The knife like a tank - BOKER PLUS BOB

[soldik]

Hi everyone,
today I would like to present a very strong knife - Boker Plus Bob:

The knife was designed by one of my favorite designers - Jesper Voxnaes 'VOX'.
From what I found, the main objective of the project was to create a knife that, if necessary, it will work efficiently in every possible situation. I must admit that although there are no universal knives for all tasks, but BOB with its capabilities is very very close to this idea.

Boker Plus Bob specifications:
☞ Overall length: 19.5 cm
☞ Handle length: 9.5 cm
☞ Handle Material: Micarta
☞ Blade length: 9.1 cm
☞ Blade thickness: 7 mm
☞ Steel Blade: AUS-8 56 HRC
☞ Weight: 270 g
☞ Sheath: Kydex + Tek-Lok

The knife blade is made of stainless steel AUS-8, hardened to 56 HRC. The spine of the knife is smooth and flat, 7mm wide, which gives a powerful base for batoning and good support for the thumb. The blade shape is somewhere between a Drop Point and Bowie with a very deep belly and flat grind. These all features make that BOB is a very good and strong knife for a lot of tasks and hard works including hunting, bushcraft, wood processing but also for food preparation at the camp. It's my favorite work horse.

The handle is made of slightly greenish brown Micarta with red liners and it was designed for high ergonomics. On the pictures below I would like to show some possibilities of holding the knife and the orientation of individual fingers, because each finger goes exactly where it should be.

These two knives have very similar lengths but the Boker Bob is much stronger than the LionSteel M2:

Even with wide spine, but thanks to the flat grind, the Bob does not have any problems with food cutting. It cuts very well onions, potatoes and tomatoes. The Bob's blade has a similar height like a kitchen santoku or chef's knives.

A black cord, Kydex sheath with Tek-Lok were included in the Bob's box. These allows many different combinations of clamping the knife which can be mounted in horizontal, vertical, slant or upside down. The sheath is tight and firmly holds the knife.

The Tek-Lok has a double safety clasp and you can mount it on belts having a width of 0.6 cm to 6 cm. The middle part of the back wall of the Tek-Lok is narrower, and thanks to that it can be also mounted on a military carrier system, such as Molle, and then the BOB can be used as a tactical knife.

After talking with a few friends from Poland I also took some photos with my phone:

Boker Plus Oak
Whittling and chopping

Boker Plus Oak Beech
Batoning

 

[chiral.grolim]

:thumbup: Thank you for the review.

The blade shape is called "clip-point".

Such a FAT knife! Do you feel it is excessively fat and heavy compared to the Lionsteel? The Lionsteel seems more than capable of all the same tasks (although less comfortable for thumb-pressure )

Also the micarta, it looks rather sharp in the contours...?

Is this a knife you intend to keep? If you google "universal kydex extension" that should adapt this knife-sheath for lower belt-carry.

 

[revitup]

Looks like a great general all-around utility tool/knife, I like Boker. Top quality stuff, thanks for the great review.

 

[soldik]

Thanks guys.

@ chiral.grolim
I think that the Lionsteel M2 is rather a hunting or lightweight hiking knife, but it is not the first choice for wood processing. When I knock with my finger on the Lionsteel blade I can hear empty high-pitched sound because the M2 has highly hardened steel. M2 has better edge retention but the steel is more fragile and brittle than the BOB and I'm afraid that the Lionsteel M2 could be broken during batoning etc. The BOB is heavier compared to M2 and thanks to that this Boker is better for chopping the wood etc, much lighter than than Ka-bar BK2. For me the Bob is also better than M2 and BK2 for food preparation in the outdoors due to flat grind with better edge geometry and thanks to its big belly.

I don't know if I correctly understand the 'lower belt-carry' term because my English is not perfect, but I took additional pictures with my phone. The Tek-Lok gives many various ways to carry a knife.

Yes, I intend to keep the Bob.
As for now it is my best knife for hard works and in the summer it is perfect for the campfire preparation with a delicious fire-roasted sausages - Polish kielbasa is an ideal food at the campfire You should try

 

[chiral.grolim]

I LOVE kielbasa over a fire :thumbup: Tastes even better in the winter around a nice fire!
We also would bring kishka made by my grandmother, wrapped in foil - simply throw it in the coals, bury it for a while, then dig up a nice warm meal to restore our energy after a long hike or for breakfast in the morning.

What I mean by "lower belt carry" is this:

[video=youtube;COKvk-AcNzk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COKvk-AcNzk[/video]

I use a leather belt-loop but it fits a tek-lok too. Drop me an e-mail, maybe i can send you one if interested.


