SOG Super Bowie

C

Confederate

Joined
Sep 5, 2005
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Nice big blade, leather sheath. AUS8 stainless steel with a titanium-nitride coating. Stacked leather handle.

For an outdoor knife, I'm caught between using a $70 Ka-Bar carbon steel knife or the SOG? The SOG seems very well made, but I've heard mixed reviews on SOG. (I have an Agency and it's one of the most beautiful knives I own.) Some don't care much for the leather sheath, but my dad's Ka-Bar Marine knife went with him all over the South Pacific during WWII, and his leather sheath is weathered, but still going strong. So Ky-dex sheaths may or may not hold up as well in hard use, but I think I'd prefer Ky-dex.

I also have doubts about the durability of the stacked leather handle. Can it take torrential downpours and repeated hard use?

What do YOU think? The Ka-Bar or the Super Bowie?



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The super Bowie is. Fine knife, but there are better for outdoor use (buscrafty/fire chores stuff I'm guessing)in the $70 category.

I see no reason to stop using your dads kabar if it still serves you well.
 
Have you already bought the Super Bowie? If you have, use it and enjoy it. The stacked leather handle shouldn't give you any trouble if it's properly sealed, and a quality kydex sheath should be very durable.

In case you haven't got it yet, I think that there are much better options for an outdoors knife in that price range (in fact, I think that it's quite overpriced at around $200 for what you get). While aesthetically pleasing, it has a few features that I don't appreciate in a wilderness blade (hollow grind, double quillon guard, large swedge on the spine). And an AUS-8 knife made in Taiwan should, at least in my opinion, be cheaper.
 
How about a modern Ka-Bar? Becker BK7. Made by Kabar. And its way cheaper than the super bowie and has excellent big knife steel, 1095, same as its Ka-Bar brethren.
 
Confederate said:
Some don't care much for the leather sheath, but my dad's Ka-Bar Marine knife went with him all over the South Pacific during WWII, and his leather sheath is weathered, but still going strong. So Ky-dex sheaths may or may not hold up as well in hard use, but I think I'd prefer Ky-dex.

I also have doubts about the durability of the stacked leather handle. Can it take torrential downpours and repeated hard use?
Click to expand...

I'm confused. If Dad's stacked leather handled Ka-Bar Marine knife went with him all over the South Pacific during WWII, why would you have doubts about the durability of its stacked leather handle? :confused:
 
The reason that many make non-recommendations on SOG blades is that many feel that you can get an as good or better knife for the money. The Super Bowie is a very cool knife! The Tigershark is a beast! I love the lines of the Agency, but won't buy it (like the Blackjack 1-7 better, see below). The NW Hunter is also a pretty cool knife.

The Kabar classic is kind of just there for me these days. It embodies a lot of history but I could never bring myself to buy one even when I just started buying fixed blades. My early fixed blades included a custom, a large bowie much like the Super Bowie, a few Randalls, and then a bunch of SOG blades (including a number of their bowies). I like the SOG Seal Pup Elite as a general outdoor knife and it is very tough and not bad to resharpen.

These days I have gotten the Kabar Becker bug and feel that if you want a medium big knife, the BK-7 or ESEE 6 should work for you. They are a good value. The ESEE 4 is actually plenty of knife for me. They are a little big for me now. I find that I seldom ever use the big knives and have moved to 3-5" fixed blades as a general use field knife and a heavy machete for chopping (lately Condor Pack Golok). That said, I am quite pleased with the Becker BK-16 (4"), and the Blackjack Classic 125 (4" cutting edge) with a sizable chroil to choke up on the blade if you want to. If you like the look of the Blackjack classics and you want something a tad larger, 1-7 should work. Good A2 steel and made by Bark River for Blackjack.

I don't have a BK-7 and more than likely will eventually buy one to try out.

I don't think you'll have any issues with the stacked leather handle. It is a classic handle design/material and proven over time.
 
If you like your dad's Kabar, consider getting an Ontario SP1 Marine Combat as a solid $40 beater & retiring that piece of history. That Kabar is begging for a display case. I love all those vacation points written on the sheath. I bet it has some stories.
 
