Older SOG Tech II age question

I

ichor

Joined
Aug 27, 2002
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I have a SOG Tech II, the one with the brass, asymmetrical guard. I'm trying to find the approx. year of manufacture. I've seen several on ebay, all of which are equipped with a nylon/Cordura/ sheath, which is rectangular in shape, with two, brass lined holes for tie down. One seller claims his knife is from 1996. My sheath, OTOH, is tapered at the bottom and provides a plastic tab for tie down. Anyone have any idea which style is older, or were made simultaneously?

John in Boise
 
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the rectangular shaped sheath is older, since the tapered ones were more like the Seal 2000 sheaths. Does your Tech II have a location below the SOG logo? To my knowledge, the oldest ones say something like Sa Mon (for Santa Monica), CA on them, followed by Edm, WA, then by no location printed on the blade. I have an Edm WA Tech II and it has the rectangular sheath. I hope this helps.
 
dl351 said:
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the rectangular shaped sheath is older, since the tapered ones were more like the Seal 2000 sheaths. Does your Tech II have a location below the SOG logo? To my knowledge, the oldest ones say something like Sa Mon (for Santa Monica), CA on them, followed by Edm, WA, then by no location printed on the blade. I have an Edm WA Tech II and it has the rectangular sheath. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I think that does answer the question dl351. I just found the relatively new SOG Collectors site. There I found that the Edm WA marking is older knife. Mine does not have it, and the one on ebay that does have the Edm WA marking...has the rectangular shealth with the tie down holes. On reflection, it makes sense that a plastic tab, economics being what they are, would likely be a newer model than brass lined holes....it's cheaper. :)
 
ichor said:
On reflection, it makes sense that a plastic tab, economics being what they are, would likely be a newer model than brass lined holes....it's cheaper. :)
Click to expand...

Cheaper or not, the knife itself is one of the classic great ones that, in my opinion, outshine anything offered by SOG now.
 
dl351 said:
Cheaper or not, the knife itself is one of the classic great ones that, in my opinion, outshine anything offered by SOG now.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong...we're just talking about the sheath here. I couldn't agree more, as illustrated by the fact that I've bought a Tech I and Tech II in the last three months. The brass guard, with the shorter and abbreviated top guard, makes the knife much more easily handled and versatile, IMHO. I don't think I'm alone in thinking that this is one of the most beautiful production knives ever made. I simply love just holding the thing in my hand and looking at the beautifully ground blade shape. Perfect balance and a grip that fits my hand like no other. I was just making an observation as to why I suspect they changed the sheath. ;)
 
Hi John,

Glad you found the website before I could recommend it to you. :)

Like dl351 mentioned correctly, the order or production was the "square SOG logo" with 'S. M. CA" under it, then with 'EDM. WA' under it, finally followed by the logo itself with nothing underneath it.

We can only give an approximation on production period based on when SOG added or removed the knife from the catalogs. As to when a particular 'S.M.CA' or 'EDM.WA' or 'no markings' knife was produced, some digging is required to find out when SOG shifted its factory around those places. :o

Regarding the sheaths, those made in 'EDM. WA' will have that words under the sog wordings on the sheath itself, as seen from the ebay pics. I have an old Tech (no markings except plain old sog logo) on it - which meant it was a late production, somewhere near the year it was discontinued. It comes with a leather sheath if that helps... On the contrary SOG may have changed to leather based on opinions that the nylon sheath was no means a fair piece of clothes for the beautiful Tech II, which was never meant to be a "tactical knife" with a nylon sheath. :D

And.... I too bought a Tech and a Tech II in the past 3 months! Some great sales lately! :eek: Beautiful brass guard with the knives, I can't keep myself from holding them and looking at them!

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
 
sogfans said:
Hi John,

Glad you found the website before I could recommend it to you. :)

Like dl351 mentioned correctly, the order or production was the "square SOG logo" with 'S. M. CA" under it, then with 'EDM. WA' under it, finally followed by the logo itself with nothing underneath it.

We can only give an approximation on production period based on when SOG added or removed the knife from the catalogs. As to when a particular 'S.M.CA' or 'EDM.WA' or 'no markings' knife was produced, some digging is required to find out when SOG shifted its factory around those places. :o

Regarding the sheaths, those made in 'EDM. WA' will have that words under the sog wordings on the sheath itself, as seen from the ebay pics. I have an old Tech (no markings except plain old sog logo) on it - which meant it was a late production, somewhere near the year it was discontinued. It comes with a leather sheath if that helps... On the contrary SOG may have changed to leather based on opinions that the nylon sheath was no means a fair piece of clothes for the beautiful Tech II, which was never meant to be a "tactical knife" with a nylon sheath. :D

And.... I too bought a Tech and a Tech II in the past 3 months! Some great sales lately! :eek: Beautiful brass guard with the knives, I can't keep myself from holding them and looking at them!

