SOG's Official Response

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::Warning: Curveball Approaching::


The Asylum productions sometimes feature more overt sexuality or graphic violence than their major studio counterparts, because The Asylum's releases are not in competition with films rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.[3] Rolf Potts of The New York Times described Transmorphers as having "no recognizable actors, no merchandising tie-ins and a garbled sound mix. Also unlike Transformers, it has cheap special effects and a subplot involving lesbians."[1]
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New age Ed Wood?

I think every movie needs a lesbian sub-plot. It definitely would have made "Battlefield Earth" a little more watchable.

Anyhow...back to knives and rip-offs and pile-ons.

I snorted and laughed when I read SOG's "official response". The whole time I kept thinking: "This dude should work in government crafting responses for the CIA."

I can neither confirm, nor deny that these might or might not be copies of certain manufacturers' designs. But let me be clear, we are going to let the system work itself out.
 
FTO_dude said:
its kinda making me think of these guys
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Asylum
they make horrible rip-offs of films and release them around the same time to try and cash in on the larger films release

oh my, that does seem overly negative.
I have never held a SOG product, but thus far, i have held them in high regard.
and until i do get my hands on one and can judge for myself i wont comment on their products
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C. Thomas Howell was most AWESOME in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.G._Wells'_War_of_the_Worlds_(2005_film)
 
hissatsu1 said:
I have owned several SOG blades and like them very much. They are not my favorite by no means but still have interesting designs. I believe this situation is sticky to say the least. The internet's leading Knife community are up in arms over this whole situation, so this may effect SOG's rep. and business within the large innercircle of "KnifeNuts" around the world. BUT, lets consider this, if Spyderco and the others that SOG has been accused of copying are forgiving, OR IF THEY EVEN CONSIDER THIS TO BE A PROBLEM AT ALL, then I guess we should be forgiving as well. Sal and the others are professional enough to realize when they have been ripped off, if they see these designs and see no copyright issues, then THIS ENTIRE KNIFE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BURY THIS ISSUE AND MOVE ON.. Of course we all will maintain our personal opinions about this issue and thats fine, deal with SOG from a personal stand-point by not buying their products or however you see fit. But this negative image that is being built up by a forum that takes it's place in the highest of ranks among the online knife community can and will effect SOG's rep. in some way(maybe little or maybe big). I personally don't want to be apart of company bashing "IF" it is not truely deserved, and I believe the only ones that can make that call are the companys that have been copied, if any at all.. Of course if SOG has been convicted of this kind of serious crime, then any company that commits such acts should be banned from BF and any where else. But lets not pull the trigger on SOG until we see if the professionals really see "bad blood" building between them over this issue.. If Sal isn't offended, I'm not offended... This is just my opinion..
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IMO, Sal's position isn't the only one that counts. Here's Jean Lum's response on a different forum:

Hello to all:
As Bob Lum's widow, I am the owner of all his designs. I hope to always maintain the integrity and legacy of my late husband and his beautiful work.....of coarse I am very biased.

As for the SOG saber tip type folder, yes that looks like a Lum design....do you think I'm getting royalty checks? Fat chance...... and I would never do anything about it because that was not Bob's way, as many of you know.

But what comes around, goes around or whatever that saying is.

Jean
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Here's Warren Thomas' response on a different forum:

Its funny how SOG gave me a call a few years back about working with them . I had no interest is joining there teem and some how they have got a total copy of my work . It wouldn't be so bad if they at the least gave credit to the original designers but they act like there design teem did all the original designs for the new line up.
Im a little pissed off about this . They and many other people and companies rip off designs and profit from it and clam it theirs.
WT...You know why to stay away from SOG. I would like to kick someone in the nuts over this . This is flat out theft of design to us all. Just my two cents. WT
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I feel like some good people that have contributed real originality to the knife industry have been wronged and I'm being told that I shouldn't speak up about it in the name of etiquette. If my friends were wronged, I'd the be first person to stand up for them. I see nothing wrong with letting SOG know that this isn't an issue that should die down. This is an issue that they should fix, not wait for everyone to forget so they can get away with it.
 
