Boker Quality

G

greater

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Jul 17, 2006
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I have handled a boker Top Lock purchased years ago made in Argentina it had blade play when locked open clickety click it looked nice though.

The second Top Lock I handled this year seems to be a Soligen model that has a problem. The plunger lock doesn't always fully engage when open a little jiggling brings it into place.

Speed lock 3000 I handled this year is the first German made Boker I have handled that has great fit and great lockup except for one little problem the safety allows the button to be pushed in enough so that the tip of the blade appears above the scales enough to give you a moderate slice if you shove you hand in your pocket.

Boker magnum made in Taiwan fit and finish excellent solid lockup excellent. No blade play. Everything works like it should it's actually a pleasure to handle and admire with a much better price tag than the above. I does not look as good and is not as original as Pauls above designs.

Too bad. Is this a plot to trash all of your original designs and move all your production overseas to produce knockoffs? I really like Pauls designs and hate to see any culture relinquish itself of something they are masters of (german pride in engineering quality fit and finish.)

I looks like I am a three time loser here to think that the Germans who produced excellent quality fit and finish before CNC machinery came into play in the past would produce at least decent quality with the additional ease that modern equipment offers in the present.
 
The first question I would ask;
Did you handle TopLocks they way we made them, or were they converted to be automatics? I have found that some people who convert them do not always put them back together properly.
Terry
 
Top lock number one yea I heard about Argentine toplocks you changed factories eventually. It still is functional.


Top Lock number 2 is not bad except for the plunger. Sliding the scales to the best position before tightening the screws down again seems to have made the button action more reliable but it still sticks a tiny bit below the scales (less deeper than before) from time to time.

As far as the 3000 goes I don't see any remedy to that problem (blade tip extended above scales when button is pressed with safety on) conversion or not. Maybe you can explain.

Taiwan is kicking almost everyones ass in terms of knife value today. (some more so than others hint)
 
After reflecting I do recall tightening down the pivot on the Argentine top lock made the clacking noise go away. The lock up on it is not bad it's just that if the pivot is too loose you can hear a rattle from the tiny bit of play it does have when you shake it.

I don't know what to do about the 3000 though
 
Oh I forgot Boker Jim Wagner reality based blade lockback made in Taiwan fit and finish excellent to the point where I wanted it despite the fact that it's not my style???????
 
No Sir,
What I am saying is, if the knives were automatic, they were converted after
they left our warehouse, because we do not make automatic knives.
In that situation, I would bet that whoever converted them, messed them up.
Terry
 
greater said:
Top lock number one yea I heard about Argentine toplocks you changed factories eventually. It still is functional.


As far as the 3000 goes I don't see any remedy to that problem (blade tip extended above scales when button is pressed with safety on) conversion or not. Maybe you can explain.
Click to expand...


We never changed factories in Argentina, so I cannot say anything to that.

For your 3000, the only guess I could take would be the spring that the converter put in it is too thick, or too strong. But I cannot say for sure as I cannot see it, and do not work on the converted knives, due to the law.
Terry
 
greater said:
I have handled a boker Top Lock purchased years ago made in Argentina it had blade play when locked open clickety click it looked nice though.

The second Top Lock I handled this year seems to be a Soligen model that has a problem. The plunger lock doesn't always fully engage when open a little jiggling brings it into place.

Speed lock 3000 I handled this year is the first German made Boker I have handled that has great fit and great lockup except for one little problem the safety allows the button to be pushed in enough so that the tip of the blade appears above the scales enough to give you a moderate slice if you shove you hand in your pocket.

Boker magnum made in Taiwan fit and finish excellent solid lockup excellent. No blade play. Everything works like it should it's actually a pleasure to handle and admire with a much better price tag than the above. I does not look as good and is not as original as Pauls above designs.

Too bad. Is this a plot to trash all of your original designs and move all your production overseas to produce knockoffs? I really like Pauls designs and hate to see any culture relinquish itself of something they are masters of (german pride in engineering quality fit and finish.)

