Boker Knives Since 1869
Boker’s History Begins in Germany
The history of Boker knives began in the 17th century in Remscheid, Germany. The first Boeker company was merely a small tool factory shaded by a huge chestnut tree. Their tools still remained one of the leading products available in Germany and surrounding countries 100 years later. Their successfulness was unquestionably due to their strong commitment to quality and fine workmanship.
Due to the political strife in 1829, it appeared to brothers Hermann and Robert Boeker that the thing to do was make sabers. Accounting records show that by September 1830, 47 grinders, 64 smiths, and lots of manual labor were making 2,000 articles per week. The Boeker family recognized the expanding need in the world for a variety of tools and cutting implements. This created a good opportunity for them to grow.
H. Boker & Co. in the U.S.
Intent on growing their venture, they made up their minds to extend their production to other countries. So in 1837, Hermann moved overseas to New York and established H. Boker & Co. in the U.S. Since a lot of Americans struggled to say the family name, Hermann changed the spelling for the company name. His younger brother Robert founded his enterprise in Canada instead. Robert established another branch in Mexico called Casa Boker in 1865 that is still in existence today as a major hardware store.
Solingen, Germany was undergoing significant increase in the cutting tools industry so their cousin Heinrich Boeker relocated there from Remschied. He founded Heinr. Boeker & Co. in 1869 with a well-known cutting tools expert named Hermann Heuser. The balance of the Boeker family including Remscheid, New York, Canada and Mexico were all very intrigued with Heinrich’s new enterprise. This is because he was manufacturing goods that were popular such as pocket knives, scissors, and shaving blades.
Tree Brand Symbol
There was, sadly, a recognition problem for Heinrich’s merchandise outside of Germany. Heinrich felt that the tree brand that represented the chestnut tree near the first workshop was the right image because it would be easy to remember. His relatives in Remscheid owned the symbol and they unselfishly let him to use it for his own products without charging him anything. Afterwards, not one Boeker product has left the Solingen plant without being marked with the tree symbol.
As early as 1900, products manufactured by Boeker were chiefly sold in the U.S. market. In New York, H. Boker & Co. concentrated mainly on distributing Solingen’s cutting tools. Soon pocket knives were in more demand than scissors, shaving blades, and eating utensils. After Solingen wasn’t able to keep up with the increased demand, the American Boker company began to produce pliers and pocket knives themselves in the early 1900s.
By this time, the tree symbol had gotten to be widely known internationally. The overseas Boekers had kept up their close relationship with their Remscheid relatives which was fortunate. As was their cousin Heinrich, they were given permission to use the tree symbol on their American-made products. Then the American market had two separate lines of Boker knives with the same brand name — sometimes they even had the same article numbers although one was made in the U.S. and one in Germany. Only the declaration of marketability spelled out the difference as “Boker USA” or “H. Boker Improved Cutlery Solingen”.
Allied Bombs Destroy Boker Facility in Germany
WWII sharply suspended their good association. The Boeker plant was razed to the ground after a two day Allied bombing raid on Solingen in late 1944. Not a single thing survived the fire — no tools, equipment, samples, or catalogs. Thankfully some original Boeker pieces survived the war in private homes and were subsequently made available to the company.
After the war, the seizure of one of their most significant possessions in accordance with American law was no doubt more harmful than the bombed out building: The registration of the tree trademark for the American market was gone. In New York, John Boeker Jr. registered the tree symbol to secure it for distributing American and German products.
The destroyed factory in Solingen was reconstructed once more following the war. Showing their allegiance, plenty of the experienced workers that survived the war helped rebuild the factory. After manufacturing resumed, it took some time to reattain their high standard of quality and even longer to build up production. Renewing their close relationship, their cousins in New York began placing orders as they did before the war. It only took a few years before Boker in New York turned into their chief customer again.
Cooper Industries Acquires Boker USA
Boker USA was sold in the early 1960s. Later it was acquired by Wiss & Sons, a well-known scissor manufacturer. Wiss proceeded with manufacturing Boker knives and sold them in addition to the Solingen products. This move effectively removed one of their largest scissors competitors in the U.S. market.
Wiss sold Boker USA to Cooper Industries, a multinational company and industrial giant, in the early 1970s. Working meticulously with Boker USA, Cooper worked to reinstate the original high regard for the Boker name. The Solingen plant was able to make its production more efficient and develop new, modern products after eight years. Today the most extensive variety of high-quality knives available for both collectors and sportsmen are produced and distributed by Boker. Cooper halted its own knife production in 1983 and Boker Solingen manufactures its remaining popular models.
Cooper nobly restored the Boker trademark rights to the German Boker Company in 1986 which made them capable of being successful again in America’s very large market. Concurrently, they established Boker USA Inc. in Boulder, Colorado.
Boker Knives Celebrates 140 Years
2009 is Boker’s 140th anniversary since Heinrich Boeker first started the factory in Solingen. To commemorate their extensive tradition of making knives, Boker has been putting out one special edition collector’s knife each month. Only 140 pieces of each anniversary knife have been made except for the Camp Knife which is 1,869 pieces. The variation of Boker’s models is evident in these 12 models in both materials and styles. Each knife is serialized, shows the 140th anniversary logo, and comes with a certificate. These knives are certain to be favorites of Boker collectors for years to come!
Boker companies that are still operating presently are:
- Heinr. Boker Baumwerk GmbH in Solingen, Germany
- Boker USA, Inc. in Denver, Colorado, USA
- Boker Arbolito, S.A. in Buenos Aires
- Casa Boker S.A. de C.V. in Mexico
For Boker fans and collectors:
- Impressive video of the Boker knives museum at Smoky Mountain Knife Works in Tennessee.
- This Boker knives forum is a very good place to spend time with other Boker collectors.
- View each of the Boker USA commemorative knives and stand in awe at their exquisite designs and workmanship.
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