Boker Magnum Doorkicker Folder Knife Review

Boker traces its origin to the 17th century as a tool maker in Germany graduating to swords and blades by the 1800s. The company claims it was producing 2000 sabres a week by 1839 for use in various wars. By the 1860s the company had fractured with a branch of the family emigrating to North America and setting up plants in Canada, New York, and Mexico. The German and North American factories produced similar knives and used the “Tree Brand” trademark. This continued until World War II when the Solingen factory was destroyed and “Boker USA” took control of the trademark until the German factory was rebuilt in the 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s the company changed hands several times, with the New York facility (Hermann Boker & Co) shutting down in 1983. In 1986, Boker reacquired the rights to the American brand and Boker USA was started in Denver, Colorado for US production.

Today we will be discussing the Boker Magnum Doorkicker Folder Knife.

Boker Magnum:

When Boker explains Magnum by Boker, they say, “The attractive brand from Boker with a great price-performance ratio. The concept takes place in Solingen, design, construction and finishing in overseas. Magnum offers a wide range of knives from all categories, from traditional pocket knives, to hunting knives and modern knives. Latest lock technologies and knife trends also for price-sensitive customers.

 

The Blade:

The blade on the Doorkicker is made out of 440A stainless steel. This steel is in the 440 family which includes A, B, and C. Compared to B and C, A does have a lower carbon content, which is going to make the steel a little bit softer. This is not always a disadvantage because the softer the steel, the easier it is going to be to sharpen or work with the blade. 440A is extremely stain resistant, which will help cut down on maintenance time. The biggest advantage about this steel is that it is a budget steel and keeps the overall cost of the Doorkicker down considerably. That being said, 440A stainless steel does not have high wear resistance. It will probably have enough wear resistance for an EDC or ever some camping and outdoor tasks. However, this knife is not going to make a good survival knife because of the steel chosen.

The blade has been coated black. The coating is going to increase the wear resistance, which is a very important quality on this steel that is lacking the wear resistance already. It is also going to increase the corrosion resistance because it does create a barrier between the steel and the elements. Overall, the coating is going to prolong the life of the blade. However, all coatings do scratch off after time or heavy use. Once the coating has been scratched off, it does not provide the same benefits and can actually be worse for the blade than a non-coated blade. This is because the areas that are scratched off can create drag and unwanted friction.

The blade has been carved into a clip point blade shape. This is one of the two most popular blade shapes on the market today. It is a good all-purpose blade that is going to excel at piercing. The blade shape is similar to the drop point, but does differ slightly. The spine of the knife extends from the handle to about halfway up the knife. At this point, the spine turns own and continues to the point of the knife. This area looks as if it has been clipped off the knife and is referred to as the clip, which is where the knife shape got its name from. Because of the clip, the point is lowered, which is why this knife is so easily controllable. Also because of the clip, the blade is sharper and thinner at the spine, which is why this knife is going to excel at stabbing. However, this tip shape is also one of the shape’s biggest disadvantages. Because it is so narrow, it does have a tendency to break or chip when being used on harder targets. The clip point blade shape is so versatile because it does feature a very large belly area that will make slicing a piece of cake.

 

The Handle:

The handle on the Doorkicker is made out of polymer. A polymer is a synthetic material that is either a plastic or a resin. Either way, this is a modern material that is going to be durable, but still lightweight. The handle is not completely prone to breaking and can suffer from being brittle, but it will get the job done while also keeping the cost of the Doorkicker down. The handle has been finished black, which creates an all-black knife.

The handle has a unique shape. In the middle of the handle, there are three rounded indents that run down the length of the handle. This will give you more texture and grip when you are using the knife. The spine of the knife is pretty straight, but does have a few rows of jimping-like grooves that are going to give you more texture when you use the knife. The belly of the handle has a finger guard that is enhanced by the flipper when the knife is opened. It then has a rectangular finger groove. This groove has jimping inside of it. The handle then bulges out before curving in toward the butt that does flare out slightly. This handle is going to be comfortable to use for long periods of item and give you the necessary grip for your EDC tasks.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife has been statically designed for tip down carry and only on the traditional side of the handle. The fact that it can only be attached for tip down carry is both an advantage and a disadvantage. This is an advantage because tip down carry is the safer way to carry a knife. This is because if the blade accidentally gets deployed while it is in your pocket, you can still safely reach into your pocket and remove the knife without a blade point waiting to greet you. It is a disadvantage because it will not allow each individual to carry this knife in the way that is most comfortable for them. This pocket clip can also only be attached on the traditional side of the handle. This is a disadvantage because of the same reason: every user is not going to be able to carry this knife in the direction that is most comfortable for them. However, from an aesthetics side, it does look nicer to not have drilled holes all over your knife.

