I just got a new Boker Plus knife in to inspect. Unfortunately for me, it’s for sale. The Boker Urban Trapper is a great looking
knife. It’s very lightweight, partially due
to its thin slender blade and partially due to its titanium and G-10
handle.
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| The knife has a nice hand feel and good balance. |
The knife uses a small flipper to open and it depends on an
IKBS ball-bearing pivot for its smoothness.
Not familiar with IKBS ball bearing designs? Man, have you been hiding under a rock?
Here’s a link: http://www.ikbsknifetech.com/11/1504.html
The design is so ingenious and so simple that most home
hobbyists could make one. Since they act
like ball bearing races they let knives glide open.
So lets talk specifics:
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Length open
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7.75 inches
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Blade length
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3.5 inches
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Blade thickness
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0.1 inch
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Steel
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VG-10
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Blade
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Hollow ground clip point
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Handle
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G-10 over titanium
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Handle thickness
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0.4 inches
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Weight
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1.9 oz or the weight of a double
rye whiskey, neat
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VG-10 steel is one of the darling steels of the knife
industry. Originally marketed to
Japanese chiefs, VG-10 was quickly adopted by the knife culture as a potential
super steel. It’s lived up to that
promise.
If you want to make some yourself, start with nice clean
iron and add 1% carbon, 15% chromium, and 1% vanadium. Add 1.5% cobalt and a pinch (just a 0.5%)
manganese. Mix well and allow to cool
under precise conditions. Ingredients
are easy, cooling and heating are the key.
Just buy a Boker Urban Trapper.
It is already razor sharp!
The knife utilizes a frame lock to lock the blade open. Titanium has wonderful properties, but
excessive springiness isn’t one of them.
The G-10 scale limits the outward motion of the titanium frame
lock. It’s a clever solution to prevent
over extension of the lock.
The removable, but sadly non-reversible, pocket clip also
looks like titanium. The knife is set up
for right hand, tip-up carry. The pocket
clip provides for deep carry both to help retained the tool as well lower its
visual profile. I like to carry in my
right side pocket, but drop this knife in any pocket and it will work well for
you.
I don’t own this one, but I should. This thin knife has a dressy business look
that will work in the office, at urban play and more formal activities like
funerals, weddings and board meetings.
It’s not the knife I’d pack away for elk hunting in Canada, but I’d
carry it as a back-up when I was hunting.
It’s a good knife but VS Godzilla? Well, it just my sense of humor, but several
years ago there was a short cartoon video called Bambi VS Godzilla. It showed Bambi standing alone when it was
suddenly crushed by a giant lizard foot.
If Bambi had an Urban Trapper the cartoon might have ended differently.
