This is the Bark River Knife & Tool Bravo-1, a collaboration with USMC Force Recon Division's Training Unit to deliver a knife to their liking. Unbenounced to knife makers worldwide, the Force Recon Division tested a host of brand name knives on the market and ultimately decided on a Bark River Knife called the "Gameskeeper" as their knife of choice but with a few recommended tweaks such as the following:
- The balance had to be on the first finger which meant skeletonizing the tang allowing for even weight distribution.
- Elimination of the choil to bring the sharp edge to the front of the handle slabs for notching leverage was a must
- Handle slabs had to be bolted to the blade and epoxied making them non-removable
- They added a ramp style thumb rest on the spine. The guard was changed to an integral self guard
- The screw slots are grinded off after the handles are finished and stainless steel screw sets are used
In 2007 BRKT decided to produce the Bravo-1 knife as part of their "search and rescue" line of fixed blade knives. a result of the Force Recon Unit and their desire to have a heavy duty bushcraft style knife. Today the Bravo-1 is one of the most popular knives made by Bark River and uses by not only military but avid outdoors men who wanted a survival-bushcraft knife for heavy use. The current blade has the following features:
Specs
- Antique Ivory micarta handles
- 9.065" overall length
- 4.25" blade length
- A-2 blade steel
- .215" blade thickness
- Weighs 7.4 oz
- 59RC hardness
- Brown leather belt sheath included
