Boker Magnum Survival

[peejman]

With all this fixed blade knife goodness going on here, I ran across what I think is quite a deal.  I like the idea of having a modest sized fixed blade I can carry.  I'm also somewhat traditional and like wood scales and leather sheaths. 

 

Plus I'm cheap.  ;)

 

Enter the Boker Magnum Survival....   http://www.boker.de/us/fixed-blade-knife/boker/tactical-knife/02SC310.html

 

 

 

 

 

$26 to my door.   Yep, really.

 

 

I'm no knife expert, but I fiddled around with it over the weekend.  I don't really consider it a true "survival knife", but its a perfectly serviceable camp/utility knife.  It was reasonably sharp out of the box, just barely shaving sharp.  I assume that'll be the norm since it's a 440 stainless blade as opposed to something like 1095.  Probably a better choice for this purpose anyway... less concern for chipping it or corrosion. 

 

The notch is listed for cutting cord, rope, etc.  I didn't have any rope laying around that I wanted to make shorter so I can't say how well it works for that.  I did do a good job shaving little knots off the stick I was whittling on. 

 

It's got a little ridge on the spine to act as a thumb stop, but I think it could use a little jimping for a more tactile feel.  I may have a go at that myself at some point. 

 

The wrong handed sheath is a bit of an expected bummer (I'm left handed), but carrying it on my left side seemed to work fine. 

 

For the price, I'm more than satisfied.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hipower]

Dang, that looks nice! And it is calling out to me.

[Grand Torino]

That's a classic design with beautiful lines. Nice pick up. :up:

[peejman]

Dang, that looks nice! And it is calling out to me.

Call back. It's hard to go wrong for the price.

That's a classic design with beautiful lines. Nice pick up. :up:

Thanks. If I might inquire from the expert, how might I go about adding some jimping? Is there a special tool of some sort or just a file?

[RED333]

That is the price range I can go for, I "use" a knife.

[JAB]

Very nice.  I also like 'traditional' looking knives (although I am seeing more and more potential advantages to the more 'tactical' type sheaths simply due to the variety of carry options that they can offer vs. many traditional leather sheaths.)  At that price, I see one in my hand in the very near future.  I handled a few of the knives in the Boker Magnum line at SMKW the last time I was there and was pretty impressed by how nice they looked and how capable they appeared to be given the price point.  I was sore tempted to pick up one of them but it wasn't the type of knife I was looking for at the time and I was looking to spend my small amount of knife cash on a couple of other, different blades (ended up picking up a Cold Steel Mini-Tac Beavertail on a good sale to go with my Mini-Tac skinner and bought a Victorinox Swiss Army knife that is different from the Tinker I already owned.)

 

I may just have to look toward remedying that omission. 

 

ETA:  Just ordered one for myself.  With shipping, my order came to $26 and change.  I did notice that this knife is a discontinued close-out so that probably means that when they are gone, they are gone.  I also noticed that the original, non-close-out list price was $64.95 so the close-out price (before shipping) is less than 1/3 the original.  Before ordering, I went to Amazon to see if I could find a better deal and the best price I saw on there was $29 and change (before shipping) with at least one or two sellers still asking something closer to the original $64 price point.  Thanks for the heads up, Peejman!  That is one thing I really like about this site, especially the knives subforum - no one person can catch all the deals so having a group to keep each other informed of deals we might have missed is great.

Edited March 24, 2015 by JAB

[peejman]

Very nice.  I also like 'traditional' looking knives (although I am seeing more and more potential advantages to the more 'tactical' type sheaths simply due to the variety of carry options that they can offer vs. many traditional leather sheaths.)  At that price, I see one in my hand in the very near future.  I handled a few of the knives in the Boker Magnum line at SMKW the last time I was there and was pretty impressed by how nice they looked and how capable they appeared to be given the price point.  I was sore tempted to pick up one of them but it wasn't the type of knife I was looking for at the time and I was looking to spend my small amount of knife cash on a couple of other, different blades (ended up picking up a Cold Steel Mini-Tac Beavertail on a good sale to go with my Mini-Tac skinner and bought a Victorinox Swiss Army knife that is different from the Tinker I already owned.)

 

I may just have to look toward remedying that omission. 

 

ETA:  Just ordered one for myself.  With shipping, my order came to $26 and change.  I did notice that this knife is a discontinued close-out so that probably means that when they are gone, they are gone.  I also noticed that the original, non-close-out list price was $64.95 so the close-out price (before shipping) is less than 1/3 the original.  Before ordering, I went to Amazon to see if I could find a better deal and the best price I saw on there was $29 and change (before shipping) with at least one or two sellers still asking something closer to the original $64 price point.  Thanks for the heads up, Peejman!  That is one thing I really like about this site, especially the knives subforum - no one person can catch all the deals so having a group to keep each other informed of deals we might have missed is great.

