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Franklin Mint 1989 Knife Collection Made by Boker

I have seen advertised knives from the Franklin Mint 1989 Collection that the owner swears are made by Boker.

The knives are marked on one side: Solingen, W.Germany and on the other 89FR.

I have never known Boker to use the W.Germany marking but only Germany.

I know that the Franklin Mint is known for pretty knives but not the quality of a German made Boker.

Anyone have any information one way or the other about this?

Thanks

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on January 8, 2013 at 11:38

Well I talked to the folks at Franklin Mint and they just don't know. It possible it is a SFO by Boker for Franklin Mint. we will see if anyone has an opinion from the Boker side.

Permalink Reply by Art Cooper on January 8, 2013 at 14:29

Thanks.

What is SFO?

Steve Hanner said:

Well I talked to the folks at Franklin Mint and they just don't know. It possible it is a SFO by Boker for Franklin Mint. we will see if anyone has an opinion from the Boker side.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on January 8, 2013 at 14:45

Sorry Art, it stands for Special Factory Order. So it is entirely possible Boker in 1989 made these "under contract" to Franklin Mint. Franklin Mint then went on to sell them, which they are good at. It is possible Boker used the tang stamp mentioned. With that said, Boker has made contract knives for a LOT of companies and stamped them however they wanted throughout the years. We will see if our friends at Boker have any records to match this up. Stay tuned!

Permalink Reply by Art Cooper on January 11, 2013 at 8:22

Just had communication with Terry at Boker and he confirmed that Boker did in fact make a series of knives for the Franklin Mint in 1989 and they were likely stamped West Germany. That was all he could find out.

So it is likely that this series was in fact made by Boker.

Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on January 11, 2013 at 13:17

Thats is an awesome piece of information. Franklin mint knives are not known for holding their value but something proving they are Bokers makes it more collectible!

Good work Art!

Permalink Reply by Art Cooper on January 11, 2013 at 13:25

Keep in mind that Boker did not say this was the series they made. They did make only one series for FM.

I agree with you Jan and am looking to add these to my collection.

Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on January 11, 2013 at 18:43

So happy you had a chance to talk with them and found that information. If you do get them we would love to see them.

Art Cooper said:

Just had communication with Terry at Boker and he confirmed that Boker did in fact make a series of knives for the Franklin Mint in 1989 and they were likely stamped West Germany. That was all he could find out.

So it is likely that this series was in fact made by Boker.

Permalink Reply by Art Cooper on February 11, 2013 at 11:51

This is a photo of the full set with the display case made for it. I do not have this but am trying to get there. I have 5 of the 12 and no doubt in my mind they are made by Boker. The second fixed blade down, the Damascus, has a steel pattern very much like what Boker was making in the late 1980s.

If anyone is interested I have two duplicates in this collection; the top fixed blade, the Grizzly and the first folder on the left, the White Tail Deer.

Permalink Reply by Art Cooper on February 27, 2013 at 16:56

I now have gotten 11 of the 12 and the display case. They are lovely and well made knives. Based on all the info I have from Boker, the quality of these knives, the Damascus Steel hunter and the unusually high quality of the display case, I have no doubt these are in fact made by Boker.

Intererstingly, if you note the fixed blade hunter at the top of the display, it is traditionally a Grizzly Bear but they also apparently also made same exact knife with a wild boar. I have it as well.

In buying these over the last two months, I have duplicates of the Grizzly and the White Tailed deer(first folder on left from the top) that I would part with. By the by, I also have some Boker Annual Damascus duplicates that I also would trade or part with.

Art Cooper said:

This is a photo of the full set with the display case made for it. I do not have this but am trying to get there. I have 5 of the 12 and no doubt in my mind they are made by Boker. The second fixed blade down, the Damascus, has a steel pattern very much like what Boker was making in the late 1980s.

If anyone is interested I have two duplicates in this collection; the top fixed blade, the Grizzly and the first folder on the left, the White Tail Deer.

