Boker frustration and the Anso 67

[eschwebach]

I am done with Boker for a while. They need to figure out their QC issues. I really like many of their designs but at this point I have a higher probability of getting a well made knife from any of the Chinese manufacturers than from Boker Tree Brand. Yes, I said Tree Brand the ones from Solingen. I have ordered 4 knives from Boker in the past couple of months and 3 of them had serious QC issues. (See my Oberland EDW and Titan Defender post.)

My latest purchase was the Boker Anso 67. I have been looking at this knife for a good year and finally decided to buy it. It came today in the mail, and here are the list of issues it had.

1. Off centered blade
2. Sticky lock
3. Standoffs had chips in the finish
4. Gritty crap all over the lock bar and inside of the knife.

Since I have owned over 200 knives in my life, I am plenty familiar with them. I took it apart, cleaned it, fixed the blade centering and fixed the sticky lock (for now). My problem is this was a $168 dollar knife and none of these issues should have occurred out of the box.

Enough whining... Here are some pics. I really like the knife now that is it all fixed up.

Specifications:
Overall Length: 7.625"
Blade Length: 3.50"
Blade Thickness: 3 mm
Steel: N690BO
Weight: 4.5 oz.

 

[crom]

Hey, that stinks but I noticed if the pivot on my Haddock loosens slightly, the blade will drift off center. Try tightening the pivot? Also, my Haddock had a terribly sticky lock. In fact that's why the guy sold it to me, it's perfect now. It may have been two weeks of using it before the lock started to release smoothly. The cosmetic stuff you have here, maybe the knife was a return?

 

[xICEMANx]

Oddly enought all of the Boker's I own are not from Solingen and are all great with no qc issues to speak of. Unless the Albatros is from Solingen, I thought it was chinese made.

 

[leifjl]

I would think the stickiness and grit on the lockbar are both due to lubricant picking up dust/dirt. I've bought many, new in box, knives that had grit in/on them, from various manufacturers. I dont think thats even an issue. I've been thinking of picking this knife up actually. I love the look of it. How does it feel in hand?

 

[eschwebach]

Oddly enought all of the Boker's I own are not from Solingen and are all great with no qc issues to speak of. Unless the Albatros is from Solingen, I thought it was chinese made.

Yes, I believe the Albatross is part of the Boker Plus line from China/Taiwan. Oddly enough I had a Boker Whale last year, which is also Boker Plus, and it has excellent fit and finish.

Hey, that stinks but I noticed if the pivot on my Haddock loosens slightly, the blade will drift off center. Try tightening the pivot? Also, my Haddock had a terribly sticky lock. In fact that's why the guy sold it to me, it's perfect now. It may have been two weeks of using it before the lock started to release smoothly. The cosmetic stuff you have here, maybe the knife was a return?

Adjusting the pivot was of course the first thing I tried for the blade centering, but it didn't work. I had to use the "paper trick" to get it to center properly. In this case the lock stickiness was due to the fact that the tension for the lock bar was too strong. It was jamming the lock bar into the tang so hard it would stick all the time.

I would think the stickiness and grit on the lockbar are both due to lubricant picking up dust/dirt. I've bought many, new in box, knives that had grit in/on them, from various manufacturers. I don't think that's even an issue. I've been thinking of picking this knife up actually. I love the look of it. How does it feel in hand?

Yeah, the grit and dirt weren't a big deal. But when it's added to the rest it becomes annoying. The knife feels good in the hand and I really like it. That's why I decided to fix everything rather than return it. I haven't decided if I like that depression on the blade spine or not. It's pretty wide in the pocket and since the blade is 3mm it is thick too. Definitely built for heavy use, hopefully it holds up that way.