Everyone's favorite topic. After I heard Bark River was actually closing but before I heard about the most recent steel controversy, I decided to finally grab a Bravo III while I still could. Have wanted one for a long time, problems at BRK not withstanding.
It wasn't the craziest workout but it was a fun 45min-1hr. By and large it performed exactly as expected for a knife of these dimensions and weight. For all Mike Stewarts faults, he is actually capable of designing a good knife. Pretty much all of these cuts were snap cuts at the wrist of elbow. Maybe one where I helped drive with my shoulder.
One the thinner brush it cut cleanly instead of tearing or busting the wood fibers which tells me the geometry was working as a relatively lean convex should. It could also do some fine cutting if you are so inclined.
On the lumber and sapling, it had great penetration with little force, again due to the over all weight plus grind. the sapling was a clean two hits.
I also compared it to some other knives in this class, the Ned Foss Machete (it's not a machete), the Work Tuff Gear Atayal XL, and the Condor Big Leaf machete. They all got pretty similar penetration on the lumber. The big leaf was used with a bit more force than the others as it is lighter than the rest. The biggest difference was the Bravo III was a lot more fluid in the wood, again, due to the grind.
Controversy aside, it is a damn solid large chopper/brush knife. I'm not worried about the steel.
ps – that damn Ned Foss Machete is a killer performer for $60.
by thurgood_peppersntch
