Tech Bowie vs Seal Team Elite

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venomintake

Joined
Aug 7, 2008
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Hey guys, this is gonna be my first SOG knife. I need some recommendations..which one do you think would be a better choice? Please leave some reasons :)

Thanks!
 
oh yeah, I can't seem to find any outdoor reviews on the Tech Bowie..anyone actually use it before? Does it hold up well?
 
I can't help with either of those choices but the SOG Agency has performed very well for me.
 
I have a Tech Bowie (TiNi coating). It's really a VERY impressive knife. As sharp as anything I've ever handled; shaves right out of the box. After using a Kabar for years I really appreciate the design on the SOG guard as well, its a great design and very comfortable. I have no experience with the SEAL Team Elite but the Tech Bowie screams "SOG" and is a perfect upgrade to the classic bowie. The only complaint I have with it is the sheath system isn't exactly what I want (its a great sheath though). Trust me, you want a Tech Bowie.
 
I'm lazy to list them one by one, but you can find the threads here: http://www.sogknivescollectors.com/techbowie.php and http://www.sogknivescollectors.com/sealtmelite.php under "Links to forums". All the threads from bladeforums on those two knives are on that page. :thumbup:

I have a Tech Bowie but have not used it yet. But I think it will make a better camping knife than the Seal Team Elite because it is straight edged and has no serrations. I like the look of it too and it stands up well to use (according to what I've read).
 
You should mention what uses you intend this knife to perform and things like that.

I own a Tech bowie and a Seal team elite. The Tech bowie comes very sharp out of the box, as mentioned. I have broken the tip of mine a time or two, it is Extremely sharp, and will pierce your finger at the slightest touch, but it's also a bit weak. I bent the tip a small bit just stabbing plastic bottles and such.

Seal team elite is a different class of knife to me. The tech bowie is a bowie.. different blade shape, and the handle is very nice, and grippy. I also love the cap on the end of the tech bowie, very nice, the knife is also very beautiful all around.

The seal team elite seems very sturdy. Tip appears to be much stronger than on the tech bowie, I really wouldn't be worried about breaking it. I actually havn't done much with my S. T. Longer blade, and note the notches on the top, you may not like that. Flatter coating, compared to the shiny coating, on the T.B.
UMMM sorry, im doing this all from memory.

T.B. comes with standard Sog kydex sheath with a nice belt attachment, my
S.T. came with a nylon sheath, set up for MOLLE attatchment, hence I stuck it on one of my packs, and haven't used it much.

Both are great knives man, same price range, probably same steel, both made in Taiwan... so I'd suggest thinking about which style you like best and will suit your needs more.

TB is more classy and beautiful, ST is more Badass and ready to go to work.

hope that helps.

IMG_0181.jpg

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Thanks Lefty!

Well..I have a Ka-bar coming in soon, which I plan to use as the "chopper", so I guess my intentions for the SOG would be for lighter camping chores and potentially accompanying me on backpacking trips.

So do you think the tip of the Tech Bowie breaks too easily? I've seen pictures where Gov-Tacs have snapped off tips...I'm from Canada and getting this knife would cost me about $170. That's almost a Fallkniven S1 for me, so I just want to be sure I'm making a good purchase.
 
Well, like I said, I've bent the tip on two of them so far, and it was just playing around with the knife. Stabbing plastic bottles and things like that.

All I had to do was break out the stone and flatten off the bent portion, it wasn't like it was a large portion, just a small part about half the size of the lead tip on a pencil.

I just smoothed off the tip, and it's probably stronger now anyway, and no one would ever be able to tell if I did not mention.

Personally if I were going outdoors and was taking a sog, it would be one from the Seal series. Tech bowie is an excellent knife as well man.

Main point to considder is that they are two totally different styles of knife.
Considder blade shape, handle shape and material. As I said S.T. has the ridges all down the back, you may dislike that. S.T. also has an exposed tang perfect for hammering things and it's handle is a hard material.

