- Joined
- Jul 5, 2014
- Messages
- 3,523
I recently decided to rotate my Kabar 1217 for a SOG SEAL Team knife and have now been using the SOG for a month in testing conditions in a jungle environment.
BLUF - the SEAL Team knife is a very capable knife that has impressed me with its perfomance.
I thought I'd offer some feedback on how it has done, it's not a review, but some observations.
First off, I chose the SEAL Team, not the Elite variant with the TiNi coating and the jimping, but the smooth spine and grey coated blade. I am not a fan of the jimping, but would prefer the TiNi finish.
The knife I have comes with the nylon Molle sheath and I made a paracord lanyard for the knife (simple loop type, for heavy chopping).
I've been working in a jungle environment for just over a month now, daily tasks have included clearing paths, chopping up hard and soft wood boughs, splitting wood, marking trails on trees (cut a shallow 'scallop' out in the direction of travel), general cutting tasks (paracord, webbing straps, boxes, paper), prying, whittling, scraping etc. The knife has been used hard and daily in a hot and humid environment, been submerged during a river crossing and subjected to a lot sweat during hikes.
The SEAL Team has impressed with how well it has retained an edge - I have purposefully not sharpened it and it can still easily slice through paracord, cardboard boxes and thin grasses. I took a gamble on the weight of the knife being a lighter replacement for a bolo/parang/machete and I have not been disappointed. Though there were times a bolo/parang/machete would have been better, when cutting a trail for instance, it would have struggled with some of the finer tasks the SEAL Team was able to achieve.
The coating has held up ok, as expected it has worn away in the hard plastic sheath where it is subjected to pressure or rubbing and around the tip of the knife.
The AUS-8 steel has held up well though, some marks on the edge are just some staining from dark sap, no corrosion is evident. The FRN handle has been great, there is some surface scuffing of the chequering where there's been some abrasion, but the chequering has held up well and provided consistent positive grip even when slick with sweat, suncream or mosquito repellent. DEET (50%) has not had any effect on the handle.
The serrations, which I originally wasn't a fan of, have absolutely peoven their worth cutting through some sisal type rope, which would have been a lot harder with just a plain edge, so I'm now a convert to the SEAL Team serration.
Overall, very content with the whole package, even the nylon Molle sheath is actually quite good as it is stiff but fairly slim so it didn't flop about on the belt and didn't get hung up on on other belt kit or backpack straps.
Next step is going to be sharpening it back to its factory razor edge and having it as a permanent replacement for the KaBar 1217.
BLUF - the SEAL Team knife is a very capable knife that has impressed me with its perfomance.
I thought I'd offer some feedback on how it has done, it's not a review, but some observations.
First off, I chose the SEAL Team, not the Elite variant with the TiNi coating and the jimping, but the smooth spine and grey coated blade. I am not a fan of the jimping, but would prefer the TiNi finish.
The knife I have comes with the nylon Molle sheath and I made a paracord lanyard for the knife (simple loop type, for heavy chopping).
I've been working in a jungle environment for just over a month now, daily tasks have included clearing paths, chopping up hard and soft wood boughs, splitting wood, marking trails on trees (cut a shallow 'scallop' out in the direction of travel), general cutting tasks (paracord, webbing straps, boxes, paper), prying, whittling, scraping etc. The knife has been used hard and daily in a hot and humid environment, been submerged during a river crossing and subjected to a lot sweat during hikes.
The SEAL Team has impressed with how well it has retained an edge - I have purposefully not sharpened it and it can still easily slice through paracord, cardboard boxes and thin grasses. I took a gamble on the weight of the knife being a lighter replacement for a bolo/parang/machete and I have not been disappointed. Though there were times a bolo/parang/machete would have been better, when cutting a trail for instance, it would have struggled with some of the finer tasks the SEAL Team was able to achieve.
The coating has held up ok, as expected it has worn away in the hard plastic sheath where it is subjected to pressure or rubbing and around the tip of the knife.
The AUS-8 steel has held up well though, some marks on the edge are just some staining from dark sap, no corrosion is evident. The FRN handle has been great, there is some surface scuffing of the chequering where there's been some abrasion, but the chequering has held up well and provided consistent positive grip even when slick with sweat, suncream or mosquito repellent. DEET (50%) has not had any effect on the handle.
The serrations, which I originally wasn't a fan of, have absolutely peoven their worth cutting through some sisal type rope, which would have been a lot harder with just a plain edge, so I'm now a convert to the SEAL Team serration.
Overall, very content with the whole package, even the nylon Molle sheath is actually quite good as it is stiff but fairly slim so it didn't flop about on the belt and didn't get hung up on on other belt kit or backpack straps.
Next step is going to be sharpening it back to its factory razor edge and having it as a permanent replacement for the KaBar 1217.
