Bark River Knives name sold
Circuit Court case closed
Trending
ESCANABA -- The Bark River Knives name is under new ownership, while litigation involving its former owner and a rental company has officially come to a close.
Scott Hope of Lennon, Michigan, and his family recently acquired Bark River Knives' intellectual property through a court-supervised sale, according to a Facebook post from the Bark River Knives page.
Hope will be opening a new, independent knife-making operation in Lennon under the Bark River Knives name.
The local knife company was previously owned by Michael "Mike" Stewart, who oversaw production of his company’s knives sold internationally through several distributors.
When Stewart announced his decision to cease production in March, he admitted to using an alternate Chinese steel in some knife production, calling it a “blunder" that affected only a handful of knife models.
However, Stewart maintained that the knives still met the criteria to be labeled “Made in U.S.A.,” citing multiple in-house production steps. According to the Federal Trade Commission, products labeled “Made in USA” must be “all or virtually all” made in the United States.
Stewart also said the steel used in his knife production had been mismarked and that his distributors were not aware of the issue.
Addressing the controversy that is now attached to the "Bark River Knives" name, Hope said the former owners and their family will have no involvement in the company or its operations.
"We know trust in the Bark River name needs to be rebuilt, and we plan to do that through our work. That means American steel, accurate steel labeling and transparency about the products we're making," Hope said.
Hope will also be launching 2AM Armaments -- Bark River Knives' new sister company -- with both operations based out of the new factory in Lennon.
"We're currently working on updating the Bark River Knives website and getting everything in place for this next chapter," Hope added. "We'll continue to share updates as things progress, including more information about our plans and what to expect moving forward."
Following the closure of Bark River Knives, Stewart has been involved in litigation with K Enterprises, LLC, owned by Ken Gartland. Stewart was reportedly evicted from their facility at 6911 County Road 426 M.5 Road for unpaid rent, during which he left behind equipment and other personal property.
After the property inside the building was appraised, Delta County 47th Circuit Court Judge John Economopoulos approved the sale of the assets inside the former Bark River Knives facility to R.M. Auctions LLC for $125,000 -- the highest offer negotiated by court-appointed receiver Scott Wolfson and attorney Anthony Kochis.
As receiver, Wolfson was responsible for securing, inventorying and selling the remaining assets while contacting secured creditors who may have had claims against Bark River Knives.
The remaining personal property of Bark River Knives was then sold, with proceeds being distributed to creditors with valid claims.
On Thursday, Economopoulos approved the final report from Wolfson indicating all of Bark River Knives' assets under Stewart had been sold and liquidated, and funds had been distributed to secured creditors.
Economopoulos officially dismissed Wolfson from his duties and closed the case.
------
Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.