Boker Plus Nano Orange Folder

Designed by David Curtiss, the original Böker Plus Nano broke new ground with its remarkable small knife concept and design. Due to its ingenious ergonomics the Nano sits perfectly in the hand, and despite its compact size of just 43⁄4-inches, it could handle any reasonable cutting task with ease. With its sub-2-inch blade the original version of this great little folder would have been a great every day carry (EDC) knife other than the fact that it had a liner locking design.

Featured here is the new Böker Plus Nano ‘42’ version of this cracking little knife, and the big difference is that this model doesn’t have a liner/frame lock system, thus making it a non-locking knife. Instead of a regular liner/frame lock, the Nano ‘42’ has a tiny hemi-spherical lug on a sprung section of the frame which engages with one of three matching ‘dimples’ on the blade tang – the first holds the blade in the ‘closed’ position, the second lightly engages when the blade is swung through to approximately the 135 position, and the third engages more solidly when the knife is fully open. This simple detent system holds the blade solidly, even when used for some quite tough cutting tasks. When you want to close the knife, just apply pressure to the back edge of the blade – just as you would with an ordinary slip-joint design pocket knife. This disengages the hemi- spherical lug from the third dimple and the blade starts to swing through its arc, only to lightly re-engage with the second dimple at 135°. This acts like a safety – combined with a choil-like curve on the bottom edge of the tang – which stops the knife blade accidentally disengaging and closing on your fingers. If you are intentionally closing the knife you just carry on swinging the blade through its access until the lug engages with the first dimple again and the knife is in the closed/rest position.

As a non-locking folder with a 4.8cm (approx.1 7/8-inch) cutting edge, the ‘42’ version is regarded as legal to carry within the UK (although always use commonsense and discretion, as there are some places and/or occasions where carrying any type or size of knife might cause problems with the law).

Clever Design

The Nano 42 is well thought out in all aspects. The blade is made of solid 3mm thick 440C stainless steel, with a foreshortened spear point design, its curved belly giving an ‘ulu’ style cutting edge that’s ideal for many everyday cutting tasks. On the flat top edge of the blade spine there is a 3cm section of jimping to give extra purchase and control, and then a curved false edge runs down to the tip. Just below the spine there is a slightly curved thumb slot in the body of the blade to help when opening. Blade markings are; the serial number and Curtiss Knives logo on the right-hand surface and ‘440- c’ and the Böker logo on the reverse.

The handle is formed from a single (left-sided) fiberglass-reinforced nylon (FRN) scale which has a ‘knapped’ texture giving enhanced grip and ensuring comfortable handling. The FRN on the test knife was coloured in a startling orange (ideal for the hunter) but is also available in bright green or a conservative black. The reverse (right-side) of the handle consists of the sprung steel frame with a removable/reversible (tip-up/tip-down carry) pocket clip. This is a bonus as David Curtiss, who runs a company for water jet cutting systems, also supplies the same pocket clip for custom pieces.

How do I rate the Böker Plus 42 overall? Compact, neat, an effective tool designed for EDC and under £40 – what’s not to like!

Our thanks to Heinnie Haynes for the loan of this test knife.

PRICE: £38.95
CONTACT: Heinnie Haynes 03030 30 30 30 www.heinnie.com