Boker "Tree Brand Classic" & Solingen made traditional knives

Fixall said:
I had some trouble with the router last night and decided to go to bed, rather than fix it and get the pictures uploaded, so I'm a bit late. :p

First I've gotta say that Boker has really stepped their packaging game up. I know stuff like this increases the price for the consumer, but I save my boxes and really appreciate nice touches like this.
cPpjktg.jpg


Inside the box was a soft, knife case. It's a bit nicer than usual though, and even has a dual zipper that allows you to apply a lock to the case. Both the barlows I received had this packaging, not just the special edition. :)
uLrG88n.jpg


And now for the stars of the show! First up is the Leopard Damascus and Desert Ironwood/Micarta Integral Barlow. I took these at about 2am, so no natural light unfortunately. :( I'll have to take some new pics outside soon to really show off the desert ironwood. Not a ton of figure, but it has fantastic color in person. The blade is the real cool part of the knife in my opinion though. It features 300 layer damascus, hand forged into the Pyramid pattern by Chad Nichols... Cool enough in itself... But the damascus was made from steel salvaged from the barrels of German Leopard tanks! Boker sure does some really cool projects. I also grabbed their Sherman tank knife, but that will have to be posted elsewhere since it's a more modern design.

rE3kqQI.jpg

gdab808.jpg

XwGgTdw.jpg

zMWJ4HN.jpg



The Burlap Micarta Integral Barlow also came in. :D

My first thought (aside from "holy cow that's a lot of oil on the knife") was that the lack of a metal bolster and liners REALLY make the knife feel very light. I do gotta wonder a bit about the durability. I'm not super hard on my traditional knives, but strength is the purpose of the extended bolster on a barlow so I'm not sure how I feel about that. I had forgotten that they used N690 on these knives (I was thinking it was 440c), so that was a nice surprise. Fit and finish is excellent. I think I would have chosen a slightly less polished finish on the Micarta had I been the designer though. All in all I like it, but I'm not sure I'll be grabbing the all black version. I think I'm more of a metal bolstered barlow kind of guy.

Xk9QiUv.jpg

itQJ0jK.jpg

iE6WDiS.jpg

bgo8jsx.jpg
Click to expand...
I have really been thinking about purchasing one of these. Been hearing good things about them.
 
bigfish64 said:
Nice Duvel! I’m looking hard at the black one myself, and wow, you really got some nice ironwood! 😎👍
What are your first impressions?
Click to expand...
First impression was , wow these knives are light! They’re about the size of a GEC 15, but with the micarta liners they feel much lighter. Great fit and finish.
 
Duvel said:
First impression was , wow these knives are light! They’re about the size of a GEC 15, but with the micarta liners they feel much lighter. Great fit and finish.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have the brown Micarta and the ironwood Damascus and I agree they are light and VERY well made. At some point I’m going to pick up the black one too.
😉👍
 
Lots of inspiration in here for a new member :)
I have a few Böker.., Barlow Plum, Barlow Bog Oak, Stockman Plum, Enigma Cocobolo, 1906 Ebony.
Now I have a Club Jute on the way that I am excited about. No vintage models yet, I have basicly just collected Swedish older knifes.
Will contribute with pics as I get the hang of imgur...
 
Barbababa said:
Lots of inspiration in here for a new member :)
I have a few Böker.., Barlow Plum, Barlow Bog Oak, Stockman Plum, Enigma Cocobolo, 1906 Ebony.
Now I have a Club Jute on the way that I am excited about. No vintage models yet, I have basicly just collected Swedish older knifes.
Will contribute with pics as I get the hang of imgur...
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have a great collection already, can’t wait to see pictures. 😎👍
 
Can anyone tell me why the Solingen factory stopped making the classic or traditional pattens there? Are they going to shift the traditional patterns to Argentina? Sorry to ask here, move if needed.
 
cbach8tw said:
Can anyone tell me why the Solingen factory stopped making the classic or traditional pattens there? Are they going to shift the traditional patterns to Argentina? Sorry to ask here, move if needed.
Click to expand...
where did you find that information? Why not try send Böker an email asking?
 
cbach8tw said:
Can anyone tell me why the Solingen factory stopped making the classic or traditional pattens there? Are they going to shift the traditional patterns to Argentina? Sorry to ask here, move if needed.
Click to expand...
I borrow his quote
RevolverGuy said:
Boker's are still being made in Solingen. They're headquartered there and the factory manufacturers classic pocket knives and kitchen knives from there. There may be some confusion as to their lineup, but it has not changed in the past 15-20 years. The way to find out where your knife was made is if the Tree shield on your knife says SOLINGEN and SOLINGEN is stamped on the tang of the main blade, then it was manufactured and assembled in Solingen, Germany. If the Tree shield says GERMANY, then it is a knife where parts were outsourced overseas (most likely China or Taiwan) and assembled in Germany. If the knife is branded ARBOLITO on the blade then it is made in Argentina. The knives made in Argentina are all fixed blades though, as they don't make any of the traditional slipjoint knives.

*Added 2/17/21: Someone just showed me that same SMKW catalog. The way I am reading it is that doesn't say that manufacturing will cease, but that some of the patterns may be discontinued, which are the one's shown on the page the disclaimer is made.

Below is the exact wording from the SMKW catalog:
Attention Collectors: Many traditional Boker pocket knives will no longer be manufactured at the factory in Solingen, Germany. We have a number of the German-made pocket knives still in stock, so this will be your last chance to purchase a legend!
Click to expand...
hope that answers your question :)
 
Barbababa said:
I borrow his quote

hope that answers your question :)
Click to expand...
Barbababa said:
I borrow his quote

hope that answers your question :)
Click to expand...

yeah I saw this in the other thread too, so it was based in what I saw in the SMKW catalog, about classic traditional patterns not being made there, not that manufacturing would cease of other knives. Appreciate the info, but still wondering if they have indeed discountinued those patterns being made there. Maybe it was SMKW trying to sell some of their inventory by saying that. Thanks for your help and if you hear anything let me know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top