Is This The End?

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Aimus Moses
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Is This The End?

Post by Aimus Moses »

How many of you watch SMKW KnivesLiveTV? I watched it last Tuesday and they showed a German Boker Tree Brand knife that they offer for sale and said that all the new German stamped Boker knives now have all their parts imported but assembled in Solingen Germany. The parts are imported from Asia ::barf:: , no name of any certain country was said. Is this the end of the Solingen German Boker steel? :( If I wanted an Asian knife I'd buy a Rough Rider or a current made Schrade. I bought German Bokers because of the good Solingen German made steel. From now on I guess I'll have to stick with buying Boker U.S.A., unless I find out the parts for those are also imported from Asia too. Schrade goes to Asia, Case goes to Asia, now Boker. Who's next? It's beginning to look sad for all knives futures. ::facepalm::

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philco
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by philco »

Aimus I recently bought a new Boker smooth bone trapper off ebay. When I got it I discovered that the tang stamp did not mention Solingen and that the Boker shield said "Germany" rather than "Solingen" like my other Bokers did. Something's up for sure but the idea of stamping out the parts in Asia then shipping them back to Germany for assembly does not make sense to me. The biggest appeal for Asian production is the cheap labor available. To bring the parts back to Germany for assembly would mean that most of the labor of making the knives would still be done at the more expensive German wage rate. I'm a bit confused as to what they'd be gaining.

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Aimus Moses
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by Aimus Moses »

It doesn't make sense to me either Phil but that's what they said on KnivesLiveTV last Tuesday. I first thought they were talking about the Boker Plus line but it wasn't. It is the German stamped knives being made with all parts being imported from Asia. ::shrug::

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Miller Bro's
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by Miller Bro's »

philco wrote:The biggest appeal for Asian production is the cheap labor available. To bring the parts back to Germany for assembly would mean that most of the labor of making the knives would still be done at the more expensive German wage rate. I'm a bit confused as to what they'd be gaining.
Phil, they are doing the same thing over here with just about everything. I was talking to someone the other day about of all things a casket company that use to employ a lot of people around here for a very long time, they moved out of state years ago and to my surprise are still in business. I asked if they are still making them or importing them from China? He said they import all the pieces/parts to make a casket from China and assemble them here in the U.S. and sell them as "American Made" ::uc:: ::sneaky:: , technically they are American made, just with crap made in China ::disgust::

So I assume this practice is spreading all over the world, as is the case with the new Boker knives ::shrug::
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rangerbluedog
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by rangerbluedog »

I'm thinking a lot of the labor cost is tied up in the stamping & prepping of the blades, and prepping & jigging the handles. If all that is done in C-Land, the assembly can be somewhat automated, with the skilled German craftsmen doing the final smoothing.
The price of these new Bokers is more than the Boker Plus and Magnum knives, but with the same jigging patterns.
A Boker USA guy somewhat circumvented my question when I asked him about it, but I assumed this was what he meant when he said, "we had to do something to keep the prices down."
I think most of the work done in Solingen nowadays is on the high end damascus market.... :(

I gotta get me one of the "new" Bokers, just to compare the quality.
But I think this is just another sign of the traditional knife market sliding down the slippery slope.
Most of the guys buying the TACTICOOLS don't particularly care where they are made...
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philco
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by philco »

Rangerbluedog Quote:

"Most of the guys buying the TACTICOOLS don't particularly care where they are made..."


I'll agree with that statement but take it one step further. Most pocket knife buyers (remember collectors are only a small part of the cutlery market) couldn't care less where the knife is made as long as it cuts and is priced affordably.
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rangerbluedog
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by rangerbluedog »

True dat!
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by big monk »

Maybe a lot of the cost, is in producing the steel ???___ they have put so many ""pollution control laws"" into effect in the USA,that a lot of companies import parts,rather than make them ???____ I know that around here,all the manufactoring plants,had to install filters and noise mufflers,that cost them big $$$$$$___ and a few years back,I was buying a ""tin tub""___the guy said,they were made in USA,sent to Mexico to be ""galvanized"",then sent back to USA for sale ::shrug:: __that explained the high cost ??? I guess ??? ::dang:: ::dang::
I'm not young enough,____to know everything !!!!!!!!!!!!

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zippofan
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by zippofan »

Anyone know if the Congress carver is all Solingen or not? It's caught my eye but for the price I want all German.

I see this all the time with wrist watches and it can get very controversial, especially when it involves some expensive Swiss specialty brands (>$2000) with parts and/or assembly in Asia. It's been a pet peeve of mine, if it's made in <fill in country here>, just say so. Then I can decide whether or not to spend my money.

I know there are laws in Switzerland that says x amount of the value must be from Swiss parts and labor, but as far as I know (with regards to watches anyway) there is no such law in Germany. There are many watches that are referred to as "Germasian", they have a German name and are boxed up there, but everything else is done somewhere in the Far East.
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rangerbluedog
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by rangerbluedog »

One thing you can count on - for now.
If a new Boker knife has the SOLINGEN shield, it is still made in Solingen, Germany.
If it has the new GERMANY shield, it is made in China and "finished" in Germany.
Authentic Solingen made shield
Authentic Solingen made shield
Solingen1960s.jpg (42.2 KiB) Viewed 3527 times
New &quot;Traditional&quot; series
New "Traditional" series

Of course, all of the BOKER PLUS and MAGNUM knives are Asian made.
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1967redrider
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by 1967redrider »

Thanks for the info guys. I knew Plus and Magnum were Chinese but thought the rest were USA or German. Assembled in Germany from Chinese parts doesn't work for me as far as collector knives go.
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rangerbluedog
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by rangerbluedog »

That's the good news about Boker USA. Even though they haven't been made in the USA since 1984 or so, there are still plenty in mint condition at a great price. If you see the BOKER USA tang stamp, it was made either in Maplewood, NJ or Statesville, GA!
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zippofan
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Re: Is This The End?

Post by zippofan »

Boker Carver Congress on the way :D
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