Trident folder

B

brj

Joined
May 18, 2005
Messages
951
i never liked clip points much, but the design of the trident folder has really started to grow on me lately
do you guys have one? what do you think of it? is the clip fragile or can it be used for heavy chores?
i think i read somewhere it doesn't have steel liners - is it reliable in that case?
thanks for the input
 
hey,
FIRST POST!!!
Had a Trident folder - very dissappointed!!! Felt flimsy, too much horizontal and vertical play.
 
got one and it is great.......but it is not a prybar......for cutting (wood, plastic, plants, meat, etc) it is great
 
The Trident is one of my favorite folders. The blade does not exhibit excessive play, as was claimed by another poster. It's got a nice sharp tip, a great belly for cutting, and (one of my favorite features on a knife of this type) a nice contour for the thumb. It has a low-profile pocket clip, a safety (though I never use this), and a nice, grippy handle. The blade style is also very much to my liking, though that's a subjective matter.

I'll be doing a full writeup of the Trident, with pictures, in The Martialist.
 
I have the Trident in clip point and tanto.....I love 'em both.
Short of prying open a door, it will do what you need it to do. If the clip point blade seems too thin for you, get the tanto, it feels alot more substantial.
 
JLB123, my experience with the Trident was like yours, a lot of play and the lock fails easy, very dissappointing!

brj, check the knife in person before getting one, good luck :)


BETO
====================
Sorry for my english :eek:
 
The degree of bladeplay on the Tridents vary depending on the sample you get. I've owned two Tridents and they both had a bit of blade wobble right out of the box. Adjusting the pivot screw reduced the play, but after some time it got to the point where there was a bit of blade wobble no matter how one adjusted them. Tighten the pivot and handle screws too tight and the action becomes sluggish. As much as I like the design of the Tridents I'm hesitant in buying another. In my opinion, the Trident's would be highly improved if SOG would only consider reinforcing them with nested steel liners over the pivot and lock area and add brass washers between the blade and handle.
 
My experience with play was just the way Cosmic Superchunk describes, total tip wobble of 2-3mm. i could feel it rattle in my hands! It is the only folder i have to have had that much play. the lock was fine though.

it is a terrible pity, because the trident had many other good features (already mentioned by others) going for it. it's relatively lightweight for all the features, the blade's a little thin for tough stuff but slices well.

the assisted opening action is addictive.

i really really liked it but would only buy another one if the play problems were fixed.
 
Cosmic Superchunk said:
In my opinion, the Trident's would be highly improved if SOG would only consider reinforcing them with nested steel liners over the pivot and lock area and add brass washers between the blade and handle.
Click to expand...

AMEN!!!! :thumbup:


BETO
====================
Sorry for my english :eek:
 
thanks everybody
Phil, looking forward for that review - after all, your pix & review of the Boker Magnum AK74 made me buy the whole series...;)
 
Wow, not to hijack the thread, by I have to apologize to brj. I work in a huge law office where we sign everything with our initials. It was just force of habit to use this is my user name here too. Had I known there was someone with a user name so close to mine, I would have picked another.
 
After handling both arc-lock sogs and sat models (I have a flash II), I would personally opt for the arc-lock models such as the spec elite etc- Bigger blades, better locks and quite frankly just as fast to open in my opinion.
 
my TF3 locks up like a vault with no play whatsoever. and thats straight outta the box.
 
123tjd said:
After handling both arc-lock sogs and sat models (I have a flash II), I would personally opt for the arc-lock models such as the spec elite etc- Bigger blades, better locks and quite frankly just as fast to open in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I agree. The Arc-lock models are solid and can be opened just as fast as any assisted opener.
 
blade play is part of the opening mechanism on any assisted opener. just like a switchblade.
 
SIRGALANT said:
blade play is part of the opening mechanism on any assisted opener. just like a switchblade.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree. I've come across other assisted openers by Kershaw, CRKT, Benchmade and Camillus that have zero blade play. The problem with the SOG Trident (and the Flash II for that matter) is that there isn't enough support around the pivot area to prevent excessive play. All you've got is a Zytel handle and two ultra thin washers that can easily bend and tear. Reinforce the handle with nested steel liners add bronze washers instead of those flimsy thin plastic thingies and the Trident will be significantly stronger and free of any blade wobble.
 
And while SOG is making these needed changes, make a Trident with a non-serrated blade like the Seal Pup Elite! Damn, that blade will take an edge!

My TF1 has a very slight wobble, but you really have to feel for it. It's not noticeable during normal use.

What ticked me off the most was trying to change the belt clip to the opposite side. After speaking with SOG, and using the proper tool and size, it still wouldn't fit. Their reply? "Send it back to us". Well after paying ~ $ 70 plus shipping, the last thing I wanted to do was to send back my brand new knife.

The Trident is an excellent concept, just not engineered very well...I won't buy another one, I'll look elsewhere.
 
I have a SOG Trident tanto. I have no blade play at all and it doesn't feel flimsy in the least. I agree with Cosmic Superchunk, blade-play doesn't have to be a part of your life!
 
i moved on to buying spydercos , swamp rats , and busses ages ago anyway. i only hang on the sog forum because i have about 16 of their knives , and don`t mnind giving advice to people about them.
 
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