Bears knife on the 'bay'!

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JonathanD

Ophiological Genius
Sep 3, 2004
12,809
1,481
Stourton,UK

RobertRogers

Need to contact Admin...
Dec 12, 2006
361
0
62
USA
Massively expensive knife. But it may be a collectors item more than a knife meant for real use.
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
375
60
Gloucestershire
I am almost ashamed to admit that I've got one that I am using for a mini review of stainless knives alongside an Alan Wood stainless bushcrafter and a Rod Garcia SBT Mk1 in S30V.

I have to say that, as a knife, it is not very good. The coffin handle is too narrow and angular, the blade is far too deep to be of much service for anything but battoning and even then on narrow pieces of wood. The steel is incredibly hard, making it difficult to get an edge and then maintain it without the use of ceramic stones. The guard-thing just where the handle meets the blade is annoying and it is horribly overpriced new. However, one does learn from these experiences! There are two good things about it: the knife is beautifully made and feels solid in the hand and, despite its hardness, the steel is good.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the other two knives are doing rather better in my comparative test!

£500 for one? I'd sooner iron my head.
 

Bushcraft4life

Settler
Dec 31, 2006
859
3
34
London
Horrible looking thing it is and for £500? disgraceful, even if it is a collectors items.

This is in no way a dig at Rob Bayley as his knives are awesome but maybe he should have thought twice when Teddy Bear came in and said ''i want a knife that can carve me the fastest path to travelodge'' etc.
 

In Wood

Nomad
Oct 15, 2006
287
0
56
Leyland, Lancashire.
Funny thing is, that is the old verison of the knife. If you check out Rob's site you will see he has redesigned the knife. So why is he saying after a six month wait, it is finally out. This version has been available for some time.
As for the knife it's self...:yuck:
 

Stainz

Member
Jan 18, 2008
15
0
75
Pinson, AL, USA
I nearly choked last fall when I saw the Bayley's price... but it is still the same 350 pounds from them - for either the original plain or the newer coarsely serrated variant. Why would anyone buy from someone other than Bayley - much less at that 500 pound level? My interest faded when I noted that there wasn't a decimal between the 35 & 0 anyway. You can buy a collection of excellent Bark River knives for that. And... it comes in bubblewrap in a cardnoard box? No 'Travel Lodge' brochures or coupons??

Stainz
 

bikething

Full Member
May 31, 2005
2,568
3
54
West Devon, Edge of Dartymoor!
hmmm, private feedback score eh?

if you click on his user name it shows his feedback score as 'Private'

If you click on where his feedback score should be.... it says "bearthemonk (private) Not a registered user" :rolleyes:
 
Jul 15, 2006
396
0
Nil
So when did Paypal stop processing payments for knives then? I've bought and sold knives on eBay and paid and been paid by Paypal with no issues whatsoever.

All a bit odd if you ask me!
 
Jul 15, 2006
396
0
Nil
hmmm, private feedback score eh?

if you click on his user name it shows his feedback score as 'Private'

If you click on where his feedback score should be.... it says "bearthemonk (private) Not a registered user" :rolleyes:

From the eBay website:

"You can't leave Feedback for a member who is showing as "not a registered user". You'll be able to leave Feedback only if they become registered again within 60 days of the end of the listing. eBay also removes negative and neutral Feedback left by members who later become suspended.

In addition, we don't recommend sending payment to a seller if they are not a registered user.

If you've sent payment to a seller who is now "not a registered user" and you haven't received the item after a reasonable period of time, please file an "Item Not Received" dispute. To find out about the process, and what you can claim back from eBay or PayPal, see Item Not Received Process. If you paid using PayPal please open a dispute directly with PayPal within 45 days of making the payment. Log in to PayPal and click "Resolution Centre" near the top right of the page.

If a bidder has become "no longer a registered user" since winning your auction, don't send the item to them until payment has cleared. If they don't send payment, you can file an Unpaid Item Dispute in order to claim back your Final Value Fee. As the buyer is unregistered, you'll be able to close the dispute and request a credit immediately."

Like I said, something a bit odd here!
 

Dave_the_Pilgrim

Tenderfoot
Mar 4, 2009
50
0
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
I have to say that, as a knife, it is not very good. The coffin handle is too narrow and angular, the blade is far too deep to be of much service for anything but battoning and even then on narrow pieces of wood. The steel is incredibly hard, making it difficult to get an edge and then maintain it without the use of ceramic stones. The guard-thing just where the handle meets the blade is annoying and it is horribly overpriced new. However, one does learn from these experiences! There are two good things about it: the knife is beautifully made and feels solid in the hand and, despite its hardness, the steel is good.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the other two knives are doing rather better in my comparative test!

£500 for one? I'd sooner iron my head.

Greetings all from a new guy
Well Tiley, no need to be ahsamed. I appreciate that everyone else here thinks it's a cr@p knife but I personally like them. I've got a slightly modified Grylls knife on order from Rob (he's currently running at a 20 month wait!). Mine will be one without the endorsement and with green G10 scales. A standard Raven sheath (usual Woodlore type sheath) but for a lefty.
If you want to sell the one you've been testing, please get in touch. I don't let the association with the dreaded Grylls get in the way of my chosing a knife who's aesthetics I like. Although I do appreciate that knives are a very personal choice and I of course respect everyone else in the world's right to slag it off !!

Dave
 

mojofilter

Nomad
Mar 14, 2004
496
6
48
bonnie scotland
I think they are far from crap mate, I'd quite like one myself! :)

I'm also pretty sure if Ray Mears turned out with one tomorrow everyone else would love them! :D
 

Dave_the_Pilgrim

Tenderfoot
Mar 4, 2009
50
0
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Well Mojo, that's two of us then.

I think Grylls gets a lot of bad press from bushcrafters. Rightly so from that perspective but his programmes aren't aimed at people like us. I spend the whole of his progs telling my son NOT to do this or that. But I know that the ignorant are very much taken with his style and don't have the knowledge to criticise. Those people are also very unlikely to end up in the sort of situations he puts himself (and film crew and local guides) in. They see it as entertainment and it's proving to be very commercially successful in the USA.

It's not bushcraft and when I've gone to places where it really is remote (Canadian Rockies, Central Highlands of the Philippines and French Alps (less so), I always wear my belt kit and the odds of getting into a pickle are not very likely. The odds of getting into such a situation with my basic kit is FAR more likely than having nothing at all. So I've practised with what I am likely to have. Why practise for a plane crash when it ain't ever gonna happen ?? Practice for likely scenarios sure. Who would willingly put themself into a real situation just to train for one ? To my mind it's more important to know how to acquire clean water, get high calory food with little calorific outlay and how to build a shelter and fire. Being able to attract attention is also important and when in remote areas I always carry flares, signal mirror, magnifying glass, strobe, whistle and flashlight, knife and several different ways of starting a fire. Proper belt and braces ! None of this is bushcraft of course !

Now I'll sit back and take the flak ;-)

Dave
(I presume that there are plenty of threads of what people carry when out in the woods ?)
 

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