Permalink Reply by Brian Zoll on July 7, 2013 at 13:38

Hi there, I am Brian, I have been following the discussion about this knife collection from Franklin Mint, since I own a set, I bought in 89, I was planning to sell them, but after discovering the Boker part, I am having second thoughts.

It is a really well built set, each knife individually is very sturdy and full of detail. I still have to check if I own a wild boar or the bear one. (I just moved, and my knives have been stored for the last 5 years) I haven't reassembled it yet.

I was wondering what the overall value would be after almost 25 years. It is complete and has the show case, which was added after all knives were received.

A little about me, I have been collecting knives since my dad handed down a bowie (no brand, but built to last) he got from his dad. I think I was 10 or so. I have a small collection, since I stopped paying for knives but strictly trade whenever I get the change. (I have about 150 knives total) Being in the military, I am especially interested in military survival knives, or pilot rescue knives. (the pride of my collection would be a weird looking knife from the Polish Air Force. (will post a pic in the future)

Permalink Reply by Art Cooper on July 7, 2013 at 14:22

Good to hear from you. The market for all Boker knives appears to have softened in the last several years, so values are down from what they will be in the future. At least I hope that will be the case, since that is half of my collection (125+ Boker, mostly Damascus blades).

As to value for the FM Sportsman knives, that varies for any given day. I paid $ 150 for the only Damascus steel knife in the set but 3 months later saw it for $75. Complete sets have been offered recently for $ 1,000. I have paid from $30-$65 per knife collecting them. I paid $95 for the empty display cabinet. Suggest you browse e-bay under Franklin Mint Knives and look at those price ranges. See what people are asking. What they ask is not necessarily what they actually get but it will give you the best idea of value others place on these knives.

Regarding your interest in survival or "war ready" knives, suggest you take a look at the Entrek USA knife site. They have some wonderful knives. I have two of theirs; the Silhouette and the Fighting Falcon.

Good luck.

Brian Zoll said:

Hi there, I am Brian, I have been following the discussion about this knife collection from Franklin Mint, since I own a set, I bought in 89, I was planning to sell them, but after discovering the Boker part, I am having second thoughts.

It is a really well built set, each knife individually is very sturdy and full of detail. I still have to check if I own a wild boar or the bear one. (I just moved, and my knives have been stored for the last 5 years) I haven't reassembled it yet.

I was wondering what the overall value would be after almost 25 years. It is complete and has the show case, which was added after all knives were received.

A little about me, I have been collecting knives since my dad handed down a bowie (no brand, but built to last) he got from his dad. I think I was 10 or so. I have a small collection, since I stopped paying for knives but strictly trade whenever I get the change. (I have about 150 knives total) Being in the military, I am especially interested in military survival knives, or pilot rescue knives. (the pride of my collection would be a weird looking knife from the Polish Air Force. (will post a pic in the future)

Permalink Reply by Jay Barbieri on January 11, 2014 at 10:04

Hey everyone. Just joined this becasue I was looking for this exact info on the Franklin Mint Wildlife collection. Turns out there are a few sets of 12 for sale here and there but they do seem hard to come by. I'm actually selling several pieces in my collection so that's what prompted me to start some research. I actually have all 18 knifes not just the 12. Franklin Mint offered and addition 6 knives, these were really hard to get info on, especially with cases., which I also have, actually 2 of each. As I said I'm selling a lot of things and have values for everything but this set. Can anyone suggest what I should be selling the for? As I said its the complete set of all 18 with cases. I have a broker I use but was thinking to maybe sell these through e-bay or some how myself. I really want them to go to someone how can appreciate them. I used a picture from this blog as an attachments with the other 6 I have. I'll be taking my collection out of storage today so I can post the actual pics. They are all mint condition. Any ideas here? And becasue becasue I'm new here is it OK to get help setting values?