 

 

I also like the flexibility of the kydex sheaths (especially being left handed), but prefer the feel of leather.  If they offered kydex in a dark brown instead of black, I'd jump. 

 

I don't recall exactly how I came across the deal.  Someone posted a different Boker Magnum knife so I googled it and found this.  I saw it listed on several other sites for $50- $60 (with good reviews) so I was pleasantly surprised to find the OEM offering it for much less. :)

[JAB]

I also like the flexibility of the kydex sheaths (especially being left handed), but prefer the feel of leather.  If they offered kydex in a dark brown instead of black, I'd jump. 

 

I don't recall exactly how I came across the deal.  Someone posted a different Boker Magnum knife so I googled it and found this.  I saw it listed on several other sites for $50- $60 (with good reviews) so I was pleasantly surprised to find the OEM offering it for much less. :)

 

Well, you can get the Kydex sheaths to make your own in brown, anyhow.  Just an example - no idea how well these, particular sheets work:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Plastic-Sheet-Brown-080/dp/B00FA3EE2W/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1427220897&sr=8-8&keywords=kydex+sheets

 

I think that one looks more like a 'leather' color.  Of course, there are lots of other colors besides black, such as Coyote Brown:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Haircell-Finish-Coyote-Sheets/dp/B00N34GDYM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427220897&sr=8-3&keywords=kydex+sheets

 

The Coyote Brown looks to me, at least from the pic, to be light enough that you could probably dye it whatever color you want - if Kydex can be dyed.  I know folks used to order the Ivory grip frames from Kel Tec and then use RIT dye to create a custom colored grip - not sure if RIT would work on Kydex or not.  If so, you could probably even simulate a leather-like texture look to it.

 

The Olive Drab doesn't look too bad, either:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Haircell-Finish-Olive-Sheets/dp/B00N34H56C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1427220897&sr=8-7&keywords=kydex+sheets

 

For a knife like this I'd definitely want to at least look into doing a DIY sheath if I decided I wanted a Kydex one.  I'd hate to think about paying more for someone to make me a custom Kydex sheath than the knife would cost.

[peejman]

Well, you can get the Kydex sheaths to make your own in brown, anyhow.  Just an example - no idea how well these, particular sheets work:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Plastic-Sheet-Brown-080/dp/B00FA3EE2W/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1427220897&sr=8-8&keywords=kydex+sheets

 

I think that one looks more like a 'leather' color.  Of course, there are lots of other colors besides black, such as Coyote Brown:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Haircell-Finish-Coyote-Sheets/dp/B00N34GDYM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1427220897&sr=8-3&keywords=kydex+sheets

 

The Coyote Brown looks to me, at least from the pic, to be light enough that you could probably dye it whatever color you want - if Kydex can be dyed.  I know folks used to order the Ivory grip frames from Kel Tec and then use RIT dye to create a custom colored grip - not sure if RIT would work on Kydex or not.  If so, you could probably even simulate a leather-like texture look to it.

 

The Olive Drab doesn't look too bad, either:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Kydex-Haircell-Finish-Olive-Sheets/dp/B00N34H56C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1427220897&sr=8-7&keywords=kydex+sheets

 

For a knife like this I'd definitely want to at least look into doing a DIY sheath if I decided I wanted a Kydex one.  I'd hate to think about paying more for someone to make me a custom Kydex sheath than the knife would cost.

 

 

I don't have the time or inclination to mess with making one myself.  Doesn't look too hard, but it's a lot easier for me to just call George and say ... "make me a sheath for this."  :)   I forget what I paid for the last one, but it was a friendly price. 

[JAB]

I don't have the time or inclination to mess with making one myself.  Doesn't look too hard, but it's a lot easier for me to just call George and say ... "make me a sheath for this."  :)   I forget what I paid for the last one, but it was a friendly price. 

 

Then maybe you could just call him and say, "Make me a sheath in dark brown Kydex for this."  I have made a few leather holsters and sheaths.  I made a Kydex/leather hybrid IWB holster (sort of like a Crossbreed) to see if I liked that type of holster (I didn't.)  I have also made a very simple Kydex sheath.  Kydex is not too bad to work with but I don't know if I am advanced enough at it to make a more complex sheath system.

Edited March 25, 2015 by JAB

[peejman]

Then maybe you could just call him and say, "Make me a sheath in dark brown Kydex for this."  I have made a few leather holsters and sheaths.  I made a Kydex/leather hybrid IWB holster (sort of like a Crossbreed) to see if I liked that type of holster (I didn't.)  I have also made a very simple Kydex sheath.  Kydex is not too bad to work with but I don't know if I am advanced enough at it to make a more complex sheath system.