The Lionsteel is made from D2 tool steel at 61 Rc - excellent hardness for abrasion and deformation resistance, i.e. edge-holding. It certainly is not as tough as Aus8 especially so low as 56 Rc, but I would be surprised if it did not perform as well or better than the BOB in a variety of tasks, including batonning.
For example, the D2 Safari Skinner from SwampRat: http://www.cliffstamp.com/knives/reviews/safari_skinner.html
And here is a video of the D2 Benchmade Bone Collector Skinner (3.6mm thick):
[video=youtube;yMIF_Xk-Bos]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMIF_Xk-Bos[/video]

 

[chiral.grolim]

The LionSteel is 4mm thick at the spine and looks to be not-so-thin at the edge. If LionSteel is as respectable as their reputation suggests, then the knife will endure very well. D2 is "brittle" but not as some would suggest with that term, it is not "fragile" at such thickness.

Each knife is quite short, "chopping" performance is minimal, but I see what you mean. Even batonning, the short blade of each limits the size of wood it can take.

Prying-strength certainly goes to the much thicker BOB. Then again, 4mm is ~thickness of the GSO-4.1 (different steel, but still):

[video=youtube;blBpIByW5Y8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blBpIByW5Y8[/video]
[video=youtube;Wo6vRFgOAAA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6vRFgOAAA[/video]

I would still prefer the BOB to pry-open a car-door or a window, but i wonder if its performance is worth the weight. It seems to be so thick for the fun of it, like many Busse knives. But as you said, that full flat grind makes quite a difference! :thumbup:

 

[G. Scott H.]

soldik, can you measure the thickness of the blade just above the edge bevel? It appears to slice well enough, but I'm still curious. :thumbup:

 

[soldik]

Thank you for all examples. :thumbup:
Universal kydex extension is a very nice and useful idea, but in Poland and most European countries it won't work. When people will see the knife in lower belt carry option, then most of them will ask - "Why do you carry a knife? "

The Bob and the M2 are two of my favorites knives, but the Boker for me is more trustworthy in hard work. I also think that the Lionsteel M3 is better choice for hard work compared to the M2. On my picture you can see the oak wood and the beech wood after batoning with the Bob - these are two of the European hardest and toughest species of wood.

Unfortunately these 'Survive!' movies are a bit funny It seems that on the first movie this man uses a rotten wood and at the second movie last scene is vertical instead horizontal, so you can't see the rope tied to the knife..

It is difficult to measure the thickness of the blade behind the edge because I don't have a vernier caliper. With help of a ruler, I think this thickness is about 0.6-0.7 mm.

 

[xanopos]

When people will see the knife in lower belt carry option, then most of them will ask - "Why do you carry a knife? "

I was once asked in the office by our Indian Trainee why I was carrying a knife. I had to convince him that is perfectly legal in Austria, by the way I was carrying the big and mighty Böker Plus Rhino.

I also think that the Lionsteel M3 is better choice for hard work compared to the M2.

Personally I think for hard work something bigger like the Lionsteel M7 is better suited. When doing wood processing carrying a heavy blade is accepted by most people. It is not scarier than a chainsaw or a big axe.

 

[G. Scott H.]

It is difficult to measure the thickness of the blade behind the edge because I don't have a vernier caliper. With help of a ruler, I think this thickness is about 0.6-0.7 mm.

That's about .025", which sounds about right for a blade like this. You're probably pretty darn close. I guess the combination of the width of the blade and the FFG make this possible. My Gerber Steadfast, by way of comparison, is 5mm at the spine and about 2mm thick behind the edge. :grumpy: Thanks. :thumbup:

 

[soldik]

I was once asked in the office by our Indian Trainee why I was carrying a knife. I had to convince him that is perfectly legal in Austria

When it is legal, then another good answer for question "Why are you carrying a knife?" is:
'Because it is more comfortable than carrying a pair of scissors'

 

[xanopos]

When it is legal, then another good answer for question "Why are you carrying a knife?" is:
'Because it is more comfortable than carrying a pair of scissors'

My answer is simple: "I carry a knife because I need it to cut things!"
Try to cut a apple in half or peeling a orange with a pair of scissors.

 

[chiral.grolim]

On my picture you can see the oak wood and the beech wood after batoning with the Bob - these are two of the European hardest and toughest species of wood.

Unfortunately these 'Survive!' movies are a bit funny It seems that on the first movie this man uses a rotten wood and at the second movie last scene is vertical instead horizontal, so you can't see the rope tied to the knife...

In the first video, that is oak, certainly somewhat rotted but it highlights a practical (and limited) prying application for which a 4mm knife is plenty stout. In the second movie, you doubt what you see? He does "chin-ups" with the knife first, then uses it as an anchor. The knife does flex quite a bit, but does not break. Flexibility is cubically proportional to thickness. The Boker is far less likely to flex, but the M2 is unlikely to break.
Here is another video with the 4mm knife from S!K, this one of M390 steel:

[video=youtube;pVsKMAlYAcU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVsKMAlYAcU[/video]

I agree that the one knife is designed for harder use than the other, but I only want to encourage more confidence in the thinner knife, it may not be as "fragile" as you suppose

Universal kydex extension is a very nice and useful idea, but in Poland and most European countries it won't work. When people will see the knife in lower belt carry option, then most of them will ask - "Why do you carry a knife? "

You can slip it in your pocket