The white cross with red surround has long been a sacred badge in the world of knives, indicating the timeless dependability and versatility of the Swiss Army knife. The latest multifunctional pocket knife to float onto our computer screen isn't a white cross-badged Swiss Army knife, but it wears an equally proud badge of origin and heritage. The newly released Böker Treebrand Camp Knife is a purely German design, its roots winding back hundreds of years to the 17th century.
As we touched upon a few weeks back when we looked at another recent Böker multitool drop, the German blade smith has roots around Germany's City of Blades (Solingen) that date all the way back to 1674. In fact, as it explains in a brief summary of its history, that was the year that the Böker family first officially registered the Tree Brand trademark inspired by the powerful chestnut tree that towered over its small factory in Remscheid, Germany, a neighboring city of Solingen.
Today, the company counts 1869 as the official founding year of its modern brand, a year it consolidated the company and settled in Solingen, which remains its global HQ today. A year later, it once again registered a Tree Brand trademark, this one changed to represent a leafless tree with branches extending upward in all directions. That logo has evolved over the decades, prompting several different iterations, but remains an unspoken promise of Böker authenticity and quality.
And much like Victorinox's Swiss cross logo, trademarked in 1909, remains an immediate indication of made-in-Switzerland heritage and quality, the silver Tree Brand emblem is is an instant indication of a top-quality Böker product handcrafted in Germany.
A few of our readers expressed disappointment that manufacture of the last Böker debut we looked at, the Naturensöhne MK II NXT, was farmed out of Germany, but the tool still wore a price tag well over US$100. In all honesty, we felt the same disappointment when we landed on the "Made in Asia" designation, after laboring under the misconception that a $129 Böker special release would be produced in Germany and stamped proudly with tree branding.
But that simply was not the case. And while some of Böker's products are built in the USA (Denver, Colorado, to be specific) in addition to Germany, many are made Asia ... and don't always include the accompanying lower price tag you might expect.
But a product called the Treebrand Camp Knife simply has to be made in Germany, and indeed it is, wearing the shiny emblem to verify it. In fact, as Böker declares, the entire idea behind the new multipurpose pocket knife is to combine "traditional knife styling with premium German craftsmanship."
As to that "traditional knife styling," much of the new knife's classic look is buried in the rippled black, brown and amber depths of the genuine bone scales. It's a beautiful piece, and it's quite easy to carry wherever you go – measuring in around 3.6 inches (9.1 cm) long when folded and weighing in at nearly the same figure: 3.7 oz (105 g).
The Treebrand Camp Knife has a simple but handy feature set that starts with a primary 2.4-in (6-cm) D2 steel slipjoint blade with nail nick opening. A smaller secondary blade augments that one on the other end, and the knife also packs a can opener and bottle opener/flathead driver between the scales. A corkscrew folded against the outer handle ensures you're never left trying to MacGyver your way into a corked bottle of wine.
Böker reinforces the scales at the tool's ends with nickel-silver bolsters. A lanyard eyelet lets you strap it up.
Böker released the new Treebrand Camp Knife this month and offers it in three different bone handle colors starting at $104.95. The "stag" handle variant costs $159.95, and just in case it isn't already plainly clear, all three models are made in Germany with just the right jewelry to prove it.
Source: Böker
