Are Boker King Cutters back in production?

Gents, sorry if this has been asked/answered before, I probably missed it. But check this out...Boker King Cutter Spanish Point Straight Razor 140502 - eBay (item 260357124241 end time Mar-05-09 19:05:01 PST)

Here's a cut and paste of the description...

"The new edition of a classic piece from 1906. To improve the cutting capability, real silver was added to the blade steel. Even today the structure of the blade surface is refined by the addition of silver, which improves the shaving result significantly. The carbon steel blade has the popular Spanish Point. The so called tapered hollow point of this blade can only be ground by highly experienced experts. Blade size 5/8". The handle scales are made of authentic buffalo horn. Each piece is serialized and comes in a historical box with a certificate of authenticity."

What a gorgeous razor. Are these in current production, and if so, by what manufacturer? Possibly yet another Dovo sub-brand?


Edit: Looks like I answered my own question... a bit of searching around revealed a few places selling these. So yeah, they are definitely newly minted.

What'dya think Pizza, Is it NOS? We should get Lynn in on this or Glen.....I'd like one.

This is my take on this type blades if blade doesn't have name on the shank =fake,sorry this is what think

I am not sure that they are fake, check this website:

Böker - Your Knife Made In Solingen

Perhaps other with more knowledge could elaborate but the site seems genuine and Boker has been making knives for as long as I can remember.

Al raz.

Yeah, and check out this link...Böker - Your Knife Made In Solingen

Genuine buffalo horn handle.. gorgeous blade, serialized, with a certificate of authenticity... my Buy it Now finger is getting awfully twitchy...

Zib, I think you and I should get us a new Boker! :)

Hey guys I covered this info in the brotherhood site a while back but don't mind covering it here the Boker Co. is indeed making straights again with the help of Mr. Wacker. They look very nice but have a high price point in my opinion here is an email I received from Boker a little while back when I contacted him about the origins of these razors.


I am glad I could help and you are satisfied with the information I could provide.
As to Mr. Wacker: Yes, it is true that he is helping us a lot to get back into the manufacturing of straight razors.
It is 2 generations that Boker has not manufactured this highly sensitive product. So there is no know how available within our staff. The grinding is the most critical operation as you know. Mr. Wacker is probably the best in town as far as this craftsmanship goes. So, we are happy that we can learn from him.

[SIZE=2]Best regardsSIZE]

Wow. auction doesn't end for another 28 days! what's up with that?

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Originally Posted by Quick

Wow. auction doesn't end for another 28 days! what's up with that?

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That's quite common for BIN items in ebay stores. It is not an auction.

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Originally Posted by sparq

That's quite common for BIN items in ebay stores. It is not an auction.

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Doh! I see that now.

Thanks for this thread!:)

For the new guys.....generally speaking if a new razor is made by a reputable company of quality steel then the shank/tang of the blade ( not the scales) will be either stamped or etched with the company name at a minimum. Etching on the face of the blade or scales and not the shank is used by cheapo razors on Ebay.

The second link showed several razors on page 1 & 2 and most of them have stamping/etching on the shank/tang of the blade.
This has been the one distinct marking we have been able to rely upon up until recently.
It would be a real shame if the good mfg stopped this practice.

BTW, IMHO that's an awfully high price for that King Cutter with no jimps or thumb notch. Also, the verbiage is a bunch of BS. Silver in steel? Spanish point is difficult to grind? What a bunch of baloney.

Buy an entry level Dovo, the quality is just as good then take your Dremel on a slow speed and grind in the Spanish point, just use plenty of water to keep the steel cool.

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Originally Posted by randydance062449

Thanks for this thread!:)

For the new guys.....generally speaking if a new razor is made by a reputable company of quality steel then the shank/tang of the blade ( not the scales) will be either stamped or etched with the company name at a minimum. Etching on the face of the blade or scales and not the shank is used by cheapo razors on Ebay.