As occurs with all industries, when a design feature becomes popularized , others within the industry look to build upon this innovation.
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Doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, there are many time where I like a knife but wish someone would change just one part and make it better. Sometimes other companies do this. Or there is a design I would like but it's real expensive ... as in over priced. If someone else wants to legally make a similar one but at a more realistic price it's fine by me. Like someone said... your not forced to buy anything.
 
It's unfortunate that SOG is resorting to such blatantly derivative designs. I for one have enjoyed the SOG knives I've owned, and in some categories I think their knives are competitive with the best out there. This clear-cut design plagiarism, though, is enough to deter me from buying any more of their products.
 
hopefully the 2011 lineup will get the company back on track.. personally I like their aegis and trident assisted open knives.. plus their higher end bowies are great..

still no excuse for the b.s they pulled for this year but i'm not "cutting them off" from my list of potential knife buys in the future
 
hissatsu1 said:
I have owned several SOG blades and like them very much. They are not my favorite by no means but still have interesting designs. I believe this situation is sticky to say the least. The internet's leading Knife community are up in arms over this whole situation, so this may effect SOG's rep. and business within the large innercircle of "KnifeNuts" around the world. BUT, lets consider this, if Spyderco and the others that SOG has been accused of copying are forgiving, OR IF THEY EVEN CONSIDER THIS TO BE A PROBLEM AT ALL, then I guess we should be forgiving as well. Sal and the others are professional enough to realize when they have been ripped off, if they see these designs and see no copyright issues, then THIS ENTIRE KNIFE COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BURY THIS ISSUE AND MOVE ON.. Of course we all will maintain our personal opinions about this issue and thats fine, deal with SOG from a personal stand-point by not buying their products or however you see fit. But this negative image that is being built up by a forum that takes it's place in the highest of ranks among the online knife community can and will effect SOG's rep. in some way(maybe little or maybe big). I personally don't want to be apart of company bashing "IF" it is not truely deserved, and I believe the only ones that can make that call are the companys that have been copied, if any at all.. Of course if SOG has been convicted of this kind of serious crime, then any company that commits such acts should be banned from BF and any where else. But lets not pull the trigger on SOG until we see if the professionals really see "bad blood" building between them over this issue.. If Sal isn't offended, I'm not offended... This is just my opinion..
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That's what makes a discussion forum, differing opinions. In this case, I disagree with you. Just because something isn't illegal doesn't mean it isn't wrong. If what SOG has done is just barely legal by the letter of the law then Spyderco, Benchmade etc have nothing to gain by bad mouthing what SOG has done, it isn't going to make them look better or get them sales.
 
Kaizen1 said:
If my friends were wronged, I'd the be first person to stand up for them. I see nothing wrong with letting SOG know that this isn't an issue that should die down. This is an issue that they should fix, not wait for everyone to forget so they can get away with it.
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It's all been said, every point, repeatedly, about a hundred times over. Everyone gets is, there is no need for post after post, thread after thread of the same thing. I've stayed out of this until now but it's getting irritating. Yes, SOG did bad. Yes, I agree, they should fix it. but constantly polluting the forum with the same argument six times every hour is starting to get on people's nerves. How many of you e-mailed sog to clearly, voice your concerns about this new product line? Hmmm? Let's see a show of hands. And that's not writing some nasty paragraph of how much they suck, calmly and coherently voice your concerns and disapproval to them. Because here's a big secret, when you do that, there's an actual record kept of what was said and how many people are saying it, as opposed to an informal forum type envorinmoent, like this one. If you do that, and they still don't want to fix the issue, then chances are, they're not going to, and there's still absolutely no point in reposting what has already been said a hundred thousand times by now.
 
GWashington1732 said:
It's all been said, every point, repeatedly, about a hundred times over. Everyone gets is, there is no need for post after post, thread after thread of the same thing. I've stayed out of this until now but it's getting irritating. Yes, SOG did bad. Yes, I agree, they should fix it. but constantly polluting the forum with the same argument six times every hour is starting to get on people's nerves. How many of you e-mailed sog to clearly, voice your concerns about this new product line? Hmmm? Let's see a show of hands. And that's not writing some nasty paragraph of how much they suck, calmly and coherently voice your concerns and disapproval to them. Because here's a big secret, when you do that, there's an actual record kept of what was said and how many people are saying it, as opposed to an informal forum type envorinmoent, like this one. If you do that, and they still don't want to fix the issue, then chances are, they're not going to, and there's still absolutely no point in reposting what has already been said a hundred thousand times by now.
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I'm responding to posts made in this thread, just as I'm responding to your post. If you don't like what's being said in it, why do you continue to read it? Your post is adding to the very thing that you claim you hate, the continued discussion of SOG's decisions. Emailing SOG wouldn't be as effective. Discussing the concerns on an open forum where people can see what has occurred will get more done than an email. Don't blame others because you can't control yourself from reading this or any other SOG thread. Grow up.
 
