Hello all. I have lurked these forums for a little while, but I am finally registered and posting. I appreciate the advice I have received here, so far. 
In the past few years, I have been getting into hunting and more outdoorsy activities like hiking on the Appalachian, camping, ect. I have always been the outdoorsman type, but I never really invested in good gear. About a year ago, I decided it was time to start picking out some better gear - starting with a quality knife to fit my needs. I did my research and decided on a few things that I needed in a knife:
1) Full tang and quality carbon/stainless steel and a non-corrosive finish. I want this thing to hold an edge.
2) No serrations. I just dont like them. Plus its easier to keep the blade sharp.
3) A solid grip - with no chance of slipping. This includes hand guards.
4) I wanted a knife that was long and heavy enough to chop wood and take some abuse - but not too long so that I have control with it.
5) A solid butt for hammering/staking.
6) A knife that I could use in a defensive situation if the need arose (against a person or wildlife). I thought about pig hunting for this instance. If I were going to shank a wild boar, I wanted a piercing point, and again, a solid-no-slip grip.
Keep in mind, that I live in the east. It is cold, hot, wet, sticky, icy, ect. There are wild animals to take and defend against. Trees are small and soft enough to cut with a knife - an axe is not a must. Firewood is. A shelter is. Potentially, I could use this blade in lowlands, highlands, coastlines, swamps, but mostly in the piedmont.
So... Taking all of those things into consideration, I purchased a SOG Tech Bowie. It has quality steel, a sharp edge, a great grip, medium length, a piercing tip, and a solid butt. The kydex sheath also drains out water if the blade gets soaked. The blade design may look a little thin towards the tip, to some, but I liked it for what I intended to use it for. The point on the back of the blade looked like it could come in handy somehow. So far, it has only helped me crack open coconuts - in which it worked flawlessly, lol. I dont think prying is a job that I would need this knife for, so again, the tip design should work for me. Best of all, the company offered a lifetime warranty on the knife. How can you beat that?
Recently, I have been putting this knife to use. Sure, it looks beautiful with its shiny black finish I think it will look a lot nicer with some wear and tear, though! My property has a creek and is mostly in the bottomlands. I used the bowie to chop bamboo, cut down some saplings, shave some bark, and splinter some wood to make a fire. No jobs that were too strenuous on the blade. The knife was working great. This handle truly is slip-proof. It is practically glued to my hand and feels ergonomically, great. The blade also held its edge like a champ. I know I would feel completely comfortable while pig hunting with this knife. I really thought that I had the perfect knife to fulfill my needs.
But (problem 1) the button on the rubber retention strap, on the sheath, broke. I dont even know where it went, but now the knife is not held closely to the body when in the sheath. It sort of bounces around. The kydex sheath still holds the knife with a reassuring *clamp* when sheathed. It isnt coming out. It just isnt held as tightly. No big deal, I thought. Its just a button, and Ill probably just fix it, myself. I wont hold it against the knife, which so far, I have been in love with.
So another day, I decide to build another campfire behind the house. My roommates, friends, girlfriends, ect. like to hang out by the fire pit. Instead of the usual burning of leftover boxes to start the thing, I decide to use my knife to try to get a natural fire going. I find a small log that has been split and start to splinter the wood along the grain for some good tinder. All of the sudden, (problem 2) the blade gets loose What the heck Well, the cool looking, tooled nut that attaches the tang to the hilt has come loose. As you can see here:
Now, I have been loving this knife, so far. I didnt mind the button breaking so much, but this loose handle would have been a big deal in a survival situation. This is also a $200.00 knife. It is supposed to be able to take a real beating. I do understand that the knife is definitely NOT broken. It has simply malfunctioned. I wrote an email to SOG and asked about these issues and their warranty on this knife. I asked if these were some common issues that this model incurred. I am anxiously awaiting their response. I do want to fairly finish this review especially after dealing with this companies customer service. Hopefully, I will have a great experience and can continue to fulfill a positive review of this product. At this point, unfortunately, I am a little hesitant to recommend this knife as a blade that you could bet your life on, though. What I am hoping is that I received a knife that wasn't fully seated with that odd little nut. Has anyone here had similar issues with SOG knives? It has to be a rarity, since they all seem to be constructed similarly (I hope).
