Well let me just start off by saying I am not a die-hard SOG guy or anything. Most of my knives are Benchmades and Emersons. In fact, the Trident is the only SOG knife I've ever owned. But I just wanted to share my experience with you guys.
A few weeks ago I was digging through a box of my stuff and lo and behold I came across the Trident that I purchased many moons ago. Old, beat up, and long forgotten, I flicked the thumbstud and that blade still snapped open wickedly fast like it just came from the factory!
Now let me tell you, I carried that thing at work consistently for 2-3 years straight. I worked in construction and believe me, I put that knife through total hell. Mud, dirt, sand, digging, cutting on metal surfaces, dropped on the ground countless times, you name it. Even some (gasp!) light prying. I never cleaned or lubed the thing, only blew the crud out of it with an air hose once in a while. But ya know what? The Trident NEVER failed me! Sure it has a tiny bit of bladeplay, but I can't think of any way that it affected performance. Edge retention on the AUS-8 seemed fine to me too, although you can see from the photo I've sharpened it many times. Most impressive though is that the blade still snaps open just as fast as day one!
I know SOG gets a ton of negative comments on these forums and sometimes I wonder if some of the naysayers have ever even used a SOG, but speaking from my own personal experience with the Trident (and I think nearly three years of daily carry at work counts for pretty darn good experience) I have to honestly say that this knife withstood some serious abuse and just kept kicking ass. Even if I wanted to, I just can't say anything bad about this knife because it always exceeded my expectations where other knives that I paid twice as much for did not. Plus, I'll always have love for SOG because it was one of the first blades that got me in to the whole knife world. So I decided what the hell, I'm going to purchase another Trident! It just came in the mail today and here she is pictured with that old beat up one. And who knows, maybe it will find its way back in to rotation with my Benchmade Rift and Emerson Commander.
A few weeks ago I was digging through a box of my stuff and lo and behold I came across the Trident that I purchased many moons ago. Old, beat up, and long forgotten, I flicked the thumbstud and that blade still snapped open wickedly fast like it just came from the factory!
Now let me tell you, I carried that thing at work consistently for 2-3 years straight. I worked in construction and believe me, I put that knife through total hell. Mud, dirt, sand, digging, cutting on metal surfaces, dropped on the ground countless times, you name it. Even some (gasp!) light prying. I never cleaned or lubed the thing, only blew the crud out of it with an air hose once in a while. But ya know what? The Trident NEVER failed me! Sure it has a tiny bit of bladeplay, but I can't think of any way that it affected performance. Edge retention on the AUS-8 seemed fine to me too, although you can see from the photo I've sharpened it many times. Most impressive though is that the blade still snaps open just as fast as day one!
I know SOG gets a ton of negative comments on these forums and sometimes I wonder if some of the naysayers have ever even used a SOG, but speaking from my own personal experience with the Trident (and I think nearly three years of daily carry at work counts for pretty darn good experience) I have to honestly say that this knife withstood some serious abuse and just kept kicking ass. Even if I wanted to, I just can't say anything bad about this knife because it always exceeded my expectations where other knives that I paid twice as much for did not. Plus, I'll always have love for SOG because it was one of the first blades that got me in to the whole knife world. So I decided what the hell, I'm going to purchase another Trident! It just came in the mail today and here she is pictured with that old beat up one. And who knows, maybe it will find its way back in to rotation with my Benchmade Rift and Emerson Commander.