Thanks for the replies. Yes, my dad's Ka-Bar has been retired and now is in the hands of the kids to keep for posterity. Wouldn't dream of using it. The leather handle is quite a bit more robust than the stacked leather handle on the SOG.

Yes, too, on the question regarding whether I already own them. I got the Agency just on looks alone and love just looking at it. I thought the ti-ni finish on the other knives would be that same rich black. (I had a friend once who owned a gorgeous Colt Python, and it had a beautiful rich mile-deep bluing...very similar to the finish on the Agency.)

Of all of the SOGs, the Tech Bowie probably was the most practical. It has nice balance and a very nice edge (in fact, all the SOGs had great edges). The Super Bowie is the knife I don't know what to do with. I'll keep it in my collection, but I'm not sure whether it should be the one I put in my bugout bag. Other contenders are:

  • Ka-Bar Large Heavy Bowie
  • Ontario Marine Raider
  • Ontario RTAK II
  • Buck Hoodlum
  • Buck Thug

Any other recommendations would be welcome. Carbon steel knives also are more subject to rust and corrosion, but with any care (like BreakFree applications), the knife should be as trouble free as a stainless knife. The Super Bowie has an AUS8 blade, which some people like, and some don't. It also has a strong rib to withstand batoning. On the other hand, I've heard of breakages on the Buck Hoodlum right at the notch.

Weight wise, the Super Bowie is heavy, but the Marine Raider is far more heavy and is more of a chopper and batoner. For self defense, it would probably be too unwieldy. Regarding the Buck Thug, I haven't seen any of them, but it seems pretty nice. I wish that the Hoods would recant on the notch, but seeing it's the last thing Ron Hood designed, not much chance of that happening. I think if he were still alive, he'd get rid of it on hearing of the breakages that occur there.

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The $40 replacement beater I mentioned was the Ontario Spec Plus Marine Combat Knife. It's basically a 1095 steel Kabar blade with the generic Spec Plus handle. The Marine Raider is a whole different can of worms. One hell of a knife in it's own right, though.
 
I've been looking at the Buck Thug. It goes for about $105 delivered and seems like a handsome knife.

The Hoodlum is an outstanding knife, but I really wish they'd get rid of the notch. If they offered it with or without a notch, I'd bet very few would get the one with the notch. Still, it's one of my favorite knives.

Ka-Bar makes great knives. I was very disappointed that Cold Steel decided to use 4116 stainless in their Leatherneck knives. Another good reason to stay with Ka-Bar. (I have one of their Tanto-Lites, which use 4116 blades, but it was $25 (shipped) and is one of the outstanding knife deals anywhere. Although the 4116 has surpassed my expectations, the Leatherneck would not a first choice for a survival knife.)
 
A buddy of mine has both the SOG Super Bowie and the Creed. He has used the heck out of his Super Bowie for about seven years now but.....after the first bout of batoning the guard loosened on him and makes a slight rattle with light chopping. He has done out about ten whitetail with the Super Bowie and only strops it up on bare leather and it is still rather sharp. It has a decent sheath and includes a small sharpening stone. The Creed has a small handle and the sheath does not hold the knife well but he has done out several grey squirrel with it, quite well balanced. I own the Ontario SP10 marine raider and will tell you that it is a beast of a knife that requires some work to the edge upon purchase if you want to just be able to shave a stick. The edge is very beefy. The sheath is ok but is squeaky when you move around. My suggestion is get a Becker. Go on ebay and get some exotic wood scales (cocobolo, osage orange, rosewood, bloodwood, walnut). Strip the blade, patina it with vinegar (prevents some rusting) and contact Kelley Customs for a fine leather sheath.
BK7- $70
Scales-$40
Sheath-$60
Total-$170

For about the same price as your SOG Super Bowie you will have a far superior woods knife with traditional feel and looks IMHO and the whole package is USA made. You can even get a couple different sets of scales and swap them out occasionally to add a little spice to your life every now and then. And if you plan on a really wet hike, you put the Zytel or Grivory scales back on and put it back in its original nylon sheath in about five minutes. Or just leave the Beker as is and your into the whole deal for around 70 bucks.
 
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