Boker Magnum Leader Knife Review

A fun fact about Boker is that this knife company as one of the first companies to offer ceramic knives as a featured product line. The history of Boker is that it traces its origin to the 17^th century as a tool maker in Germany graduating to swords and blades by the 1800s. And a huge chestnut tree towering above the small Boker hardware-factory in the 17^th century is the oldest traceable fact about the Boker family. Apparently, Boker tools were very successful, because the company claims that it was procuring 200 sabres a week by 1839 for the use in various wars. By the time the 1860s rolled around the company had fractured with a branch of the family emigrating to North American 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. The relationship between the two Boker companies has always been very friendly. In fact, Boker USA was even allowed to take the tree-brand with him across the river without troubles or payments. Since then, not a single product has left the Solingen factory without this sign. This continued until World War II when the Solingen factory as destroyed and Boker USA took control of the trademark until the German factory was rebuilt in the 1950s. In the 1960s and the 1970s the company changed hands several times, with the New York facility (Hermann Boker and Co) shutting down in 1983. In 1986, Boke reacquired the rights to the American brand and Boke USA was started in Denver, Colorado for US production.

Boker USA has four brands that it produces knives from. There is the Boker Premium Collection, the Boker traditional line, the Boker Plus line that focuses on Innovation, and Magnum by Boker, which is designed for price and performance. The Boker Leader, the knife that we are focusing on today, stems from the Magnum brand. When talking about Magnum by Boker, Boker says, “The attractive brand form Boker with a great price-performance ration. The concept takes place in Solingen, design, construction, and finishing in overseas. Magnum offers a wide range of knives form all categories, from traditional pocket knives to hunting knives and modern knives. Latest lock technologies and knife trends also for price-sensitive customers.

The knife that we are talking about today is the Boker Magnum 01MB702 OD Green/Tan Leader Flipper Knife, with a dark grey blade.

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of 440B stainless steel. This steel comes from the 440 series of steel. There are three different types of 440 steel: 440A, 440B, and 440C. 440B steel is a low cost stainless steel. It has a carbon content range of .75%-.95% and is almost identical to 440A stainless steel except for the carbon content. This type of stele is not commonly seen in knives. This type of steel can be hardened to about Rc 58, it has good corrosion resistance, and is actually tougher than 440C. However, 440B is inferior to 440C in edge retention, edge sharpness, and is not a premium steel. But, 440B is more ductile than 440C and less brittle. Because of this, it is easier to machine and easier to sharpen as well, making it a cheaper blade steel for production purposes.

The blade on this knife has been finished with a dark grey finish. This is a coated finish that reduces the reflection and glare while reducing wear and corrosion. However, all coatings can be scratched off after continuous heavy use, and the blade would have to be re-coated. Coatings can prolong the life of a blade by preventing corrosion or rust. Quality coatings add cost to the knife, but will provide more corrosion resistance, less reflection, and require less maintenance.

The blade on this knife is carved into a drop point style blade. The drop point blade shape is a great all-purpose knife that can really stand up to almost anything. A drop point blade is one of the most popular blade shapes that is in use today. The back, or unsharpened, edge of the knife runs straight from he handles to the tip of the knife in a slow curved manner, which creates a lowered point. It is this lowered point that provides more control and adds strength to the tip. While the tip on a drop point is not as sharp as the tip on a clip point, it is much stronger. Because of this tip strength and the ability to hold up to heavy use, drop point blades are very popular on tactical and survival knives. And because the point on a drop point blade is easily controllable, they are a popular choice on hunting knives. It is the lowered, controllable point that makes it easier to avoid accidently nicking internal organs and ruining the meat. One of the reasons that the drop point blade shape is so versatile is because of the large belly area that is perfect for slicing. One of the biggest advantages of the drop point blade shape is also one of its biggest (and only) disadvantages: the broad tip. It is this broad tip that provides the point strength that you find on drop point knives and do not find on clip point knives. However, because of how broad the tip is, it does significantly reduce your stabbing capabilities with the Boker Leader. If you are looking for an all-purpose knife that doe shave stabbing capabilities, you should be looking for a knife with a clip point blade shape. But, when you have the stabbing capabilities, you will lose a decent amount of the strength behind it.