 

 

I could, but I'd rather have leather and he makes it exactly like I want it (which in reality is pretty darn simple).  :)

[JAB]

Okay, rather than start a new thread I thought I would just piggy-back onto peejman's.  As I said, after seeing this thread I decided to order one of these knives for myself.  It is a nice looking knife.  One thing I really like about it is just how thick the blade is at the spine and, in fact, over all except where it tapers down to the edge.  I didn't take a picture of the spine because I thought peejman had included one in his post.  Now that I see he didn't, I might go back and take one to post.  Mine was not shaving sharp out of the box but did come with a good, serviceable edge.  I actually sometimes wonder if every knife needs to be 'shaving sharp' or if, in some cases, a good but not razor edge might hold up to certain uses longer.  Either way, I will probably spend some time with this knife and the honing stones at some point.

 

Anyhow, here are some pics.  My pics of this knife aren't nearly as good as peejman's but maybe they will serve the purpose.  These give some idea of how the knife arrived (I didn't take pics of the shipping box, etc. as I figured those were unnecessary) :

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of it 'striking a pose':

 

 

 

This is a pic to show the size of the Boker compared to a dolla' and my usual edc Kershaw Crown.  As peejman said, when in locations that a fixed blade can be practically carried this one is a good size just for a general carry blade. I think.

 

 

I thought the wood on the scales felt kind of 'dry' for lack of a better term.  The 'dryness' made me concerned that the wood might be a little brittle.  It may have been all in my head but just in case I decided to rub a little Johnson's paste wax on the scales (because that is what I had handy) and then wipe them down with a paper napkin.  The wood doesn't feel as 'thirsty' to me, now, and I think the paste wax brings out the color a little more.

 

 

I think I am going to like this little knife.  It is my first Boker fixed blade and, unless I am forgetting something, my first Boker, period (almost certainly my first from the current incarnation of the company.)  I will have to be careful not to get carried away and try to use the rope/branch cutting notch as a finger choil as it is sharp enough to do some damage to a wayward finger if the user isn't paying attention.  That isn't a 'drawback' of the knife, just something I will have to pay attention to.  I do think that notch would be useful for some tasks.  The sheath is nothing special but nothing to complain about, either.  Just a good, serviceable sheath for a knife of this type.  All in all, at the price point and intended use there is only one thing I would change about it.  That is, I really wish it had a lanyard hole so I could attach a short lanyard (I would set it up to be slipped over my ring finger during use, not as a long, wrist lanyard.)  Otherwise, it is looking pretty good.

Edited March 30, 2015 by JAB

[peejman]

Okay, rather than start a new thread I thought I would just piggy-back onto peejman's.  As I said, after seeing this thread I decided to order one of these knives for myself.  It is a nice looking knife.  One thing I really like about it is just how thick the blade is at the spine and, in fact, over all except where it tapers down to the edge.  I didn't take a picture of the spine because I thought peejman had included one in his post.  Now that I see he didn't, I might go back and take one to post. 

 

 

I don't have a good pic of that either, but I agree.  The spine full thickness out to about an inch from the tip.  Should make for a pretty strong knife.

 

 

Mine was not shaving sharp out of the box but did come with a good, serviceable edge.  I actually sometimes wonder if every knife needs to be 'shaving sharp' or if, in some cases, a good but not razor edge might hold up to certain uses longer.  Either way, I will probably spend some time with this knife and the honing stones at some point.

 

Mine wasn't shaving sharp either.  I make a few passes across my strop to polish the edge and that seemed to get to just barely shaving sharp.  I'll have to wait for it to get dull before I go to the trouble of getting the sharpening system out and seeing how sharp it'll get.  I also agree that some knives don't need to be razor sharp... but it's fun trying to get them there. 

 

 

I thought the wood on the scales felt kind of 'dry' for lack of a better term.  The 'dryness' made me concerned that the wood might be a little brittle.  It may have been all in my head but just in case I decided to rub a little Johnson's paste wax on the scales (because that is what I had handy) and then wipe them down with a paper napkin.  The wood doesn't feel as 'thirsty' to me, now, and I think the paste wax brings out the color a little more.

 

Same here.  I put a bit of cutting board oil on them when I got it (that's all I had handy).  It brought out the color nicely and made them feel better. I'd guess it has to do with shipping wood products and them having to be dried to make sure there's no bugs. 

 

 

I think I am going to like this little knife.  It is my first Boker fixed blade and, unless I am forgetting something, my first Boker, period (almost certainly my first from the current incarnation of the company.)  I will have to be careful not to get carried away and try to use the rope/branch cutting notch as a finger choil as it is sharp enough to do some damage to a wayward finger if the user isn't paying attention.  That isn't a 'drawback' of the knife, just something I will have to pay attention to.  I do think that notch would be useful for some tasks. 

 

 

I noticed that too... the notch is just about perfect finger size and sharpened like a chisel. 

 

 

 

Not bad for less than a fill-up, eh?      :up: