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Boker has been making high-quality knives for literally hundreds of years. They have learned a thing or two about what it takes to make knives that everyday people can depend on. Boker has an extensive catalog of knives that span a wide variety of intended use cases and price points. Recently they have made a name for themselves in the budget knife space. Even more recently, they have branched out into the premium knife market more. Choosing a Boker knife that is right for you might feel slightly overwhelming because of the sheer number of different models to look through. So I put together this buyers guide to help you navigate a few of their top knives from different categories.
Key Takeaways
- The Bronco is Boker’s Best Survival Knife.
- The AK1 is the Best EDC Fixed Blade from BokerB.
- The Best Push Button Automatic is the Boker Karakurt.
- The Most Unique Boker Knife is the Boker Slike manual OTF.
- The Sherman is a great Premium Boker EDC Knife.
- The Kwaiken Button Lock is a solid mid-range Boker EDC Knife.
- The Best Budget Boker EDC Knife is the Kihon with a cross bar lock.
- The Best Tactical Boker Knife is the USA-made Boker OTF.
Top Picks
- Best Survival Fixed Blade: Boker Bronco Survival Knife
- Best EDC Fixed Blade: Boker AK1 Red Richlite
- Best Push Button Automatic: Boker Karakurt
- Most Unique: Boker Slike Manual OTF
- Best Premium EDC Knife: Boker Sherman
- Best Mid-Range EDC Knife: Boker Kwaiken Button Lock
- Best Budget EDC Knife: Boker Kihon Crossbar Lock
- Best Tactical Knife: Boker OTF Auto
Best Survival Fixed Blade : Boker Bronco Survival Knife
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The Boker Bronco is a full-sized fixed blade ready for some serious work. The Bronco is machined from a solid block of CPM-3V steel, which is one of, if not the best, steel for outdoor and survival use. CPM-3V is an outstandingly tough carbon steel that holds an edge very well and has pretty decent corrosion resistance. As with any knife, having top-notch steel is a great benefit, but it isn't the only thing that makes a knife great. The handle on the Boker Bronco is made out of TPE, which is a very grippy, durable, and utilitarian polymer handle material that lends itself well for what the Bronco was designed for. The TPE material wraps completely around the full tang of the knife, giving you a supremely comfortable grip in just about every grip style. It is also completely waterproof, and because of the texturing, the knife will stay right where it needs to be even if you have wet hands. The leather sheath that comes with the knife is good and will serve you well. The sheath also has a ferro rod sleeve that allows you to keep a firestarter without worrying about losing it. Overall, the Bronco is my top choice for the best hard-use survival style fixed blade from Boker.
Best EDC Fixed Blade: Boker AK1 Red Richlite
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The Boker AK1 has become an extremely popular EDC fixed blade in the last year or two. The AK1 comes in a variety of blade shapes, blade steels, and handle materials, and it is very customizable. I chose the AK1 as Boker’s best EDC fixed blade mainly because of how easy it is to carry. I normally prefer to carry a folder most days because I don’t like having to worry about how to mount a sheath on my belt or wear a knife on my neck. It’s just an overly cumbersome experience. However, the AK1 solves many of these issues for me. The sheath is designed to be carried in the pocket, just like a normal folding pocket knife. This makes carrying a fixed blade feel so much better. Removing the knife from the sheath is simple and easy to do because it is the same motion as you are used to with a folder. My favorite part is how easy it is to replace the knife in the sheath. No need to worry about accidentally stabbing yourself like you’d normally expect with a scout carry sheath. It’s just a quick and seamless fixed blade experience that I’d highly recommend to anyone who is curious about carrying a fixed blade every day. The steel on this variant of the AK1 is the somewhat exotic-sounding RWL-34, which is extremely similar to its American counterpart the CPM-154. The AK1 is very well balanced in terms of performance, with good edge retention, great corrosion resistance, and decent toughness. Overall, if you’re looking for a stellar EDC fixed blade option from the Boker catalog, this AK1 is my top recommendation.
