Newbie question about Boker A/F Boot Knife

R

Ragnarok

Joined
Sep 8, 2003
Messages
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"The blade has the typical double-conical grinding of a dagger on one side and is hollow-ground on the other."

I'm not familiar with a "double-conical grind". What exactly is this? Also, is $90 shipped a decent price for this knife (A-F546)? Thanks all, great forum btw - I've learned quite a bit in my lurking!
 
This is a well-made boot knife. I like the size of the knife and the feel of the handle. However, the blade has an odd grind. One side of the blade has a very slight hollow grind. It is essentially flat. The other side is ground like a regular dagger. This results in a double edged, chisel ground blade. Any pictures I’ve seen always show the regular ground side. Just remember, the side of the blade you can’t see is completely flat, right to the edges. The larger Boker A/F knives are ground the same on both sides, like a regular dagger. I like the A/F boot knife. Just be aware it’s a little different. I looked at a couple of Internet sites. $90 is what I saw. If you look at a few more sites you may do better.

Welcome to BladeForums! :)
 
The price is ok shipped. I got mine here: http://www.knivesplus.com/BK-AF546-Boker-Applegate-boot-knife.HTML for $78.97 plus shipping. I really like this knife and it has been part of my EDC for the last few months. The grind is kind of wierd. It is not a chisel grind though. It is a double-edged dagger on one side and hollowed out on the other. It can cut but its primary purpose is thrusting. It is a fighter and not a utility knife. It would be better if it was made as a smaller version of the original Applegate-Fairbairn Fighting knife but it is still pretty good as it is.
 
How would you describe the way the actual edge is sharpened? Chisel grind is as close as I could get. There is an angle to the edge on one side of the blade. The other side of the blade is almost flat and there is no angle to the edge on that side. Sounds like a chisel grind to me. What would you estimate the radius of the hollow ground side of the blade to be? The radius is large. The side seems almost flat. Each edge of the blade is a chisel grind edge.
 
As far as utility goes, the edges should be as useful as a chisel grind Emerson. Opinions vary on the usefulness of a chisel grind edge. The knife should be easier to sharpen than a regular chisel grind. The slight hollow of the ‘flat’ side should make it easier to remove the burr.
 
Ragnarok:

If you buy the knife, please let us know your opinion. I think Benjamin Liu and I disagree on a few points. This is a pretty strange knife. The blade shape is supposed to be based on a 2000 year old Japanese spear of some kind. :)
 
The actucal edge could be described as a chisel grind, but the overall grind of the blade is not. The unsharpened side on a chisel grind blade is flat but this is hollowed out like a fuller that covers one side of the blade. As for the actual cutting edge, it is at a much wider angle than on my Emersons and closer to the CRKT MDP Stiff KISS. IMO the Emerson cuts much better for utility, but that does not matter as this is not a utility knife. Not all knives need to be utility knives.
 
Thanks again for all the much needed input fellas! The Boker was a definite contender but I ended up ordering a Gerber Yari as it fit my needs a bit better, although I do see the Boker in my future. You guys are what make this such a great site.
 
All this talk of Boker A/F knives has got me excited. I may have to get another one of some kind! :)
 
Since I bought my AF Fighting Knife in May or June I bought the boot knife, Smatchet, Mini Smatchet, and Mini Covert. Now they have the AF in black and desert camo. :D There are also two versions for people that can't have daggers, a single edged field knife and one with a bayonet type blade.
 
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