Old Boker, Treebrand 182 Camp Knife: Additional Info Appreciated.

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Blake the Blade

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Went along bright and early to my first boot sale for ages last Sunday. On the fourth or fifth stall I came to, placed on the ground, lay two knives. One was clearly of no consequence but the other, though filthy with oil and grime, immediately felt good in the hand. On wiping the muck from the badge I was able to make out the Treebrand insignia and the word Solingen. The guy on the stall seemed eager to get the deal done, explaining that he shouldn't really be selling them. He quickly gave me a price of £2.00 on the knife to which I hastily agreed. I made my way around the rest of the sale twice that morning making a thorough sweep of the place, but nothing else was to be found. Upon further inspection back at the car I noticed that the main blade on the knife carried not only the Treebrand name, the word 'Arbolito' and the number 182, but also the name Boker. It was beginning to dawn on me that I had found something quite interesting. Later that afternoon I gave it the usual soapy water and WD40 treatment and, though scratched on the main blade with some wear to the nickel bolsters, the quality and beauty of the knife soon became apparent. I've since done some cursory research and realise that the 182 does have it's place in camp knife history and that my one seems to be one of the older models with its older style tin opener. Needless to say I'm very pleased with my find and would be greatfull for any additional information if anyone has any. Many thanks. :) :thumbup:

- Mark

Untitled by Blake Blade, on FlickrUntitled by Blake Blade, on FlickrUntitled by Blake Blade, on FlickrUntitled by Blake Blade, on Flickr
 
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Just a quick dumb question - what's the soapy water and WD40 Treatment process? By that I mean what steps should I take?


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Mark, what a wonderful find! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Those old Bokers can hold their head up in any company. Very good stuff there. And I agree they do have their place in camp knife history. They still make an updated model of hat, and I think you caan even find them with stag scales. Getting that one for two pounds was a steal, so keep going and keep your head down. :D
 
Great find Mark! That beauty looks like it made to work. Enjoy!

Peter
 
irona said:
Just a quick dumb question - what's the soapy water and WD40 Treatment process? By that I mean what steps should I take?


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Old knives at flea markets, boot sales, junk shops, are nine times out of ten, gummed up with dirt, old oil gum, lint, and hopefully unknown crud. So it's kind of a standard practice to give the knife a nice very warm mildly hot bath in running water and Dawn dish soap or any other good detergent and use an old toothbrush to clean down around the joint. After, a good drying and some WD-40 to displace any left over moisture and then a drop or two of oil in the joints, will go about 98% of the way to restoring an old pocket knife's walk and talk. The snap of the blades. In some cases a little LIGHT polishing with 0000 steel wool may be needed for rust on the blade, but only after some light polishing with an oiled rag to see how much comes off first. Never, never, ever use abrasives like sandpaper on an old rusty knife. If there's any rust, I like to just stabilize and control it rather than punish the knife with abrasives.
 
jackknife said:
Old knives at flea markets, boot sales, junk shops, are nine times out of ten, gummed up with dirt, old oil gum, lint, and hopefully unknown crud. So it's kind of a standard practice to give the knife a nice very warm mildly hot bath in running water and Dawn dish soap or any other good detergent and use an old toothbrush to clean down around the joint. After, a good drying and some WD-40 to displace any left over moisture and then a drop or two of oil in the joints, will go about 98% of the way to restoring an old pocket knife's walk and talk. The snap of the blades. In some cases a little LIGHT polishing with 0000 steel wool may be needed for rust on the blade, but only after some light polishing with an oiled rag to see how much comes off first. Never, never, ever use abrasives like sandpaper on an old rusty knife. If there's any rust, I like to just stabilize and control it rather than punish the knife with abrasives.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! I've been (stupidly) using sandpaper for a while and have always had to spend hours to get the blade back to a polish. Is rust a concern when doing the soap and oil method?


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Thanks guys. Yeah it's finds like this that makes traditional knife collecting so rewarding. Glad to here I'm not doing anything wrong with the soapy water, WD40 thing, that and a bit of 3 in 1 oil did bring the snap right back. Don't plan on going any further with this one, accept to give it a good edge and, hopefully, get some use out of it. Thanks for the interest guys. :thumbup:
 
irona said:
Thank you so much! I've been (stupidly) using sandpaper for a while and have always had to spend hours to get the blade back to a polish. Is rust a concern when doing the soap and oil method?


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No, rust is not going to be problem, that's what the WD-40 is for. The WD is a 'water displacement' formula, and you follow that up with a drop or two of 3-in-1 or gun oil in the joint. Contrary to what a lot of the younger generation thinks, old carbon steel does not rust away in a day or three if it gets wet. Only long term neglect will make a knife rust. If a knife is just wiped down now and then, it will be fine, but even better is to use it.
 
jackknife said:
No, rust is not going to be problem, that's what the WD-40 is for. The WD is a 'water displacement' formula, and you follow that up with a drop or two of 3-in-1 or gun oil in the joint. Contrary to what a lot of the younger generation thinks, old carbon steel does not rust away in a day or three if it gets wet. Only long term neglect will make a knife rust. If a knife is just wiped down now and then, it will be fine, but even better is to use it.
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That's good to hear. I'm cautious about rust because just the other day I had a rust-free chisel in my tool belt, then after a light rain and leaving it in the open in my belt overnight, I woke up to find it covered in rust.