The T.B. has a softer material for the handle, thick and flat spine on the bowie shaped blade, and the washer nut on the end, I'd hate to hammer with because of how nice it looks, I wouldn't want to put dents in it.

also one is half serrated, one isn't. I like serrations for cutting rope and things like that. Even if the main portion of your blade is dull, you can saw through things.

all right man good luck, let us know which you decide.
 
Lefty provided a good take on both knives. To reiterate what he said...

Like he mentioned - there are differences between the two knives.

The first notifiable thing for me is the handle material - zytel vs kraton. I like grippy handles and not plastic ones. But then again I haven't handled a Seal Team Elite.

Next is the blade shape. Yeah the Tech Bowie is sexy, but the Seal Team Elite looks more practical. The Tech Bowie is so nice that I put it away instead of using it. Too nice and shiny. I would use rather use the Seal Team Elite.

Ah, and the blade design. Yes the Tech Bowie does taper off towards the tip. Quite fragile if you ask me and I am afraid it might end up like the Gov-Tacs you mentioned. I am not sure how the spine of the Seal Team Elite looks like.

Look out for:
- How the handle feels in hand
- Blade shape and thinness
- Good for chopping & slicing?
- Can you bear to use it? :D

Hope you can decide! I have a Fallkniven S1 btw!
 
I have a tech bowie and seal pup elite and if the pup is like the team, just larger, both of these guys gave some good info.

I like the tip of the tech but haven't used it yet so I can't comment on how fragile it is but the tip and the edge are the sharpest I've ever handled. I like the grip and the guard on the tech better than my pup but I hesitate to use the tech where I don't with the pup.

Both are great knives made out of the same steel (AUS8) so try to handle them both and see which one you like better.

BTW, nutnfancy has a good review on the tech if you search him on youtube he might touch on things I haven't.
 
Venom, your posts have me confused. An S1 is so different than a Tech, and a Kabar chopper? Are you talking about the BK9?

I have had a Tech for almost a year and put some beatings on it and have been consistently impressed.

Pros: The thin needle point tip gets it into some very tight spots which is good for a utility blade. The balance is very lively and medium chopping chores are no prob even though this knife is fairly light (11Oz). The kraton handle and finger grooves are very secure. The steel pommel can handle some pounding but careful not to wreck the tensioner.

Cons: The tip is bad for the same reason it is good, it is needle point sharp, I dropped mine straight into concrete, it survived with just a barely visible fold so it is strong, but prying with the tip would not be recommended like you would with that S1. The double guard is necessity for me but when you choke up it will poke your palm making down force rely on your thumb. The blade is thick stock of 1/4 so while the hollow grind lends very well to slicing, it takes some practice to make the entire blade effective for slicing tough strips of leather or carboard, for example.

I know my wordiness makes the bad seem to outweigh the good but this is my #1 utility fixed blade for a reason. I passed on the Seal 2000 and Elite because serrations aren't my thing and double guard is needed for my grip security. Maybe some pictures and review are in order this week.
 
I own a tech bowie and have had nothing but good luck with it.while in the woods once i hammered mine into a tree and actually used it as a step to reach my watch that got snagged and broke while coming down from a tree stand,im 6"1ft and 240 lbs.i think that says it all for tech bowie,i wouldnt trade mine for anything.
 
are these good outdoors knives compared with what most of you guys mention such as a mora or a Fallkniven F1 or A1?
 
I have only owned the team elite it surprised me with its versatility. I chopped,batoned and did some fine cutting with it. It was a nice blade but a little large for me but a very nice field blade though.
 
I own a SOG Tech black TiNi and I love this knife. I always wanted a kraton handled version of my S1 Bowie, this is as close as it gets. I used an original Tomcat model during my military years including combat duty. The kraton scales had great feel and grip, even under wet and muddy conditions but, they did wear down smooth, yet still retained their grip. For what I'd use a knife for today, the SOG Tech is perfect but, if I were in a combat zone, I'd choose the Seal Team Elite, without a second thought.
 
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