I just got my SOG Pillar in, and boy am I disappointed. What a letdown.

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I use a Ken Onion Worksharp at the house. A Worksharp pull through for field use. Especially with machetes. And use a Wusthoff honing steel or ceramic. To maintain the edge between sharpenings. It works for me. I do this because I am too sorry to care. Nor have the patience to use more traditional methods. Or worry about the perfect edge. If it is too tough. I simply pay a professional to fix it up.
 
Receiving a dull knife you’ve spent hard earned money on is very disappointing. I would just sharpen it myself but that’s just me. If you’re truly unsatisfied with the edge send it back for a replacement or refund. Not everyone can sharpen, I get it. What’s screaming sharp to some isn’t good enough for others so without a BESS test number we’re kind of just guessing if it’s bad or not.

Personally I find it strange that people spending as much as most of us do can’t sharpen. Then again I know plenty of people that can’t perform basic maintenance on homes or cars. I’d love to see a good picture of the edge.
 
craytab said:
Ha! You'll never see that. This guy has been asked to post pics of his knives for the last 4 ridiculous threads he has started. He's even promised to deliver. Not one picture of anything.
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Trust me, I’m not holding my breath. I know the pics are “coming” and I can’t wait to see the collection 😉
 
Bob Denman said:
Give someone a knife, and they'll probably cut themselves with it.
Teach them to sharpen that knife: they simply get cut with a sharper knife!
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I like where you’re going with this, but I think we can do a little better.

How about:
Give someone a sharp knife and they’ll cut themselves once.
Teach them to sharpen a knife and they can cut themselves the rest of their life.

That captures the original intent of the fishing proverb. ;)
 
I have yet to find a knife that came from the factory that didn't need sharpened sooner or later.

In fact, in my experiences, most factory edges even from reputable companies usually crumble pretty quick. I think maybe the apex gets burnt most of the time.

That said, if a knife came truly butter knife dull, and would require a lot of time building an apex, I'd send it back.

But if it's good enough where I can easily make it sharp, I wouldn't.
 
Lasador said:
I gotta admit that I was so amped for this knife, heard nothing but great things about the Sog Pillar. It looked great, and just fit the bill for what I wanted in a fixed blade knife. I love s35vn steel, but when I got it in, it was as blunt as a butter knife. The factory edge on this knife was pathetic. It's a $200.00 knife, and I shouldn't have to fix the edge on it when it arrives. I'm not kidding. I got butter knives that cut better than this thing. It failed the paper test, and it feels like a butter knife edge. How does that happen??? Well, as soon as you start thinking SOG has their act together, they show you who they really are once again. I'm just sad.
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Without pics to show what you’re sad about, your claim is moot.
What other SOG knives do you have to compare this one to ? If you sharpen it, it’s yours. You can always send it back for a replacement or another brand of knife.
Just because you paid $200.00 for it doesn’t mean it’s worth $200.00
I’ve bought knives that I felt should have been sharper, for me, I use them and do my own sharpening to put the edge where I’m happy with it.
 
Paratrooper06 said:
Better than ANY manufacturer? Yikes, bro. That is a bold claim... but my money is on Microtech and Spyderco.
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You have no idea how any manufacturer sharpens their knives. You know nothing about sharpening knives and you have a strong opinion about who can sharpen them the best.

My attempts to educate you were in vain... it turns out I just got into an argument with an idiot.
 
Time is money as they say. High volume manufacturers especially are not going to spend excessive time/resources to make sure every knife has a perfect edge before it ships out...hence a lot of variance. So it is certainly conceivable that end-users can do a better job.
 
nevertakeadayoff said:
You have no idea how any manufacturer sharpens their knives.
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I know more than you do.
nevertakeadayoff said:
You know nothing about sharpening knives and you have a strong opinion about who can sharpen them the best.
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Yes, see, being the best sharpener around isn’t a pre-requisite for having an opinion on sharpening.
nevertakeadayoff said:
My attempts to educate you were in vain... it turns out I just got into an argument with an idiot.
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Your arrogance knows no bounds if you presume to “educate” anyone that disagrees with you.. and the only “idiot” is the one that thinks he knows more about sharpening than esteemed manufacturers with half a century of experience by way of purchasing a wicked edge system off Amazon and watching a few YouTube videos.
 
Only SOG I've bought lately came hair popping sharp. Most knives I've bought have been acceptable, but a few of all brands came not so sharp. Usually they become sharp easy enough, a couple have taken more effort and only one was so bad I just gave up and moved on.
 
I havent found a SOG that I felt was worth the asking price in a long time. The last one I was actually pretty happy with was a discontinued Seal Pup at Dick's Sporting Goods. I over paid for what they were going for but actually got a good deal because it was old enough to be from Seki City. Not a bad knife.
 
The SOG Tenacious that I recently bought; came with a hair-poppin' edge...
But action and ergonomic issues are keeping it from getting a lot of pocket-time...
 
Steely_Gunz said:
I havent found a SOG that I felt was worth the asking price in a long time. The last one I was actually pretty happy with was a discontinued Seal Pup at Dick's Sporting Goods. I over paid for what they were going for but actually got a good deal because it was old enough to be from Seki City. Not a bad knife.
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These old ones from Seki-City continue to climb as collectors. Wonder how collectible they’ll be over time now that they’re owned by GSM. Love the old Seal Pup! I think this might be one of the knives that put Sog on the map in general. I have 2 and they were very sharp out of the box!
 
I haven't bought a new Sog in a long time. I found this one on sale last year. This Spec Arc typically costs around $100. I was really surprised how dull it came.

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It appears that it's thumbstud tucks in pretty tight. Any trouble getting to it?
 
storyofmyknife said:
I feel like my concern wouldn’t be that I have to sharpen the knife, but rather if they were that sloppy with the edge how good is the heat treat and other less obvious aspects of the knife
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I sort of see what you are saying, but I don’t think its a real concern. You are talking about 2 oposite ends of the production line. Heat treatment would be done in batches under strict parameters.

Final sharpening is done at the very end probably the last thing before it goes into a box. All it takes is one guy having a bad day or even a momentary lapse of concentration. Friday afternoon Monday morning etc. Just a slip on a belt grinder could ruin a blade.

Some people think its done by a professional sharpener with years of experience. It’s probably an entry level position.
 
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