All About Pocket Knives

On the inside of the front cover there is a statement to get these Bokers made in Germany now because Boker isn’t going to make traditional knife patterns in Germany anymore. Anyone know when this starts and any details on where they will be made? I have a hunch where the manufacturing will be, but it would be nice to know for sure.

My guess is China, where everything else is made

Probably the old story, they can't afford to pay German craftsmen to make these knives when Asian workers will do the job more or less satisfactorily for 1/4 the salary. And the average Joe will not pay for higher quality. Sad but that's the way the world's going.

I hope it's not true. Boker celebrated their 150th anniversary of making knives in 2019, but the company's history goes back even further than that to the 17th century. They take a lot of pride in their Solingen made knives and I did see a number of new models for the 2021 year in their most recent catalog. Where is SMKW getting this info from?

It’s actually on the cover of the latest SMKW and on the inside cover page, here is a copy of it. I was hoping someone would know. From the looks of this announcement it looks like it’s already scheduled to start. If SMKW is announcing that these are the last, I would say that it’s pretty definite that they are going to stop. It does say most, but not all. I would like to know what patterns are exempt?
I guess it makes sense. The knives that aren’t marked w/ “Solingen” and are made from parts made in other countries, carry the same warranty that the ones made in Solingen do, so why have the higher production cost? Boker Plus knives also have a lifetime warranty. I’ve had some Boker Plus knives that were exceptional quality, in particular the Vox knives.
For those serious about collecting genuine Solingen knives, the field just got narrower for collecting so that should be good for the value of the Solingen made Bokers we have in our collections. That is one reason I collect Boker made Henckels and Russell Green River knives, they don’t make them anymore and there are a limited number of mint unused ones in circulation. I’m sure it will be awhile before the numbers dry up, but still, it will help future value of genuine Solingen Bokers.

I read the first phrase in that SMKW ad more literally. "Many models" does not mean many handle patterns. Does it mean discontinue standard size stag Trappers but continue to make run after run of Trappers with different dye colors and jigging patterns on bone the same as Case has done? I suspect if SMKW knew Boker was going to stop making slip joints in Germany that's what they would have written in their ad.

Too bad if it is correct. However, as knife collectors we have no problem finding knives from companies that have been out of business for 15 - 20 -25 years, so I expect we will continue to find Solingen made Boker’s for quite a while. OH