In 1837 Hermann Boker immigrated to the United States from Rhemscheld, Germany
for the purpose of selling quality made cutlery from his homeland and from England. He established the H. Boker company in New
York. In 1852 Hermann returned to
Germany and left the company to his children.
The company grew, but increases in tariffs began to cut deep into the
company profits. In 1899 Carl F. Boker
decided to produce cutlery in the United States and secured controlling
interest in the Valley Forge Cutlery Company in Newark, New Jersey,
which had
been in business since 1891. In 1914
the Valley Forge Cutlery went into bankruptcy.
Two years later, 1916, Broker secured the company as its own, more fully
developing itself as an Americanized brand.
On January 3, 1921 Boker Cutlery opened a new manufacturing plant in
Hilton (Maplewood), New Jersey. It
boasted of 58,000 square feet of modern daylight design on eight and one-half
acres. The product line included
clippers, pruning shears, toilet clippers, horse clippers, and barber
shears.
The Maplewood factory produced pocket knives with both the Boker USA
and Valley Forge markings until 1950, when the Valley Forge brand was dropped. In 1948 Boker bought the Solid Steel Scissors
Company located in Ft. Smith, Arkansas to nullify competition over government contracts and shared customer basis. In 1965 the Boker
Company merged with the New Britain Machine Company, which merged with Litton
Industries. Then in 1969/70 the Boker Company was purchased by the
J. Wiss & Company, makers of scissors. The Wiss Company was sold to the
Cooper Industries in 1969. After the New
Jersey plant was closed, knives were made in Apex, North Carolina until 1984,
at which time they were production was discontinued. In 1986 the Broker division became a part of the
Broker Company of Germany. Boker Cutlery USA in Denver, Colorado became - and still is -
the importer for the German company. The
marking for the Boker brand is the famous tree symbol. 
One of my favorite Boker is the "Daniel Fisherman" scissor which has all kinds of features designed into it. There is the fish hook remover, bottle opener, fish scaler, serrated, screw cap opener, nut cracker, hammer, screw driver, and plier! The traditional fabric scissors made by Boker are among the best. They are quality made, easy to keep sharp, and comfortable to use.
Then, there are the tool type of scissors.
The Boker company is truly a world-wide company because the "Boeker" family spread out from Germany and ended up in areas of the globe that offered opportunity to expand their business and ply their trade. They kept an important brand going, even though they faced challenges that would sink most companies. It was because they always made top quality products. While they are known mostly for their knives, they created a variety of great products. Quality in workmanship never goes out of style.
what year are the scissors with the straight razor emblem? Boker Company seems to state they have always had the tree marking though out the years... I have a pair of barber shears with this mark. My Great Grandfather and his brother were both barbers and they came from them. If you could help it would be greatly appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Goins' Encyclopedia of Cutlery Markings, page 29, Boker used the straight razor emblem in 1870.
DeleteGreat article! I have vintage scissors but my Boker 9" don't have a tree on them. Do you know when Boker got rid of the tree?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure when the tree was not used. It may have been dropped for a short time around 1916 when Boker USA , reacting to high tariffs, bought the Valley Forge operations. They did return to using the tree at some point. I will need to do more research and post an update or correction to this information.
DeleteIn 1986 the Broker division became a part of the Broker Company of Germany.
ReplyDeletetypographical or purposely spelled BROKER?
I have a pair of the last one youh listed could you tell me in what year they were made
ReplyDeleteMy late Dad gave me a pair of BOKER tailor shears, quite old, with the lovely tree insignia on the reverse side. They have been well used and are cherished. Nose to tail, these babies measure 13". Still use them, hubby sharpens them carefully now and again. They still do a job in our New Orleans kitchen!
ReplyDeleteI bought some shears from h. boker very nice with deer antler on them they seam like poultry shears is that what they are?
ReplyDeleteHello I purchased 4 pair of H.Boker&Co scissors at a thrift store All have the Chestnut tree in varying degrees of wear on the reverse side. One I was able to identify as: German Buttonhole Where would be the best place to have these checked for authenticity?
ReplyDelete