First SOG

jstrange

jstrange

Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
3,379
Well, as the title says I got my first SOG knife today. I have had so many different knife brands, but never really considered one before (Wal-mart stigma perhaps). Anyway, I was looking at the Spec-Elite II recently, and asked for one for Christmas. My wonderful wife got it for me.

I knew it would be big, but its bigger than I thought (not a bad thing). Despite the size, it carries well and is not too heavy. Came very sharp and the action has smoothed out really well. I sanded some of the sharp edges on the plastic and took a little off the lip where the thumb-stud to make it a tad more comfortable. I prefer a stone-wash finish, but the bead-blast doesn't look too bad. I am a Axis-lock fan and the Arc-lock seems to be just as good at this point.

Overall, I am impressed with the knife.
 
Stage some pictures of your newfound glory amidst a wonderful array of carefully staged, and properly lighted, Christmas props!

Welcome to the SOG addiction!
 
Enjoy your new found joy!
And welcome having made it to the ultra covert sog knives fraternity.
Folders aren't quite my thing,
But I made a couple of exceptions with the sog.
I was struck by the beauty of the x-Ray vision.
And would recommend looking over the largest kiku folder
( the smaller one has just too short a handle )
next x'mas.
 
Welcome! The Spec-Elite II is an excellent knife. A bit too big for my pants pockets, but
good for inside a jacket. And mostly, the ideal knife for a fannypack or knapsack when I
want to refrain from wearing a visible fixed blade on my belt. This model, the smoothness
of the Arc Lock, is what got me into buying some other high end SOG folders.
 
Sorry for the delay in responding. I finally got to use her a bit the other day.This knife is VERY sharp. As I said, I am a fan of the Axis-lock and this one feels as good or better. I would love to post pics, but I have never mastered that on this forum, anyway, you guys know what it looks like.

Question, are the posts that protrude from the Arc-lock supposed to have some play in them. I am probably not going to describe this correctly, but if I put my fingers on both sides, I can feel the posts move opposite each other, like a little twist (one side moves slightly down, the other slightly up). Now, let me be clear, I am not saying the actual lock work moving through its motion, just the horizontal post that goes through the knife. Think about a live axle on an old truck, if one side goes up, the other goes down (not a perfect description, but hopefully you get the point). Its not a lot, but noticeable.

Anyway, is this normal?
 
I think it is normal. I have the same minute play (not really loose enough to call it that but
for lack of a better description) on both my Spec Elite II and Visionary II.
However I do not feel that movement on my two Vulcans.
 
After checking again, I would call it more of a wiggle than anything. I am not worried about, was just curious as I had never even handled a SOG before getting this one. Thanks for the reply.
 
Congrats on the new knife. No means to offend, but a new knife should really have no play in it, at least not intentionally.
 
Firstly, we are talking about the Arc Lock crossbar. Not the blade.
Secondly the movement is so minute that it can not accurately be
called "play" or even "looseness".
 
Yes, no blade play that I can detect. What I am describing is a small wiggle to the crossbar (thanks Ken for giving me that terminology). It doesn't effect the function of the knife, and for all I know, it is designed to do it. Because I didn't know, if it was common, or supposed to do it, I asked. Please don't let anything we have discussed persuade you not to buy one. It really is an excellent knife, especially for the price.
 
Don't have a Spec-Elite, but I have the Pentagon Elite I and the TomCat 3.0, both Arc-lock's. I have no complaints with either and I've had them for years now. I also don't go looking for problems that don't effect the functioning of my knives either. It's been my experience that the Arc-lock is overall strong by nature.
 
I'm going to jump in this thred, I got a SOG Aegis and to me it a horrible knife, it feels cheap, the pocket clip hurts my hand, and there's a ton of blade play, this should be a sub $30 knife, I don't mean to offend anybody, but these are my opinions, if you like the knife then that's fine with me.
 
brainsick, SOG has two lines of folders, the ones that are assembled in the US, are assisted
open and sell for an affordable price. Then SOG has the high end VG10 folders that are made in Seki Japan, are not assisted open and use the arc-lock, and are fairly expensive. The difference between these two groups is night and day. This thread is about the latter. Your experience with
the Aegis is not unusual, I myself had to return a Trident folder because of unacceptable blade play. There are tons of references on the internet concerning excessive blade play on the A/O knives. But as I said, the Seki made knives are a completely different animal. Even after having returned my Trident I ended up buying four Seki Sog Folders.
 
Having heard a lot of negative about Sog over the years I was a bit hesitant about the SE. I must say I continue to be impressed by it having had it for a bit. Razor sharp and nice tight lock-up. I would prefer G10 scales and stonewashed blade, but the way it is now is not a deal breaker. I wont comment on the non-Seki models as I haven't owned them, but if you like any of the Seki models try one. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
 
KenHash said:
brainsick, SOG has two lines of folders, the ones that are assembled in the US, are assisted
open and sell for an affordable price. Then SOG has the high end VG10 folders that are made in Seki Japan, are not assisted open and use the arc-lock, and are fairly expensive. The difference between these two groups is night and day. This thread is about the latter. Your experience with
the Aegis is not unusual, I myself had to return a Trident folder because of unacceptable blade play. There are tons of references on the internet concerning excessive blade play on the A/O knives. But as I said, the Seki made knives are a completely different animal. Even after having returned my Trident I ended up buying four Seki Sog Folders.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment I didn't know that they had 2 different lines, I will look at the other one, I love the look of the Aegis, it's sseexxyy, I would keep it if it was $30 just so I can look at her. The blade play is unexeptable, and I did hear a lot of people say that about it.
 
brainsick said:
Thanks for the comment I didn't know that they had 2 different lines, I will look at the other one, I love the look of the Aegis, it's sseexxyy, I would keep it if it was $30 just so I can look at her. The blade play is unexeptable, and I did hear a lot of people say that about it.
Click to expand...

So if you heard a lot of people say that about it why did you get it? That is what reviews are for. They let you know about a product BEFORE you get it.

Frankly the SAT folders are hit and miss. I have 2 Aegis folders, one mini, and a large. Both I can almost dial the blade play out all the way with adjusting the pivot and other screws. And the blade is damn sexy! I have an old well used flash II that has terrible blade play which is unsolvable. I also have another old Flash II that has never been used which has no play at all, it has ZT like lock up. Hit or miss.

In my opinion folders are not where SOG shines. Love most of their fixed blades.
 
craytab said:
So if you heard a lot of people say that about it why did you get it? That is what reviews are for. They let you know about a product BEFORE you get it.

Frankly the SAT folders are hit and miss. I have 2 Aegis folders, one mini, and a large. Both I can almost dial the blade play out all the way with adjusting the pivot and other screws. And the blade is damn sexy! I have an old well used flash II that has terrible blade play which is unsolvable. I also have another old Flash II that has never been used which has no play at all, it has ZT like lock up. Hit or miss.

In my opinion folders are not where SOG shines. Love most of their fixed blades.
Click to expand...

Because I try not to NOT buy items based on reviews, and it was to sexy NOT to try.
 
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