Bradley Bowie or...?

[warbow150]

Hi, folks
Looking very hard at a Bradley Bowie for a general field knife. Seems very nice, but i know nothing of PSF27, and I can't fondle one before buying. Can anyone tell me if they are good to go for relatively hard general use, river trips, hunting, camp, etc?

I'm considering some other knives as well: Fiddleback Forge Production Duke, Bark River Bravo 1.25, Fallkniven S1Pro.

Thoughts, advice, warnings?

[vilePossum]

Not to be impolite, but even production fiddleback knives seem a bit overpriced. Nice knives, sure, but the cost...

Before getting the pro version of the fällkniven, do some research on the differences. Some people do not consider them worth the price either. I personally did like the F1 I tried. Gotta decide which steel to get.
Also check out lionsteel fixed blades in sleipner, m390 or niolox with a variety of sizes and at good prices.

And lastly, for a good read on the Bowie and spyderco fixed blades in general check out nemo's knife reviews and his recent trip to Tuscany.

[hoimin]

I have a Bradley Bowie and it is my first fixed blade, so my feedback context is limited. Further limiting it is that I live in suburban Canada, where I don't really get to put these things through their full paces.

What I can say is...

- It's pricey for what it is, but I was happy to spend it on a good company and a solid product
- It's a looker and I quite enjoy using it
- The design of the knife is... middle of the road for just about any task you'd do with a camp/outdoor knife
- it's not long or heavy enough to be an efficient chopper, but you can chop branches with it
- it's not small or agile enough to be a whittler/super skinner, but it can be done
- it can baton wrist-width foliage, but again it's not that long and the swedge makes short work of your baton
- the edge geometry out of the box is very very thick for my uses (fire/food prep), so I thinned and convexed it down on a diamond plate; I want it even thinner, but I'm not that skilled freehand (yet?)
- PSF27 steel is only semi-stainless, so don't leave it soaking in fluids
- edge holds very well as long as you're not driving it into sand/stone/bone

[animportant]

I think I'll get one soon. I'm excited to try out PSF27, but I wish the knife came in Cruwear or 3V. Gayle likes it and knows about 1793393928 X more about knives than me so there's that.

[warbow150]

Thanks for the insight. I went ahead and ordered the Bradley Bowie. Once I get a chance to use it a bit I'll let you know how it does.

[roger-roger]

Thanks for the insight. I went ahead and ordered the Bradley Bowie. Once I get a chance to use it a bit I'll let you know how it does.

Will be waiting for your impressions. I want the Bradley Bowie, but not sure I want to spend the cash for a knife in that price range.

[warbow150]

After a few weeks I've decided it's a very fine knife. Steel is great, no problems. Gets very sharp. The handle is comfortable, blade profile, thickness, etc. are very nice. Overall a first class, very functional keeper.