In the past few years, I have been getting into hunting and more outdoorsy activities like hiking on the Appalachian, camping, ect. I have always been the outdoorsman type, but I never really invested in good gear. About a year ago, I decided it was time to start picking out some better gear - starting with a quality knife to fit my needs. I did my research and decided on a few things that I needed in a knife:
1) Full tang and quality carbon/stainless steel and a non-corrosive finish. I want this thing to hold an edge.
2) No serrations. I just dont like them. Plus its easier to keep the blade sharp.
3) A solid grip - with no chance of slipping. This includes hand guards.
4) I wanted a knife that was long and heavy enough to chop wood and take some abuse - but not too long so that I have control with it.
5) A solid butt for hammering/staking.
6) A knife that I could use in a defensive situation if the need arose (against a person or wildlife). I thought about pig hunting for this instance. If I were going to shank a wild boar, I wanted a piercing point, and again, a solid-no-slip grip.
Keep in mind, that I live in the east. It is cold, hot, wet, sticky, icy, ect. There are wild animals to take and defend against. Trees are small and soft enough to cut with a knife - an axe is not a must. Firewood is. A shelter is. Potentially, I could use this blade in lowlands, highlands, coastlines, swamps, but mostly in the piedmont.
So... Taking all of those things into consideration, I purchased a SOG Tech Bowie. It has quality steel, a sharp edge, a great grip, medium length, a piercing tip, and a solid butt. The kydex sheath also drains out water if the blade gets soaked. The blade design may look a little thin towards the tip, to some, but I liked it for what I intended to use it for. The point on the back of the blade looked like it could come in handy somehow. So far, it has only helped me crack open coconuts - in which it worked flawlessly, lol. I dont think prying is a job that I would need this knife for, so again, the tip design should work for me. Best of all, the company offered a lifetime warranty on the knife. How can you beat that?
Recently, I have been putting this knife to use. Sure, it looks beautiful with its shiny black finish I think it will look a lot nicer with some wear and tear, though! My property has a creek and is mostly in the bottomlands. I used the bowie to chop bamboo, cut down some saplings, shave some bark, and splinter some wood to make a fire. No jobs that were too strenuous on the blade. The knife was working great. This handle truly is slip-proof. It is practically glued to my hand and feels ergonomically, great. The blade also held its edge like a champ. I know I would feel completely comfortable while pig hunting with this knife. I really thought that I had the perfect knife to fulfill my needs.
But (problem 1) the button on the rubber retention strap, on the sheath, broke. I dont even know where it went, but now the knife is not held closely to the body when in the sheath. It sort of bounces around. The kydex sheath still holds the knife with a reassuring *clamp* when sheathed. It isnt coming out. It just isnt held as tightly. No big deal, I thought. Its just a button, and Ill probably just fix it, myself. I wont hold it against the knife, which so far, I have been in love with.
So another day, I decide to build another campfire behind the house. My roommates, friends, girlfriends, ect. like to hang out by the fire pit. Instead of the usual burning of leftover boxes to start the thing, I decide to use my knife to try to get a natural fire going. I find a small log that has been split and start to splinter the wood along the grain for some good tinder. All of the sudden, (problem 2) the blade gets loose What the heck Well, the cool looking, tooled nut that attaches the tang to the hilt has come loose. As you can see here:
Now, I have been loving this knife, so far. I didnt mind the button breaking so much, but this loose handle would have been a big deal in a survival situation. This is also a $200.00 knife. It is supposed to be able to take a real beating. I do understand that the knife is definitely NOT broken. It has simply malfunctioned. I wrote an email to SOG and asked about these issues and their warranty on this knife. I asked if these were some common issues that this model incurred. I am anxiously awaiting their response. I do want to fairly finish this review especially after dealing with this companies customer service. Hopefully, I will have a great experience and can continue to fulfill a positive review of this product. At this point, unfortunately, I am a little hesitant to recommend this knife as a blade that you could bet your life on, though. What I am hoping is that I received a knife that wasn't fully seated with that odd little nut. Has anyone here had similar issues with SOG knives? It has to be a rarity, since they all seem to be constructed similarly (I hope).
