Boker Nano Thoughts

I've always wanted to try the Boker Nano since it's one of their few small options. The design is neat looking but not the best in terms of a small EDC knife. I've had the chance to try this one out for a bit and probably wouldn't pick one up for myself once I send it back.

The Nano is a collaboration between Boker and Curtiss Knives. It's a nice, simple looking design that works well for EDC tasks. I've had quality issues with Bokers in the past, though I luckily haven't had any issues with this one. I love the green scale! They've come in all sorts of varieties over the years, but it seems like the green and a black version are the only ones you can buy now.

With the Nano, you're getting a 1.875" 440C blade. I like the sub 2" blade, but I'm not the biggest fan of 440C. For a budget knife, that's the type of steel you'd expect though. It's been a decent enough cutter for my EDC tasks. I prefer the thumb hole over a thumb stud, yet it's a little hard for me to open the knife. That's mostly due to the knife being stiff as the thumb hole is well-placed and not awkward to access. Frankie from Birdshot IV says she uses hers as a cilantro chopper and I can see why. There's a lot of belly to the blade which makes it good for those rolling cuts. I wish the blade wasn't so wide since the handle is on the slimmer side.

The handle scale is Boker's Zytel which is essentially just plastic. The cutouts on the scale add some good grip and look cool too. The framelock is solid with no blade play in any direction. I don't have any problems with the handle.

The ergos are surprisingly comfortable without any hotspots. It's more of a three-finger knife for me. There's a slight curve on the spine of the blade with some jimping that fits my thumb quite nicely.

For a small knife, the Nano doesn't carry the best. When closed, this knife is a lot wider than I'd like it to be which is an issue when I carry it in the waistband. Wider knives always dig into me more than slimmer knives. That larger width combined with the bad clip and heavier weight (2.9 ounces) doesn't make it feel like you're carrying a small knife. I don't like clips that are more showy than functional. Apparently it's the same clip that Curtiss Knives uses on the custom ones. The clip works as it should but I'm not personally a fan of the design.

Price wise, Cutlery Shoppe has the green one for about $40 and Blade HQ has the black one for about $56. I have no idea why Blade HQ has them priced so high. I wouldn't want to pay almost $60 for this knife. You can get much better knives for that price point. Even at $40, I'd rather spend my money on something else.

The Boker Nano isn't the worst small knife I've ever tried yet it's not one of the better ones either. My biggest complaint would have to be how it carries. I love seeing more small knives out there but they need to actually carry like small knives. If you're looking for a smaller knife, check out the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite or Spyderco Dragonfly instead. I don't personally recommend it. Thanks for watching!