Has Boker Ever Made A Good Knife

D

dzlvs8

Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
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I saw the Boker Stingray today and it looked good, then I saw this video demonstrating the Boker turkey call and hilarious lock geometry.
[video=youtube;Srf-vmIRPKo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srf-vmIRPKo[/video]
Freakin hilarious, imo. I would sue Boker if I could if I received a $100+ knife like that!

I saw the Boker Epicenter a while back and heard that was also a huge nightmare of a knife.

So, I am looking for a new knife and have been exploring new brands I don't have any experience with (like Boker Plus) and I haven't been impressed so far. Does Boker make any good quality knives that have good steels?
 
Had the Boker Burnley Kwaiken Flipper, thought that was a real great knife. Good materials, good fit and finish, IKBS, internal stop pin, nice stonewash, solid lock-up. Wasn't absolutely thrilled with AUS-8, but at that price point I imagine a lot of the price was in the machining, bearings, and titanium. Aus-8 is sufficient enough for my needs, once I really think about it. I think that particular Boker was a home-run.
 
I bought an Epicenter after it was re-released. It also had "wrong" lock geometry. I wiggled the locked blade and the lock failed. I mailed it in to warranty. They sent me a new one. Same way too steep tang ramp. This one didn't fail my gentle test but I sold it immediately.
Boker makes a lot of knives. I imagine some are good. I'm wary of the Boker Plus line. Some like this one and the Epicenter use high quality materials but are not well made.
 
I have never liked any of the Boker folders. I had some of their fixed blades and felt they were somewhat worth the money. Just me though.
 
I've got several and really like them. I've got a rambler, Besh-wedge, automatic Kalashnikov, Chad Los Banos Compliance, Stag & 37-layer Damascus Lockback, and their credit-card framelock.

Just go to their U.S. site and look around; they've got a lot of great knives... they also have some great closeout sales pretty regularly when they're discontinuing a design.

I get the catalogs when they're having those sales.
 
I have never heard a knife make a sound like that, it was painful. How did it past QC?

Some of the knives boker makes are decent, others are junk to my understanding. It's hit an miss, do your research first or avoid all together.
 
I had a Federal flipper that sounded like that out of the box. I sent it back and had bladehq cherry pick the best in the bunch to send back to me. That one was really nice, and had great flipping action for such a heavy blade. They make some really cool designs, so I hope they get their QC figured out eventually.
 
The first time I saw this video I laughed so hard! I have only owned one boker and that is a kwaiken. It was a great knife while it lasted. After a few weeks the lock bar completely snapped off in the relief cut. I sent it back in and it took several months to get a new one. The second one I got did the same thing within a few weeks as well.
 
I have been very happy with all of the traditional patterns I have purchased from them, several fixed blades(Tom Krein models) and a few late 90's top lock models. I also have had decent luck with a subcom models. I had one titanium subcom with considerable lock rock that I sent back.
 
TGreen said:
The first time I saw this video I laughed so hard! I have only owned one boker and that is a kwaiken. It was a great knife while it lasted. After a few weeks the lock bar completely snapped off in the relief cut. I sent it back in and it took several months to get a new one. The second one I got did the same thing within a few weeks as well.
Click to expand...
The kwaiken is the only one that I have had in my hand. It actually seemed well made but I never tested out the lock. ...and that aus8 :/
 
Their Helios Damascus knives are very nice, but expensive and not always competitively priced with other options. The AntiMC is IMO also a great knife (although not practical). I also really like the Subcoms.

Boker has gone in the direction of making knives ranging from $8 to $800+. This is often not a good business strategy for the obvious reason that the company will be associated with the more common models, which are the cheaper ones, and will see more negative stories than positive. Some of their entry and mid knives are OK...other's not to much. Materials and quality can vary dramatically. People often have reservations over purchasing an ultra-luxury/super-premium product from a maker that also produces entry-level products and that the name is mostly associated with the entry ones. Concerns over quality of entry-level knives tend to be assumed towards nicer products as well, even when not necessarily valid.

IMO Boker should have gone into two or three companies or divisions from a business standpoint. Spyderco did this with Byrd, and Kershaw did this with a Kershaw/ZT split, and Benchmade with the Red Class until they moved away from this market.
 
dzlvs8 said:
The kwaiken is the only one that I have had in my hand. It actually seemed well made but I never tested out the lock. ...and that aus8 :/
Click to expand...

Yea the reason I got one was because everyone seemed to have had good luck with them. Both of them were great while they lasted but out of the blue they broke on me :(
 
Boker Nano is very well made. Of course it wasn't designed by them, but still at the price point it's a solid knife.

Sorry to hear about Kwaikens breaking. It's one of the cooler things they make.
 
Ouch! That thing is junk.
And for the price... I'd be POed. Of course I wouldn't a hundred dollars for a BokerPlus knife, but that's beside the point. This guy did, and he got ripped off.

But to answer your question, "Has Boker Ever Made A Good Knife," I've had excellent results every single time with their carbon steel traditional pocketknives. Bone, beer barrel, Evergreen series, Boker-AG Russell swing guards, Grenadill wood... every one excellent fit and finish, and for about the same price as a hit-or-miss Case.

I also like the Argentina-made Boker Arbolito knives. At least the one I own is well-made and attractive.
 
ive been disappointed with most boker knives ive purchased, and that logo looks horrible in my opinion, id save that money toward a higher quality knife.
 
salty141 said:
I have been very happy with all of the traditional patterns I have purchased from them, several fixed blades(Tom Krein models) and a few late 90's top lock models. I also have had decent luck with a subcom models. I had one titanium subcom with considerable lock rock that I sent back.
Click to expand...

I don't have many Boker knives. I have a couple of traditional knives. I also have a Subcom. All are well designed and well made. I carry the Subcom on a regular basis and have been quite pleased with it.
 
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