Boker + steel??

GronK

GronK

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2001
Messages
19,303
First let me say that I picked up a small Plus tanto folder today, and I'm totally impressed with the quality of this extremely affordable knife. The Chinese made knives are getting quite good from companies who pay close attention to what's going on.

My question is in regard to the steel used in the blade. Is it American standard 440C or Chinese 440c which I understand is somewhat different and is also called 8Cr13MoV? I am just asking out of curiosity, since this particular blade has held up just fine to an afternoon of serious cardboard and wood cutting. As a matter of fact, some major American manufacturers would be wise to steal the formulation of the black coating on this. Not so much as a smudge after quite a bit of cutting!!

I actually bought this piece as an inexpensive way to try out some features that I've never been fond of but haven't had a chance to use in a dally carry: flippers, tanto, partial serrations and black coating. Also, I just wanted to see how Boker is doing with the liner lock. I had a Brend cocobolo/titanium several years ago that was a serious disappointment. Nice eye candy, great blade, but really bad flex in the frame/bolster/wood and a weak lock. This little "Plus" has restored my faith! I am plugging it into my EDC rotation and giving it a run.
 
GronK said:
First let me say that I picked up a small Plus tanto folder today, and I'm totally impressed with the quality of this extremely affordable knife. The Chinese made knives are getting quite good from companies who pay close attention to what's going on.
Click to expand...
Actually those are made in Taiwan, which is pretty different from made in China (or more particularly PRC, as if I remember correctly Taiwanese believe themselves to be the legitimate government).
 
Knives I've owned made it Taiwan have always been marked "Taiwan" on the blade. This one is clearly marked "China".
 
Danke, but it still leaves open the question of the Chinese 440C as sussed out by the folks at Spyderco. Oh well, it's not earth shakingly important anyway. Like i said, the knife works just fine.
 
8Cr13MoV if i don't know your knive tipe .Put a picture and knive model number otherwize we can't help you My guess is a good steel compared to AUS 8 even a little better to the steel freaks... just guessin????;)
 
The knife is the "Military", small size (All black, tanto, partial serrated). The blade is marked "China" and "440C". I bought it at a knife store locally. I can't take a picture right now, since I've loaned the knife to my son for a week of serious abuse to see if it holds up as well as I think it will. The reason for my question is that I read where Spyderco discovered the "440C" steel used in the Byrd line made in China was actually 8Cr13MoV. No problem with the steel, they just changed the labelling to reflect the actual steel used.
 
The description sounds like the BO112 Armed Forces Tanto Folder
PVD-Coated 440C with solid G-10 handles.
2-5/8" Blade, 6-3/4" overall open length.

Look to be very nice knives. Boker from what I understand
is pretty strict with the manufacturers that make their other
non-German made products.

Let us know how it holds up.

mike
 
It took a whole month, but finally got with my son again today. The little BO112 held up just fine. In fact, he talked me into letting him keep it. He supervises a group of temp laborers working on fencing and landscaping and says the only problem he has is keeping track of it so it doesn't walk away. When he showed it to me the blade was coated in dried mud. I rinsed it off and the black finish was still good! The edge was rolled just a bit. A light stroke or two on my pocket steel brought it back. Pretty amazing considering the angles involved, about 20 degrees on the front and 0 on the back.
 
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