SOG Government Agent Failure

M

Metul

Joined
Jan 1, 2006
Messages
7
A terrible thing happened today.

I was practicing throwing knives, when i decided to give my SOG Government Agent a try. I tossed it at close range with very little force and it stuck perfectly. Pleased, I took a step or two back and stuck the knife again. The next time I threw it, however, it hit the board wrong or something, and the blade broke clean off the handle. :(

I know that the Government Agent isn't a throwing knife, but this was truly pathetic. I don't think that throwing it at minimal range with far less force than normal constitutes abuse of the blade either. I have experience with throwing conventional knives, and this is the first time a failure of this magnitude has ever occurred.

I'm gonna return it to A.G. Russell and see if I can get a refund, or store credit or something so i can buy a knife that won't crap out on me. :(

P.S.

I haven't got a digital camera at the moment, but I'll try and borrow one and post some pictures.
 
Metul,

First, welcome to BladeForums.com! :)

I'm very sorry...this must have come as quite a blow. Personally, I would have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach if a new purchase of mine was in my hands....in pieces. :(

But (you must have known that a "but" was coming as you are posting this issue on a knife site), throwing a knife isn't covered under SOG's warranty. A knife is designed for cutting...not prying, throwing, or other non-cutting actions.

Here's relevant material from SOG's warranty statement:
All SOG products are guaranteed against defects in workmanship and materials for the life of the original purchaser. This guarantee is voided (as determined by SOG) by misuse, abuse, improper maintenance, or alterations of the product and does not cover any normal wear that might occur.
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Throwing one's knife falls under "misuse" or "abuse" of the knife.

Since cutting is not a relevant function for knife throwing, there are many wonderful knives that are designed just for that purpose which are perfectly balanced and not necessarily wonderful cutting devices (razor sharp edges).

Good luck returning it to AG. You might or might not have success.
 
ron anderson - I think the knife should sustain it
or are you abusing your knife when it suddenly falls out of your hand and hit the floor? Or when it hit the rock?
 
In my limited throwing knife experience,the only knife I know of that specifically had a guarantee about tip breakage was a Benchmark something or other,the blade steel was touted highly,black handle,not very large knife,I'll have to go dig it out and post back.Anywho,it works good for it's intended purpose,has a little strange looking guard,rather large,part of the handle.Let me find it. :D
Metul,Welcome to Bladeforums! :cool:
 
huugh said:
ron anderson - I think the knife should sustain it
or are you abusing your knife when it suddenly falls out of your hand and hit the floor? Or when it hit the rock?
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"Accidents" (like dropping on a rock) fall under "misuse" because the action which causes a breakage are circumstances that do not fall under the primary use of a knife: cutting....even though it was an "accident."

It's not my goal here to stir up problems, knowing full well that this is an "emotional" issue when someone's knife breaks and they are upset. Rather, I'm hoping to point out the warranty policy of not only SOG, but many/most others as well; partly with the hope to assist others in the future to understand those policies and use their knives within the boundaries in that they were made.

Since I've talked with hundreds of customers on this issue (when I used to be in a position to manage such concerns), I can certainly feel for the circumstances they found themselves in. I can also understand that there are some consumers who don't understand that most sporting knives are designed for cutting, and that is what the manufacturer intends the knife to be used as.

When I was a kid, I'd throw my pocket knife into th grass, but when the tip broke (hitting a rock under the grass), I did understand that I was misusing the knife and I went out and bought another one.

Again, I'm not trying to stir up problems...just hoping to 1) explain knife manufacturer's warranty position and 2) assist knife owners about the boundaries of their knives.
 
leatherbird said:
In my limited throwing knife experience,the only knife I know of that specifically had a guarantee about tip breakage was a Benchmark something or other,the blade steel was touted highly,black handle,not very large knife,I'll have to go dig it out and post back.Anywho,it works good for it's intended purpose,has a little strange looking guard,rather large,part of the handle.Let me find it. :D
Metul,Welcome to Bladeforums! :cool:
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I have found tip breakage to be inevitable when you throw a knife. Some of the tip is pretty much gauranteed to break off at some point. However, I feel that THE ENTIRE BLADE seperating from the handle is unusual, especially after only a few light throws.

If it was only the tip I wouldn't be upset, but I'm beginning to wonder what the intended use for this knife is if it can't handle hitting a piece of wet pine. Like I said before I have thrown many blades that aren't intended for throwing, never with as disasterous a result. Given the high praise SOG usually gets, this came as quite a shock.

