . . . glad I didn't buy any. That's just downright deceitful.

[bestgear]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... 2f44&ei=82

also referenced here: https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kn ... hp?t=86791

[OLDE CUTLER]

Probably is going on right now with other brands who say it all is made in USA.

[bestgear]

Here’s a statement from the company, posted by Mike Stewart to the Bark River Knives Facebook page:

LET’S MAKE THIS OFFICIAL .This is a Long Read but Important. BARK RIVER KNIVES IS NOW CLOSED.

All business was concluded on Friday Afternoon March 20th 2026. This Closing was long overdue – I should have done this over 2 years ago. I need to say that all of this is 100% totally my responsibility.

As you have seen from the tons of posts I have been taking the heat since Friday. There are many factors that lead to this but ultimately I’ll take the Blame. Please do not Blame Lesley Stewart or Jim Stewart for any of this. In addition to my Mismanagement the Choice to use an Alternate Chinese Steel was my choice – not anyone else’s Blunder.

Over the last 25 years we have made well over a million knives. This blunder of mine only effected a few models
Here is the List of them.

Camp Bolo.
Fox River Skinner.
Highwayman 4.
Mini-Manitou.
Gladstone Hunter.
Bitterroot Caper
The Last two Club Knives as well.

We tested the steel it had almost the same edge retention of CPM 154. It had the same toughness as CPM 154
It had even more Stain Resistance than CPM 154.
All of these were reground with our Convex Geometry.
All were reshaped them to a Bark River Shape
All were processed in our Shop by our Crew.
All of the handle materials were materials we currently use
All of them were etched just like all our models
All were inspected and boxed like all of our models.

By doing over 5 operations on each knife – they meet the criteria of Made in U.S.A. Yes the steel was mis-marked.

Let me be clear that None of our Dealers knew about any of this and are 100% Blameless for this situation.
It is 100% my Fault.

Let me also clearly state that all other Bark River Knives have been made with the Steel that is marked on the blade. This use of import steel was only for a very short period of Time to keep our Employees working.

IN OTHER DEVELOPMENTS.
Jim Stewart will be opening his own Knife Company
100% Independent of Bark River Knives.
Jim has agreed to take over all of the Warranties that would normally go to Bark River. When he is ready I’m sure he will make the Official Announcement. I will not have a hand in his new Company.

All I can do at this point is Offer a Very Sincere Apology and with much regret fade out of the knife industry that I have spent the last 50 years in. I want to thank all of the Folks that have Reached out to me privately to offer their support. It has meant a lot to me. I wanted to wait to post this until our Dealers had a chance to react and post their positions. I also wanted to make sure that all of our Employees were paid for working last week. I did that this morning.

My recent Health Problems and Lesley’s Health Problems did play a part in all of this but I am not using that as any kind of excuse.

[ThatWeirdKnifeGuy]

Sad day when an American cutlery company goes under. Turning to China to keep employees working then eventually going under is a story that's oft repeated. I feel bad for the guy.

[philco]

I don’t feel bad for him. I feel bad for his employees who are out of their jobs. I feel bad for his suppliers who likely will never be paid. I feel bad for his customers who were deceived into thinking they were getting an all American made product utilizing high end specialty steel. Feel bad for Mike Stewart? Not even just a little bit.

[robpa]

pretty sure Ive read he had a similar incident some years ago. hes is a real innovator, I reall like his knives. I have a mini manatou, one of the effected models which I reall like. I will continue to buy Bark knives and hope the mdels are truly what they say they are.

[edge213]

I don’t feel bad for him. I feel bad for his employees who are out of their jobs. I feel bad for his suppliers who likely will never be paid. I feel bad for his customers who were deceived into thinking they were getting an all American made product utilizing high end specialty steel. Feel bad for Mike Stewart? Not even just a little bit.

Great post

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I have mixed feelings about this. Bark River made some great knives, hands down some of the best. But when it comes to Mike Stewart I’m not surprised. I raised this issue about 20 years ago about Boker knives on a different forum that Mike was a moderator. The Euro was climbing and climbing but the price of Boker knives stayed the same. I asked on the forum if it was possible that Boker was buying parts from China and using them and calling it German made. Mike jumped down my throat about that question. I wasn’t accusing them just asking if that was possible? Turns out Boker was doing that and being loose with their definition of German made. Just a few years later Boker knives were sold as either made in Germany or not, but at that time it was represented that “Boker” meant made in Germany unless is was Boker+ or Boker Magnum, even though some knives were assembled in Germany from Chinese parts.
I thought Mike seemed awfully defensive of this question being asked about someone else’s brand, I guess that was a little too close to the truth for him.

[OLDE CUTLER]

I don't feel bad for him either. His lies eventually caught up with him.

[bestgear]

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires that products labeled "Made in U.S.A." be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.. This standard means that all significant components, processing, and final assembly must occur in the U.S., with no or negligible foreign content.

The FTC allows a product to be labeled "Assembled in U.S.A." even with foreign components. For example, CobraTec Knives are based in Meridian, Texas, where they assemble, quality-check, and warranty their knives. While the company is based in the USA, their components are manufactured in China/Taiwan and then assembled in Texas.

Bark River simply needed to make that distinction and let the chips fall but instead they chose to lie and deceive which are not sustainable in the luxury goods market.

[Umcknifeguy]

Kinda hard to feel bad for a fella who if I recall correctly has b a history of controversy like this, between Blackjack, and wasn't there some issue at Marbles too. Imagine the inventory of bark rivers that DLT and Knives ship free has that they will probably have a hard time selling now.

[Jeepergeo]

I wonder how many US based knife designers that outsource production to China and othe places are being swindled regarding the materials going into the knives.

[Rookie]

He's a liar and a scam artist, and has a history of being a liar and a scam artist. He'll probably do it again if you watch him for 8 more years. As others said, feel bad for his employees, his suppliers, and his customers. But don't feel bad for him. He had this all coming, and I'm sure he made well off on the deal while everyone else suffered.

[edge213]

To put it simply.......a crook.

[Modern Slip Joints]

Since I prefer hand guards and pommels on my fixed blades I was never attracted to Bark River knives. When I read Randal is secretly out sourcing blades to Pakistan then I'll know the world has gone to heck in a hand basket. Bark River? Yawn.