I have always been a SOG fan... but...

S

Starmarion

Joined
May 5, 2023
Messages
50
SOG has made some great knives, and I've gotten a lot of use out of them in my time, and they are still going strong. The knives I'm specifically referring to SOG Pilar and the SOG Seal Pup tactical fixed blade knife are a couple of truly wonderful SOG knives. I actually love my Seal Pup as I have had it forever, and it has accompanied me on many adventures and has always been a reliable and faithful knife. I know I can trust it every time.

Now, I've gotten some new SOG knives since then, and it's been a little bit of a mixed bag for me. I love the design on all of their new fixed blade knives. That is not the problem, but I received a gorgeous SOG Pentagon FX Covert - FDE, and I was so excited for this little guy to come in. However, while I was struck by how amazing it looked and the sleekness of the design, I was completely disappointed with the grinds on both sides of the blade. They were uneven, and the factory edge was terrible. How deflating... I still like the knife, but SOG used to send razor sharp knives with perfect grinds, but I guess they don't do that anymore.

Sure is a shame - I'm on the fence about whether to send it back or keep it and try to sharpen it. Has anyone had a similar experience or is this just my knife? They refused to send me a replacement which is what I wanted, so it's refund or nothing.
 
SOG is now just a brand owned by a conglomerate. The owners don't really care, their only purpose is to make money selling knives using the SOG name. More profit means lowering production standards, so they aren't much interested in doing it like the original SOG did....
 
Arathol said:
SOG is now just a brand owned by a conglomerate. The owners don't really care, their only purpose is to make money selling knives using the SOG name. More profit means lowering production standards, so they aren't much interested in doing it like the original SOG did....
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Accurate.
 
GSM owns Cold steel and SOG knives. They don't care about their customers anymore. They're more interested in profits and stuff shirts sitting around a table thinking of how they can screw their customers a little better. They say never say never but I believe I will never buy another cold steel or SOG knife for the rest of my time on this Earth. I second SOG SUCS
 
Sad to hear. I hate hearing how so many previously great companies are now not.
I still have a vintage SOG Seal that went on many adventures in different states, and stabbed a few feral hogs. It is still a great knife.
 
There are still some VERY good knives in SOG's stable, I'm not giving up on them yet. They are still making some interesting knives and still drawing on their heritage.
Admittedly, I'm not a fan of the whole GSM ownership, it seems SOG and Cold Steel are both treading a fine line under the GSM banner.
 
w said:
I recently got this Sog from that big gun accessory store in Missouri for 100 dollars on sale. If it has any flaws I haven't found them. I even love the sheath. I don't believe I could find a better, higher quality knife made from a higher end steel for that money.View attachment 2220157
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I bought the same exact knife from the same vendor at that price about 6 months ago. It was flawless. Perfect grinds and edge, the coating, the handle, the sheath, all perfect. I’m like, ok, this is an incredible knife. I turned around and ordered it again. Same thing. To this day, I consider these two my best knife scores of all time.

I also have a couple of Sog Seal FX fixed blades. Both perfect but the sheaths sucked. Also a Sog Seal XR folder. Flawless.

I feel like I’ve pushed my luck with Sog. I’m not buying another one, I’m happy with the ones I have
 
I used a SOG Flash II for 9 years. It was wonderful. But when I tried to get a replacement back in 2018, SOG's quality had taken a nose dive. I went through about half a dozen more recent SOG models and returned most of them.

I blame SOG for the fact that I have bought several dozen knives costing way more than the Flash II while trying to find an adequate replacement. You can get better steel now, of course. My Bugouts, PM2s, and Malibu are excellent knives, but the only knives I have that equal the Flash II in action, handling, and ergonomics are a Ziffius and Exciton. But I have not gone over a $400 price yet, so maybe there are others.
 
Most large legitimate knife companies with any history are neither "great" nor do they "suck" in absolute terms.
That's because they produce many model lines and products and some models may be "excellent" while others may be "complete garbage".
Plus, companies change over time, their production sources, quality control, customer service, etc.
Continuous good quality is generally found with smaller companies(less models/products), custom and semi-custom brands.

My old SOG Trident S2 was IMO one the "best" knives I had. As well as my SOG Tomcat 3.0.
My SOG Trident folder was the absolute "worst" knife I ever bought. Returned it the same day it arrived.

SOG was a top company from 1986 to 2006 when they had all their products made in Seki. After they switched to Taiwan manufacture, they lost a lot of fans. That was when the direction of the company changed as it was put into the hands of a marketing company. It took almost a decade for SOG to start putting out some
interesting products again, the Pillar being an example. But the recent purchase by GSM has cast some doubt on whether it's customer service will remain as it did.
 
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I've got a semi seal pup and a team leader survivor. The pup was my first good fixed blade I got. I bought it while in army. The other I got for 25 bucks like new. The seal pup has been great tho it's been beat on and carried all over the country. The team leader is a nice concept but the saw spine is almost over the top but the balance is nice and the sheath sucks. I may take the team leader out sometime and test it out at some point. only sog id buy in future is a tech Bowie since Ive always wanted one but other than that one no sogs for me especially since there prices are insane nowadays.
 
The only SOG knife that I have ever purchased that I really liked was a Seal Pup from Dick's Sporting Goods about 11 years ago. It was old stock and the last one in the case. They wouldn't come down on the price, but I purchased it anyway as its actually one of the older ones from Seki City. One of my favorite knives to take in wet places and has never let me down.

The rest I have had buyers remorse for what I got for what I paid.
 
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