Well I went ahead a sneaked a little birthday gift to myself and purchased the "outdoor" Tech Tool 2. I wanted something minimal. A blade, a bottle opener, and a corkscrew (I have both been burned as well as the hero of the hour at social occasions where wine was brought but no one thought to bring something to open it. I never go to a social gathering without a CS
)
I wanted something a little different than a SAK since I have so many of them. The pocket clip function didn't hurt either.
So whats the quality of this Made In China Boker?
Absolutely superb and nearly flawless. Let me publicly eat crow for having any doubts that a knife made in China not being able to rival its western counterpart in fit and finish. The walk, the talk, and the attention to detail is astounding.
First, the presentation of the knife: Quite frankly, I was expecting for it to arrive loose in a taped plastic baggie. This isn't a knock. I've had plenty of knives arrive from Amazon in such a manner. No big deal. I also entertained the idea that it might come in slide out little cardboard coffin like many Case knives come in.
Instead, it came in a custom foam lined box that tri-folds over the knife and is probably three times larger (thus offering more transit protection) than it needs to be and even has a small magnet to hold it closed. It's not a throw-away and is designed to be kept if you purchased this knife for a collection. Very, very nice for a $35 knife. My $200 ZT didn't come with such a case, and I'm totally OK with that. However, it was a neat touch.
The G10 scales are well done finished and left just the slightest bit "rough" for a better grip. It appears to be be completely on par with my $85 GEC, to be honest.
The 12C27 steel blade is perfectly centered and has no side to side wiggle. That said, even if it did have some play, the knife is 100% completely easy to break down with its star bit construction. Should you want to take the knife apart, it's as easy as breaking out the correct bit and unscrewing it down to its base components.
All of the components are well polished. All of the back springs are flush. None of them are proud. The fit is exquisite.
If there are any negatives to the knife, they are nitpicks at best. One of the spare screws that would hold on the pocket clip if I reversed it to the other side is not screwed in. Absolutely no problem there. I'll just tighten it down when i get home.
The other thing is that the fold out lanyard loop can be a little sharp on my little finger when it's collapsed in. This is no big deal to me, really. I'm simply TRYING to find a fault with this tool...at any price.
In short, the Boker Plus is a fantastically well put together tool. At double the price, I think it would be a fantastic value. Truth be told, it doesn't have "China" marked on the knife anywhere (unless it's stamped on the tool somewhere under the scales, and if someone handed me this tool in its box. I would assume it was a $80+ German made Boker. If it weren't for the sticker sealing the box that proclaimed its country of origin, I would never have guessed that it came out of a Chinese factory.
Anyone that is looking for something a little different than the traditional SAK should look hard at this Boker. The level of detail and care that went into producing this knife is incredible for a knife costing less than $40 shipped.
how do you find the small serrated knife? It doesn't seem to open fully.