Bought my first Boker - mediorce

J

j22knife

Joined
Nov 18, 2006
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270
About the same quality as a Buck made in China at 1/4 the price.

What has your experience been?
 
Details man


and my expearience has been mostly favorable, I've owned six, Including 2 magnums.
 
It came set up very loose from the factory - you could easily see the blade move back and forth with a little side pressure. I wrote to both Boker and the seller (AG Russell) for information on how to tighten - Boker only said to "tighten the pivot screw".

Not very useful info since it's a strange screw with 6 holes. So, I improvised with a C-clip tool I have and tightened it - now it does not wiggle side to side.

But it's still loose back and forth (in the open/close direction) - the blade does not lock open tight against the liner lock. Nothing to adjust there.

So, this is a $180 knife (or more - suggested retail). For that much money it should be perfect. I have a Buck Mayo (made in China) - cost about $35 that is perfectly tight in every way.

This is the last (and only) Boker I'll ever buy.
 
The Boker knives I have are all very well made, excellent fit and finish -
however, they are made in Solingen Germany. I have several; almost
all of them are slipjoints. Nice knives!

I don't have any experience with their China made knives.
 
j22knife said:
But it's still loose back and forth (in the open/close direction) - the blade does not lock open tight against the liner lock. Nothing to adjust there.
Click to expand...

That would get it sent back to boker, they should fix/replace it free of charge.
 
rifon2 said:
The Boker knives I have are all very well made, excellent fit and finish -
however, they are made in Solingen Germany. I have several; almost
all of them are slipjoints. Nice knives!

I don't have any experience with their China made knives.
Click to expand...

I bought the Helios - made in Solingen. My Buck made in China is fine.
 
Aloha j22knife,

I think it's safe to assume that your Helios is defective. Send it back.

I have one that was a user prior to myself becoming the owner and it has NONE of the problems you mentioned with yours.

Keep us posted please.

Happy Holidays and God Bless:)
 
Greetings from Australia,

I was considering starting a similar thread when I found this one. I bought a Boker Helios ceratitan from a USA Internet seller a few months ago and found similar problems with it. There are basically 3 types of problem, design, manufacture and assembly. The blade does not lock up solidly, there is both radial and sideways movement. The sideways movement could be lessened by adjusting the pivot but the radial is a combination of the clearances in the pivot (manufacture) and flexing in the lock (design). I can see the liner lock flexing when I try to push the blade closed when locked open. It does not need much pressure to cause it to flex. I can flex it just using my thumb and forefinger. This can't be adjusted out. The quality of assembly could be better. The majority of the workmanship is good except the assember did not seat the driving bit properly in one of the the screw sockets and it slipped damaging the socket. In contrast, I have a cheap (a tenth of the price) Taiwanese liner lock that locks up solidly with minimal movement and the build is very good with no obvious defects. None of the defects in the Helios prevent it from being used as it is safe, just not as high a quality as expected.

I have 2 other Boker Folders that are much better than the Helios. One is a 2007 with Buffalo scales. It has a similar amount of sideways movement (no adjustment possible) and no radial movement. It locks solidly in the radial direction. The other is a BK110135HH (not available in USA) and it locks solidly in both directions. Both have some minor cosmetic defects. Neither have been used and were purchased in Australia.

At the price I would have expected that the build quality would be higher. I have not tried to return the Helios as it can be used even though the quality is disappointing. There are probably other Boker Helios folders out there with simialar problems.
 
The knife is going back to AG Russell - I explained the problem and they said send it back.

They offered to exchange it, give me the money back or credit me and let me buy something else from them.

That's great service!

Any suggestions on what I could get from the AG Russell catalog for my $135 credit that's interesting?

Thanks.
 
Every variety of the Subcom series: Subcom, Wharcom, Rescom, and of the Fix Blade Subcom.....this totals to about 130 bucks give or take a few....... of course this is assuming that A.G. Russell suplies the little biscuits.....

mmmotorcycle
 
Daywalker said:
Aloha j22knife,

I think it's safe to assume that your Helios is defective. Send it back.

I have one that was a user prior to myself becoming the owner and it has NONE of the problems you mentioned with yours.

Keep us posted please.

Happy Holidays and God Bless:)
Click to expand...

OK - if anybody is still interested (doubtful) - I returned the Helios to AG Russell. They were willing to just refund my $$ (no questions asked), but I only asked for a credit.

After some thinking I got this instead:

http://www.agrussell.com/knives/by_...op_point_hunter_with_brown_linen_rucarta.html

It's a fixed blade. My first one. I really like it.

Decided not to go with a Boker.

Thanks for all the helpful info.
 
Got a Böker from Germany the other day, a tiny stag lockback.Workmanship very impressive, finish excellent just needs to get pocket worn a bit. Chinese models are Magnums I think and are of the tactical or more modern style.Cheaper but the ones I've handled have been good for the money.Better than say Gerber from China or Taiwan which have rough finish and are unappealing.
 
Never had a problem with any Knives brought from Boker ! Pure quality at an amazing price especially those knives designed by that new guy whats his name again ? Starts with a C he`s got some incredible designs out and some up his sleeve to i`d imagine ! LOL can`t quite put my finger on it CLB maybe ??? lol
 
matthewb5016 said:
Never had a problem with any Knives brought from Boker ! Pure quality at an amazing price especially those knives designed by that new guy whats his name again ? Starts with a C he`s got some incredible designs out and some up his sleeve to i`d imagine ! LOL can`t quite put my finger on it CLB maybe ??? lol
Click to expand...

Yep, Chad Los Banos, posts under Daywalker here. Pity I can't seem to find a bricks and mortar store here in Sydney that stocks Subcoms.
 
Another Böker arrived in the post today. I must eat my words, this is foul! Not that cheap,around 100 euro/130 dollar and you should expect much better than this. A Walker design green handled folder,fact is this will have to be got rid of quickly. Cumbersome opening mechanism and the WORST liner lock I've ever seen, pathetic.Forget the spine whack test this looks like it can fail under EDC duties. A finger free zone could be anticipated :eek: Finish could be better by a long chalk. If the Germans are relying on this standard then Solingen may go the way of Sheffield, and fast!
 
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