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
Click to expand...

Thanks very much, Mark. I signed your guest book today. Great Site! One thing I'm curious about. In the under Specifications for the Tech II, I noticed Part# S12. Is this on the knife somewhere, or from a catalog? My knife only has an "S" above "Seki-Japan" Is this related, or what?

Also, is the leather sheathed Tech a later knife? Seems strange, as I've been looking at a Tech II marked with the Santa Monica designation, but comes with a leather sheath. I mistakenly thought that the S.M. CA knives were earlier, because of the leather. ????

Now, if I can only find a mint Nite Tech at a yard sale for 50 bucks, I'd be a happy man. :D
 
Hi John,

You're welcome! It's nice to know that people are appreciating our hard work. :thumbup: Replied your guest book message too.

Regarding the 'Part # S12', it is actually the "model number" that SOG assigns its knife, found only in some catalogs. It is not found on any part of the Tech II. The "S" you see above the 'Seki Japan' engraving may well stand for "Seki" or "Stainless", we still do not know...

My guess is that the leather sheathed knives are the later ones, right. Maybe the guy that sold me the Tech gave me the leather sheath from his "S.M. CA" Tech? You can see that the later production "Tech" here: Tech comes with a non-leather sheath. So I conclude that SOG started with the leather sheaths then moved on the nylon. Your economic theory sounds right! :D

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
 
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sogfans said:
Hi John,



My guess is that the leather sheathed knives are the later ones, right. Maybe the guy that sold me the Tech gave me the leather sheath from his "S.M. CA" Tech? You can see that the later production "Tech" here: Tech comes with a non-leather sheath. So I conclude that SOG started with the leather sheaths then moved on the nylon. Your economic theory sounds right! :D

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
Click to expand...

Yep, that's exactly like mine, sheath and all, which is not marked with the CA or WA locations. It's not beyond the realm that the one I've been looking at is an early S.M. CA with a mismatched sheath. However, my experience has been that most makers start with leather and then move to nylon as costs go up (or, more recently, Kydex).
 
John,

If your knife isn't marked most likely it is the the ones that were produced after SOG shifted from "S.M.CA" and "EDM.WA". The knives that were made in those places would have had the markings below the SOG logo. I have been looking through the old catalogs and this is how it appears. :D

Yep the first Tech II's or called the "Tech" that time ones had leather sheaths. ;)

I'm looking for a Nite Tech too by the way! That would somewhat make my collection more complete. :p

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
 
Hold on a second, Mark. Now I'm getting confused. The link you sent is to a knife/sheath that is exactly like mine...with a 7 1/4" blade (actually, mine is 7 3/8"). You can see by the picture that the knife is longer than 5 1/4" as the handles on all blade lengths are, from the top of the guard to the butt of the handle....5". And, to add to the confusion, my Tech I has a 6 1/4" blade. I've never seen one with a 5 1/4 " blade, as your Specifications indicate. ???????? I was confused by that discrepancy when I first looked at your sight .
 
ichor said:
Hold on a second, Mark. Now I'm getting confused. The link you sent is to a knife/sheath that is exactly like mine...with a 7 1/4" blade (actually, mine is 7 3/8"). You can see by the picture that the knife is longer than 5 1/4" as the handles on all blade lengths are, from the top of the guard to the butt of the handle....5". And, to add to the confusion, my Tech I has a 6 1/4" blade. I've never seen one with a 5 1/4 " blade, as your Specifications indicate. ???????? I was confused by that discrepancy when I first looked at your sight .
Click to expand...

Plus, I should add, that this is not an anomaly. This is the second Tech that I've owned with a 6 1/4" blade. That's the one I sold a couple years ago, and have been kicking myself ever since. I was under the impression that the original, with the brass guard was 6 1/4"
 
The link was for the Tech, not the Tech II. The length is from one of the posts here: SOG Tech vs Tech II blade... Mistake using that post. SOG's catalog officially states that the 'Tech' is 5 3/4". Yep should be correcting that to 5.75". Thanks for pointing that out!
 
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Mark, I checked out your SOG site the other day, which is very nice, and thought "that SOG Tech II picture looks familiar." Oh, yeah, that's the one I posted here of my knife! Nice! Anyway, cool website.

For those looking for a Nite Tech, when I got my Tech II new in the box about two years ago for $75 shipped, the seller had a Nite Tech that I think went for slightly less or about the same price. I should have bought them both! Oh well. At least I have the Tech II.
 
