Boker Orion?

C

canis

Joined
Jan 19, 1999
Messages
237
Looking through July '99 Blade an lo and behold a Boker ad for some knife called the Orion. It has a blade made from something called crystalline titanium. What, pray tell, is this stuff? While you're at it, does anyone have anything favorable to say about the Boker "Tactical" style knives in general. I don't see much in the forums regarding their line of knives. I've never owned one but I must admit they seem like dandy little letter openers.

Regards,

Chris Canis

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"Tolerance is the vice of those who have no convictions of their own"
 
I looked at that knife in the catalog as well. It for sure has a very nice design and interesting materials, but...

A while ago I bought the original Super Liner with the titanium handle. I was quite a disappointment. Overall fit and finish are not what they could be: the blade has a cheap, stamped feeling, the handle sharp edges, it's not flush with the liner, the thumb stud appears crooked and the liner lock doesn't engage properly. The whole thing has the cheap Taiwan feeling, except it ain't cheap at all and it ain't made in Taiwan. That's what really bugs me. Böker makes very, very good lock back knives. I have handles those and there is no question they are excellent. They can produce quality, if they want. Maybe the Super Liner is better by now, it would be nice.

I have a hunch the crystalline titanium is 6AL4V with a special colorful coating. It probably doesn't improve the edge holding but has a nice look. That knife would be for display only. If you want a unique, but useful knife, the little Gamma with the ceramic blade seems to be the better choice.

[This message has been edited by Ralf (edited 18 May 1999).]
 
There has been some discussion about this knife on TKC-L, and the consensus, of those who have seen it in person, is that it is a cool little novelty, and worth the price, but nothing spectacular in the way of performance. From what I have been able to gather, the pattern is a side effect of the casting of the blade(like BDS, but bigger). The one problem noted, is that the liner has no detente, so sudden motion can cause the blade to open unexpectedly.
Aaron

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aaronm@cs.brandeis.edu
I like my women like I like my knives: strong, sharp, well-formed and pattern-welded!
 
Thanks for the info guys. It's a shame Boker can't up the level of finish on their knives. I like the way that their superliners look!

Chris

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"Tolerance is the vice of those who have no convictions of their own"
 
The crystalline Ti blade on the Orion is way cool. The picture doesn't show how there's a great sparkle effect along with the mosaic patterning.

Being nothing but Ti and carbon fiber, it's about as light as a knife can get. Really light. Strange light.

As with this entire series of knives, it is right hand only, with no way to reverse the stud.

As mentioned, there is no ball detent (?), so watch them fingers on the close. This is the way that the knife ships, per Boker. The liner is drilled for it, so I don't know why they wouldn't put one in, but there you go.

WRT performance, what is this knife made to do? It's a dress folder. It comes shaving sharp, so as far as letter opening and other desk chores, it's quite adequate, and beyond that, I guess it's as adequate as any 2 3/4" folding knife will ever be. The bigger deal for me in a dress folder is the ability to draw and use it in front of other "suits". The Orion is small and different enough to be non-threatening and "exposable" in this context.
 
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