I looks like I am a three time loser here to think that the Germans who produced excellent quality fit and finish before CNC machinery came into play in the past would produce at least decent quality with the additional ease that modern equipment offers in the present.
Click to expand...

I too bought a couple Boker Top Locks a few years ago from the white pages of the Boker Magnum catalog.Wow, is what I could only say when the knives arrived.They were obviously seconds; blade tangs had punch marks,wood inserts that were not always African Thuya but some were cocobolo,enlargered slot on the handle for button locks and the pivot, hex screws that were grinded at an angle,some of the blades were marked boker germany and others marked argentina, and lastly,with the blade locked open there was significant blade play and movement of the blade pivot. Neither of the knives that were order had any problems with the button lock not engauging that would have to do with the possiblility that the spring was distorted.

I was sure disappointed because I did exchange the knives for new ones but then was given pretty much the same type as before and having to return them all.Not to mention the time and cost for Boker to reship them.When I could of bought them at the same prices at an online dealer.

I have pictures to back my story,will post them when I find them.
 
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I understand what you are saying, but that is also why we have our warranty, and return policy. Nothing will come out 100%, so we do our best to make it right. And if you remain unsatisfied, I'm sorry, truly, but we do try our best.
Terry
 
Wow Razorburn my knives were not that bad. To TJT about the auto conversion being the cause on the speedlock 3000 in all fairness I pondered this thought and came to this conclusion.

The Top Lock 3000 was never intended to be an auto as far as I can tell from what Boker USA says. The spring on the button lock puts enough tension on an unloaded (no spring pressure) blade to bring the exposed tip right back in as soon as the button is released in the event the button is bumped with it's safety engaged. If the blade has been tightened it will not come out in the first place (but you won't be able to flip it as good.)

I can see the reason this is not considered critical quality control issue since in an unloaded knife the chance of cutting yourself is minimized (although not eliminated) but you could get lucky once in a blue moon and cut yourself.

However when the blade is loaded (coil spring auto conversion) and the button is bumped with the safety engaged that blade tip is going to stay outside of the scales because a coil spring is going to have more tension directly on the blade pushing out than the button spring. This can present a danger of getting cut when reaching inside the pocket to grab hold of the knife.

I don't know if all Top Lock 3000s have these kind of tolerances or if it varies from knife to knife.

As I said before everything else on this knife is very good but consider this. This little often benign glitch is a big problem for auto converters since the only solution is a new blade with the lock slot cut in a different place or some sort of extension of the the handle scales to keep the little puppy (blade tip) under wraps.

If this problem is not corrected you may retain your customers who choose a non auto converted version but you will be sure to lose all your other customers who would otherwise choose a converted version. They may not understand these issues and to make matters worse they may also get the impression it is a poorly made product.

I also heard you guys are doing your darn best to comply with customs. Keep this in mind learn a lesson from the radio scanner industry they were always stepping out on limb to conform with federal standards even when they did not have to, and they still got screwed.

Right now customs is looking at banning all assisted openers as well as any knife that can be opened with inertia such as your top locks ("gravity knives") This goes to all the other knife manufacturers as well they are out to screw you anyway so why would you go out of your way in the slightest to make them happy, you won't, they will not be satisfied until they have an iron grip on your industry. Sometimes you have to know when it is time to fight.

Any top locks that have the above problem are in my opinion to much of a hassle to convert and any one who desires a converted version should pass on this model (Top Lock 3000) unless this issue is addressed.
 
Also correcting the above issue would make the non converted Top Lock 3000 even more safer for the user.
 
Sir,
Since we do not actively pursue the converters market, I will not address
that point, except by saying this. Because of the recent, and not to old customs actions, we have changed the design of all the button lock knives, so they no longer can be converted easily. No cavity, etc.

For the other point, for the 3 1/2 years we have sold the TL 3000, I have received 4 back for fit and finish issues, so I would say yours was a glitch, unfortunately.
Terry
 
I am glad to hear it's a glitch because I just love the looks, feel, weight, and quality (other than the glitch) of this knife (Speedlock 3000.) I also like button locks (auto or not), the blade shape (curve) makes it a very good cutter as well. Thank you for your time to respond.
 
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