It’s always a thing of beauty when expectation and reality actually coincide. The new Böker Kihon was recently released, and after months of working with the team at Böker to fine-tune every detail, we couldn’t be more pleased with the results. The BRNLY Kihon (limited production) was first designed by Lucas and debuted back in 2015 and is still available in limited runs on the website and at shows. Böker took the clean design and with some modifications by Lucas, created the new production version of the Kihon. Lucas and I have each been carrying one around the shop / office / home for the past couple weeks (wrapping Christmas presents has been so much more fun with a sharp new paper slicer), and the knife handles beautifully. Needless to say, we’re super proud of the results and have really been enjoying getting re-acquainted with the Kihon, so we wanted to give you a proper introduction as well. First things first, here are the specs:
Blade material: VG-10
Handle material: Titanium
Overall length: 7 3/4″
Blade length: 3 1/3″
Weight: 4.0 oz
Blade thickness: 0.1″
Boasts Lucas’s original triangle pattern
Since people are so familiar with the BRNLY, we figured we’d walk you through a few of the design elements that Luc decided to modify for this first release of the Böker:
Reduced Weight
Some people like the feel of a knife with a little more weight to it, and some prefer to not be weighed down by their EDC. The first thing you might notice when getting your new Böker Kihon is that it is lighter than the BRNLY. This primarily has to do with pocketing of the titanium scales to reduce weight.
Flipper Tab Jimping
The Kihon was designed to be opened in a few ways: through use of the flipper tab or thumb stud. Knowing that many people like to have some extra grip for blade deployment, we decided to add jimping to the flipper tab of the Böker Kihon, which allows for greater confidence while opening.
Robust Single-Standoff
Further simplifying the design, the Böker Kihon went from double-standoffs to a robust, single-standoff on the pommel (Kihon does, after all, mean “basics” or “fundamentals” in Japanese). Arguably the least noticeable feature of the new Böker Kihon, this elegant design modification represents all careful thought that went into the production release.
We’re excited to announce that the Böker Kihon will be available through our web shop! A purchase from us means that Lucas will personally inspect your knife, and the box will be signed by him.
We like being able to give the option to people who want to buy their knives directly from Lucas, but as many of you know, we do not try to compete with our dealers, so these knives will be available at full MSRP. Should you wish to find the Kihon at a lower price point, there are a number of online retailers that will be carrying the Kihon.
