Boker Plus M-Type

It’s been almost three years since I got this knife thru a good friend from the States. I must say that I’m thoroughly happy to own this knife. It’s proven to be one fantastic cutting tool!

BACKGROUND

The German Boker company has been a manufacturer with a long tradition in producing cutlery. Among its range of knives, it produced the Boker Plus brand as its more affordable line of products. This is because it has outsourced its production to China, a common manufacturing trend nowadays to cut down on costs.

The design of the knife is a nice story in itself. The designer is Chad Los Banos, an athletic Hawaiian of Filipino extraction (yep, Pinoy siya!) and who works in law enforcement as a corrections officer. This background along with his knife hobby pushed him to create his own designs and knock on the doors of major knife manufactures to sell his ideas. Persistence paid off when some companies, Boker included, adopted and launched his designs. It’s been a successful venture ever since (if you want to check him out, his website is http://www.clbdesign.info/).

IMPRESSIONS AND DESCRIPTION

The M-Type’s blade is 3½ inches long and about 1¼ inches wide is considered to be a midium to large-sized folder as compared to Chad’s previous designs. It’s got a drop point shape and a top false edge or swedge on it. The knife is a tad heavier than my previous knives but it has grown on me giving me the reassurance of its utility whenever I need it.

Prior to getting the knife, what initially attracted me to it was that it was a frame lock design. This means that its locking mechanism is the entire bare, right metal side of the handle to fold onto the blade’s base. This makes not only for a strong locking mechanism but also a reliable one especially when you hear that comforting “clack” sound it produces when engaged. The opposite side is also metal but recessed in black G10 material which is not that grippy or rough-feeling in texture. This may or may not be good depending on your liking. Personally, this lack of texture is offset by its handle’s comfortable form which I’ll be getting into shortly. This softer texture will also be gentler on the fabric of your pants and clothing.

The first time I got it out of the box, it was naturally a bit stiff to open. This was done via the studs you use your thumbs to push the blade outwards. The edges and corners all around were a bit rough and sharp too, like those on the jimping for your thumb on the blade spine, the inner edges of the handles and the stud openers. I had to soften them up by passing a screwdriver edge repeatedly on top of them along with some light sandpapering on the edges and studs.

The handle has superb ergonomics that mold your hand comfortably in different forward grips. For reverse grip though, I felt it was better when the cutting edge was facing edge-in.

PERFORMANCE

Performance-wise, the 440C steel holds a decent working edge to tackle most types of cutting tasks. It also re-sharpens up nicely with minimal effort. It’s a joy in fact for kitchen tasks like peeling and slicing veggies, even outshining the pitiful low-end chef’s knife we have. The high grind on the 1/8” thick blade I believe also contributed to its slicing ability. I did notice some minute chipping on the edge though after rougher cutting on wood.

I was also a bit worried about the slight recurve shape of the blade edge when it came time for resharpening. I’m happy to report that it was subtle enough not to be an issue.

The pocket clip seated the knife just enough that only about half an inch of the handle’s butt showed in the pocket. While there are other knives that slide the knife fully in a pants pocket for “discreet carry”, for my uses it was discreet enough. This also helps to facilitate in drawing the knife from the pocket. I later added a small lanyard to further aid in the draw.

Being oriented for a right-handed person, the clip could also be transferred changing the orientation of the draw. It came out of the box in blade tip-down with the clip attached near the pivot. I felt it got in the way of my grip so I transferred it to tip-up. You need a special torx head screw driver for this though (which was used in the knife’s construction) but I managed with a small Allen hex wrench.

SUMMARY

Pros:

· Good framelock design

· Very EDC-able dimensions

· Decent edge holding on the blade

· Ergonomic handle design

· Inexpensive price point

Cons:

· Some chipping on the blade edge

· Pivot pin tended to get loose and needed tightening

· Rough fit and finish

Personal Preferences:

· No top swedge

· Could be lighter

· Better designed or radiused stud openers

· Larger and stronger pivot

· Handle color variety

I have no reservations recommending this as a great folding knife. While not being a top-of-the-line quality brand, being at an affordable price point, it’s an excellent buy. I think you’ll agree if you get one.

Here's a brief vid showing it in more detail -

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