New Titan Defender

C

cutter17

Joined
May 16, 2006
Messages
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The Titan Defender that I settled upon arrived Wednesday. Out of the box everything was a-ok with the heft/weight, action, sharpness, and overall fit/finish. There are/were 2 problem area's though. One was with the blade leaning to one side when closed. It was actually on the verge of touching the liner. This is an easy enough fix though and I took care of it after I disassembled and then reassembled the knife. I took it apart just to clean up the old oil and polished the bearing surfaces with my dremel polishing wheel. I also polished the p/b washers. One thing about the washer is that they are large diameter washers, which I think is good vs a small diameter washer. On to the second problem, and it is still there. It is really a design problem and not one of the actual assembly of the knife. The liners are .100" titanium, and that is as thick as the liners on my Ontario Hossom 1, and Strider AR, and for further reference, the ZT0200, a knife held up as the epitomy of heavy duty, has liners .080" thick. So the problem is that there is precious little room for my thumb to get in to unlock the knife!! I think a relief that allows the thumb more room and let the thumb get lower on the liner to push it over would solve this problem. It is not a deal breaker at all for me. I can do this mod myself using my Dremel tool as I've done it before on a couple of knives.

Outside of those two problem area's, with one no longer a problem, I found everything else about the knife to my liking, just as my first one was. Though I don't remember the thumb being a problem on that one.

I'm well pleased with the money I spent for this one and feel I got my money's worth............again.:thumbup::)
 
The lack of thumb relief bothered me, and for the price a person should not have to take it apart to "fix" it. Enjoy your new Boker. I really like Boker Solingen and have many but i think the fit and finish could improve.
 
Which side was the blade tip closest to? I am betting it's the non liner-lock side. My Titan Defender Lightweight also has .100" Ti 'liners' - hard to call something that thick a 'liner' - and drags slightly at one spot midway along the blade and just as it closes. Actually, light waves have trouble making it throught the wider gap! The blade measures .136"/3.45mm near the pivot - certainly not the '4 mm' Boker's ad suggests. Of course... that's probably a translation error - the boker.de site has them at 3.5 mm. Still, I have to wonder if a thicker washer on the non lock side would help. For the price, it is disgusting! Such a product would never make it out the door at Benchmade, Kershaw, or Spyderco - at less than half that price, too.

Stainz

PS Several less than stellar experiences tend to steer one away from such a product.
 
Hi Stainz. I know you have had a time with Boker, especially the Lightweight Defender. I don't know if you have been unlucky, or if I have just been lucky! I hope you have been unlucky, and I don't mean that in a bad way.:)

The lean was actually towards the non-lock liner. but when I put it back together I tightened the pivot first and tightened it as tight as I could get it......I do wish Boker would use a larger torx screw though, then I tightened down the frame, bolster, and handle screws. Btw, I did all this with the blade opened. When I untightened the pivot, just a very little at a time, until I got the feel I wanted, I closed the blade fully and it was centered. So far, after a bunch of openings, it is still centered.

As far as craftsmanship goes, I think I understand what you are saying, as I've seen a couple of Boker's that had little things wrong with them. Things like small non precise cuts in metal parts, looks almost like it was sheared off on the very edge on one side. I also saw a Boker that had a lot of light between the handle and the back spacer. Though I haven't seen any that had misaligned 'handles, bolster's, or things of that nature. these were German Boker's. The Titan Defender I have has as good a fit/finish as the BM's I have, but Spyderco's seem to be a level above everything!:D

I'm still satisfied with the knife and what it cost me to obtain, because I simply love it's design, and beefiness. Boker does need to correct the ad for it though, as you are exactly right with the 3.5mm thick blade. I initially bought the first Titan Defender due in part to the ad saying it had a 4mm thick blade, and was slightly disappointed when it didn't, but the rest of the knife quickly overcame that disappointment. The ad also states that the liners are nearly 2mm thick, when in fact, they are actually 2.5mm thick! A thumb relief is desperately needed. I have yet to cut one in it, but I may end up doing so.:thumbup::)
 
MT Damascus said:
The lack of thumb relief bothered me, and for the price a person should not have to take it apart to "fix" it. Enjoy your new Boker. I really like Boker Solingen and have many but i think the fit and finish could improve.
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MT, I've been meaning to ask you if you have the 2009 Damascus knife from Boker? It is the Titan Defender. I never did get around to ordering one and now can't find one. Anyway, just curious to see what you thought of it if you had it.
 
I didnt buy one ater the dissapointment with my TDL, and the thumb relief or there lack of, was a real deal breaker for me. I really liked the looks of it though. Their are a few around still. Really looking foward to next years annual. Cheers, Kris
cutter17 said:
MT, I've been meaning to ask you if you have the 2009 Damascus knife from Boker? It is the Titan Defender. I never did get around to ordering one and now can't find one. Anyway, just curious to see what you thought of it if you had it.
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I can understand where you are coming from MT. You say there are some out there, anywhere in particular? Maybe email me if you know of a place? But I also want to know about the Boker Damascus, whether it is all show, no go; or whether it will actually take a good edge and cut with the best of them! Any info you can share is much appreciated!
 
