Can the SOG Pillar's spine throw sparks on a ferro rod?

Y

y53p

Joined
May 11, 2022
Messages
308
I'd like to get this knife but I couldn't find any information anywhere on whether or not it does or doesn't throw sparks, which is why I'm on the fence of getting a Benchmade 162 bushcrafter instead.
 
Contrary to popular belief (and the great un-washed "bushcrafters"), ANY knife will throw sparks - not just high-carbon.

I do not own a Pillar, but I do have some S35VN blades that throw sparks just fine. In fact, all my stainless blades throw sparks.

The trick is to have a sharp (ie, right angled) spine to really scrape the ferro rod. If the Pillar doesn't have a squared spine, it would be easy enough to square it up - or a section of it - with a file or Dremel.
 
shane45-1911 said:
Contrary to popular belief (and the great un-washed "bushcrafters"), ANY knife will throw sparks - not just high-carbon.

I do not own a Pillar, but I do have some S35VN blades that throw sparks just fine. In fact, all my stainless blades throw sparks.

The trick is to have a sharp (ie, right angled) spine to really scrape the ferro rod. If the Pillar doesn't have a squared spine, it would be easy enough to square it up - or a section of it - with a file or Dremel.
Click to expand...
thing is the pillar's spine has a weird, "curved" shape, and the spine doesn't form a 90 degree angle with the rest of the knife but it's like a 110ish degrees angle from the pictures I've seen, or so it looks like. I wouldn't wanna have to mess up this knife's spine excessively just to get it to 90 degrees but have it become an uneven, deformed piece of crap of a knife, especially after having spent $200 on it, which is why I'd like to know whether or not it throws sparks right out of the box.
 
The finger choil looks like it is pretty sharp - not great for resting a finger, but would probably work OK for sparking. The jimping on the pommel would also work if it was sharpened up a bit, as well.
 
shane45-1911 said:
Contrary to popular belief (and the great un-washed "bushcrafters"), ANY knife will throw sparks - not just high-carbon.

I do not own a Pillar, but I do have some S35VN blades that throw sparks just fine. In fact, all my stainless blades throw sparks.

The trick is to have a sharp (ie, right angled) spine to really scrape the ferro rod. If the Pillar doesn't have a squared spine, it would be easy enough to square it up - or a section of it - with a file or Dremel.
Click to expand...
I think the high carbon thing is only referring to use with flint/chert or similar, where the actual steel is making the spark, not the flint.

A ferro rod is a different animal where the rod makes the sparks when scraped with a sharp edge so, as you said, any knife type will work as long as it has a sharp enough corner.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, turns out that the old version (pre 2020ish) was capable of striking sparks off the spine, thanks to it being satin finished, while the newer version is fully stone washed and is hence unable to throw sparks.

Differences in the manufacturing of the more recent Pillar are evident, with the “SOG” writing also being replaced with “study amd observation group” in a different, small font, as well as a smaller font on the other side of the blade. The spine, aside from being stonewashed, seems to also be rounded off.

Here are a couple of videos for reference;

You can see here how the bevel and spine are satin, while only the mid section of the knife is stonewashed (2017)



And here you can see how the most recent models are fully stone washed. The reviews are from the last year or so and in the second video the guy tries to strike a ferrel rod with it, but to no avail.



Apparently there’s been speculation that Sog has “dissolved” as a company amd that that’s why they don’t bear the SOG logo anymore and their knives’ quality is reduces. It’s also speculated that these very knives they’ve been claiming to be USA made were in fact Chinese/Taiwanese (at least the ones from the last year or so). The support service from their website is also very hard to reach and it seems to have changed, with now there being a different, generic “outdoors company” assistance service answering the calls.

If all this is trie these guys are scamming a bunch of people into buying mis-advertised. In fact if you go on most websites the pictures and description for at least this knife in particular haven’t changed, with it still being depucted/described as partially satin and stonewashed and the writings still being the ones from the pre 2020ish era.