I probably won't go to SOG for a replacement, since I know I violated the warranty by throwing it. However. I intend to contact A.G. Russell, given that their gaurantee is more far reaching

AGRussell.com said:
If you buy a knife and don't use it for ten years and when you do use it you want to return it, do so. If you think that a knife should provide good service for ten years and it only does so for seven years, tell us so. You are in charge of our guarantee.
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blade broke off at the handle..... that just sucks.... can't even weld it back together and use it on the dinner table.

I sure hope Russell will make it right for you.

Cheers,

Carl
 
The only problem I have with all this is that this particular model is advertised as having a "single ground blade that extends all the way through the end of the handle and attaches to a stainless steel pommel that doubles as a field hammer." I don't know all the facts but I also don't know how much hammering I would want to do with this knife if it were to break that easy. Maybe it was that one in ten thousand or something like that.
 
BubbaGanew said:
The only problem I have with all this is that this particular model is advertised as having a "single ground blade that extends all the way through the end of the handle and attaches to a stainless steel pommel that doubles as a field hammer." I don't know all the facts but I also don't know how much hammering I would want to do with this knife if it were to break that easy. Maybe it was that one in ten thousand or something like that.
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I hope that the copy on hammering did not appear on my web site or catalog. Anybody who uses a pommel for a hammer and tears up his fingers on the nail will bleed without my feeling any pain. I learned better before I was a teen ager.

Why are some of you expressing doubt about what I will do about this mans return.

We will replace it or refund his money, if he plans to go on throwing it we will refund his money and suggest that he buy the replaceent somewhere else. Lots of great throwing knives out there with spring timper. No hunting knife, tempered to hold an edge is going to stand up to throwing.

Any one who is honest enough to confess to throwing (instead of "dropping it on the carpet" or "just cutting soft pine") should find that honesty rewarded.

A. G.
 
First, it's great that Mr. Russell is offering to cover you for the cost of a "lesson." :)

Second, I can certainly see why SOG might not do anything for you. They have to draw the line somewhere to avoid losing too much money on undue warranty claims, and there it is.

Third, I am not sure what to think of the knife breaking like that. I am inclined to say any fixed blade ought to take a throw with less damage than a complete break in half.

But it's basically a glorified Kabar/Camillus military cheap issue. It's NOT a full tang design as far as I can see, it looks like the same kind of slim tang pushing through the guard and down to the pommel as a Kabar, which is clearly not the most durable blade attachment. They weren't made to be the toughest knives in the world, just good for the cost, so you probably should have chosen a knife with a real full tang if you wanted something that would take more abuse in a tough situation.

On the other hand, if it breaks in half so easy, I have to wonder how well the knife holds up when the pommel is used as a "field hammer..."
http://www.sogknives.com/govern.htm

You can get a Camillus for half the price with the same construction and better steel (1095, not AUS6) if you want something to beat around.
 
Mr Russell,

Truly incredible customer service !!


To add my own personal philosophy on using a knife as a "field hammer:" the only such knife I have is the "kabar-style" with the flat pommel.
And I'm mighty careful about what I hammer, and how I hammer .... and I sure don't hammer very hard at all: I don't want to miss and whap my hand.

Cheers,

Carl
 
A. G. Russell said:
I hope that the copy on hammering did not appear on my web site or catalog. Anybody who uses a pommel for a hammer and tears up his fingers on the nail will bleed without my feeling any pain. I learned better before I was a teen ager.

Why are some of you expressing doubt about what I will do about this mans return.

We will replace it or refund his money, if he plans to go on throwing it we will refund his money and suggest that he buy the replaceent somewhere else. Lots of great throwing knives out there with spring timper. No hunting knife, tempered to hold an edge is going to stand up to throwing.

Any one who is honest enough to confess to throwing (instead of "dropping it on the carpet" or "just cutting soft pine") should find that honesty rewarded.

A. G.
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Thanks for understanding my predicament. I've definitely learned my lesson about throwing hunting knives. :eek: From now on I'll leave the throwing to the throwing knives.

For what it's worth the knife threw quite well.....

P.S.
I just got an SOG Tomcat from you guys. It rules! :D
 
damn thats gotta suck but you are recieving excellent customer service i ve never even heard of customer service that good i think i know where i am going to get my first SOG from now.
 
Metul said:
... it hit the board wrong or something, and the blade broke clean off the handle. :( ...
P.S.

I haven't got a digital camera at the moment, but I'll try and borrow one and post some pictures.
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I'd like to see pics, especially where it broke exactly...:confused: above or below the crossguard???
 
Bobby B said:
I'd like to see pics, especially where it broke exactly...:confused: above or below the crossguard???
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I'll probably have pics this weekend or next week, cuz I gotta borrow a digital camera from a friend.

The blade broke just barely above the crossguard, right where the blade meets the handle.
 
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