Timeline

The long history of Boker has been affected by eventful times:

1829: H. R. BOKER Cutlery formed in Remscheid Germany 
1837: Herman migrated to US New York 
1861:1866- Boker Germany produced muskets and 18,000 sabers for Union Army 
1869: Heinr. Boker formed, operations moved to Solingen 
1870: "Tree" logo registered on November 10 
1870's to 1891- Boker was one of the top knife sellers in the US 
1891: Tariff Act passed  
1892: Valley Forge Cutlery established in Newark NJ 
1899: Boker US merged with Valley Forge to produce product in US 
1913: “Tree Brand" and “Arbolito" registered 
1914:1918- all German knives were produced for the war effort 
1914: Hermann BOKER Co filed for bankruptcy  
1916: H BOKER Co purchases Cyclops Steel in Pennsylvania  
1921: Maplewood NJ facility opened 
1921- Boker Cutlery and Hardware consolidated with H BOKER & Co 
1925: trademark 100 yr old chestnut tree struck by lightning  
1928: 16 different knife pattern stainless steel blades manufactured in US 
1930: Neutrality Act in limited trade with Germany 
1941: Boker USA etch replaces German markings 
1944: On Nov 5 British bombers dropped 783 tons of explosives on Solingen destroying the German facility  
1947: Major John BOKER (US Army Intelligence) purchased the rights back from the US Government and renamed it “BOKER USA" 
1950: Boker USA begins importing from Solingen again 
1956: Boker purchases Schrade Knife Company to produce switchblades 
1958: Switchblade Act adopted causing the closure of the Schrade plant that made these types of knives 
1960: BUSA ends using bar shields and reintroduces round shields  
1965: New Britain Machine Co purchases Boker USA which also owned Husky and Blackhawk brands 
1968: New Britain absorbed into Litton Industries  
1970: Boker USA acquired by J Wiss & Sons 
1971: campaign of limited edition and commemorative series begins 
1973: double shield / red shield series 
1974:1978- Great American Story series introduced 
1976: J Wiss purchased by Cooper Tools Group of North Carolina 
1978: Boker US production moved to Statesboro GA 
1983: US knife production ended 
1984: United BOKER formed with Smoky Mountain Knife and Blue Ridge Knife to create a financial sales partnership  
1986: Boker USA reformed and established sales offices and warehousing in Colorado
1999: Construction begins on the current manufacturing operations and corporate offices on the existing Schützenstraße location in Solingen, Germany to create a more aesthetically modern and efficient dual purpose facility in the heart of the "City of Blades".
2006: Production of forged, high quality personal razors resumes in Solingen utilizing the expertise of Master Trades Craftsmen with the assistance of their young apprentices.
2019: Boker celebrates their 150th Anniversary with guests from all over the world and launches the large Anniversary Collection Series of Curly Birch Knives.
2021: With the company's dedication to world history, historical events and preservation of materials, Boker launches the "Historical Damascus Project Series" with the introduction of the WWII Tank Damascus Series. The introduction of these first series items required 3 years of planning, discovery, negotiating with collectors and museums and the amount design work to properly and appropriately repurpose recovered steel into cutlery pieces with an incredible story and journey through time.