Böker’s 2021 fixed blade spread continues to grow, with a new production version of an up and coming custom maker’s fishing knife.
The Brook is a designed by Joe Mangiafico. Mangiafico is an avid fly fisherman, and his custom work is inspired visually and utility-wise by this other passion. Thus the Böker Plus Brook’s blade, a stout, full-bellied drop point, measures 2.83 inches long. That’s enough cutting edge for the chores a fisherman would call on his fixed blade blade to do, and more besides. The Brook could also fill the role of a backup outdoors knife, or even an EDC fixed blade for those so inclined.
Blade steel on the Brook is VG-10 – a practical choice given its intended maritime metier. VG-10 resists corrosion better than many steels in its class, and offers solid edge retention as well, even if it is a little more temperamental on the stones compared to other stainless steels in Böker Plus corral.
A hallmark of a custom Mangiafico knife is the handle. He use different colors of material and brass accent pins to mimic the speckled look of a brook trout’s hide. This signature element, which gives new meaning to the term “handle scales,” has been faithfully carried over onto the production Brook. Beyond the eye-pleasing, piscine scales, the handle is a dead simple, oblong shape, with a canted chamfer forming a finger groove just below the guard. A Kydex sheath is included with the Brook.
Mangiafico has been making custom knives as a hobby since he was in college. He entered the knife industry in a professional capacity in 2018, when he began working for none other than Lucas Burnley of Burnley Knives. The Brook is his first production piece, and it is scheduled to be available at the end of April.