The second link showed several razors on page 1 & 2 and most of them have stamping/etching on the shank/tang of the blade.
This has been the one distinct marking we have been able to rely upon up until recently.
It would be a real shame if the good mfg stopped this practice.

BTW, IMHO that's an awfully high price for that King Cutter with no jimps or thumb notch. Also, the verbiage is a bunch of BS. Silver in steel? Spanish point is difficult to grind? What a bunch of baloney.

Buy an entry level Dovo, the quality is just as good then take your Dremel on a slow speed and grind in the Spanish point, just use plenty of water to keep the steel cool.

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So is Boker not a reputable company?

of course its a reputable company! its just that the razors are priced to high in my opinion.

I bought one from knifecenter a while back. it's well made (nice-n-hollow) and shaves well. That said, I'd agree that you can get a lot more razor(s) for your money from other makers.

Boker's latest catalog has a few razors inlcuding the King Cutter, Celebrated, and even a 5/8 damascus.

I want one, but not for that money! There are many other blades i'd like for less than that.

Boker is a reputable company and has been for a very long time.
But they have just started back in with straight razors. I am saying it is unfortunate that they have chosen to not mark the shanks on some of the razors with the Boker name. That leaves us guessing.

The seller on Ebay is way out of line with his claims. He obviously has not done his homework. "Silver steel" is a type of carbon steel. It has no silver in it. The Spanish point is not hard to grind. A lot of guys here have done it. The difficulty of grinding that blade would have been a more accurate statement. That hollow grinding has traditionally been done on a dual wheel hollow grinder that, at last report, is no longer being made. If you can find the Dovo video you will see the grinding machine.

There is also a Boker video (in German) and a Theirs Issard. Watching them grind the hollow with the double grinder is a trip. Sparks are flying. What gets me is the people who do the honing in the final stages.

We are doing it as if we are handling a newborn and only using the lightest of pressure and they are slapping that razor on the hone and strop as if they were painting a fence. No wonder they don't come out of the factory shave ready.

I wanted one of those Boker Damascus razors but their prices are ridiculous compared to the same thing from other manufactures or even customs and in the photos I see from the web vendors no tang stamp. :gaah: I like a razor that the maker thought enough of to stamp his name in the tang.

Couple of things... my King Cutter (current model) actually is etched with the boker name on the shank.

Also, I think the blurb is actually from Boker's marketing material. I've seen it on other seller's sites.

Boker's own site says this about the King Cutter:
Same as model 140501, but with the popular “Spanish point.” The so called tapered hollow point of this blade can only be ground by highly experienced experts. Blade size: Same as model 140501, but with the popular “Spanish point.” The so called tapered hollow point of this blade can only be ground by highly experienced experts. Blade size: 5/8“. 5/8“.

I fail to see the attraction of that Böker blade? I can buy a Wacker, also made by Wacker, with nice exotic wood scales for $150. Why would I buy a Böker for almost twice the price, without a clear brand marking? Why would I want to support Böker, anyway? - They put their brand on crap knives made in China. That's borderline misrepresentation. I will never buy a Böker!

This is what it looks like with the etching

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Originally Posted by hults

This is what it looks like with the etching

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Nice looking Boker. I hear Wackers are real good. I just haven't got around to one of them.....yet. :) There are many old Bokers that come up on ebay. I have a few and the old production is all super good IME.

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Originally Posted by hults

This is what it looks like with the etching

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Thank you for that picture! Very glad to see that they are stamping the tang.

The price that the ebay seller wants for a Cutter is 100 bucks less than boker's web site. I imagine buying directly from Boker is going to carry a premium. It wouldn't surprise me to see the entire line of Boker razors showing up at other etailers for much less than what is shown on their own site.

I would love to see Lynn and Don carry these beauties. ;)

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Originally Posted by FloorPizza

I would love to see Lynn and Don carry these beauties. ;)

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They are selling this and other brand new Bokers at Knife Center in my neck of the woods. There is a different aesthetic to these new Bokers--the blade is so thin, it looks to be no thicker than a disposable razor blade. Can anyone who has one comment?

