Pros: Blade Material, Blade Sharpness, Handle Material
Cons: Overall Quality, Sheath/Scabbard
Not worth the price.
Despite the fact that WWII is a generally more well known (at least in the USA) and larger conflict, with Nazis, bonzai charges, and atomic bombs, WWI is still considered as THE great war for many nations. It was a war in twilight and a war of many firsts. Where old world tactics met the new murderous machinations of an ever more industrialized present. Here it was (as far as I know) that a specialized fighting knife was made and issued en masse to the average infantryman. This knife was the nahkampfmesser, and even back in 1915 Boker was producing them for the German Army, which is a fact that as a history buff I really appreciate. Now as for the knife and sheath, they are packaged nicely and are visibly appealing. Now here is where my problems start. The metal chape on the sheath fell off within a few days of just holding it. I was able to super glue it back on and haven't had any problems with it since but I hadn't even put it on a belt yet, so that bothered me. Next problem with the sheath is that the strap doesn't stay strapped. The leather around the hole for the metal stud kind of just flaked away. So that bothered me. I like a knife to stay in it's sheath. I don't know. Just a pet peeve of mine, I suppose. As for the knife itself, it's a no frills sort of thing. The blade sharpens up easily and nicely and the temper seems to be well done. I also personally like the walnut handle, although the handle is pretty small and does not accommodate many different grips due to the guard. That's all fine for me as long as it's historical. My biggest gripe concerning the blade is the swedge on mine is not symmetrical, and it's not even close. Now, I bought this knife in 2018 and I paid around $150 from Knife Center. That was a doable price and I could overlook these flaws, but now here it is five years later and the knife has doubled in price. In my opinion it is definitely not worth it at this price point. Not even close. I generally like Boker knives and have had a few of them over the years. Of the last 3 I bought I've had to send one back and this one at this price isn't worth it. Only my Boker Castle Barlow has been outstanding, so maybe Boker has had some quality control issues. At any rate, you make up your own mind on if you need it. You've heard my spiel, whatever that's worth.
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