SOG Vulcan Tanto

M

MrFishead

Joined
Nov 15, 2011
Messages
115
Any of you out there own a SOGVulcan Tanto? I picked one up a few months ago and I was extremely dissapointed in what I received. Just want to get some opinions.
 
Can you explain how you were disspapointed? I was thinking about getting a mini vulcan tanto or flash II myself.
 
I've been very happy with my full-size drop point Vulcan. After EDC'ing it for the past two years, there's only a few things that I would change about it. What disappointed you?
 
I posted a response but it disappeared. Hm.

Anyway,

The first thing that stuck out to me was how cheap the handle feels. It has a very plasticky feel in my opinion and definitely surprised me for a knife of that price range. The top of the handle on the back had seams where the handle had been put together and mine just looked poorer than I felt a knife of that price should. I should mention that if I had spent $40 on the knife I wouldn't be having this conversation, but I didn't unfortunately.

Second complaint, is the pocket clip. I LOVE how it rides in the pocket and I do like the look. The only problem is that it bends very easily and often comes loose, but this is more of a minor complaint.

What really got to me though was when I actuated the lock and swung the blade closed, if I didn't let go quickly enough, it would make contact with the inside of the handle and make a nice little groove inside the handle. Apparently, this is how the knife is supposed to work. I was told by SOG that I shouldn't close it like I was. It just seems ridiculous there is a wrong way to close a folding pocket knife. The blade on the knife is sick though. The other problems I had with it just make me feel hosed though. Combine this with my problems with my Twitch II and I just wanted to see if anyone else was unhappy with these
 
I have a standard VUlcan. I love it. I understand the complaint about the plastic; I had that, too. When I asked Chris from SOG about it, he said the cost to make a handle that shape out of something like G10 was too much. With that in mind, I completely understand. The ergonomics of the molded Zytel are much better (in my opinion) than flat G10, Micarta, or carbon fiber slabs could have been. True, the Zytel is more flexible, but to make any of the other mentioned materials the same shape would indeed be a lot of work. Anyway, this is just my opinion. I love my Vulcan, and have even thought about getting a tanto Vulcan. In the end, to each their own!
 
The knife itself fits nicely in the hand but I just can't get past how poor the materials feel. It's a shame that I can't get past all the problems I see in it as I haven't quite found a replacement knife I like just as much, that blade is gorgeous. I listed my knife for sale too hoping to use the cash to get another EDC. Does yours make contact with the inside of the handle?
 
I love the design but after about 2 weeks of use the knife generally starts to develope astronomical bladeplay and the plastic handle does feel cheap. Also, before i sent mine in for warranty department i did realize the blade was hitting the back spacer alot. I agree there shouldnt be a wrong way to open and close a pocket knife without damage. Your experience seems to be typical... Unfortunately.
 
I don't ever swing my Vulcan open or closed, so I can't comment on that. I can say I've had it for almost three years without any blade play, though.
 
wolf5391 said:
I love the design but after about 2 weeks of use the knife generally starts to develope astronomical bladeplay and the plastic handle does feel cheap. Also, before i sent mine in for warranty department i did realize the blade was hitting the back spacer alot. I agree there shouldnt be a wrong way to open and close a pocket knife without damage. Your experience seems to be typical... Unfortunately.
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I sure hope my experience wasn't typical. The b.s. I went through with customer service was rediculous. /headache/
 
Well I just sent it out to tuffthumbz for some pimping. He can do yours as well! The creativity is all his.
 
awh said:
Well I just sent it out to tuffthumbz for some pimping. He can do yours as well! The creativity is all his.
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That's not a bad idea but I think I'm just gonna keep tryin' to sell it. If I still have it in a little while, I may just do that.
 
MrFishead said:
I sure hope my experience wasn't typical. The b.s. I went through with customer service was rediculous. /headache/
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join the club i talked to there cs and it left alot to be desired. Chris@SOG helped me out the most. Wish he was just the warranty guy because then everything would be ok.
 
The Sog Vulcan tanto is my first knife. It pains me to, but i sold it away because there are a few things that i'm disappointed with. The blade itself is amazing- nice laminated VG-10 steel and the beautiful recurve with tanto tip. However, the 'gills' on the blade is poorly finished and that is where rust started to form. Next, the GRN handles seem to chip off easily. Mine has a small part chipped off brand new in box. The clip is also wobbly and it didn't give me any sense of security using it. For the price, i believe SOG can manufacture a better handle to match the awesome blade.
No point building monster arms when your legs can't support your weight.
 
My vulcan is awesome...my clip did snap off and shoot across the room. How much did you pay. For $90 I think it's a hell of a deal.
 
Maddogg774 said:
My vulcan is awesome...my clip did snap off and shoot across the room. How much did you pay. For $90 I think it's a hell of a deal.
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I think mine was about $90, so I think it was a good deal for a VG-10 blade and silky smooth lock. I can see disappointment with the Zytel. I was at first a bit disappointed, but I like the ergo's of the handle. As for the clip, I have no problems with it. I also remember hearing from Chris a while back that the clips are purposefully designed so that if they catch on something, only the clip bends/breaks instead of the handle being damaged. As far as I know, SOG replaces clips for free, too.

Oh, the gills on my don't look like they were cleaned out very well either. I've thought about smoothing them with a small diamond file. Personally, I think the knife would be better without them. They are just a place to get dirt stuck.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one that has an issue with this knife and customer service. I wrote to them telling basically what I posted above, They were shocked I didn't like it and thought something might be wrong with the one I received so they gave me a prepaid UPS label to ship it to them so it could be examined. They even told me no one has ever sent in a Vulcan for repair either. So I sent it to be checked out. I got a call from someone whose name I unfortunately cannot remember a few weeks later. This is when I was told that I shouldn't open it how I was opening it. I informed him of all I was dissatisfied with about the knife again to which he had no answer. He did say that he would get back to me about how the seams lined up on the handle. I never heard from this guy again but I did receive my knife a few weeks later same as I sent it in with absolutely no response from SOG about whether or not my knife was faulty or anything. It was sharpened though, oh boy! When I got it back I sent an email to the rep that had given me the label to tell him I wasn't happy. I explained that I told whomever I spoke with on the phone about the seams and he never called me back. About fifteen minutes after sending that email, the rep sent me an email he thought was addressed to whomever I spoke with on the phone, ending the email with, "Some people are never satisfied lol". Talk about mad? FUMING. After an apology email from him and unsuccessfully trying to get them to refund me for the knife and my time, I wound up sending my knife back to them and getting a brand new one in the box figuring I could sell a brand new one easier than a used one and wash my hands of SOG. The one I received doesn't even look new! Sorry for the long winded post, I just think this type of customer "service" is ridiculous.
 
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