Boker/Carothers collaboration coming soon?

Nathan the Machinist said:
I have been testing and evaluating some popular commercially available kukri and it is striking the extent to which the knife designers don't understand blade geometry and center of percussion. Despite their apparent popularity, some of these are really bad. One of these has the center of percussion sweet spot in the concave part of the blade that absolutely sucks for chopping. Did nobody ever think to test these before producing them?
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The bud-k $39.99 boomerang? Don’t get me wrong, not the ones you testing, but I seen these kukri in the junk catalogs and don’t have any experience with one.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I have been testing and evaluating some popular commercially available kukri and it is striking the extent to which the knife designers don't understand blade geometry and center of percussion. Despite their apparent popularity, some of these are really bad. One of these has the center of percussion sweet spot in the concave part of the blade that absolutely sucks for chopping. Did nobody ever think to test these before producing them?
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Most knife users/collectors/enthusiasts don't know what they don't know. Sure, a manufacturer may have thought about testing it, but why bother when they can rely on your customer's ignorance and the rule of cool?

Damn it Nathan! I've never been a fan of kukris and I don't want a damn kukri! Yet.........your jedi mind tricks are starting to make me question that!

Must........re.........resist....


Edit: I would like to add this; the fact that Nathan is testing other knives to see what they did well and did poorly, that he's taking the time and effort to do research, is exactly why he.....is.....the man. This is one of the reasons why CPK is what it is; the best at what they do. That's a hill I can happily die on; I know I won't be alone.
 
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carnifex knifeworks said:
Most knife users/collectors/enthusiasts don't know what they don't know. Sure, a manufacturer may have thought about testing it, but why bother when they can rely on your customer's ignorance and the rule of cool?
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Yup.

And a lot of knife makers/manufacturers also tend to not focus on performance, and tend to focus more on aesthetics.

Mentioned it before, but one of the things about CPK is the ergonomics of their handles. You can handle various CPKs blindfolded, and FEEL that the handles are in the same family, with small differences targeting different uses.

Look at how many knifemakers either have wildly varying handles (some of which are really uncomfortable), or the same handle for knives with significantly different uses.
 
GreX said:
Not sure if its the same place, but this site also lists the specs of the knife - states a 4.9" blade, where I think the UF2 has a 6" blade.
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Saw that too, 12.40cm is 5 inches. As such it would be totally different in weight and feel to the original? The stated total length of 27,50cm is identical to the original with 6" blade. So..... I have one of those UF2's too, so we shall see. Should be here around July 8th.
 
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Ordered one directly from Böker just now, for the July 5th release at full-on retail (~194 OTD) just because I am really curious. If I don't dig it, I am sure that someone will offer me at least $100 for it on the secondary market, which of course I will not accep 💪 :P
 
Some odd takes in this thread imho.

That's clearly the same shape and size as the UF2, guy in the video confirms it's a 15cm blade

VG10 is good steel. D3V isn't magic. Most of the utility of CPKs is handle geometry and primary blade geometry, the factory secondary bevels aren't unusually sharp or anything. Given that primary geometry of everything you hold or cut with is still CNC and the same design, as long as boker doesn't grind the secondary bevels totally off center or screw up the HT or something, these knives should be good, especially for 1/4th the price of a UF2. Maybe the scales are a little proud, maybe there'll be a 4x difference in tolerance of abuse as long as that abuse isn't leaving it near saltwater... but there isn't going to be a 4x difference in utility.

If those were actually permanently available at the price point US retailers were preordering at, It'd be the default answer for anyone who wanted an everyday knife and was willing to spend more than a Mora. BFK at similar price point in AEBL? even more so.
 
kod said:
Some odd takes in this thread imho.

That's clearly the same shape and size as the UF2, guy in the video confirms it's a 15cm blade

VG10 is good steel. D3V isn't magic. Most of the utility of CPKs is handle geometry and primary blade geometry, the factory secondary bevels aren't unusually sharp or anything. Given that primary geometry of everything you hold or cut with is still CNC and the same design, as long as boker doesn't grind the secondary bevels totally off center or screw up the HT or something, these knives should be good, especially for 1/4th the price of a UF2. Maybe the scales are a little proud, maybe there'll be a 4x difference in tolerance of abuse as long as that abuse isn't leaving it near saltwater... but there isn't going to be a 4x difference in utility.

If those were actually permanently available at the price point US retailers were preordering at, It'd be the default answer for anyone who wanted an everyday knife and was willing to spend more than a Mora. BFK at similar price point in AEBL? even more so.
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if they do CNC grinding then the geometry could be good. But it is not 1/4 price. It is 1/2 of the CPK's UF retail price. So, expectations should be set accordingly. If it was 1/4 of the price, I would not even post any sceptic post.

And yes, if they do not mess up the grind and heat treat it should be good. I do not have a good experience with VG10 from two different and well known production brands. So, I am not overly enthusiastic about their statement of PM equivalent of VG10. Also that statement is pretty rubbish. VG10 is not a PM steel so what could be a PM equivalent of it? Do they mean a stainless steel, stainless steel with same carbide type/ratio, same type of toughness? The statement is more confusing than being helpful. If they do CNC grinding and use a good steel (AEBL, 14C28N comes to mind but probably they will not as these are also not PM) with a confidence inspiring heat treatment, then I will buy one. I do not care much about the secondary grinds as this is something I could sort out myself. So, as long as they get the primary grinds right, it should be alright.
 
Mine was $325 back in 2021, but costs have grown wildly since then. I'm not even sure what it would cost to produce today with the tariffs and the new cost for steel, carbide and abrasives.

We don't have distribution expenses, multiple profit margins and other soft costs. I am able to utilize materials and processes that would not be practical for most makers and still offer a product at a fair price because of the lean nature of the way that our company is set up. But, since the main driver of the price of our product is actual expenses, this makes our company very exposed to the increases to the production cost. There's not a lot of fluff.

If it was something like a baseball cap or a tube of lipstick that sells for $20 and costs $2 to produce, and then the price to produce it increases to $3, you could still sell it for $20 bucks. Or $21 bucks. Or whatever. But we're not in that kind of business.

Comparing their price for the UF to my price 4 years ago isn't really a fair comparison.
 
murat1983 said:
So, I am not overly enthusiastic about their statement of PM equivalent of VG10. Also that statement is pretty rubbish. VG10 is not a PM steel so what could be a PM equivalent of it? Do they mean a stainless steel, stainless steel with same carbide type/ratio, same type of toughness? The statement is more confusing than being helpful.
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PM is just a process that can be done to any steel. You spray molten steel into tiny particles that rapidly cool, which prevents large carbides from forming. The powder is then forged into a solid billet inside a container under high heat and pressure (HIP). This works regardless of the composition of the steel and the result is a tougher product due to having smaller, more uniform carbides.
 
murat1983 said:
if they do CNC grinding then the geometry could be good. But it is not 1/4 price. It is 1/2 of the CPK's UF retail price. So, expectations should be set accordingly. If it was 1/4 of the price, I would not even post any sceptic post.
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Bladehq will have the Boker for $119.95. And the last UF2 (in 2022) was offered for $350, and the typical Exchange price these days is around $500, and the UF1 AEB-L version is near impossible to find if you want a stainless version.
 
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