The pocket clip is a deep gray that matches the blade and the handle. The pocket clip is attached by three metallic grey screws that match the rest of the hardware on this knife. The clip is slightly skeletonized to cut down on weight, which is needed on this knife. The pocket clip also tapers triangularly towards the end of the clip.

This is a deep carry pocket clip which means that this knife is going to rest lower in your pocket than an average pocket clip. This accomplishes two things. First, it makes it easier to conceal your knife in your pocket. And second, it keeps the knife more secure inside your pocket so that you can move around more freely without worrying about your knife falling out.

 

The Mechanism:

This is a flipper knife that has been equipped with both a spine flipper as well as a dual thumb stud. The Doorkicker is also equipped with a liner locking mechanism.

The flipper is an opening mechanism that is easy to use once you get the hang of it. At first though, it is going to be the harder of the two opening mechanisms to use. It is a small triangular protrusion that extends off the blade. When the knife is closed, it extends out of the spine of the handle. The user can hold the knife with their hand while using their finger to pull back on the flipper and flip the knife open where it will lock into place. Once the knife is opened, the flipper does act as an enhancement to the finger guard. The flipper is the safer of the two mechanisms to use because when you are opening the knife, it does not put your fingers in the path of the blade like the thumb stud would. The flipper is ambidextrous by design, which is a major advantage.

A dual thumb stud is a thumb stud that extends out on both sides of the blade. This makes it ambidextrous. The thumb stud is probably the most common of opening features on folding knives. It is easy to get the hang of and easy to use. It is a small barrel that sits near the end of the blade where the handle begins. The user holds the knife with one hand and uses their thumb to push on the thumb stud which will flip the knife open. The thumb stud is easy to use, even with just one hand. However, when you are opening the knife, the thumb stud is going to put your hand in the pathway of the blade. There have been plenty of accounts of someone trying to open their knife with a thumb stud and cutting themselves instead. No matter which opening mechanism you choose to use, the knife is going to open smoothly and efficiently.

The Doorkicker has a liner locking mechanism. The liner lock is one of the more common opening mechanisms that you are going to find on folding knives in today’s cutlery industry. The key characteristic of a liner lock is that it has a side spring bar that is located on the same side as the sharpened edge of the blade, which will line the inside of the handle. When the knife is closed, that spring bar is held under tension. When the knife is fully opened, that same spring bar tension slips the bar inward, which puts it in the path of the butt of the blade, which will keep it locked in place. Liner locks are great because they do allow the knife to have two true sides, which does help this knife become more ambidextrous (too bad the pocket clip is not ambidextrous friendly.) While the liner lock is a great mechanism, it is not going to be a great mechanism if you want to do heavier duty tasks. This is because the liner lock is not as durable as other locking mechanisms.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.5 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.8 inches long. The overall length of this knife when it is opened measures in at 8.3 inches long. This knife weighs in at 6.6 ounces, which is definitely a heavier knife. This is partly due to how long the knife is; there is just going to be extra weight with the extra length. But it is also partly due to the fact that it has a stainless steel blade, which is going to add considerable weight to the knife.

 

Conclusion:

The Boker Doorkicker breaks down the notion that all tactically inspired knives need to cost a fortune. Each liner locked designed models sports an all-black tactical profile complete with plenty of ergonomic contouring and each stainless steel blade can be deployed with the use of the spine flipper function or the dual thumb stud design. The Boker Magnum line of knives are designed in cooperation with knife experts worldwide and provide impressive quality and outstanding price-performance ratio. This model features a black soft polymer handle, stainless steel liners, a clip point style blade in a black finish and the extra-long pocket clip is statically designed for tip down carry only on the traditional side of the handle. You can pick up this knife today at BladeOps.