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Originally Posted by igitur55

They are selling this and other brand new Bokers at Knife Center in my neck of the woods. There is a different aesthetic to these new Bokers--the blade is so thin, it looks to be no thicker than a disposable razor blade. Can anyone who has one comment?

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Those prices are *much* more reasonable than Boker's web site. Still a bit more pricey than Dovo's, but wow.. they are gorgeous blades, with sentimental names.

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Originally Posted by igitur55

They are selling this and other brand new Bokers at Knife Center in my neck of the woods. There is a different aesthetic to these new Bokers--the blade is so thin, it looks to be no thicker than a disposable razor blade. Can anyone who has one comment?

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mine is from knifecenter. i've always had a good experience with them.

the blade is a pretty hollow grind, but it's not quite that thin. It this makes sense, it seems more like a vintage hollow grind than the current production grinds on the TI's and Dovo's I have.

i'll try to post some comparison picks with other blades when i get home.

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Originally Posted by hults

Couple of things... my King Cutter (current model) actually is etched with the boker name on the shank.

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Isn't that pretty odd? The one on ebay isn't stamped. The reply from Boker that someone posted said that they had just gotten back to the razors, didn't have any in-house expertise and were borrowing Wacker's for the time being. You think they started making them and then someone said "heh, we should really be trademarking them with a tang stamp"?

now that Boker is making straight razors again, are we going to see new production Henckel Friodurs?

I'd be wary of that item, simply because of the use of a stock description and a stock photo. I haven't really been able to follow the discussion, so what's the consensus? Real or fake (regardless of whether or not Boker is now over priced)?

Here Boker's page on it: Böker - Your Knife Made In Solingen

As promised, attached are some pictures of mine.

The tang is numbered. I'm not sure if this is a serial number or batch. The marketing picture with the stamped tang show number 001.

The marketing guy must have been walking through the shop and overheard some of the workers...
"Hey Fred, you ever ground a spanish point?"
"Dunno, go ask Paul, he might know what they're supposed to look like."

:rofl2:

If I were going to spend that much money I would get this one....

5/8 Wacker "Blue Diamond" - Brazillian rosewood : Shaving Shop - luxury classic wet shaving products - straight razors

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Originally Posted by cotdt

now that Boker is making straight razors again, are we going to see new production Henckel Friodurs?

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Henckels restarted Friodur production several years ago. Actually I'm not sure they ever stopped, though they don't make the big 7/8 and 8/8 razors anymore. Obviously they dumped their old blanks in those sizes, but I'm not sure that they actually stopped production altogether. I've got one of their new Friodurs in 6/8, with the classic white Twins scales, and it shaves comparably to my vintage Friodurs. Nordstroms carried them as recently as 2005, though I got mine from KnifeCenter for quite a bit less.

One of several Henckels Friodurs

If you're curious the parent page for this is: Zwilling "Classic" line and shows several other straights.

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Originally Posted by hults

mine is from knifecenter. i've always had a good experience with them.

the blade is a pretty hollow grind, but it's not quite that thin. It this makes sense, it seems more like a vintage hollow grind than the current production grinds on the TI's and Dovo's I have.

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After you posted those pictures, I compared them to my approx. turn of the century King Cutter. Just eyeballing it, I'd say that the grinds match quite closely.

How is the fit and finish Hults? How does it shave? I just happened on the site and this thread.


Thanks,
Richard

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Originally Posted by randydance062449

Spanish point is difficult to grind? What a bunch of baloney.

Buy an entry level Dovo, the quality is just as good then take your Dremel on a slow speed and grind in the Spanish point, just use plenty of water to keep the steel cool.

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What do you use on the dremel? I would love to try this on a 1-2 of my antique store cheapies.