SogTech vs SogTech II Blade

vjb.knife

vjb.knife

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An earlier post about the history of the SOG line had this in it which is not correct:
"First there was the Sog Tech (7" blade) then there was the Tech II (7.25" blade)."

Both of these knives have a blade of 7.25" actually I have the earliest version of the SogTech (marked Santa Monica) with an actual blade length of almost 7.375".

I believe the only difference in these two knives is the fact that the SogTech blade is Carbon Steel and the later SogTech II is Stainless steel.

The dimensions are identical.

I have some catalogs which list either of them as having 7" or 7.25" blade, which I think is just laziness on the part of the listers.

The blades are hand ground and like most handground knives there is a little variance but I do not believe that the differences were significant or specified for one to be a different length than the other.

Vince.
 
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-371630.html

vjb.knife
11-08-2005, 08:41 AM
The SOG Tech I was the smaller model and the SOG Tech II was the larger model derived from the SOG Tech (carbon). Heres a scan of the 3rd Edition SOG catalog (about 1990 or 91) which shows the names. I remember these names from buying them back when they came out. By the way this collection I looked at had a Tomcat with Cocobolo wood handles if anyone is interested. I was quoted $125 I think.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/vjbknife/SogTechB.jpg

Vince.
 
I have some catalogs which list either of them as having 7" or 7.25" blade, which I think is just laziness on the part of the listers.

There is no difference in the two knives dimensionally.

Vince
 
I just hope someone didn't stick a Sog Tech II in a Sog Tech box and sell it to you that would piss us all off !!
 
I have both the SOG tech I & II. I bought them both in 1992.
The SOG tech I is the bigger one and the blade is exactly 7.25". This was my first expensive knife ever. The steel on both is stainless i think it's 440A. Not a very good knife IMHO. I recently straightened the clips on both of them as I didn't like the upswept clip points.
 
"The SOG tech I is the bigger one and the blade is exactly 7.25"." ? Wait a minute first were talking about a quarter of an inch difference here now you want to go to an inched and a quarter. No the Sog TECH II is the longer one at 7.25" and the TECH I is 6.00" that much we agree on its the Sog Tech were having the problem with. I'm saying its 7.00" and Vice is saying its 7.25" even though it reads 7.00" in the link I posted that I got from someone else's thread. Also all the Nite-Techs are shown to have a 7.00" blade and a Nite-Tech is basically a Sog Tech that's been Gun-Blued. Here's a picture of the Nite-Tech posted by Vince. If you look close enough you can see where the blade length reads 7.00". http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=388031
 
You are missing my point. First; all the references you have linked to are posts that I have made. Most of them were from Cutlery Shoppe catalogs from 1989 through 1995. All SOG Company catalogs show the specification for the SogTech 1 to be a 5.25” blade and the SogTech 2 to be a 7.25” blade. Also the SOG specification for the original version called the SogTech was a 7.25” blade. The special edition Nite-Tech was also a 7.25” blade regardless of what the Cutlery Shoppe catalogs say.

The first knife of the bunch was the Sogtech made 1989 until 1990 when they changed two things about this knife. First the name changed from SogTech to SogTech 2 and Second the material of the blade was changed from SK-5 carbon steel to AUS-8A Stainless Steel. Other than the sheath these are the only changes to the specification of the knife, period.

Also in 1990 they introduced the smaller version of the knife called the SogTech 1 which had a 5.25” blade per SOG’s specifications. That is why they changed the name of the SogTech to the Sogtech 2. This knife may have had some early versions made of SK-5 Carbon Steel but all the catalogs I have show it starting out as AUS-8A Stainless Steel.

A few years later the steel of both the SogTech 1 and the Sogtech 2 was changed to 440A Stainless Steel.

All of these models have hand ground blades and since a machine is not pumping them out; this means that there is some variation in the length of the blade and maybe you will find one out there that actually has a 7” blade and there will be some with a 7.375” blade but most are probably right at 7.25” per the specification.

Probably some of the early knives that Cutlery Shoppe got in were closer to 7” than 7.25” and that is what they put in their catalog, but if you look in the old SOG literature the blade spec’s are 7.25”.

