Hen and Rooster vs Boker Tree Brand

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Carboniferous

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I've been looking for a congress in the sub-$50 range and the two that seem to be popping up everywhere are Hen and Rooster and Boker Tree Brand. Same size, same number of blades, they're both carbon steel, same price, it's pretty hard to choose between them. Which brand generally puts out the higher quality knife? They both seem to be pretty well liked in their price range on the forums.
 
They might be the same knife. If I'm not mistaken, Boker makes some of the current production Hen & Rooster knives. It's possible that the only difference is the brand name and maybe the handle material.
 
Most current production in both brands is being made offshore. Seems like there are some threads here about the difference.
 
Knifeswapper, are you seeing carbon steel Boker knives that you believe are not made in Germany? I've been using carbon vs. stainless as an indicator, but perhaps that's no longer correct?
 
might be worth looking out on the major auction site for older models of either brand, particularly of Böker, as old carbon ones made in Germany can go for within your price range. You can get lucky and find pre-1980 H&Rs for reasonable prices, but they are generally more expensive.
 
If the knife says "Made in Solingen", then it really is made in Germany (I.e., Solingen, Germany).

If the knife says "Made in Germany", then only a portion of the knife is required to be assembled (not made) in Germany.

German manufacturing laws are funny with definitions that are not straightforward. Booker tries to be clear about country of origin on their website, but German government definitions muddle things.

More than H&R vs. Boker, I'd look at the Made In... Stamp if that were important to me.
 
Bob W said:
Is it carbon steel or stainless? Could you possibly post a picture of the tang stamp, or relay what it says?
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its the tree thing, boker thats it. the site says carbon steel but i doubt it. ive been using the slimline boker and thats made of carbon steel supposedly but i doubt it too. i remember arguing with amazon about the brand. the knife came with a bent/curved tip and i thought wtf do i do with this.
 
It's all in the shield. True German bokers will say solingen on the shield. bokers that are assembled in Germany with Chinese made parts (or vice versa?) will have a shield that says Germany. Either one may say Boker tree brand on the blade. Then there are the Boker Magnums and Boker Plus and Boker Arbolitos and a Boker Cinches and on and on. anyways Boker seems spread a bit thin right now. I have one of their old carbon steel congresses. It's a fine knife though they seem to have a tendency of over springing their knives so that the blade doesn't sit flush and straight. Doesn't affect function all that much but it kinda takes away from the aesthetic lines of the knife. Still I like the knife alright. You might find an aftermarket Henkles Congress. I believe Boker Made their knives for a period in the 70s and 80's.
 
mrknife said:
its the tree thing, boker thats it. the site says carbon steel but i doubt it. ive been using the slimline boker and thats made of carbon steel supposedly but i doubt it too. i remember arguing with amazon about the brand. the knife came with a bent/curved tip and i thought wtf do i do with this.
Click to expand...

The Boker warranty and customer service (I believe the Boker USA rep is named Terry Trahan) is actually quite good. They have a subforum on here. You can send it to them and they'll send you a better example.

also if you're unsure if your knife is carbon steel or not why don't you just slice an apple with it. If it starts to patina then bingo, it's carbon. If not its probably high carbon stainless.
 
RobbW said:
If the knife says "Made in Solingen", then it really is made in Germany (I.e., Solingen, Germany).

If the knife says "Made in Germany", then only a portion of the knife is required to be assembled (not made) in Germany.
Click to expand...

Lemmy Caution said:
It's all in the shield. True German bokers will say solingen on the shield. bokers that are assembled in Germany with Chinese made parts (or vice versa?) will have a shield that says Germany.
Click to expand...

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks!
 
Lemmy Caution said:
It's all in the shield. True German bokers will say solingen on the shield. bokers that are assembled in Germany with Chinese made parts (or vice versa?) will have a shield that says Germany. Either one may say Boker tree brand on the blade. Then there are the Boker Magnums and Boker Plus and Boker Arbolitos and a Boker Cinches and on and on. anyways Boker seems spread a bit thin right now. I have one of their old carbon steel congresses. It's a fine knife though they seem to have a tendency of over springing their knives so that the blade doesn't sit flush and straight. Doesn't affect function all that much but it kinda takes away from the aesthetic lines of the knife. Still I like the knife alright. You might find an aftermarket Henkles Congress. I believe Boker Made their knives for a period in the 70s and 80's.
Click to expand...

ah i see! thanks for the info! perhaps i might need to order one of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOKER-KNIVE...R-KNIFE-NEW-/110782768421?hash=item19cb2ae525
 
Great info, thanks guys. The shield tip is super useful, a lot of photos don't show the tang but you can almost always read the shield. Seems like the Bokers I've been looking at are actually just assembled in Germany, the Solingen models are a bit more expensive.
 
Check out collectors knives, they are careful about selling the versions of both brands that are made in Germany. I have congress knives made by both companies, they are both well made. The Boker beer barrel collection is my favorite collection of ~$50 knives, c75 carbon steel blades and nice fit and finish for the price.
 
I have not seen a hard/fast rule on these. The older models do not conform to some of the recent rules. Just got in some German Boker models that do not say "Made in" anything, but do have Solingen tang stamps and are German made. Boker does not try and mislead, but don't seem to go out of their way to document them either.
 
Carboniferous said:
Great info, thanks guys. The shield tip is super useful, a lot of photos don't show the tang but you can almost always read the shield. Seems like the Bokers I've been looking at are actually just assembled in Germany, the Solingen models are a bit more expensive.
Click to expand...

Not as much as you might think. CollectorKnives.net has a few, including congress patterns starting at only $50.
AG Russell has the carbon steel Appaloosa and Beer Barrel series priced at around $40-50.
So about the same prices as a typical Case knife with similar handle materials. The difference, I wouldn't buy a Case without seeing it in person first.
 
So the boker thing. I have always been intrigued by this. My understanding how to tell at a glance is that if it has SOLINGEN anywhere on the knife its German manufactured and another giveaway is the prominent laser ethcing on the main blade a la Bulldog brand knives. The ones with the tree on the blade are the Chinese sourced ones I believe.

The current production Solingen Bokers are GREAT though in my limited exposure. I have a full size stockman coming in wood...C'mon mailman, I cant sit by the window and wait for you forever!
 
my experience with Boker has been all good.
i'm a carbon steel kinda guy too. Congress knives are one of my most favored patterns. Boker Germany made knives are excellent quality. i'm sure Mike from Collector knives can or could source a good Boker for you.
i'll post some photos of my Bokers in a day or two when i get home.
i may be mistaken but i think most of the German pocket knives, (Bulldog,Hen&Rooster,German Eye and Fightin' Rooster) from a few years past were made in the same factory in Germany.
Mike Latham would know more about this theory. Buzz Parker would have info concerning this also since he is the boss of Bulldog.
buzz
 
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