Böker

Böker was one of the first companies to offer ceramic knives as a featured product line.

Böker traces its origin to the 17th century as a tool maker in Germany graduating to swords and blades by the 1800s. The company claims it was producing 2000 sabres a week by 1839 for use in various wars. By the 1860s the company had fractured with a branch of the family emigrating to North America and setting up plants in Canada, New York, and Mexico. The German and North American factories produced similar knives and used the "Tree Brand" trademark. This continued until World War II when the Solingen factory was destroyed and "Boker USA" took control of the trademark until the German factory was rebuilt in the 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s the company changed hands several times, with the New York facility (Hermann Boker & Co) shutting down in 1983. In 1986, Boker reacquired the rights to the American brand and Boker USA was started in Denver, Colorado for US production.