Hi everyone,
A couple of years ago I bought a Seal Pup. Just recently, I came accross it and decided to take it with me on a hike. I had never used it prior to this so I will give you an idea of its "NIB" performance.
The edge:
NIB sharpness was not to good, as expected from a production company. Although it was sharper than other knives I have used. It would not slice printer paper and was not able to cleanly cut apples. The serration pattern was not to great for use in thin line but did work OK when used on large 7/16 rope.
The Handle
I really like the handle, it it was comfortable but not slippery, even when covered in mud. This is probably the high point of this knife. The handle was rather short, but this did cut down on the weight of the knife.
Point Penetration:
This is the part that I am confused about. On a vertical stab into a phone book, penetration was about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. However, as soon as I withdrew the blade I found the tip of the blade was impacted a good 3mm. I was really surprised by this because this had not been a full power stab and their was this much damage.
The sheath:
The sheath had many lashing points and was easy to strap to a pack. The downside being the kydex was quite thin.
The following is taken from SOG knives website. This was the criteria for the Seal Knife 2000. I assume these criterium would be the same for the smaller version.
Tip breaking strength ---The edge did not break but was blunted considerably. Considering this knife is of rather low hardness, 56-58, this is what I would expect. Please bear in mind that I satbbed it into a phone book.
Blade toughness---The edge was easily rolled doing minor activities such as very light chopping and making fuzz sticks for fires.
Sharpness and edge retention---The balde is sharpened to 56 to 58 rockwell. Obviously, the edge retention is not going to be that high, but the edge on mine degraded so quickyly it severly limited its effectiveness as a camp tool, never mind a combat weapon.
Handle twist-off limits---I did not feel comfortable doing these tests with this blade.
Two-week salt water immersions---I do not know the results of these tests but I am wondering as to the conclusions. After two days of swimming in a lake and moisture from condensation in the sheath, the blade was showing signs of rust along the length of the cutting edge.
Gasoline and acetylene torch resistance (I did not test this)
Chopping---Because of the balance on this knife, it is not an effective chopper. I cannot answer for the Seal Knife 2000.
Hammering---Because there is no but cap or extended tang, hammering with this blade is, in my experience, dangerous.
Prying---(I did not test this enough to give an accuarate answer)
Penetration performance--- For a blade of its size, it got good penetration and was comforatble in the stab, but did suffer damage.
Cutting ability for six different types of rope and nylon line---because of the distance between the scallops, the serrations are rather ineffective on small line. They are ok on much larger diameter fiberous materials.
Low noise and low reflection factors---When you draw this blade from its kydex sheath, the resultant noise is very loud. Also, how can a knife, an innanimate object, make noise? Low reflection, in my oppinion, is detemined by coating durability. The coating used on this knife is not very duarable:
General use, rubbinhg against an abrasive kydex sheath and habitual sharpening took its toll on the coating.
Intense hands-on training in the field---I am by no means an intense user. However, my experience with this blade tells me that it would not survive anything intense.
I am not bashing SOGs products, specifiaclly I am bashing the model I received. I think it is rather hard to believe that all SOG products are like this considering they have a loyal following. I posted this here so I could hear your oppinions. I was looking to get a Paratool or Scuba/demo but after I had this experience with this blade, I am not so sure. I have read a lot of good things about SOGs multi-tools.
What should I do?
A couple of years ago I bought a Seal Pup. Just recently, I came accross it and decided to take it with me on a hike. I had never used it prior to this so I will give you an idea of its "NIB" performance.
The edge:
NIB sharpness was not to good, as expected from a production company. Although it was sharper than other knives I have used. It would not slice printer paper and was not able to cleanly cut apples. The serration pattern was not to great for use in thin line but did work OK when used on large 7/16 rope.
The Handle
I really like the handle, it it was comfortable but not slippery, even when covered in mud. This is probably the high point of this knife. The handle was rather short, but this did cut down on the weight of the knife.
Point Penetration:
This is the part that I am confused about. On a vertical stab into a phone book, penetration was about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. However, as soon as I withdrew the blade I found the tip of the blade was impacted a good 3mm. I was really surprised by this because this had not been a full power stab and their was this much damage.
The sheath:
The sheath had many lashing points and was easy to strap to a pack. The downside being the kydex was quite thin.
The following is taken from SOG knives website. This was the criteria for the Seal Knife 2000. I assume these criterium would be the same for the smaller version.
Tip breaking strength ---The edge did not break but was blunted considerably. Considering this knife is of rather low hardness, 56-58, this is what I would expect. Please bear in mind that I satbbed it into a phone book.
Blade toughness---The edge was easily rolled doing minor activities such as very light chopping and making fuzz sticks for fires.
Sharpness and edge retention---The balde is sharpened to 56 to 58 rockwell. Obviously, the edge retention is not going to be that high, but the edge on mine degraded so quickyly it severly limited its effectiveness as a camp tool, never mind a combat weapon.
Handle twist-off limits---I did not feel comfortable doing these tests with this blade.
Two-week salt water immersions---I do not know the results of these tests but I am wondering as to the conclusions. After two days of swimming in a lake and moisture from condensation in the sheath, the blade was showing signs of rust along the length of the cutting edge.
Gasoline and acetylene torch resistance (I did not test this)
Chopping---Because of the balance on this knife, it is not an effective chopper. I cannot answer for the Seal Knife 2000.
Hammering---Because there is no but cap or extended tang, hammering with this blade is, in my experience, dangerous.
Prying---(I did not test this enough to give an accuarate answer)
Penetration performance--- For a blade of its size, it got good penetration and was comforatble in the stab, but did suffer damage.
Cutting ability for six different types of rope and nylon line---because of the distance between the scallops, the serrations are rather ineffective on small line. They are ok on much larger diameter fiberous materials.
Low noise and low reflection factors---When you draw this blade from its kydex sheath, the resultant noise is very loud. Also, how can a knife, an innanimate object, make noise? Low reflection, in my oppinion, is detemined by coating durability. The coating used on this knife is not very duarable:
General use, rubbinhg against an abrasive kydex sheath and habitual sharpening took its toll on the coating.
Intense hands-on training in the field---I am by no means an intense user. However, my experience with this blade tells me that it would not survive anything intense.
I am not bashing SOGs products, specifiaclly I am bashing the model I received. I think it is rather hard to believe that all SOG products are like this considering they have a loyal following. I posted this here so I could hear your oppinions. I was looking to get a Paratool or Scuba/demo but after I had this experience with this blade, I am not so sure. I have read a lot of good things about SOGs multi-tools.
What should I do?
