Böker Trapper Asbach Uralt Damascus 116004DAM pocket knife

Wednesday, 9 November 2022

The knife is elegant and slim, looks and feels in the hand nice, and has that old time vibe in it as well. The pattern of the Damascus blade is beautiful and the tip centering is fine. The sharpening is quite easy, while the edge retention and toughness are still good. Additionally, the oak scales combine beautifully with the nickel silver bolsters and the brass liners. Indeed, it is a classy old vibe gentleman's knife, made with quality materials. However, there are few flaws on my particular sample: In folded position, the tip of the blade catches the skin on my fingers. The blade spine is not straight, but slightly bent, such that the tip is at the center when the knife is folded. I guess that this was the reason for the uneven and unsymmetrical factory sharpening (i.e. the shape of the secondary V-edge). Though the matching between the scales and the bolsters is fine, the transition between them is not smooth, i.e. some of the bolsters corners are noticeably sharp. Also, there are some markings from machining left on the inner side of the liners. The operation (out of the box) was not smooth and some cleaning and oiling was needed. In conclusion, I take into account the fact that the knife is made by hand and with good quality materials, but nevertheless I considers that its price range requires more attention to the details.