Boker is an interesting company, offering a large selection of knives to suit just about every segment of the knife-buying public. One of the smarter things that they've done is to make a USA-Collectible program for the Boker Plus line. This program was begun in 2009 and we're now in year two!

The 2009 release included a William Johnson design. Viewers of my photo page know that I'm a big enough fan of the design to pick up both the 2009 Collection release (breathtakingly beautiful), as well as the 2010 brown micarta-handled version.

This year's release is a design by David Broadwell. Whereas the Johnson concept was very "burly", Broadwell's edition is a sleek expression whose lines flow very gracefully. Featuring a mirror-polished 440C blade and black micarta handles, the 2010 release offers an interesting contrast to last year's model. The workmanship is reasonably well done, though perhaps not as "tight" as the Johnson blade. My main "knock" on this otherwise excellent knife is that the handle scales are screwed onto the tang with very bland, unimaginative screws. This cheapens the knife and polished pins should have been used instead of screws. That aside, the machining on the micarta is "very good", but not "superb". Still, the knife has an exceptional "balance" to it and feels super fast in the hand. Included is a nicely-made leather sheath. Given the rather affordable price point of the Boker Broadwell, the shortcomings aren't bad enough to detract from the knife's collectible value.

I applaud Boker's "Collection" program. Truly, I enjoy it and look forward to seeing what they do for 2011!