Böker Plus Fixed Knife

[Confederate]

Since Smokey Mountain has a sale on the Böker Plus fixed blade, I decided to buy several to give away as gifts or to hand onto. For $29 it seems a great deal for a rugged outdoor knife.

The knives came in today, but I found that I had mixed feelings about them. The knife sports a 440C blade that's more or less a slab of black painted steel sandwiched between two panels of G10. Still, it's fairly comfortable and the reinforced nylon case is configurable for carrying in many different ways.

Böker's steel quality is reputed to be excellent, so the blade's being made in China doesn't bother me. But even though this iteration of the "Plus" normally goes for around $60-$70, there's nothing in the least impressive about it except the way it's wrapped. The black finish appears to be paint—nothing anything remotely like enamel or other attractive finishes.

Another problem is that it's difficult to learn much on the Internet because of the large numbers of other Böker Plus models (some folders) that pop up. I can't help but recall Larry, his brother Darrel and his "other" brother Darrel! Couldn't they come up with anything other than "Plus"?

PROS: The knife does what it's supposed to do, and is strong, fairly comfortable and it fits the sheath well. The blade is 440C, which is better than many other stainless grades out there and it did come sharp right out of the box. It's also easy to resharpen when the time comes.

CONS: Although it's does what it's billed to do, the knife just lacks appeal. The blade itself is 7-inches in length, including serrations, which turns a lot of people off. Even so, it's only 2-inches of serrations, and those 2-inches can come in handy if one needs to cut through wood or bone. Still, I would have preferred mine to be a plain edge. Another gripe, the blades are chisel ground on the left side, but the blade is easy to sharpen and I can use the blade to debark wood, something I wasn't able to do with CRKT's chisel grinds. Finally, the knife is just sort of there, and it doesn't have any bells or whistles, or appeal of any kind. The product reminds me of one of the 4H projects I used to do in high school. The G10 panels are ground on one side and simply screwed into the tang. Everything's tight, but it has no pizazz.

CONCLUSION: What can one say about a thirty-dollar Böker? Although it's a great price for what you get, it does appear to be a bit Spartan. Months ago, I bought some Smith & Wesson Homeland Security Tantos (also on sale for the same price). They, too, were Chinese made; they, too, had 440C blades with G10 scales; however, the double grinds of the S&Ws were notably better and their reinforced nylon sheaths were better, and they came with a diamond whetstone. Having said that, the Smith & Wesson HS Tanto just doesn't have the balance that the Böker does, nor the belly. But they were more polished.

I'd be interested in the feedback of any who have the Böker Plus fixed blade. Right now, it doesn't strike me as being very comfortable to hold or use, but I haven't had the chance to do work with it extensively. The blade and handle shape are a bit flat and the panels serve only to make it thick enough to hold and use.

This S&W Homeland Security Tanto was much more appealing
out of the box than the Böker Plus. The grind was much better,
the sheath better thought out and a diamond whetstone was
included so you can sharpen it out in the field. Still, the balance
on this knife is a bit heavy and the Böker is simply better suited
for combat and heavy outdoors use.

 

[StotheE]

"Finally, the knife is just sort of there, and it doesn't have any bells or whistles, or appeal of any kind."


care to elaborate? it has serrations. a guard. g10 handles. lanyard holes. an impact pommel.

give some examples of a bells n whistles.....

 

[Morales]

Although it's does what it's billed to do, the knife just lacks appeal.

That was exactly my thought when I first handled this knife. I usually love bigger blades and G10, so this one should fit the bill in a way, but it didn't. Maybe the thin handle is the biggest downside. If the handle doesn't feel as it is 'supposed' to feel in my hand, the knife isn't going to find its way into my knife drawer/collection. In combination with the upper guard, which imho is useless most of the time, and the high price of over 100 bucks (that's what they sell for over here), this knife is completely off of my list of future knife purchases.

 

[Confederate]

By "lacks bells and whistles," I mean that all it is is a knife tang and two flat slabs of G10 attached, and both of them are only ground on the sides so that the material doesn't bite into the hand. The serrations are pretty much there to saw through wood and the sheath has a sheath guard inserted in it that, hey, guess what?, comes right on out with the blade when the sheath is worn.

Some companies attach the sheath guard material through a strap at the bottom of the sheath. A nylon strap goes through the sheath, then the sheath guard, then the sheath again to keep the sheath guard in place.

All in all, the Smith & Wesson appears to be the better knife, all things considered. Not only is the blade double ground, the workmanship on the knife and sheath tend to be better. The only place where the Böker is better is in the blade shape. The tantos are less useful in the middle of nowhere.

Is the Böker worth the thirty bucks? Unquestionably. Is it worth the fifty to sixty bucks it normally sells for? Not in my book. The nylon belt loop is flimsy and cheap, but it works. I'm not sure how to fix the sheath guard problem. It's essentially a thick fabric that's sewed together. I don't know, but I suspect it dulls the blade as it's put in and taken out.

I still don't know how good the 440C in the Böker Plus knives are. With just a few cutting chores it doesn't seem any better or worse than the S&W 440C blades in their HS knives. In fact, there's a definite resemblance between the Böker Magnum knives and some of the Smith & Wesson liner locks.

Overall, the Bökers I've looked at at the local surplus store seem overpriced for what one gets; but that's in the eye of the beholder. This is just my opinion.

.

 

[Bob W]

My initial impression from the photo, that $30 Boker looks like a $10 BudK.

 

[Confederate]

Maybe so. My overall impression of looking at Böker knives on eBay and in the Böker catalog, itself, is that their knives are overpriced. I bought a Magnum not long ago because it looked nice and advertised 440A. It took me quite awhile to get it sharp and it doesn't stay sharp very long, but for the price it was okay. I was a bit perturbed when it fell from my pocket one day and landed open! Most knives just don't do that.

Based on the 2009 catalog, they've replaced this model with a tanto version. I greatly prefer the spear point, though. Still, I wasn't impressed when I did a cross draw and the sheath guard came out with the blade! Again, for thirty bucks I'm not going to complain. I would like to hear from someone who owns one and has used it extensively. Is Böker pretty good about its steel?