- Joined
- Sep 28, 2014
- Messages
- 693
Growing up, my Dad had told me several times about a nice pocket knife that one of his uncles had given him when he was in junior high school. He remembered that it was a Boker, and that it came with a leather slip and a chain to attach it to a belt. He hadn't seen it in years, and wasn't sure what had ever become of it, although he figured that one of his nephews had probably made off with it after he left for college. His Mom kept the two nephews every day for several years, and they either pinched or destroyed most of the really cool stuff he had there.
We went over to Mom and Dad's last night, and they are in the process of having their kitchen renovated. That means clearing out all the cabinets, and some of that stuff probably hasn't seen the light of day since they moved into the house in 1982. Dad said he wanted to show me something, and pulled out an old film reel canister:
And here are the contents:
As soon as I saw it, I knew that this was the knife my Dad had always told me about. Imagine my surprise to see that it was, in fact, a nice Boker camp knife! It has been at least forty years since it went missing. Come to find out, it was in the house all along.
Dad can't remember for sure where the other knife came from, but he thinks it was probably from the same uncle. It's also a Boker, made in Solingen, well used, with most of the belly sharpened out of both blades, and a beautiful dark, even patina. I believe it's a half-whittler, if I'm not mistaken. The uncle in question liked to whittle, so there's a good chance this knife was used quite a bit for that purpose.
I really couldn't believe what good shape both knives are in. The bone covers look great, and there's no rust at all. There's some verdigris on the camp knife, undoubtedly from being stored in the slip, but most of it will polish right off. Even the leather is still supple, with no cracking.
After we looked it all over, Dad told me that he wanted me to have both knives. I asked him if he was sure, and he said yes, that he knew I would appreciate them and take good care of them. As I've mentioned on here before, Dad has Alzheimer's, so I think it makes him feel better to know that the knives will be in good hands.
By the way, if anyone can tell me what type of attachments would have originally come on this chain, it seems to have lost the hardware that connects it to the belt clip and bail. I tried searching for pics online, but I could only find current production models. Any other interesting information about these knives is also welcome. We know that the camp knife was given to Dad in the late 60s, but we don't know how long his uncle had it before then. I haven't had a chance to try and track down manufacturing dates for these yet.
There was a thread on here not long ago about knives that have been lost. My Dad has lost a lot over the past couple years, but this week he found a couple old friends, and now I will have the chance to get to know them as well.
We went over to Mom and Dad's last night, and they are in the process of having their kitchen renovated. That means clearing out all the cabinets, and some of that stuff probably hasn't seen the light of day since they moved into the house in 1982. Dad said he wanted to show me something, and pulled out an old film reel canister:
And here are the contents:
As soon as I saw it, I knew that this was the knife my Dad had always told me about. Imagine my surprise to see that it was, in fact, a nice Boker camp knife! It has been at least forty years since it went missing. Come to find out, it was in the house all along.
Dad can't remember for sure where the other knife came from, but he thinks it was probably from the same uncle. It's also a Boker, made in Solingen, well used, with most of the belly sharpened out of both blades, and a beautiful dark, even patina. I believe it's a half-whittler, if I'm not mistaken. The uncle in question liked to whittle, so there's a good chance this knife was used quite a bit for that purpose.
I really couldn't believe what good shape both knives are in. The bone covers look great, and there's no rust at all. There's some verdigris on the camp knife, undoubtedly from being stored in the slip, but most of it will polish right off. Even the leather is still supple, with no cracking.
After we looked it all over, Dad told me that he wanted me to have both knives. I asked him if he was sure, and he said yes, that he knew I would appreciate them and take good care of them. As I've mentioned on here before, Dad has Alzheimer's, so I think it makes him feel better to know that the knives will be in good hands.
By the way, if anyone can tell me what type of attachments would have originally come on this chain, it seems to have lost the hardware that connects it to the belt clip and bail. I tried searching for pics online, but I could only find current production models. Any other interesting information about these knives is also welcome. We know that the camp knife was given to Dad in the late 60s, but we don't know how long his uncle had it before then. I haven't had a chance to try and track down manufacturing dates for these yet.
There was a thread on here not long ago about knives that have been lost. My Dad has lost a lot over the past couple years, but this week he found a couple old friends, and now I will have the chance to get to know them as well.
Boker still make a pouch/chain arrangement like that 
