Missed out on the 85 Crown Lifter? New Böker might fill the gap.

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aji1

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No luck on the new GEC #85 Crown Lifters? I am virtually certain I won't be able to get one here in Europe, especially as some US dealers won't ship overseas. While this is not a GEC, and not quite the same as the 85, maybe it will be an alternative for some. I just got an e-mail from a Dutch knife dealer describing the Böker Manufaktur Solingen Swell-End Jack, to be released on April 9th. The blade is N690 at HRC 60 - 61. I like the green stabilized birch, but there are a few other handle materials.

boeker-manufaktur-solingen-swell-end-jack-maserbirke-gruen-112916_4.jpg
 
Boker has really been producing some winners lately. I'll likely be grabbing at least one of these as well as at least one of the new integral barlows they are coming out with. The pricing is a bit higher on the swell-ends than I was expecting though. About double the price of a GEC 85 Crown Lifter (assuming you could get one for SMR). I'm also gonna grab one of those M4 Sherman with Chad Nichols damascus that was literally forged from reclaimed steel from Sherman tanks.

I don't want to excite anyone, but I've been hearing some rumbling about Boker wanting to bring a factory to the U.S. to produce traditional knives because of the import fees associated with shipping them here.
 
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Those look extremely nice. I recently purchased a Boker Club Knife and the quality was top notch, I may have to pursue one of these if the price isn't budget busting. Thanks for the heads up.:thumbsup:
BTW; Do you know if the other pictured above is horn? That one shown is quite attractive.
 
sunknife said:
Those look extremely nice. I recently purchased a Boker Club Knife and the quality was top notch, I may have to pursue one of these if the price isn't budget busting. Thanks for the heads up.:thumbsup:
BTW; Do you know if the other pictured above is horn? That one shown is quite attractive.
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It is synthetic horn.

So far I've seen; green dyed birch, synthetic horn, and thuya for the swell-ends.
 
I’ve been a Boker Solingen fan for years, these do look nice but I can’t justify the price and I hope they do open shop here. I think another good one to watch is CK caplifter Barlow, the specs are similar to the warhorse which I own, use and like that will be available soon.
 
knarfeng said:
I'm partial to N690. Hard to find in a traditional pattern. I'll need to keep my eyes open next month.
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I thought I had some knives in n690, but they're actually n680. Any thoughts on how they compare?

I like the n680 on my Benchmade Triage in particular. I was expecting the excellent corrosion resistance, but what was a nice surprise is how fine of an edge I can get on it. Sharpening n680 is kind of comparable to Sandvik produced steel to me (by that I mean how fine of an edge I can get). A little more edge retention would be nice though.

I'm kind of hoping that n680 compares to n690 in a similar way that 12c27 compares to 14c28n.
 
Fixall said:
I thought I had some knives in n690, but they're actually n680. Any thoughts on how they compare?

I like the n680 on my Benchmade Triage in particular. I was expecting the excellent corrosion resistance, but what was a nice surprise is how fine of an edge I can get on it. Sharpening n680 is kind of comparable to Sandvik produced steel to me (by that I mean how fine of an edge I can get). A little more edge retention would be nice though.

I'm kind of hoping that n680 compares to n690 in a similar way that 12c27 compares to 14c28n.
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N680 is a nitrogen hardened steel with a high Chromium content. Very corrosion resistant.
Not as corrosion resistant as the H1 alloy that Spyderco uses, but still very corrosion resistant, and it holds an edge quite a bit better than H1. It does not form carbides, so doesn't have the high wear resistance of N690. The lack of carbides gives you that super fine edge.

N690 is very close in composition to 154CM and ATS-34, but has an addition of cobalt to it. In my experience, it holds an edge a bit better than those alloys, is a noticeable step better at holding an edge than N680 but is also a noticeable step below CPM S30V at the same hardness. It also takes a surprisingly fine edge for a steel with carbides.
 
knarfeng said:
N680 is a nitrogen hardened steel with a high Chromium content. Very corrosion resistant.
Not as corrosion resistant as the H1 alloy that Spyderco uses, but still very corrosion resistant, and it holds an edge quite a bit better than H1. It does not form carbides, so doesn't have the high wear resistance of N690. The lack of carbides gives you that super fine edge.

N690 is very close in composition to 154CM and ATS-34, but has an addition of cobalt to it. In my experience, it holds an edge a bit better than those alloys, is a noticeable step better at holding an edge than N680 but is also a noticeable step below CPM S30V at the same hardness. It also takes a surprisingly fine edge for a steel with carbides.
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Sounds great to me! I'll mark that as win for the Boker. Other than the Italian offerings, the majority of the traditional knives I come across in this price range tend to feature 420hc like stainless steel, 440c, or some version of 1095. We'd be looking at paying double to step up to something like the Case Tony Bose line to get 154cm (which also goes to show you what a crazy good value the Albers Cutlery Knives are). I imagine the N690 and the associated cost of working with it are part of the reason for the higher price.
 
That big end of the bottle opener would work as a nice little pry bar. Interesting that they included the wire stripper ala Victorinox. Which for me personally does beg the question, why not just buy a Victorinox and pay someone to make some nice scales for it? There is the steel but it's still a lot of dough. I realise that my opinion might be boring. :D That said I am still looking forward to the Lionsteel Jack, that ticks a whole bunch of boxes for me.
 
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