This is not a big deal but the point is there were only two different blade size SogTech knives made 5.25" and 7.25".

By 1995 the SEAL 2000 knife was introduced and the SogTech series was discontinued. Later the Seal Pup was introduced.

I hope this clears up the discrepancy here. If any of the SOG Employees or Ex’s would like to correct this please do, but I think it is pretty accurate.

Vince
 
Oops! Sorry, I may be wrong about which one is I or II. I do know for a fact that the big one is 7.25 and the small one is 6" from tip to guard. I just measured them both right now. They are both definately some sort of stainless steel.
 
Tech I is the smaller one.
Tech II is the larger one.

Ray,
WOW !! What a nice job you did on the front end !! Fantastic !!

Cheers,

Carl
 
Hey Carl, thanks. The clip reprofile was pretty easy. I just ground it straight and re-ground the top swedge to flow with it at the tip.
 
I only posted three links. The first link came from New Pig Hunter and it looks like it was originally posted from someone name Hog Hunter and it shows the Sog Tech to have a blade that is 7.00" long. The second link came from someone name Kizzard from a thread called "Another SOG Blessed Event: the Tech II arrived !!" it shows 7 different knives and all the lengths appear to be correct except for the Tech I because it shows it as having a 6" blade and now your saying the Tech I has a 5.25" blade, is this more laziness? I don't know they got the Tech II right so they can't be that lazy. So actually only one link I posted came from you that is the one that shows the Nite-Tech to have a blade that is 7.00" long. You have referred to some catalogue pics which lists the Sog Tech as having 7" and/or a 7.25" blade and the Tech II as having 7" and/or a 7.25" blade could you share them?
 
Here's a pic of both my knives with a ruler. Remember I reprofiled the clip so I probably lost 1/16 to 1/8" from the tip.
 
It's the handle. Upon further review I have found that my Seal 2000, Nite-Tech and Tech II all are the same length. If I measure from the tip of the blade to the thong hole they all come in at 11 and 13/16". So how can one blade be longer than the other? Its the handle. The handle on the Tech II is 1/4" shorter than the handle on the Nite-Tech and Seal 2000. So if one were to measure the exposed metal of the Tech II it would have to be 1/4 longer than the Nite-Tech and Seal 2000. If I could take the handle off my Nite-Tech and replace it with a handle from a Tech II the Nite-Tech and Tech II would appear identical. Except for one little thing that is the placement of the Sog logo. The logo on the Nite-Tech is 1/4" further up the blade than the logo on the Tech II. So both logos are equal distances from the tops of their handles. So what does this all mean? Sog knew that there was going to be a 1/4" difference in the exposed part of the knife. What else does it mean? Nothing unless your ordering a custom made sheath.
 
Every knife is measured slightly differently by different people/manufacturers. Individual measurements aside, each manufacturer will rate their knife with an "official" measurement. For years, I've scratched my head when seeing various measurements. Take them with a grain of salt.

This this case:
  • SOG Tech I: 5"
  • SOG Tech II: 7"
Over the years, I think SOG may have used both 7" and 7.25" in referencing both this knife and the SEAL Knife 2000. The SEAL Knife and the SOG Tech II (formerly the SOG Tech before the smaller one was introduced) are identical blades...they are cut from the same basic template. I think I've personally referenced both sizes. For this post, I've taken the measurement of 7" from both a very, very early SOG brochure as well as SOG's most recent website (taken from the SEAL Knife 2000).

Just for clarification: anytime SOG has both a small and large version of the same knife (such as Sogwinder I & II, SOG Tech I & II, etc.), the smaller knife gets the "I" classification while the larger gets the "II" classification.

Hope this helps.

Personally, I really like them both...a lot. There is a classy presence to the knife. Maybe a knife one could wear to the opera? [Ok, I'm taking it a little too far, but I'm sure you get the idea.] Though there's something alluring about BIG knives (maybe the size is attached to one's masculinity), there's something more practical about the Tech I; though it looks a little mis-proportioned.
 
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