Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shlomo ben Maved on September 17, 2011 at 13:58

I'm going to have to say none of the above.

 

I didn't think that Boker USA produced knives prior to 1986 (with that label) when it formed in Denver, Colo. after Cooper, who bought the rights from Wiss & Sons in the 1970s. gave those rights back to Boker when Cooper closed in 1983 at least that's what I've come to understand from the Boker Knife History pages.

 

I've only been collecting them for a few years now.

Permalink Reply by Ricky Ray on September 17, 2011 at 17:39

I'll wait to see if anyone else wants to take a stab at it before I reveal the answer.

Along with the tang stamp, this knife has a few other clues to look at and consider.

The scales are delrin.

The "New Britain Machine Co" blade etch.

Look closely at the tree shield.

Thanks for playing guys, this is fun for a Boker knife nerd like me....

Permalink Reply by Roger Russell on September 17, 2011 at 19:19

1965-1968.   

 

The New Britain Machine Company owned Boker during that time frame.

Permalink Reply by Ricky Ray on September 18, 2011 at 8:22

Thanks for playing guys!

The correct answer is 'C', 1965-1968.

Ron was correct in stating that the BOKER USA tang stamp was used on US made Bokers from 1945-1983.

The handle material is delrin. Boker began using delrin handle materials in the early 1960s.

If you look closely at the tree shield in the handle, there is no "trademark registered" symbol (r). Bokers made in the US started adding the trademark symbol around 1976.

But the big clue is the blade etch. Roger nailed it when he said that New Britain owned Boker USA from 1965-1968.

After that, Boker USA was owned by: Litton Industries (end of 1968), J. Wiss (1969-1976), and finally the Cooper Tool Group (1977-1983). When Cooper halted the US production of Boker knives, H. Boker (Solingen) was able to reacquire the rights to the Tree Brand trademark in the US. The BOKER USA that is currently in Colorado was started around 1986 to import the Solingen made knives and service the US customer base.

Thanks again, I hope you enjoyed the trivia!

Permalink Reply by Shlomo ben Maved on September 18, 2011 at 9:21

There is some conflicting information to partners and time frame here with what’s on the official Boker site.

 

I don't have a definitive history of Boker--as I said, just started collecting them a few years ago and not very aggressively but it looks as I'm going to have to get one...As stated I'm only going by what I've gleamed from both the Boker and The New Britain history pages.

I didn’t think that NBMCo had anything to do with Boker since they went under (sold off) in 1972 as a part of Litton Industries and Boker was being produced by Wiss & Sohns during that time frame…Also, they are never mentioned in any of the Boker information as being a manufacturer of their knives or any mention in the New Britain history either.

I didn’t think that after the war, until the mid 1970s that Boker was allowed to sell under their own name or the tree brand logo in the USA and from Boker “In the early 60s, Boker USA was sold and eventually acquired by the well-known scissors manufacturer Wiss & Sohns” who sold them to Cooper Industries (1972) and then Boker moved back to Germany until 1986 when they re-opened in Denver, Colo.

 

NBMCo.  (c.)1887–1972 was owned by themselves until buying Husky Tools in the 1930s and Blackhawk Tools in 1955 and they were acquired by The Litton Industrial Products in 1972 until they were sold off in the late 1970s and were finally acquired by Stanley Tools…The company made socket sets for Craftsmen (Sears), Mac Tools and Pennycraft (J.C. Penney).

 

 

Permalink Reply by Ricky Ray on September 18, 2011 at 13:55

A lot of the source of confusion for Boker knives is that there were at least two separate companies manufacturing knives using the tree brand logo. H. Boker and Company in the USA was a separate company from the Heinrich Boker in Solingen Germany. However, they always had close business and family ties. thus, the USA Bokers have been the main US importers for the knives from Solingen.

It is difficult to track the history of Boker due to the destruction of the Solingen plant during WW2, as well as the series of corporate buyouts in the US during the 1960s and 1970s. Many records were lost or destroyed.

The best resource for Boker history that I have found comes from Mark Zalesky's excellent article in KNIFEWORLD. Mark's article can be found on the German Boker website: Boker History Article

On page 8 of this article is where it details the many changes of Boker in the US during the mid 1960s and after.

I keep hoping that someday someone will come along and write the definitive Boker history book, but thus far Mark's article is the absolute best I've seen.