Has Boker Ever Made A Good Knife

My first Boker knife was a Magnum folder, which I knew wasn't really made by Boker in the first place. The second, supposedly a Boker Plus, turned out to be a fake. That really bummed me out, because although the workmanship was terrible, I really liked the design, which unfortunately (in the interests of buying a legit one) wasn't that of a legit Boker anyway. More recently, I bought a Boker Plus AK folder and Armed Forces fixed blade that I really like a lot, and a German-made Badger that hasn't impressed me much.

While I can't rule out buying another Boker knife in the future, they just don't have many designs that appeal to me, and even if they did, I'd need to try one in person to check the quality rather than buying online, unseen.
 
I've been very happy with my kwaiken. The tip did sit a hair proud when closed but it was a 2 minute fix and I believe the new models don't have that issue. Great knife overall though!

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spketch said:
I was a bit disappointed in the Eraser. Its a solid knife for the price but I've seen it compared to custom quality and mine is far from that. Fit and finish are on par for a $50 knife but no better.
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Boker makes an Eraser? Mine was made by CRKT.
 
Oops! I put them in the same category but I really can't hold the eraser against boker...
:D
 
I have a Arctos XL and I really like the knife. It's fit and finish is very good and no issues with lock up, probably because it's a liner lock. Looking at the angles of the frame lock in the video, it's hard to image a knife maker designing it that way or if it's a manufacturing error that anyone actually checked that knife or even opened it and didn't notice the turkey call feature before shipping it. With all the competition in the knife market you would think they would take more care.
 
I recently bought a Boker Magnum A-Stan, a re-badged Enlan EL-01 well made in China, TiNi coated blade and hardware, the pivot screw with an actual Torx head and the tool T6 and T8 to adjust the pivot if needed and strip it down completely for thorough cleaning. Nothing needed doing to it but a drop of oil on the pivot and a few openings and closings to get it smooth.
A big price difference between the Enlan and the A-Stan but a very good China made "Boker".
 
I have a Pipsqueak, its my only Boker. The quality and the design are great actually. I think the QC in the Tree series is decent. I know that Brands need to offer more affordable lines but I think it is to bad they have chosen to sell $5 knives. It is one thing to offer a value line but I think with Boker that choice is having a negative effect on their brand.

But I like my Pipsqueak

 
The Haddock is a great knife. Its not really my style but I carry it once in a while and im always impressed with the quality.
 
I've got several of the Chad Los Banos designed knives made by Boker Plus. All are great knives for their price point, and I haven't had any problems with them. KeyCom, WharCom, and Hyper are the models.
 
I've had knives that had a gritty action right out of the box. The Spyderco Caly 3.5 with zdp-189 and carbon fiber is one that I remember was extremely gritty out of the box, but it just took a drop of militec near the pivot (no disassembly required) With the oil the action became smooth as glass, the smoothest knife I've ever felt. I'm betting a drop of oil or lubricant near the pivot on the Boker Plus Stingray would smooth the action up nicely. Just my 2 cents.
 
As has already been mentioned, Böker makes knives in the entire spread of price points, and that means that a lot of models are real stinkers, while others are excellent. Consistency within a particular model seems to vary a good deal. Some models you never hear of a bad one getting out of the factory, others are a real mixed bag.
 
For the >$100 knife that is unacceptable. Luckily I've had zero problems with Boker so far, even as low as Magnum series has always been "worth the money" if you will... I currently own a Boker 145th anniversary, beautifully crafted, down to a Boker Magnum Baron, and a few in between, everyone thus far have been every bit worth the price I paid except the Boker Plus coye ridgeback, the clip on the sheath is horrible, but I own a rhodesian ridgeback dog and I wanted the knife... (And fwiw the knife is great).
 
I've had good luck with the Plus line in terms of fit and finish and overall performance. Usually it's the ergos that fall down for me, such as the Subcom line (almost but not quite there) and the Nano (just doesn't work for me). I've only had two Plus line knives that have given me problems:

1) The Urban Survival, which is narrow, slick, hard to hold, and impossible to open one-handed. It's also very hard to open two-handed.

2) The Keycom, of which I had an early model that I carried in the pocket (not clipped) because the ball detent was strong enough I didn't have to worry about it opening inadvertently. Unfortunately I kept change in that pocket, which was also my fault. One day I pulled out the knife and found a dime had wedged itself into the frame and permanently ruined the lock. This was stupidity on my part, not a manufacturing problem.
 
In my experience (I live in Spain, and here you can handle most of their designs, from "Tree Brand" to "Magnum" or "Plus" series) after owning four of them, and handling 50+ Bokers during years, I must say I'd rather stay away from them.
If you like a design or collab they offer, because of course they have interesting designs and great pieces from their work with well known makers, I really really recommend getting your hands on it before buying. Try to find it, touch it, feel it.

Their QC can be really crappy sometimes and, as it's been said before and I've personally experienced, F&F and final quality vary a lot from one knife to another, even if it's the same model.
BTW: Sorry about my English, it really needs an improvement :(
 
Boker makes good knives i am talking about the made in solingen knives for example The old ones like the buffalo are great knowing there are such an old design. But boker is in my point of view not a high class brand. if you are a spydercofan (like me) or a chris reeve fan and so on... Then Boker will fail to impress offcourse...
 
I just watched the video, what a piece of crap! People who apologize for it, are you guys crazy, what's your problem? A $130 knife should not have those problems. Boker Plus, isn't that line made-in-China? I wouldn't buy made-in-China, period, but if I did, I wouldn't be paying $130 for it. I have a Boker Cronidur 30, and it's a pretty nice knife, made in Solingen Germany (supposedly) and it only cost about $110. It's a two hander, though, you have to use two hands to open it.
 
That video disappointed me, because I had singled out that particular model as one of my knives I was pining for in the near future. I'm surprised this opinion hasn't been expressed thus far, but I am one of those younger generation knife enthusiasts that have gravitated towards the Kwaiken and from there the newer Urban Trappers. My orange G-10 Kwaiken I bought sight-unseen off of Ebay (#131) is probably my most carried knife, and I was fortunate enough to receive a high quality, authentic, and beautiful knife that remains one of my favorites in my modest collection to this day.

Fortunately, I live relatively close to the GPknives.com showroom and recently got to have an extended hands-on with all the new Urban Trappers (G10, CF, and Cocobolo) and purchased a Cocobolo UT from them. It is one of the prizes of my collection, and is immaculate despite nearly constant white-collar carry and work. My point is, I have researched and focused my purchases on particular knives in Boker's stable that I was able to handle first. Boker makes a high quality knife, but sadly their quality varies on an almost individual basis. If at all possible, handle Boker knives before purchase. A well made Boker is an incredible knife that is easily on par with some of the higher-end production knives around the world. The sourcing is the key, and the fortitude to be patient in finding the exact Boker you are aiming for will serve you greatly.
 
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