I would have bought a Bark River Golok if Mike had gone for A2 not 1095 because it has such great lines-
I am not sure I can agree with preferring A2 over 1095 for a Golok.
I am a big fan of A2 and rank it very high on my "knife" use preference of steels for "most" knives.
From what I have seen, INFI is still the king in my book for "Most" knives. But, not all.
From what I have seen with two knives I have used a little and a lot of reading, I would think 3V might rank a possible second followed by A2 and SR-101.
But, I don't think A2 is as tough as 1095. 1095 is not very fancy, but it is cheap and reasonably tough with decent edge properties. 1095 is still a worthy knife steel. But, prone to rust and not the best at any one thing. I don't see "enough" value to desire 1095 over better options for most any knife under 10".
The Bark River Golok has a 11.5" blade. I wish it were made of INFI, but Busse would probably charge 2-3 times more.
Still... Bark River prices seem to keep going up. The new run of Golok's from the popular dealers is running close to $200.00.
I paid about $150 for mine a few years ago when the Golok was made with 0170-6.
If I didn't already have one in 0170-6, I would buy one in 1095 if I could find one closer to $150 - $170 range.... But, I am being cheap. I am confident the 1095 one is still worthy. Mike did upgrade a few things like handle bolts.
but that Bark River/Ontario makeover machete is the best P.R. job ever imho.. It's just silly money.
I have to agree with this. $125 or so to put a fancy handle on, put a good edge on and provide a sheath for a $20 machete doesn't make much sense to me.
On the other hand, those are often the VERY SAME details that seperate MANY production knives from customs. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />
.