John,

Yep we did take your picture! It's from this post: pictures of the tech II... :) We are going to have a "credits" page where we put contributors (mostly pictures) on the page. It's nicer to credit the people whom we took the photos from. :cool:

You did get a good price on the Tech II, even if it wasn't the 'S.M.CA' or 'EDM.WA' versions, considering I paid $150 recently for my 'EDM.WA' version! I guess the Nite Tech won't be available anymore... Always wanted one in my grubby paws. :o

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
 
sogfans said:
John,

Yep we did take your picture! It's from this post: pictures of the tech II... :) We are going to have a "credits" page where we put contributors (mostly pictures) on the page. It's nicer to credit the people whom we took the photos from. :cool:

You did get a good price on the Tech II, even if it wasn't the 'S.M.CA' or 'EDM.WA' versions, considering I paid $150 recently for my 'EDM.WA' version! I guess the Nite Tech won't be available anymore... Always wanted one in my grubby paws. :o

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
Click to expand...

Hmmm... i think you mean "dl351, we did take your picture.":) Also, the $75 I paid for my Tech II a couple years ago was for an Edm. WA one. About a year ago I was contemplating selling it, but I could never bring myself to do it. They are just such nice knives!
 
sogfans said:
Hi John,

You're welcome! It's nice to know that people are appreciating our hard work. :thumbup: Replied your guest book message too.

Regarding the 'Part # S12', it is actually the "model number" that SOG assigns its knife, found only in some catalogs. It is not found on any part of the Tech II. The "S" you see above the 'Seki Japan' engraving may well stand for "Seki" or "Stainless", we still do not know...

My guess is that the leather sheathed knives are the later ones, right. Maybe the guy that sold me the Tech gave me the leather sheath from his "S.M. CA" Tech? You can see that the later production "Tech" here: Tech comes with a non-leather sheath. So I conclude that SOG started with the leather sheaths then moved on the nylon. Your economic theory sounds right! :D

Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
Click to expand...

Hey Mark,

I know this is an old thread but I just saw it. I live in Edmonds, Washington... Yes the EDM.WA. on the knife. SOG was located here years ago but they are now in Lynnwood, WA. which is less than a mile from here. I also collect the Seki's and have some later ones as well, I go to the HQ often for shows, sharpening and actually have a Tech II there now having it's "rounded edge" put back to stock. That is an edge that came with the knife and is usually only found on custom's.... Anyway, I wanted to make a point on the S on the Tech blades. It can't stand for stainless because mine is an Edm, WA. with the S above Seki but the blade is carbon steel verified by the head tech in the shop. It's a logo that one of the makers in Seki used. As far as the leather sheaths, they are definitely from the early S.M. models and the early EDM. models. As a matter of fact some of the S.M. models came with EDM. on the sheaths due to relocation overlap. I've heard theories on the change to the nylon but it had nothing to do with the cost. The last models, unmarked from anywhere started to change into the sheath that had the plastic tab at the bottom. This was a partial line change as the Governments and others had been using these for a while so while cost may have been a factor there it wasn't when changed from leather. One thing on the leather, theses knives were hard on the leather sheaths, just as they were on the leather hold downs on the nylon. They chopped them up pretty good where that heavy nylon they went to is pretty bullet proof but for the snap strap. Anyway, just a few things... Love the site BTW! Check out a little known site www.sogcustom.com as well. This is a site run by Dave, he knows SOG inside and out and he also offers cool upgrades and custom work and also can answer pretty much any SOG question you have. He's done some pretty amazing restorations for me. It's still under construction but is interesting. Anyway if you need anything from someone near the HQ don't hesitate to ask! Tom
 
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dl351 said:
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the rectangular shaped sheath is older, since the tapered ones were more like the Seal 2000 sheaths. Does your Tech II have a location below the SOG logo? To my knowledge, the oldest ones say something like Sa Mon (for Santa Monica), CA on them, followed by Edm, WA, then by no location printed on the blade. I have an Edm WA Tech II and it has the rectangular sheath. I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to figure this out now I'm a big collector and I just picked up a tech one which is about 11 in total length. I'm trying to get another but this one's 12 and a quarter inches long identical though. I wasn't aware that there was a Tech 1 and a Tech 2 from back in the day that SOG made. In any event the sheets has very little to do with it unless it's stamped with SMCA or EDM WA. The other comment I read was correct Santa Monica California, and the other is Edmonton Washington. If you're knife has SMCA then it's a 100% 1st Gen authentic being that's where SOG 1st started(1986-1990's), then they moved to Edmonton Washington. Then Lynnwood Washington. For a lot of vintage SOG's those points of fact r easy and definitive ways to know the year. Especially for discontinued vintage beauties. Then of course there is the sog specialty knives logo which was in the square box on the blade and sometimes on the handles of the knives. Then they went to "SOG" with the split bullet logo(in which a .45caliber bullet was fired at their biggest bitch of a blade the "Tiger Shark". Then just "SOG" in more of the bubble type lettering. Nywy u wanna sell any vintage SOG'S??? Let me know plz.
jagravity1@gmail.com
 
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