Everyone has a correct take on this one. Some other comments.
1. Finish - we all know that the S1 Bowies came with a gun-blued or tigerstriped finish.
nutz is spot on on this one. As he correctly mentioned, the gun-bluing wore off and the owner chromed it to cover up the flaws.
2. Guard - It is chipped, like
GIRLYmann noted. My guess is that while touching up the knife with a machine he damaged it and now had to smoothen it out.
3. Tip - Like
Chris mentioned, all SOG Bowies come with a
"faceted tip" or a tip with a little on the top sharpened. The fact that this is missing indicates that the tip was chipped off and was sharpened to create a new tip.
4. Handle - This is
not a black leather handle, but rather a normal S1 Bowie handle that has been treated and aged. If you notice carefully, the SOG S1 Bowies have WHITE washers. You can see that the white washers on this one has turned to a dark brown color - a sure sign that some tanning was done to the handle.
5. Logos - My guess is that they look rounded because the owner tried to sand off some rust or tarnish before chroming.
Nevertheless it still looks to be a presentable knife. You can tell from the sheath that is is quite an old production S1 Bowie too. The owner is honest enough to say that it has been chromed instead of passing it off as a Special Edition S1 Bowie as some people have tried to do. He mentioned that it has a factory edge, which is not true.
You can take a look at the pictures on our site for clearer pictures of the engravings, faceted tip and finish.
Hope this has cleared up some doubts. If you wish to buy this knife please know that what you are getting is NOT a special edition S1 Bowie and proceed with caution.
Cheers,
Mark
SOG Knives Collectors
