A tale of two Bokers: Manufaktur Solingen vs. Manufaktur Germany
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Boker is an old and respected German knife maker. They have several brands, including Boker Magnum, Boker Plus, Boker Arbolito, and Boker Manufaktur. The latter, however, comes in two forms: Manufaktur Solingen vs. Manufaktur Germany. The Solingen imprint means that the knife is hand-made in Solingen, Germany and is of high quality. But what about "Manufaktur Germany?" I can find nothing, on the knives or elsewhere, to demonstrate that they are actually German made. My best guess is that they are assembled in Germany of non-German components. That doesn't make them bad, but they are not at the same level as the Solingen knives. Be aware which you are buying.
You are right. The one's with "Germany" on the shield are assembled in the same Solingen factory but all parts outsourced from overseas. It's how they keep the cost down. The knives stamped "Solingen" are 100% assembled and sourced in Germany. Puma Knives does a similar thing. Also the Solingen knives are normally C75 carbon steel. The Manufaktur Germany are a 440A stainless. And then Boker has their Argentina made knives as well. Those tend to be better quality than the Manufactur Germany ones.
Now they have the traditional 2.0 series in D2 between the Germany and Solingen lines. I think they are just upgrading the 440 of the "Germany" line and maybe phasing it out.
I am from Germany, and picked up some of these Babys at the Store, right from the Böker-Factory in Solingen.
Have a Canoe with the green Washboard Handles.
"Rostfrei" means it is the 1.4034 Stainless-Steel. Otherwise it's C75 Carbon Steel.
The Solingen-Made ones are good Quality, Razor sharp out of the Box.
I haven't looked for the Line, Böker sells for the American Market (like the Copperhead in your Video).
The Quality looks lower than the Solingen one. Lastly i think, they worth their Price too.
(Sorry for my English ;-) )
Have a good Time
Thanks for watching.
About 10 years or so ago I had a Boker order magazine. They had about 5 different lines with different prices it was very upfront with the info on each. I believe Arbolito is attached to the Argentinian line. If I remember correctly. No promises.
I just pulled the trigger on a Solingen made scout. I have no doubts of the excellent quality. Sure glad I spent the time researching as there are many variables across the board regarding quality. There was at least, as is usually the case with me, one part luck. Thank you for the input, you confirmed all of our suspicions in one vid. A++🙏👋
Thanks for watching
Seems like you nailed it, judging from the forum posts from before and after this video was made. Thanks for the video. It helped me narrow down some search terms and find the info I was looking for
Glad you found it useful.
I have one of the "Germany" knives (a Stockman) and I have no regrets buying it. It's put together perfectly, the materials are very good and I have never said this about another knife, when you take out a blade the movement is downright sexy. It is the most smooth movement I've ever experienced and the backsprings are perfection, easy to extract the blade but they don't move easily once out. Good blades too, if this is their stainless the carbon must be something very special. Worth twice the £40 I paid for it.
Agreed, the “Germany” knives are still nice. I just wish Boker was more transparent.
Buy a Case🔪they cool
I got a Boker Tree Brand from Aliexpress (a Trapper). It has obviously never seen Germany for even a second. I wanted to compare the fit and finish to the red shield Bokers but I think it is a second so not a great comparison. It has a silver shield that says Germany on it. The blades and liners are the same as on the red shields just not well done. Both blades are off center, the scales colours don't match and are fit strangely. The springs work well but the spey blade is too high. As a working knife it's good (surprisingly) but a collector would have a fit if they looked at it for more than 3 seconds. Great otherwise!!!
In the last few months I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on Solingen knives, no regrets but I do wish I didn’t get that fear of missing out feeling so often in knife collecting.
Haha I literally spent $1500 on böker knives in past 3 weeks for the same reason lol
You get that feeling, too, huh?
The knives labelled "Manufaktur Germany" have only been assembled in Solingen, while the individual parts come from other countries.
The knives with the "Manufaktur Solingen" label are one hundred percent made in Solingen.
The reason why it is legal to write "Germany" on a knife/product that has only been assembled in Germany is that "Made in" is missung. However, you cannot simply write "Solingen" on a product of the cutlery industry, which includes scissors, razor blades, knives and utensils for manicure and pedicure, because it is due to a worldwide unique regulation concerning the city of Solingen.
In Germany, there is the Solingen Enactment, which requires that the mere mention of the name Solingen on one of the above-mentioned products must guarantee that the respective product is really one hundred percent manufactured in Solingen or the neighbouring town of Haan. Normally, at least "Made in [insert town, region or country]" must be written on a product for this guarantee to apply. Solingen is the only city, resp. the only geographical place worldwide, which is protected by state enactment (i.e. by law) under trademark law in the sense of origin. Therefore, the mere mention of the city is legally binding as far as the origin of the corresponding product is concerned. However, this only applies to the products mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Thanks for the information
Great looking knives man!! I really like the trapper!
