For its size this little knife’s name is a bit of a mouthful, however I decided to do a quick review on it after carrying it for a couple of days.
Straight out of the gate I will say that this is probably a clone, although then I ask myself why a Chinese manufacturer would devote time and effort into replicating a small fixed blade knife that is already made in China. Perhaps it is the same knife being sold out the back door by the Chinese manufacturer for Boker.
My reasons for purchasing this knife was pretty simple. It looks cool, and I could appreciate the virtues of a small fixed blade knife being used in preference to a folder, particularly if working in a situation where you’re regularly using a knife to open or cut down boxes or the like.
So I bought it.
The knife arrived in a Boker box, with a bit of paperwork. What differentiates this most obviously from the “legit” version is that it comes with a rather nice leather sheath, rather than the kydex that Boker supply. However I actually quite like the leather sheath, so its absence isn’t a mark against this knife. I find it balances my Leatherman’s leather holster very nicely.
The knife is small, but very thick and sturdy. Boker claim their model to be 440C while this version is claimed to be 7Cr17MoV, but we know from things like the A-Stan/Enlan EL-01 that Boker have a tendency to label Chinese steels as close European formulations. I can say, after sharpening it on my Lansky Turnbox, that the steel has decent hardness.
The blade is a hollow ground clip point, full tang, and after some edge refinement with the Lansky it is very sharp. The handle is machined G10, with an outer black layer and an inner white layer. It’s a comfortable three finger grip for people with larger hands like me.
It is obviously not a knife designed for any self defense role, it is basically a small fixed blade utility knife that happens to look very cool.
As can be seen it is roughly the same size as the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite and serves much the same purpose.
It has an overall length of 14.5cm, a blade length of 6cm, and a blade thickness of 3.3mm.
To carry is pretty simple. Just put it on your belt then cover it with a shirt. It takes up very little space, it is fairly light, and you don’t need to worry about it taking up room in your pockets.
The Boker Plus Tom Krein Pocket Bowie will provide a useful tool that should be fairly people friendly. A woman at work thought it was quite a cute knife when I was using it to cut down boxes. Grabbing the model on eBay will get you a kydex sheath, although I suspect I prefer the leather anyway, and alleviate any concerns about counterfeiting. It will be a somewhat higher price though.
