Boker+ Folder

Tim-Gabz

Tim-Gabz

Joined
Nov 24, 2003
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Received this yesterday, sitting in Sandton it is gracing my work desk. Very sharp and chunky the Boker B@tman was designed by South Africans, for the South African scenario it is a very focused purpose and a little limited in everyday use. Numbered it came with a personalized certificate of ownership. Takes a little getting used to.

To start with it was stiff to open, thumb studs on both sides, has eased up quickly but the liner lock is hard to close. G10 scales with a reversible clip that aids the grip very well. The scallops are on both sides of the 8Cr13MoV steel blade, different to the common use of serrations.

I bought it for jogging some while back and with a forgetful father in law never picking it up I eventually got it posted to where I am working this week.

There was a DVD with it that showed how it was designed and tested. It was very impressive, how I am going to test it is a little difficult. Shaving hairs tends to leave furrows in the arm unless very careful.:o


 
Tim-Gabz said:
...the Boker B@tman was designed by South Africans, for the South African scenario it is a very focused purpose and a little limited in everyday use. Numbered it came with a personalized certificate of ownership. Takes a little getting used to. ...
Click to expand...

Self defense? From Lion attack?

I can certainly see its limits for EDC, but mercy! what a blade. Quite beautiful in its own way.

Congrats and thanks for sharing. Looking forward to your comments after you carry it for a spell.
 
I have one of these,but it's not numbered and didn't include a DVD. Is yours some sort of special run?

The sharpness of my example left something to be desired also. I would be interested to hear what others think of this knife. Did the video state that it was designed for SD?
 
Hi sorry to respond a tad late, my mail is a mess. I got mine from Kevin Harvey, the designer and the run is peculiar to South Africa. It was designed for self defense by Master Blade Smith Kevin Harvey, and has some interesting tests including cutting through 1" hanging rope, leg of beef dressed in denim. The Bat style gives the benefits of a normal edge and the serrated edge as it doesn't snag up in cloth. I have managed to wear it for a couple of days in my front jeans pocket and can get it out and opened fast. I am trying to see how I can send over a copy of the DVD.
 
Is the lock-up solid? I get a little wary of linerlocks. I've been thinking of picking one up myself.
 
Chains:- The liners are 1.7mm and very tough and lock hard. My Buck 186 has a 0.95mm liner and has worked well. Although the Buck is a shorter blade there is not much reverse leverage on the Boker that I can think of.

The seating of the liner lock has been well considered cut to the radius, not sitting behind the axis of rotation as most liner locks do. This removes one line of force. Kevin Harvey started as an Engineer some many years ago and he tends to think things through on his kit.

Now that I am still repairing, rehandling my 186 (warrantees don't cover fire damage and a Lego laminate) I am getting a better idea of what I am looking for in a knife. This Boker handle on a work blade would be excellent. I require a work blade and end up carrying a sheath knife, whilst legal here, tends to gather attention.
 
Some weeks down the line. I have tried this knife out quite heavily and enjoyed the slashing of old jackets and jeans. After a short row having used the wrong set of wife’s jeans she set aside one old set and unbeknown set aside another for cleaning.

I have worn it daily since getting back to Botswana. Sits very snug clipped to my front pocket of my jeans. The tassel, supplied fitted, did speed up the access and draw but seemed to attract attention, mostly admirers but also morons. I removed it and put it away. Carrying it in a suit trouser pocket has mixed results. Being fairly heavy some trousers it would bang about others not. I suppose the cut, or style, being the watch word.

Now that the action is worn in opening is very easy and can be done with a wrist flick, difficult but practice it can be done. Rather it is better to deep insert hand into pocket and retrieve, opening (easily) with the thumb stud.

I have found that it clips neatly on the waist band of (tracksuit) trousers and onto my seat belt for ease of access. Previously I would carry my Sog Pentagon for SD and that would sometimes be a little difficult shifting positions of access although I have several home made sheaths.

How did it cut? Fair at first, certainly fairly well, better than all my other knives. I touched up the edges with a Lanski dogbone sharpener and there was a huge improvement. Some of the cuts would mean that the aggressive grip would hurt my index finger, so with a change in angle of attack that helped somewhat. I may reprofile that part of the handle, but there was a foot long cut in two layers of denim. You would need to practice using this knife on old clothes.

Cutting other kit is very limited. Sausages, cord and boxes. One of the issues that I have found with many knives is that so many can be used for EDC part for SD, that the bias on designing for SD makes everyday tasks less viable. I suppose the reverse is also true. One flaw in the original purpose of a design can discount a knife’s desirability considerably. I have had previous problems with a SD knife in that it being bulky I would choose an EDC over it and it would sit in drawer. This is a specific unobtrusive SD knife, well made and well thought out. It’s restriction on every day chores is a bit irritating, but if you do as I do, you will need to carry something else for everyday purpose. I already carry a SAK and the B@tman, polar opposite they are a good easy pair to carry, the latter can be left in the car when going into places that are secure.

It provides a modicum of help against being bitten by a roaming dog (problem here) when jogging. The local crime, particularly violent, is low here but my travels take me to South Africa so I am getting used to it. I have no illusions that avoidance is the best SD and this is an absolute last resort that needs practice.

The handle, and the whole knife, is very well made with an emphasis on toughness and I would love a spearpoint version of this knife as a counterpoint.
 
Tim,
Thanks for the report. Very revealing of both the knife and life in Africa.
Stay safe and hope you never have to use it.
 
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