I want a new stockman. Case or Boker?

R

robertj298

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Mar 7, 2014
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In fairly new at collecting traditional folders and I'm looking for a stockman to carry. Buying off the net which brand would you choose?
 
I'd go for a USA Schrade. Old Timer if ya like carbon steel or Uncle Henry if ya like Stainless, there are plenty on the "Bay" and will perform as well or better than the Case or Boker and will be a better investment IMO.
 
If you are good with stainless, Buck makes a couple of nice stockman models. The 301 and 303 are both made in Idaho. I have several of each, and have given others as gifts. I've been pleased with the build quality. And they are built very strong.

Case makes a nice stockman in both stainless and non-stainless. I've bought several Case knives, and have not had any issues.

Boker does a good job, also.
 
I have the USA OT61 and UH897. They are both great knives. I have a Boker 9885 and a Queen #9. The 61OT is my favorite with the best fit and finish. I really like the sunken joints on it. The Queen is next followed by the Boker and UH. The Boker was the least expensive of the bunch. I am extrapolating the cost of the UH & OT from the 1970s. The Boker I have is a working mans knife. The blades take a keen edge. I'd say better than the UH or the OT. I don't think you can go wrong with a Boker. If you can, compare similar models side by side as most Case knives are going to work well, too.
 
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Case CV, but if your willing to spend about 30$ extra look at a queen with D2 steel. I'm a fan of the older bokers but I havn't heard many good things about the new ones.
 
Both Case and Boker make nice traditionals. Personally I would take a carbon blade over stainless any day on a traditional, especially 420HC. 440C is acceptable but rarely will I purchase a knife with that blade steel, one of the exceptions for example is my Canal Street trapper with Chestnut wood handles. That being said, I'm sad that Case only makes a limited amount of carbon bladed knives (I could be wrong but haven't seen any of the cool blue jigged bone handles in the CV steel) but what they do have is nice, looking to pick up a medium sized stockman in the dark red bone soon. As far as Boker goes, IMHO would pick it over Case for a first stockman. Love the steel, fit and finish, nice bone and wood handles, plus they look great in a hand tooled sheath. Just make sure you get a German made and not Chinese if you choose Boker.
 
I have or have had several of each brand and I honestly like the Bokers more. My experience with modern day Case knives has been they are hit or miss. You get a perfect one in which case they are an excellent knife especially for the price or you get one with excessive blade rub with the smaller blades on the stockman patterns. My soon to be wife got me this Boker for this last Christmas and I'm really enjoying it. 3.25" long with Carbon Steel blades and made in Germany. You can find this one for around $50 depending on where you buy it from. Great pattern and came razor sharp with excellent fit and finish.



The older Schrades that was mentioned above is also an excellent choice just make sure it's an American made one.
 
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I'm a fan of Böker Germany's stuff, nice finish and tidy carbon.

Even though it's not the knife you asked after, I can also strongly recommend their Whittler pattern with tapered backspring. Great 3 blade knife for sure.
 
I have and used Case, Schrade, Queen, Moore Maker ( Queen made ), Buck and Boker stockmans, and my preference is with Boker, great steel, fit and finish is as good or better than Case and is overall a great value, if you search you can find a larger 7474 stockman in the low to mid $30 mark. Boker has exceptional lifetime warranty. I may be slightly bias as my first stockman was a Boker, I carried and used it at work ( trades ), camping, fishing, at home etc. it was a true edc for about six or more years. Make sure you get a 100% German made one as others have stated, the shield should read SOLINGEN, that will assure it is 100% made in Germany with the proper materials, if the shield reads Germany it means it was outsourced or assembled elsewhere.




Pete

Nice yellow bone jkulysses, mine had darkened up through the years.
 
