Boker Plus Valkyrie Knife Review

Time for the Boker Plus Valkyrie Knife Review.

 

Here's some basic info for you. Its 440C stainless steel with an 18.3 cm blade, its 32.2 cm overall and has a 0.6mm thickness. Its got a mircata handle and a leather sheath with two points to secure the blade. It costs something in the area of £120.

 

So this is a sort of high-mid end blade and its obvious when you pick it up. It definitely has a weight and solidity that tells you it was meant to do some real work. The leather sheath is very light, but its tough and hard-wearing. It has two button clasps to secure the blade, which is nice, but I would have preferred to just have the one around the cross guard for easier access.

 

The mircata handle offers less grip than I had hoped but the finger grooves give you the stability in hand to remove any concern. Speaking of the finger grooves, they are clearly not designed with my small hands in mind so I don't find it an adequate fit for myself, but everything has been curved nicely so it's not as uncomfortable as it could be. The handle is secured with three mosaic pins which really stand out beautifully from the dark  scales and there is also a lanyard hole, and of course its a full tang construction.

 

The cross guard is very thick and seems too large, but when I choke up on the blade it's just a perfect and comfortable fit. It is rather handle heavy though, so its hard to feel the blade. It feels about two inches shorter than it actually is, but you can forgive this because it's got so much to offer, and you wont ever be using it in a knife fight, hopefully.

 

The blade has a satin finish and some nice but simple lines. It has a very light hollow grind that allows it to have a fantastic cutting edge, but a solid thick body for some heavy-duty chopping. It also has a very nice point for good penetration and some beautiful lines all around.

 

So I have yet to find a 'perfect' knife with regards to construction, fit and finish but, damn, this is one of the closest I've come across. The handle scales aren't exactly symmetrical, and by that I mean one is say 1mm thicker (if that). The blade is so close to perfect that it's not worth mentioning any minor niggles. Again I go the weigh on this knife. Its not balanced particularly well and its heavy enough that I wouldn't take it out to the camp or hunting as there are more suitable blades for that.

 

The only thing that I dislike really, that has nothing to do with my hobbit hands, is the blades shape and size (the pictures don't really show it). Combined with that handle and guard they just look like they have been cobbled together from two separate knives. I would prefer a smaller handle, or larger blade, and that would make a nicer balance. It would probably help with the blade 'feel' as I mentioned earlier as well.

 

If it broke, would I buy another one?

 

If you've got the money to spend, and your hands are bigger than mine. Maybe, the quality is there. For me I can't quite get my hand into a good position with it so I would pass on this particular one but, I will definitely be getting my hands on another Boker. I will look at something lighter and more manageable for my needs but I will always use this knife as a solid base line on their other products.

[taq_review]

[x_author title="About the Author" author_id="46"]