Here’s a post on this forum from last year to just illustrate this change in the knife’s manufacturing.

Unusual SOG Pillar: Manufacturers defect, Different model or a Fake?

I just received a SOG Pillar that I ordered from a supplier I have used many times before and consider to be trustworthy, however the knife is not as it was described, on the suppliers website it says the following: “full tang CPM-S35VN stainless steel blade with a part stonewashed, part...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

If you search any picture/video/post on this forum or anywhere else from longer ago you’ll see how the knife actually appears how it is advertised, which isn’t the case anymore for the newer models.

I will likely avoid this knife and I suggest others do the same, unless anyone has some 100% certain information on any of the company’s changes and this knife as of how it’s been manufactured more recently and its capability compared to its older brother.
 
Thanks everyone for the suggestions, turns out that the old version (pre 2020ish) was capable of striking sparks off the spine, thanks to it being satin finished, while the newer version is fully stone washed and is hence unable to throw sparks.

Differences in the manufacturing of the more recent Pillar are evident, with the “SOG” writing also being replaced with “study and observation group” in a different, small font, as well as a smaller font on the other side of the blade. The spine, aside from being stonewashed, seems to also be rounded off.

Here are a couple of videos for reference;

You can see here how the bevel and spine are satin, while only the mid section of the knife is stonewashed (2017)



And here you can see how the most recent models are fully stone washed. The reviews are from the last year or so and in the second video the guy tries to strike a ferro rod with it, but to no avail.



Apparently there’s been speculation that Sog has “dissolved” as a company and that that’s why they don’t bear the SOG logo anymore and their knives’ quality is reduces. It’s also speculated that these very knives they’ve been claiming to be USA made were in fact Chinese/Taiwanese (at least the ones from the last year or so). The support service from their website is also very hard to reach and it seems to have changed, with now there being a different, generic “outdoors company” assistance service answering the calls.

If all this is true these guys are scamming a bunch of people into buying mis-advertised. In fact if you go on most websites the pictures and description for at least this knife in particular haven’t changed, with it still being depucted/described as partially satin and stonewashed and the writings still being the ones from the pre 2020ish era.

Here’s a post on this forum from last year to just illustrate this change in the knife’s manufacturing.

Unusual SOG Pillar: Manufacturers defect, Different model or a Fake?

I just received a SOG Pillar that I ordered from a supplier I have used many times before and consider to be trustworthy, however the knife is not as it was described, on the suppliers website it says the following: “full tang CPM-S35VN stainless steel blade with a part stonewashed, part...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com


If you search any picture/video/post on this forum or anywhere else from longer ago you’ll see how the knife actually appears how it is advertised, which isn’t the case anymore for the newer models.

I will likely avoid this knife and I suggest others do the same, unless anyone has some 100% certain information on any of the company’s changes and this knife as of how it’s been manufactured more recently and its capability compared to its older brother.
 
shane45-1911 said:
The finger choil looks like it is pretty sharp - not great for resting a finger, but would probably work OK for sparking. The jimping on the pommel would also work if it was sharpened up a bit, as well.
Click to expand...
For that time you forgot your lighter and matches or just want to practice new skills, the finger choil should work fine. If I'm not wearing gloves, I personally like the rounded spine, although it would be nice if they left a small portion with a sharp spine. Using the choil for firestarting, it would be advisable to use a technique that keeps the knife stationary and moves the ferro rod across it, to lessen the chance of also getting the opportunity to practice first aid in the field.
 
The Grendels said:
For that time you forgot your lighter and matches or just want to practice new skills, the finger choil should work fine. If I'm not wearing gloves, I personally like the rounded spine, although it would be nice if they left a small portion with a sharp spine. Using the choil for firestarting, it would be advisable to use a technique that keeps the knife stationary and moves the ferro rod across it, to lessen the chance of also getting the opportunity to practice first aid in the field.
Click to expand...
Choil doesn’t work either on the newer models if you look at the 4th video.
 
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