I EDC at least one knife of each brand, a Case (6318 Stockman) and a Böker (Solingen 493 Barlow), on a regular basis, and I see no difference in the quality of the two knives. Both have equivalent opening snap (rate them a 7 - solid, but no nail breakers, and close with a very positive "snappy" sound). Neither blade on the Böker is perfectly nested in the center of the blade wells, but they don't rub the liner either. On the Case 6318 the main Clip blade is perfectly centered, on the secondaries the Sheepfoot has a small rub line where the Spey rubs it - as mentioned it doesn't effect the snap (or the edge). Not the slightest bit of wobble on the blades of either knife. Both knives are good looking, I'm proud to carry them and proud to pull them out - both appear that the cutlers who made them took some pride in their craft. Bone scales on both knives are well fitted - here are some pictures, see for yourself. I rate them a dead heat even - buy either with confidence. OH

image1167.jpg


IMG_2946.JPG
 
mattd88 said:
Case CV, but if your willing to spend about 30$ extra look at a queen with D2 steel. I'm a fan of the older bokers but I havn't heard many good things about the new ones.
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I considered the Queen but I've heard a lot of them do not come very sharp and can be hard to get sharp that first time.
 
I own Stockman pattern knives by Boker, Buck, Case, Schatt & Morgan (made by Queen) and Hen & Rooster (made by Boker) and I have a Queen CZ on order. I find the pattern to be the most practical and useful of all, barely nudging out the Congress as my most carried.

Both Boker and Case can have small inconsistencies and flaws but I don't recall a single one I own being substandard. Between the Boker and the Case, I can't really pick one as being better than the other. My Boker Stockmen are all 4" models whereas my Case knives range from the mid 3" to the Large models which are well over 4". I'm kind of partial to the larger Stockman so I carry a Case CV more than a Boker, usually as a second knife in conjunction with a smaller one. Both the Case CV and the Boker carbon steel blades are excellent, in my opinion. They take a fine edge and a good patina easily. I'm not that fond of either brand's stainless blades although they are easier to maintain. The only significant difference I've seen in the various knives I own is Boker knives tend toward softer springing than Case knives. But both are easy to open and both have strong enough springs to keep them open--not an issue.

I don't think you can make a mistake with either brand.
 
In almost every instance I get the Case knife first. Then I'll order the cousin ( of whichever manufacturer) knife.
If it's cousin Boker, it has to be a 'Solingen' tang stamp.

 
Stich2442 said:
I have and used Case, Schrade, Queen, Moore Maker ( Queen made ), Buck and Boker stockmans, and my preference is with Boker, great steel, fit and finish is as good or better than Case and is overall a great value, if you search you can find a larger 7474 stockman in the low to mid $30 mark. Boker has exceptional lifetime warranty. I may be slightly bias as my first stockman was a Boker, I carried and used it at work ( trades ), camping, fishing, at home etc. it was a true edc for about six or more years. Make sure you get a 100% German made one as others have stated, the shield should read SOLINGEN, that will assure it is 100% made in Germany with the proper materials, if the shield reads Germany it means it was outsourced or assembled elsewhere.




Pete

Nice yellow bone jkulysses, mine had darkened up through the years.
Click to expand...

I love how yours has aged! Looks great & gives me something to look forward to. :)
 
I am a stockman fan. I have had stockmen by Boker, Buck, Bulldog, Canal Street, Case, Colt, GEC, Hen & Rooster, Marbles, Moore Maker, Owl Head, Puma, Queen, Robeson, S&M, Remington, Rough Rider, Schrade USA, Schrade Walden, and Winchester. Robert, of the two you mentioned, I would take the Boker over the Case. I think the best stockman for the money is the Queen #9 with D2 steel. It can be had in amber carved stag bone or curly zebrawood currently, for around $70.

CZ9-1.jpg~original
 
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THat Curly Zebra version looks so good. I've had that one on my list of wanted knives for quite some time now. Hoping they will have one at the Oregon Knife show next month as they are going to have a booth there.
 
Case Yellow Handle Large Stockman in Carbon Steel. It will last forever, is a classic that never goes out of style.
 
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