Review of Boker Plus Exskelibur I by Mike Skellern

Heathrow

Heathrow

Joined
Nov 3, 2012
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93
Hello, just wanted to share that I reviewed the new olive variant of the Exskelibur I from Böker Plus. It includes a bit of background gossip from Mr. Skellern himself, and a bunch of photos. Feel free to drop by! Thanks.

http://www.pivotandtang.com/#/boker-boker-plus-exskelibur-i/

Exskelibur_Skellern_Boker_11



http://instagram.com/pivotandtang
 
Why not copy the review here, text and images, rather than making folk follow the link?


A couple of questions:
1) How is the detent? With this type of opening mechanism, there is less leverage upon the detent, so i would expect it to be a bit weak...
2) How far does the lock-bar travel on a normal opening? Does the lock-face fully engage the tang, or only partially? The images on your site show a partial engagement, one prone to deformation and lock-slip.
3) How easy to disengage the lock? There doesn't seem to be much of a cut-out for engagement, a problem similar to the Spyderco Gayle Bradley. Without that, i guess it makes sense to leave sharp liners so your finger has something to catch :p
4) Any metal tapped into the scales for the pocket-clip screws? Or do they fully engage the titanium liners? A concern from the previous Exskelibur was that the clip-screws would tear out of the scales, neither tapped nor fully engaging the liners.

I really like the look of this knife, but the above concerns, my shared sentiment regarding the pocket-clip and liner colors and the sharp edges, and the $90 price-tag for this chinese piece keep me leery of it...
 
Great review.

I have collected three of the models offered so far from the Boker Plus line.

I plan on getting all of the different handle options eventually.
 
Nice, I had the red maple wood one a few years back, great folder, very light weight, if I could have had the option of relocating the clip, I'd probably have kept it, I'll have to keep an eye out for one of these, the wood looks great too.
G2
 
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All of the ones I have have the option of tip-up or tip-down right-side carry.

Maybe they didn't offer this on the very first generation, when it was first introduced? I am not sure.

I always switch them to tip-up.
 
Yep, I was wrong on the wood of my, edited my post above to reflect that it was the red maple and it was back in 2012 so a couple years ago, they just had the one location to mount the clip, but it was a sharp nice bladed knife as I recall !
G2
 
OP gave the Boker Subcom higher marks for ergonomics than the BRK Bravo 1. I'm sorry but I can't take him seriously after that. :D

I have had the Exskelibur on the list for a long time... Really should pull the trigger soon. Fantastic looking blade. :D
 
sideways said:
OP gave the Boker Subcom higher marks for ergonomics than the BRK Bravo 1. I'm sorry but I can't take him seriously after that. :D

I have had the Exskelibur on the list for a long time... Really should pull the trigger soon. Fantastic looking blade. :D
Click to expand...

I might have to go back and revisit the Subcom review (one of my first reviews). Using the wharcom for its intended purpose is a decent experience, utility blade work, precision cutting.

The Bravo knife is the one I have used the most and to me had the least favorable ergonomics out of any of my fixed blades, maybe apart from the stubby handles on the ER Task C.
 
I can't comment on the wood handled versions of the Exskelibur, but I've been carrying an original G10 version as part of my EDC rotation for some time now and have been very pleased with it. The blade has a great shape and the 440C steel keeps an edge well for daily tasks. Overall it is very light weight and the lock engagement /disengagement is solid. No over or under travel on the stop, and I haven't had a problem disengaging it from the open position. The edge of the liner lock tab is rather acute and grabs your thumb easily. The blade is centered in the closed position and the action is reasonably smooth for the value of the knife.

The pocket clip is pretty tight and I've been hesitant to try to loosen it due to the reputation of the short clip screws not holding.

Overall, I feel this is an excellent value knife in the $50 range and have enjoyed carrying it. If fact, having this knife prompted me to buy a Burger EXK in Carbon Fiber for a more dressed up EDC option. Now that's a great knife (sorry for the slight derail)
 
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