well just got a boker-matic as i had to see firsthand myself. mine being the newer chinese made version in 4116 krupp or so they say. i also got a s&w cheapy otf assist knife in 4116 krupp or so they say. more on that later....
all in all the bokermatic works pretty well. it is a wobbly both up and down and side to side on blade play. it's not a stable platform setup at all. i can see why many shy away. having said that i also think it's solid enough for normal cutting tasks. i don't think the wobbling would have much effect on cutting use, except for fine cutting which in that case a folder or otf would be the wrong tool anyways.
quality on my example is lacking as it seems to be with allot of the boker made in china knives i have gotten. i always hear boker has good partners, and yet, i own a half dozen or more boker's made in china and everyone has been poorly done in at least one aspect, often in multiple. before you say to me...."stop buying them then"..i have a weird love for these boker designs, and i keep expecting to get good examples that will change my luck. in the meantime....i am not trying to trash the brand because i keep getting fit and finish issues, but i won't not tell the truth either.
boker should address this though....i can imagine the old timers and super collectors on here who love there german made high end bokers just cringing over the talk of these chinese made lower end, lower priced or affordable knives...and thinking about how the brand name is getting dragged down from it's lofty level. being made in china is one thing, being made poorly in china is another. at least, imho.
back to the boker-matic. mine works and i will use it. on first glance it looks nicely done, but when looked at in detail it's sloppy and poorly finished. my blade came unsharp. couldn't cut paper or cardboard. it was nicely polished though and shined nicely. i quickly put a good edge on it with my sharpmaker and it was cutting paper and cardboard easily. steel does roll pretty easily though or my example does. too much pressure and it tends to roll the edge. so an okay steel, but not great. very comparable to the boker 440a.
the sliding scale.......well......even a thin steel liner under the zytel sliding open and close scale would be a nice addition for strength. already opening and closing mine, the cutout is starting to round off a tiny bit. hopefully it won't continue, but over many years it could be a potential problem. could just be normal break in though we shall see as time goes on. the scales also have no grip what so ever. they are slightly smooth, and while the material itself isn't slippery on its own, it would be nice to have a better texture to it for grip. as it takes your hand grip to keep the knife open under any slight twisting, etc. maybe a scale lock wouldn't hurt either...if only for mental confidence.
the pocket clip is all bad though. i cannot tell if the screws go to a metal liner or are just in the zytel? mine came loose and wouldn't stay in a pair of khaki pants without falling out. since there is no texture on the scales, it slides right on out when sitting. so i took it off and bent the clip a small bit to create more tension and this is when i noticed there wasn't much i could do without fearing stripping out the plastic scales which were pretty stripped already from the factory. it took a lot of lock tite to get them back in and to feel comfortable for use again. it didn't really help much though. also it is blade up by clip location and no options to change this at all. which i guess doesn't matter since the blade is held in by spring force...but it makes it even a bit more awkward to me to use it one handed. i'd prefer blade down or the option to move the clip....but it is what it is. in the end the clip is still a major weak spot.
in comparison that s&w otf fit and finish were perfect for a high 20 dollar assisted open knife. steel came sharp, no blade wobble at all in any direction. so.....
i won't argue the boker-matic is not a neat little knife, cause it is, but more of a novelty than anything else. what i'd like to see is a boker-matic II. one that uses better fit and finish and materials maybe made in taiwan or a better chinese partner or the chinese partner using better materials and fit and finish, etc. slightly larger, with maybe a 3.5" blade and the rest of the knife scaled up to fit it. as well as assisted open like the s&w/schrade/taylor cutlery deal. looking all boker-matic as it does now....but scraping the opening and closing design and moving towards a solid blade lock design and assisted open. all for under 45 bucks american. possible? if so that would be a winner....to me and of course ymmv. there is allot more that could be done by boker with this boker-matic design, imho. it could be a really great, and still low cost pocket knife with the legal otf design.
the reason i'd like a larger blade is anyplace where you are restricted to under 3" you are going to be restricted to no otf design, use carrying, etc, in reality. these knives are for states in the usa with knife tolerance...or countries with knife tolerant laws. so a larger blade should be a non-issue really.
terrible way to end this, but....the pictures don't quite show how attractive the design is. it looks blockier in pictures...in person or in the metal and plastic it's quite sleek and sexy, if that is possible for a knife? a little wide or thick, but for the lock design it's kinda needed to get a good grip and keep the auto retraction setup from happeneing under normal cutting activities. hope you enjoyed my half arsed review and thoughts on the boker-matic. if not sorry about that i am no writer and since there is a lack of boker-matic info, other than Mr. Rangerbluedogs excellent info.... figured it couldn't hurt to toss my thoughts out there for others.
for light cutting chores and due to the otf setup the blade ends up being a bit wobbly and can auto close if twisted or pushed and pulled too hard. Was this feedback an overexaggeration, or close enough to accurate? Thanks in advance....mind you I know nothing about these other than what I found reading posts and reviews. You won't offend me to treat me like an idiot, cause I am on the subject. Any info is appreciated.