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irona said:
That's good to hear. I'm cautious about rust because just the other day I had a rust-free chisel in my tool belt, then after a light rain and leaving it in the open in my belt overnight, I woke up to find it covered in rust.


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Was the tool belt leather?

Leaving a carbon steel knife/tool in a wet sheath is a sure recipe for rust. But if they get wiped down every night, you'll wear the tool out before it rusts. But rust in itself is not a killer if you catch it. The day after, most of the red stuff that forms over night will rub off with a rag and some oil. You'll find a lot of the red stuff smeared on the rag, with the knife/tool having a darkened surface from the experience. That's called patina.

I've got family that lived on the Chesapeake Bay as working watermen. Crabbing in summer and oystering in the winter. Back in the day, all their knives were carbon steel. There was a bait bucket on my grandfathers boat with some old butcher knives in it. They all had blades that were black from the rust like patina, but they were wiped down every night after work, so they never rusted away. Just built up this black patina. Most of the men back then, when they bought a new pocket knife, allowed a common practice of sticking the blade in a potato overnight to give it a head start on a patina that gave it a little bit of protection. KInd of like the browning of an old musket barrel.

It's okay for a tool to darken, just stay on top of it so it doesn't get as far as pitting on the surface.

Helpful hint; a tiny bit of Chapstick smeared on the blade/tool will give it some protection. ;)
 
Oh I know all about patinas, i'm working my way down the list of all your stories actually! I think I only have a dozen or so left. The chisel was left in a leather toolbelt. I've been tinkering around with knives for maybe 4-5 years or so, and I've heard of the oil method before, but i've never taken the time to learn it for some reason.


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jackknife said:
Was the tool belt leather?

Leaving a carbon steel knife/tool in a wet sheath is a sure recipe for rust. But if they get wiped down every night, you'll wear the tool out before it rusts. But rust in itself is not a killer if you catch it. The day after, most of the red stuff that forms over night will rub off with a rag and some oil. You'll find a lot of the red stuff smeared on the rag, with the knife/tool having a darkened surface from the experience. That's called patina.

I've got family that lived on the Chesapeake Bay as working watermen. Crabbing in summer and oystering in the winter. Back in the day, all their knives were carbon steel. There was a bait bucket on my grandfathers boat with some old butcher knives in it. They all had blades that were black from the rust like patina, but they were wiped down every night after work, so they never rusted away. Just built up this black patina. Most of the men back then, when they bought a new pocket knife, allowed a common practice of sticking the blade in a potato overnight to give it a head start on a patina that gave it a little bit of protection. KInd of like the browning of an old musket barrel.

It's okay for a tool to darken, just stay on top of it so it doesn't get as far as pitting on the surface.

Helpful hint; a tiny bit of Chapstick smeared on the blade/tool will give it some protection. ;)
Click to expand...

Oh I know all about patinas, i'm working my way down the list of all your stories actually! I think I only have a dozen or so left. The chisel was left in a leather toolbelt. I've been tinkering around with knives for maybe 4-5 years or so, and I've heard of the oil method before, but i've never taken the time to learn it for some reason.
 
Blake the Blade said:
Wow! fifty odd years old, that's something. Still a very robust knife with no real issues. Thanks rarreola. :thumbup:
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"ARBOLITO" was (is) a trademark by Boker of Solingen, Germany primarily to designate knives made by their holdings in Argentina or by knives made in Germany for the Argentine market. But I say primarily, because I think it could have been used otherwise as well. Boker knives are about the craziest brand to pin down, including their mashups using China as a player.
 
I have one nearly identical to your 182 Boker. More patina and the blade etch is very faint, but excellent user condition and carried often.:thumbup:
 
Glad you appreciate your knife as I do Phil. They're a nice solid, tactile design. Sounds like you may have the carbon steel version. :thumbup:
 
tongueriver said:
"ARBOLITO" was (is) a trademark by Boker of Solingen, Germany primarily to designate knives made by their holdings in Argentina or by knives made in Germany for the Argentine market. But I say primarily, because I think it could have been used otherwise as well. Boker knives are about the craziest brand to pin down, including their mashups using China as a player.
Click to expand...
Great info tongueriver thankyou. That would explain the Spanish word for tree 'Arbolito' in the etched insignia on the blade. But though possibly made for an Argentinian market, would the knife still have been produced in Germany? The word Solingen is underneath the badge and on the tang of the main blade. Many thanks.

- Mark
 
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