Best Push Button Automatic: Boker Karakurt
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Boker is known for making some fantastic push button automatic knives. The Kalashnikov series has been a bestseller in the category for years because of their reliable performance and great price point. But I wouldn’t put those knives in the top tier of push button autos like I would with the Boker Karakurt. This knife is a serious contender for being one of the best autos on the market regardless of brand and is easily my top choice for best Boker Push Button Automatic. The Karakurt is a collaboration between Boker, Hogue knives, and Jesper Voxnaes to bring a hard-hitting automatic action developed by Hogue to a very ergonomic and well designed footprint from an industry icon, backed by hundreds of years of knife-making experience that Boker brings to the table. The Karakurt is a versatile and ultimately enjoyable knife to carry. It’s more than capable of handling basic EDC cutting tasks and retains some good tactical functionality. If you’re looking to get into the world of high-end automatic knives, then I would highly recommend considering the Boker Karakurt.
Most Unique: Boker Slike Manual OTF
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Probably one of the most singular knives that I’ve seen hit the market in the last three years is the Boker Slike. When it first dropped, it was an instant hit. Sellout after sellout, the Slike was rising to the top of every retailer's bestseller list. Nobody really saw this one coming – except for Boker, of course. They found a small corner of the knife market that was begging for a well made, affordable, manual OTF knife that was legal to carry in most locations. Because the blade is deployed manually with a thumb slide, everyone who has been dying to get their hands on an OTF without fear of legal repercussions can finally experience what it’s like to carry one of these iconic knives. The Slike has been lovingly labeled the “SlowTF” by many, but don’t let the funny word play sway your judgment. The Slike has a small double-edged dagger-style blade and a really cool feature that lets you lock the blade halfway deployed, allowing you to use this knife for more precise cuts, or for times when you might not need the full blade exposed. The handle is machined out of durable yet lightweight aluminum and has a great pocket clip. The Slike is a true OTF knife, shrunk down, and stripped of all the unnecessary mechanics that traditional OTF knives often struggle with, leaving you with a very utilitarian and legal OTF that won’t break the bank or your reputation around town.
Best Premium EDC Knife: Boker Sherman
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We’re right in the middle of what seems like the knife industry equivalent of the Gold Rush. Nearly every knife maker out there seems to be racing to make more high-end knives with premium materials at higher price points. Why? Because that’s what is selling right now. Boker has obviously been paying attention and have made a few entries into the premium knife market recently that have stood out among the crowd. The Sherman is my top choice for the Best Premium Boker EDC knife for a few reasons.
The first is the blade steel and second, the handle material choice for this variant of the Sherman: CPM-Magnacut and Marble carbon fiber. CPM-Magnacut has taken over the entire knife market in the last two years. It has all the qualities you’d expect ultra premium blade steel to possess, but it does it in a unique way, making Magnacut one of the most well balanced steels ever produced. The inclusion of Magnacut in the production of the Boker Sherman was a fantastic choice and truly makes this one of, if not their best, high-end EDC knife because of it. The handle material is also very nice on the Sherman. Marbled carbon fiber is tough, sleek, and ultra lightweight – and flat-out cool looking. No, it’s not the lightest knife in the world, but the carbon fiber is doing its best to keep the weight down.
There’s another feature on the Sherman that unfortunately I feel may be overlooked to many who haven’t had the chance to experience it in person. That feature is the rolling ball bearing that is integrated into the pocket clip. I love this feature. I have carried a few knives with it in the past and have been nothing but impressed. Because I constantly have knives going in and out of my pockets, the edges of most of my pockets are shredded from the clips on my knives. The rolling ball that Boker has chosen to include on the Sherman design makes the knife glide seamlessly in and out of your pocket without destroying the denim. Honesty, these quality of life improvements should be more celebrated but I think are overshadowed by more exciting topics like steel and lock types.
Best Mid-Range EDC Knife: Boker Kwaiken Button Lock
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Burnley design, titanium handle scales, button lock flipper, CPM-S35VN steel. These are the main characteristics that make the Kwaiken Button Lock Flipper one of my favorite Boker knives overall, and especially at its mid-range price point. The Kwaiken has become somewhat of an iconic knife, designed by Lucas Burnley and produced by Boker Knives. The Kwaiken comes in a ton of different styles and sizes. My favorite is this variant because of the buttery smooth button lock action and titanium scales. This knife is perfect for EDC. With its 3” blade and beautifully textured titanium handle scales, you might not want to carry anything else after giving this thing a go. Everything about this knife is dialed in, making this knife feel way more expensive than it really is. If you’re looking to get a high-end knife without paying high-end prices, then the Boker Kwaiken Button Lock is the way to go.
