Knife newbie. Boker will meet my needs?

N

NewguyG

Joined
Sep 3, 2019
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I was in the Marines years ago. Got an ugly green Case Blackhorn knife, on ship on my way to an exercise, and carried it for years on my belt-- until the Leatherman came out, then I started carrying that. Sent the Case in to get refurbed and still have it in my shooting range bag.

I have an SRK I bought when the black issue K-bar was a little too big on my web gear.

I got Leatherman tools for both our cars and a purple one for my wife with a wine opener.

I have several quality chef/santoku knives and a smith sharpener kit I use on those. I picked up a Rachael Ray santoku for $18 and it has a great blade cover and an ugly orange handle. It is my cooking knife for camping and cottage time and my practice knife for sharpening--I can keep it very sharp and it never walks away

So now you know where I am and that gets me to my question. I was weak on groupon one day and purchased a $14 Mtech knife with the Marine seal.

I threw it into my jeep. We went camping this weekend. My wife grabbed it for a rope project and loved it. I understand it is a disposable POS.

Looking online and youtube I see a Boker. Is this what I want? Good? Bad?

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Plus-Strike-Tanto-Automatic--32038
 
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NewguyG said:
I was in the Marines years ago. Got an ugly green Case Blackhorn knife, on ship on my way to an exercise, and carried it for years on my belt-- until the Leatherman came out, then I started carrying that. Sent the Case in to get refurbed and still have it in my shooting range bag.

I have an SRK I bought when the black issue K-bar was a little too big on my web gear.

I got Leatherman tools for both our cars and a purple one for my wife with a wine opener.

I have several quality chef/santoku knives and a smith sharpener kit I use on those. I picked up a Rachael Ray santoku for $18 and it has a great blade cover and an ugly orange handle. It is my cooking knife for camping and cottage time and my practice knife for sharpening--I can keep it very sharp and it never walks away

So now you know where I am and that gets me to my question. I was weak on groupon one day and purchased a $14 Mtech knife with the Marine seal.

I threw it into my jeep. We went camping this weekend. My wife grabbed it for a rope project and loved it. I understand it is a disposable POS.

Looking online and youtube I see a Boker. Is this what I want? Good? Bad?

https://www.bladehq.com/item--Boker-Plus-Strike-Tanto-Automatic--32038
Click to expand...
Welcome.
Tell us what you need the knife for and we will tell you, whether we find it good or bad.
Also we will suggest about fifty alternatives:D
 
That comes from Boker's budget line. You could do a lot better in that price for a camping knife. Mora for example.--KV
 
I have learned to steer clear of Boker. Not saying this is always the case, but almost inevitably the same money you would spend on a Boker could get you a much better knife elsewhere across almost all their price ranges. Just one man's .02.
 
Buck is a great entry level knife, for around $20-25 you can get a lightweight (plastic handle) model 112 or 110
you can upgrade those to s30v steel and micarta handles for under $100 (the pro models)

kershaw is also a good entry option, they do a good job (in general) but there are a few models you should stay away from: any blade which uses 3cr13 (models like 'starter', 'manifold', 'lifter', stay away from those)
 
To me boker has some high quality stuff for a good price and some low quality steels for a high price.

Get a steel will Cutjack in d2 steel. It's a entry level serious knife.

I don't see why you want serations on your blade but it's a free country, do as you please.
 
I’ve never owned a Boker knife, but the ones I’ve handled have had variable qc.

If you tell this crowd about your budget, intended use, and size constraints, you will indeed get many recommendations.

If you want a part serrated blade, I say go for it. I have one, and it’s made a heck of a light weight backpacking knife, cut miles of rope and 550 cord, and gutted plenty of fish in the backcountry.



<<Incidental note, while I personally like the knife I pictured, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it; it’s not a bad knife but at retail price, one can do better>>
 
My best advice is for that price point or near, I'd go with 9cr, D2, 14C28N, or VG-10 steel with a comfortable blade length, deployment method, and lock style. Don't be afraid to hit the Exchange and score a great deal on a likely "used" meaning they played with it a few times and maybe cut some papers ;)
 
Ontario Rat in D2. Seriously. It's great, and a great steel, and it is all the knife you'll ever need in a folding knife. Everyone else is just chasing the dragon.
 
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I would take a look at the Ontario RAT-1. I've only heard praise on them, affordable, no nonsense, good ergos.
 
JamesofArc said:
To me boker has some high quality stuff for a good price and some low quality steels for a high price.

Get a steel will Cutjack in d2 steel. It's a entry level serious knife.

I don't see why you want serations on your blade but it's a free country, do as you please.
Click to expand...
I would also suggest the Steelwill D2 Cutjack or Mini Cutjack. The only Boker knife that I recall owning at the moment is the Urban Trapper. It is a nice knife in VG-10. It doesn't "flip" real fast without a fair amount of wrist action based on the one I own. But it is still a fairly nice folder and thin in the pocket.

I would also pass on the partial serrations. If you want a serrated knife, I would suggest a fully serrated blade such as the Spyderco Delica or Endura. A bit more expensive than your Boker choice. There are versions of these knives made with partial serrations. Spyderco does serrations very well. The Spyderco Native is a great knife and available with partial serrations. The Native was my first Spydero knife years ago and I was really impressed with it.... more so than the Delica or Endura.
 
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