The damascus on that knife is forged by Andreas Henrichs, who is one the best forgers in the world. That is a pretty sweet piece of steel. He did make quite a bit of damascus for Boker, including a 5 bar turkish twist chefs knife that is unreal. Boker also uses Damasteel, which is a swedish powdered damascus which is really good. I will see if i can find a 2009 Annual for sale. take care
cutter17 said:
I can understand where you are coming from MT. You say there are some out there, anywhere in particular? Maybe email me if you know of a place? But I also want to know about the Boker Damascus, whether it is all show, no go; or whether it will actually take a good edge and cut with the best of them! Any info you can share is much appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the VM MT. I've checked with several stores and had no luck with finding one. Of course I would be leery of one with all I'm reading about the titan's. Even though I've had great luck with the three I got, only have the newest Titan Defender now, it could be time for a lemon. I decided if I was going to pay between $550-600, I would go ahead and get a custom, and that is what I did! I love the Kasper folder by Pat & Wes Crawford, and they had three left from the NY/NJ Custom show. I am getting the linerlock flipper, w/Spydie licensed hole, the thicker blade/liners they came with when first introduced (.157" blade/ .073" liners/ 7.5 ounces) just the way I like it!!
 
I spent a little time fiddling with my 'new' TDL yesterday. First, I removed the clip - and noticed the extra length of the clip screws when installed back on the micarta scale intruded into the closed blade area. They were meant to be there - the countersunk holes in the micarta being a giveaway. I gripped them in small hemostats and ground a bit off via emery/nail file boards. A teeny protrusion remains - but I'm out of nail boards. I used the last one easing the apex of the finger groove in the Ti non-locking liner, the one point that dragged on the blade. I tried loosening all of the scale and pivot screws, and pushing the blade away from the non-locking liner side as I tightened the screws. No change from before - still seems to bee too close. Perhaps a thicker bearing washer is needed on that side. I also lubed it with Breakfree with CLP. Operation is much smoother. I spent ten minutes on my Spyderco Sharpmaker's just cleaned white ceramic files' edges - evenly sharp now - a hair-raiser - finally. I rubbed in a bit of my oil into the faded micarta... okay, some of my lube 'bled' onto it, so I made it uniform. It now looks like it's picture, #4 on pg 19 in the 1-2011 catalog. I have wiped it down several times - still seems to be 'bleeding' oil - must've overdone it - when it's through, it'll get some pocket carry - at last!

Stainz
 
Here I am hogging your Titan Defender posts - again - sorry, cutter17.

Yesterday, I visited a 'new' store - and they had a mix of Bokers 'in the case' - including a marked at $300 TDL. It's scales were like mine pre-oiling - lack luster. Edge was so-so - not very sharp. Blade was off center - and loose. No distinct lockup when closed, either. The blade actually had a looseness - and 'click'/slop as you came to full open. It was almost like the pivot axle was too small. I had mine with me, a first time to carry it, actually. Mine is much better - but, still, neither are examples of $300 knives. Sad! They also had a perfect mini-PryBar at $219 - sadly, a perfect Plus-line Gnome was also in the case - for ~$30! Interesting mix.


How is your new TD, cutter17?

Stainz
 
Hey Stainz. Glad to hear you got the TDL to your liking and can carry it now! Far as the uneven blade, it may be a good idea to use a little thicker washer. It seems like the washers are ~.015" thick. There are some .020" washers available and I happen to have some! After some use I have noticed the blade is not exactly centered, very, very close, just not exact. It's a helluva' thing being OCD! I'll disassemble mine later this evening and insert a thicker washer in place and see what happens, and let you know.

Far as how it's doing, in a word.....GREAT. Edge really holds a good edge, and like you I cleaned up my stones on the Sharpmaker and was able to get that tiny bit more in sharpness that 690Co has to offer.

Although now the TD is at rest because I have become infatuated with my John W Smith SD-3 once again, and have been carrying it for the past little bit. Then I have a Dozier large Folding Hunter, in titanium and D2 coming next week, and suspect it will find a way into my pocket for quite a period of time. Been looking for one like this for a long while and finally found it!!

Hey, you not hogging my thread. I am always glad to see your posts and hear what your "dealer" has hooked you up with!:thumbup::thumbup::)
 
Here's mine. Same blade issue. Does bother me as bad as the clip. It seems I catch it on everthing and have bent it back several times. Still not quit what you'd expect for $300 plus. Still one of my favorites though

Boker.jpg
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I'm starting to suspect I have been one lucky individual to have gotten two that were perfect, and the last one that was self fixable! Boker Germany needs to step it up a notch if they want to compete with the higher dollar stuff from elsewhere.
 
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