Boker Plus Rampage

Boker Rampage™

The Boker Rampage is the inexpensive commercial version of the RJ Martin knife of the same name. The Boker version does not have the grooved blade that has become an RJ Martin hallmark. The 4 ¾ inch blade is nicely ground from 5mm thick 440-C stainless and it is razor sharp. As you know, I reserve this title for only those knives that truly are razor sharp, not every knife that simply cuts paper. The overall blade shape reminds me of a Rhino with its nose out of joint. There are few blade profiles that are more aggressive than this one. It is a complex grind and Boker has done a nice job.
The handle is less inspiring. Hogged out of micarta, it has the distinct look of a Cub Scout project carved with a dull jack knife in ten minutes or less. It has the potential to be ergonomic but whoever designed it was apparently unfamiliar with how the human hand is shaped. It fits my hand like the new airplane seats fit my body. The grooved thumb ramp should have been higher, so that the thumb rested naturally on it rather than having to be pressed down onto it. The notches roughed out for your forefinger are left too clunky and there are sharp corners just dying to be rounded off. The handle is barely long enough to accommodate my rather small hand. Anyone with big hands need not apply.
The sheath is your typical, thermo-plastic, kydex wanna-be, construct with the ubiquitous Tech-Lok. For some reason there is no retention capacity with this particular sheath. Maybe mine is unusually loose in the sheath, but right now, if I tip it up the knife will fall right out.
Overall the knife is a Plus in the Boker™ line despite the awful handles. I had similar complaints with my Boker Smatchet too. I have to wonder if Boker’s design folks don’t know how a knife is supposed to be held. If the Rampage were scaled up just a bit, like a 7inch blade and 4.5 inch handle, it would be a fantastic fighting knife! I am sure that before too long my Rampage is going to have the handles reshaped or replaced. It is too nice a blade to leave the handles as they are. A little research will find one of these knives for a hundred dollars or less. In that price range it is worth buying.