Best Budget EDC Knife: Boker Kihon Crossbar Lock
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If you need a no-nonsense cutting tool that can handle just about anything you could ever need a knife for, the Boker Kihon is a fantastic option. This particular version of the Kihon features an ultra-strong crossbar locking mechanism and a stout D2 steel blade. This combination of traits makes the Kihon a perfect EDC companion. For its price, I’d argue that the Kihon is one of the best overall EDC knives you can buy at the moment. However, there are a few drawbacks some might be concerned about, like the GFN polymer handle scales and the wire pocket clip. These material and design choices are the compromise that Boker had to make in order to keep the price point as low as possible. With that being said, I personally really like wire pocket clips because they don’t shred your pockets like a milled titanium clip does. And I think they look quite nice aesthetically. The GFN handle scales aren’t a huge drawback for me, either. They are nicely textured and reinforced where it matters, so no need to worry about strength here. No, the Kihon is not an ultra-luxurious piece of pocket jewelry; it’s not supposed to be. This knife is intended to bring us more budget-minded people a knife that is built to work, that was designed by one of the most renowned knife designers in the world – something that I think a lot of people take for granted in today’s world.
Best Tactical Knife: Boker OTF Auto
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Tactical and Boker understandably aren't two words that a lot of people would use in the same sentence. However, that’s different with the Boker OTF. This double-action automatic knife brings those two worlds together quite nicely. This OTF is a very nice option for those who want a hard-hitting, ultra-sharp, tactical OTF without the insane price tag that is often attached. For a solid price, you get a very nice, cnc machined aluminum handle, 154cm blade steel, and an easy-to-use thumb slide for quick and easy blade deployment. When I first handled the Boker OTF, I was quite impressed with the quality of the action and overall fit and finish of the knife. Most other OTF thumb slides aren't so easy to manipulate. That was the one feature that really stood out to me here: it was quite easy to actuate the thumb slide quickly, making this knife quite satisfying to fidget with. The blade steel admittedly isn’t the greatest I've ever seen, but it isn’t the worst, either. It doesn't really matter too much if you think about what this knife was intended for. OTF knives are not knives that you bring to the job site, or camping. These are knives that are intended to be used as self-defense tools, so as long as the edge is sharp and not rusted, the knife is going to do its job. I would rank this knife as one of the top automatic OTF knives on the market, and certainly one of the best Boker knives to date. If you decide to pull the trigger on this one, you won't be disappointed.
How To Choose The Best Boker Knife
Use Case
Boker offers an extensive catalog of knives that are intended for different uses. So when you are looking for the best Boker knife, you need to understand exactly how you are going to be using your knife. There's a few broad use case categories that Boker focuses on when producing knives. These are everyday carry, outdoor use like camping, and tactical applications. They certainly make other knives that fit into other niches, but these are the big three Boker is known for. So choosing one is a great place to start.
Price Point
Boker makes knives that span a range of price points from budget to extremely high-end premium priced products. They truly make something for everyone. So decide what you can comfortably afford and stick to that price range. You are guaranteed to find something that you like.
Material Choice
Materials and price point go hand-in-hand in the knife industry. High-end materials command higher prices. So first determine what your price point is, and search for a knife with the best materials in that price range. For budget knives, look for blade steel like D2 or better. This is a great steel option and is quite affordable. For mid-range knives, look for 154cm or better. And for high-end knives, you’ll be looking for M390, Magnacut, or similar. Handle materials can vary greatly between price points, so looking for the steel that you want is the most important thing.
Why Trust Us
I have worked in the knife industry full-time for four years now and have had the opportunity to handle, test, and compare thousands of knives from basically every maker. I have extensive hands-on experience with so many great and not so great knives, which has allowed me to develop some pretty well informed preferences and opinions on mankind's oldest tool.
Related: Boker Plus Titan review
FAQ
Question: Are Boker knives good?
Answer: Yes, Boker makes great knives, especially in the budget to mid-range price points. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better budget knife maker with such a great reputation out there right now. You can find just about any type of knife in nearly any price point, allowing you some pretty decent variety to choose from.
Question: What are Boker knives used for?
Answer: Boker makes a huge variety of knives with an equally vast array of use cases, ranging from simple, budget EDC knives, to ultra-premium collectables. If there is a use case, there is probably a Boker knife that will work quite well no matter the budget.
