Boker/Carothers collaboration coming soon?

IMO speculating about the quality of this Böker's (very loosely based) version of the CPK-UF hinging on their price of 2021 is incorrect. I have mentioned several times in the past that before Nathan had decided to revisit the UF pattern back in 2021, the older iterations of the OG-UF in 3V (not D3V) were exchanging hands in the secondary for 500+ as far back as 2017-2020! (I had bought a couple for 650 and 750 respectively!) whereas the original cost of those back in 2014-2015 era were a tad under 300, depending on their limited choice of handle material options.

My own question about their overall quality is more centered on the delta (no pun) between the MSRP of ~ 178 vs the dealer/distributor listed price of ~ 120. Although my hunch is that the quality of this version will be more commensurate with a $120 knife in today's market, with a mere quantity of 2000 having been produced, I suspect that their second hand market prices will gravitate toward the MSRP prices just based on the popularity of CPKs although the product itself may just be a CPK lookalike. I'd luv to be able to score a couple at BHQ's stated prices if & when but because of FOMO, I took a chance on securing one at MSRP. As for the aforementioned quality, I am sure that Nathan has seen a sample in person and in his possession but because of contractual agreements (conflicts of interest and so on) he will not be publicly reviewing the Böker 02MAG2025.
 
Synov said:
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.
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Yes, but I do not think they will make their own PM steel. So, I assumed they will select from already existing PM steels. But PM equivalent of VG10 is not very helpful to understand the properties of the steel they choose because there is no PM equivalent of VG10 (as far as I know). If they said PM equivalent of D2 we could understand which steel they were referring to since there is actually a PM version of D2.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
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.
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Fair point. If I recall correctly, I bought mine for a price around $350 about two years ago. If the current price (if it was made) the UF is around $500, I should have bought two :)))))
 
I placed on order on 6/19/2025 at the then pre-release price of $177.95 pre sales tax. Back then, Boker USA had estimated a ship out date of 7/07 IIRC. I juts checked my order which just shows as partially completed which to me suggests that one has perhaps been assigned to my order and waiting shipment, this is my best guess scenario guess. Wrist case? Cancellation and then refund me since Boker USA has seemingly escalated the price to $219 pre sales tax still showing the pattern as unavailable.

Those of you who think that you will get this UF based pattern from Blade HQ for the then listed discount price of $119, I will only have to 🤣

The legend of Nathan the Evil Machinist: speaks softly but packs a very long stick! Well allegedly, per Mark. I mean, yes def per Mark 🤣
 
Casinostocks said:
I placed on order on 6/19/2025 at the then pre-release price of $177.95 pre sales tax. Back then, Boker USA had estimated a ship out date of 7/07 IIRC. I juts checked my order which just shows as partially completed which to me suggests that one has perhaps been assigned to my order and waiting shipment, this is my best guess scenario guess. Wrist case? Cancellation and then refund me since Boker USA has seemingly escalated the price to $219 pre sales tax still showing the pattern as unavailable.

Those of you who think that you will get this UF based pattern from Blade HQ for the then listed discount price of $119, I will only have to 🤣

The legend of Nathan the Evil Machinist: speaks softly but packs a very long stick! Well allegedly, per Mark. I mean, yes def per Mark 🤣
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Mine shows “partially completed” from my 6-19 order at 533pm. Only 1999 globally, not very many for a planet with billions of people. Glad I didn’t wait for Blade HQ and their empty inventory on this.
 
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