While I condemn what SOG did, and they will lose some sales as a result from people on boards like this, I would also point out that they have just launched a major ad campaign with "Gunny". Advertising works: I have already seen folks on non-knife boards saying they wanted to buy some of "Gunny's knives." I think it's a good bet that their overall sales are going up right now, possibly by a subtantial margin.
 
Wow ,you guys love to get your knickers in a twist don't you. I'll bet there's a lot more teeth gnashing and hair rending going on at this site then either at Sog or Benchmade.
I certainly prefer the look of the two custom knives shown above to Sog's "copies" but how much more do the customs cost? Two, three, four times the cost of the Sogs?
As far as the Spyderco and BM "copies" go, I think I prefer the Sog versions as I believe both are substantionally larger and less expensive. I suspect other people might like them for the same two reasons, and NOT because they look similiar to Spyderco or BM.
 
Larry Turko said:
As far as the Spyderco and BM "copies" go, I think I prefer the Sog versions as I believe both are substantionally larger and less expensive. I suspect other people might like them for the same two reasons, and NOT because they look similiar to Spyderco or BM.
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Seeing as you prefer "copies" because they are substantially larger [???] and less expensive, send me a PM and I can hook you up with some sweet BudK deals. These Made in China specials are right up your ally: cheaply made, poor lockup, astonishingly poor fit-and-finish, and the best part: they're total ripoff's of original designs made by people [the owners, not the workers] who show a complete lack of integrity in the realm of business.

After reading Spencer's response, two words come to mind: arrogance and aloofness.

I have 1 SOG.... I won't be buying anymore.
 
GWashington1732 said:
It's all been said, every point, repeatedly, about a hundred times over. Everyone gets is, there is no need for post after post, thread after thread of the same thing. I've stayed out of this until now but it's getting irritating. Yes, SOG did bad. Yes, I agree, they should fix it. but constantly polluting the forum with the same argument six times every hour is starting to get on people's nerves. How many of you e-mailed sog to clearly, voice your concerns about this new product line? Hmmm? Let's see a show of hands. And that's not writing some nasty paragraph of how much they suck, calmly and coherently voice your concerns and disapproval to them. Because here's a big secret, when you do that, there's an actual record kept of what was said and how many people are saying it, as opposed to an informal forum type envorinmoent, like this one. If you do that, and they still don't want to fix the issue, then chances are, they're not going to, and there's still absolutely no point in reposting what has already been said a hundred thousand times by now.
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This is an open forum and everyone is allowed to speak their mind. No one has to post according to what you want or don't want to read. If you don't like it don't read it. If you want to whine, go to whine and cheese so others can let you know what they think about it and maybe whine with you.
 
sog makes a good folding design of their own here and there, like the flash II frn, trident, and aegis. all of which ill probably never own because im not a big collector and there are simply more attractive knives out there for my limited collection.

but this is just silly
 
Kaizen1 said:
...I give you all strictly facts to consider and decide
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You don't really give all the facts, but started yet another anti sog flame thread...

And, why exactly do we need half a dozen threads on the topic anyway?

BTW, why do you single out SOG, since there's other makers making similar designs to each other?
 
An unfortunate, embarrassing display of defending design thievery IMO.



BTW, why do you single out SOG, since there's other makers making similar designs to each other?
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I think copying one design from ONE company can be seen with other companies but copying popular models from four or five all at once and introducing them as your own is just over the top.
 
Well, there's 4 or 5 threads on SOG, and one more about BM...
I'm all for free speech and all that, but it's kindda overboard.
 
So many companies are producing tacticals, I'm surprised there isn't more near copying. After all...just how many ways can you stick black handles on a OHO and make it look original?

My art prof once told me, "Good art is created, great art is stolen"

Every company will stand or fall by the quality of their products. 'Nuff said.
 
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