To keep the Leader such a good EDC knife, Boker has kept the edge on this blade plain. The plain edge is one continuous sharpened blade that makes it easier to sharpen and easier to get a finer edge. The plain edge is going to excel at push cuts, which are tasks such as peeling, skinning, and slicing. However, because it is a plain edge, you are going to have to sharpen your blade more often than if it were a serrated edge. The plain edge is easily the more traditional edge style out of serrated, plain, and the combo edge.

 

The Handle:
The handle on this knife has been made out of G-10. G-10 is a grade of Garolite that is a laminate composite made of fiberglass. IT has very similar properties to carbon fiber, yet it can be produced for almost a fraction of the cost. This is because the material is slightly inferior to carbon fiber, but you’ll still get a lot of the qualities that you are searching for. To make this material, the manufacturer takes layers of fiberglass cloth and soaks them in resin, then compresses them and bakes them under pressure. The resulting material from this process is extremely tough, very hard, super lightweight, and still strong. In fact, G-10 is supposed to be the toughest of all the fiberglass resin laminates and stronger than Micarta (although it is more brittle than Micarta). The process of designing the G-10 makes it impervious to liquid and physically stable under extreme temperature fluctuations. G-10 is most commonly black, but is available in various colors, and is usually extremely non slip. In fact, G-10 gives you similar traction whether in wet or dry environments, and sometimes even give you better grip in the rough conditions. Because this material is such a lightweight material, it keeps the weigh to your knife down, so that you aren’t weighed down with this knife in your pocket.

You can get almost any color handle and you can even get a multi-colored handle because of the layering process used to make G-10. On the Boker Leader, the handle is Olive Drab Green and Tan.

The handle has four large divots going down the length of the handle. There are four grooves going down the bottom of the handle, giving your fingers a comfortable place to rest—even if you end up using this knife for long periods of time. The butt of the handle is flat, meaning that you can use it as a hammer if needed. Because this knife is a flipper, there is a finger guard to help keep your fingers safe from slipping and being sliced.

The liners on this handle are made out of stainless steel, which add durability and strength to the handle without weighing it down too much.

On the butt of the handle, there is a lanyard hole that has a generously dimensioned slit. This slit can even accommodate strong leather straps.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is statically designed for tip down carry only on the traditional side of the handle. The clip is finished with a satin finish and kept in place by two small screws that match the other hardware on this knife. IN the middle of the clip, there have been three small ovals cut out to add aesthetic.

 

The Mechanism:

The mechanism of this knife is a flipper mechanism with a liner lock. This is an assisted-opening knife, which means that it is a type of folding knife which uses an internal mechanism to finish the opening of the blade once the user has partially opened it using a flipper. The flipper mechanism is a small, triangular protrusion that juts out of the spine of the handle when the knife is closed. You pull back on this protrusion and it flips the blade out of the handle. Flipper knives offer another way to smoothly open both spring assisted and manual folding knives. The flipper is normally located on the spine of the knife as part of the blade The blade is deployed by using the index finger to pull back on it, which not only keeps your hands at a safe distance from the blade but also gives you an added finger guard once the blade is opened. If you are at all concerned for the safety of your thumb, a flipper knife will be more to your liking.

The liner locks are one of the more common mechanism that are seen on folding knives. This mechanisms’ characteristic component is a side spring bar located on the same side as sharp edge of the blade, “lining” the inside of the handle. When the knife is closed, the spring bar is held under tension. When fully opened, that tension slips the bar inward to make contact with the butt of the blade, keeping it firmly in place and preventing it from closing. To disengage a liner lock, you have to use your thumb to push the spring bar “down” so that it clears contact form the butt of the blade. This lets you sue your index finger to push the blade just enough so that it keeps the bar pushed down so you can remove your thumb from the blade path, then continue to safely close the knife.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 3.7 inches long, with the handle measuring in at 4.7 inches long. The overall length of the knife is 8.4 inches long with the Leader weighing in at 5.2 ounces.

 

Conclusion:

The Leader is one of many new mid-year models released by Boker this summer. Each liner lock designed model features a stainless steel blade that is seamlessly deployed with the spine flipper function and a gentle flick of the wrist and the darkened finished nature of the blade is great for hiding wear marks from all the tasks you will be able to accomplish with this workhorse. Couple those aspects with the elongated lanyard hole and multi-colored striped design and you have a product that is an all-in-one. 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 two-toned olive drab green and tan colored G-10 handles, stainless steel liners, a drop point style blade in a dark grey finish and the pocket clip is statically designed for tip down carry only on the traditional side of the handle. This is a real trendsetter that you should pick up today at BladeOps.