Boker Congress Carver conundrum

[Neko2]

Hello all,

I have had a congress carver by Boker for a couple years now and just recently picked up another in a trade with bikerector and upon close inspection have noticed some significant differences.

I figured I could start a thread to talk about the Boker CC since it's a really nice knife on its own merits and hopefully get some in sign along the way.


My first Congress carver had rounded wood scales and smooth rounded bolsters with "Tree Brand Classic" etched into the main blade. The blades are all an 8-9 pull with a couple having actually taken the claim of breaking my nail.View attachment 740655

I just picked up a new (maybe old) copy of the same knife and this one has flat scales that round on the transition to the bolster which is angled on the tips. View attachment 740656 The blade is etched simply "Boker". The blades are all about a 4 for pull.View attachment 740657

Anybody know about there being a production change on these? Or maybe Boker just used whatever they had on hand...View attachment 740661

I'd like to sharpen the holy heck out of one but would rather not if one is worth keeping unaltered.


I will say that I used the original one a bit and the steel seems quite hard as it took longer to sharpen than my various Rough Rider and Colt knives ever did and that it can draw blood every bit as well as any other knife I've used, possibly better.View attachment 740683

 

[yablanowitz]

At a guess (and that's all it is, guesswork) I'd say you have examples of two different series of knives, a regular and a Classic. I don't know enough Boker history to tell you if either is valuable from a collector standpoint, but my experience with Boker says their steel and heat treatment is much better than Rough Rider or Colt. Being the Philistine that I am, I'd sharpen up both of them and use them until there was nothing left of either.

 

[bikerector]

Compared to rough rider and colt, the steel is better, IMO. I believe colt and rough rider use either 420 or 440a steel, a very soft stainless. The bokers that are tree brand use c75 which should be in the realm of 1075 but the hardness is still up in the upper 50's from what I've seen on a few websites, based on what I've seen on different blades with "german carbon steel" for the german made bokers. One website claims it's 1095 but I don't know that it matters too much based on the hardness it's getting.

The tree brand classic which has the full etch main blade is supposed to be stainless and likely 440c at that so it's probably similar hardness to the tree brand with carbon steel but a touch harder to sharpen. I think carbon steels love to sharpen.

Tree brand classic stating 440c
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Trapper-Stag-Pocket-Knife--15020

Tree brand stating 1095
https://www.collectorknives.net/shop/boker-knives/boker-congress-tree-brand-green-bone/

Tree brand stating C75
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Appaloosa-Classic-Pocket--13582

This congress states 1095 as the blade steel for what you have from me, assuming that's a newer model
http://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Carver-s-Congress-Whittler-3--40127

So from some variations in information I've found in websites with similar model knives available you either have 440c, c-75/1075, or 1095 steel. While I don't know if there's much collectability to traditional bokers, the steels are great user steels. Based on the GEC's I've had, the fit and finish of the bokers I've had aren't up to that level but are still very nice. I find bokers to have a lot of value but that's not usually what makes something collectable.

 

[r8shell]

I bought mine in 2013. It looks the most like your newer example.
It has the simpler etch, flatter scales, and beveled ends to the bolsters.

Aside from the blade etch, some of the differences could be attributed to hand finishing at the factory. Someone could have gone a bit overboard when sanding the wood and rounded things off more.

The tree brand classic which has the full etch main blade is supposed to be stainless and likely 440c at that so it's probably similar hardness to the tree brand with carbon steel but a touch harder to sharpen.

Interesting. I'll have to check some of my other Bokers, but I think I have a few with that etch that are C75 carbon. Neko, is your first knife stainless steel?

Whichever version, it's a nice carver.

 

[Neko2]

I'm pretty sure that the lighter wood one is 1095 or C75 (at least that's what the site listed when I bought it). I was under the impression that it was released as a tree brand classic but with carbon steel at the request of the designer Len Yule.

What I'm starting to think is that the one I just got is the newer example and my original, the older.

I like em both and never expected to kind of get two completely different knives out of getting a second.

Thanks for the info so far.