You are 100% correct. At present, German courts have ruled that products with a ‘Made in Germany’ label must at least be assembled in Germany. And more than half of the parts used should also come from Germany. The Boker Manufaktur Germany knives are merely assembled in Germany with imported parts. Authentic German made Boker knives will have the Solingen stamp on the blades. I do wish that the German courts would tighten up the regulations on what defines Made in Germany because there’s a lot of misleading marketing out there that fools people, not only with knives, but with watches and pens as well. Same goes for the ‘Swiss Made’ label. A product must be assembled in Switzerland and contain at least 60% Swiss parts to be classified as Swiss Made. This applies to watches and Swiss Army knives. It would be interesting to know just how Swiss Victorinox knives really are. By the way, I do have a Boker Stockman that cost me $40 that came in a blister pack which read ‘Made in Germany’, but the fit/finish of the blades it are nowhere as nice as the Solingen blades.
Thanks for confirming
We so dumb in the U S A we keep buying Chineese made freight and making USA compnies millionares. We cant stick together on anything. It shd be called the Divided states of America.
Thnx. Was looking for knives that aren't China-made. Realized Boker still had some German made knives, but a lot of those high-end Bokers cost a lot more. The price on these Made-in-Germany knives got me to thinking though and I had to do some more investigating. Thanks again.
I have a Boker that says on the spade blade GERMANY.It is a stockman and its fairly old and it is TREE BRAND
You're the first American I've seen pronounce "Solingen" close to the way the Germans do.
My family was Dutch and German. I don’t speak it, but I have a sense of pronunciation.
So I called Boker and these are both made in Solingen and in the same factory..they are both German made..one is a budget line that’s more affordable..give them a call..pretty simple
Weird. I talked to a Boker rep not long after this video and he “couldn’t confirm” that the “Germany” knives were fully made in Solingen of German parts.
Thanks for the info.
@@NorthStarKnifeReviews that is freaking weird..but they are carbon steel..I’m not positive but I think C-75 but don’t quote me on that..
@@NorthStarKnifeReviews LoL! what I was by, some guy at Smoky mountain knife works was. .that it's still 100% still made in Germany.
But, Not made in Solingen anymore!
And that's why, they don't put Solingen on the knife anymore. But, he said,it's still a German made knife with German made materials! And that makes sense to me. So, if anyone says, they are still made in Solingen they are full of it! And did not talk to the company or any sales rep themselves. LoL!
I have a Böker Germany stockman I got for around $40 bucks and it's still a decent little knife, the steel is comparable to Vic SAKs.
I agree, they are still good knives. I just wish they were a bit more transparent about the origins. Thanks for watching.
Me and my dad was at Smokey mountain knife works and the guy behind the boker counter said parts the parts to the German knives are made in China and assembled in Germany
Interesting info. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching.
I think it’s the other way around, I think the parts are sourced and manufactured in Germany and then hand assembled in a foreign country for the cheaper labor.
It is very possible. I wish they were more transparent about it.
I tend to agree with Derek. Assembly in Asia w/German parts.
I was buying the Germany ones for myself and everyone else until I saw this review or another one that brought up the same ideas I concur that at least the materials must be offshored and then assembled in Solingen So I stopped buying them and only buy the Solingen ones or the Arbolito ones
I have nothing against ppl who want to buy foreign products but I choose to try to go with American first if I can I can afford to so I will
Love your channel Just subscribed
Thanks for watching.
@@NorthStarKnifeReviews
I didn’t expect a response and I was trying to be diplomatic and not bog your channel down in politics
Solingen. Soul la gen. Is a iron mining town in Germany
ua-cam.com/video/V5Z_N-QU18k/v-deo.htmlsi=MZj1t4Lr3rib4sDh
The umlaut on the O is pronounced ir in English like in Sir... So it's pronounced. B ir cker...
Thanks for the info. Appreciated.
I'm pretty sure that you are correct. It is my understanding these are assembled in Germany with Chinese components. They are not even close to the same quality as the Solingen manufactured knives. I've seen them referred to as the Boker T line.
I wish Boker would be upfront about it.
I thinks they are made in the same factory as Rough Riders, in China,
it says 'manufaktur germany' and not manufaktur deutschland' there's your first hint...
Beter Case Knife 💯 Made in USA
Anything made in Germany is just quality.
But I have a Böker Micro and on the box it says, "made in China".
Speak up. Or maybe a microphone...my volume is on #99.
Thanks for the feedback.
@@NorthStarKnifeReviews yeah I'm just saying that's all I got a UA-cam channel 2 with like an almost 900 videos for the past fourteen years I've heard it all too
Manufactured Germany is china and Solingen is German made.
Both are assembled in Germany, but the “Germany” knives use Chinese parts.
Most likely Germany knife has china junk parts.
Probably Chinese, but definitely not junk. Holds up as well as the German blade
You keep saying Boker. It’s pronounced Böker!
My bad.
Ha Ha
They are listed as made in China
Boker Magnum and Boker Plus are.