Went with the SOG, and I'm not sorry.

[The Tourist]

A few days ago, I answered a thread about the Chinook. Admittedly, I am not a fan of that design. I countered with the SOG Tomcat, and then decided to purchase one. It arrived this morning.

First off, is the price. Depending on the dealer, the SOG is thirty to fourty dollars cheaper. It comes with a very stout ballistic nylon sheath, not a cheapie, easily of Microtech quality but with a coarser weave.

And it's a BIG knife, and I'm a Strider client! Very thick clip blade, solid stainless bolsters and a krayton handle; not the gummy, tacky rubber of the early Pachmyr gun grips, but a very good grip for wet hands.

My blade was in the 'very good sharp' state. It will easily slice a piece of newsprint if you hold the paper solidly; it's not the perfect slice, there is a bit of fuzz left on the edge. In two weeks, a light polish with the Edge-Pro will have it VERY sharp. On the third sharpening, it will be spooky.

The lock is solid, no play or end shake. It comes with ambi-studs, perfect as my wife is left-handed.

Now, I am prejudiced about the Chinook, but it's for MY use. I find the upturned tip unsuitable for camping, skinning, and definitely for caping. I'm a quality guy, and the early complaints of blade wobble always bothered me; lots of guys complained, and if that would have been a Strider, Mick would have hunted down the rejects with a passion. It seemed that too many left the factory.

I am going to use this AUS-6A blade before I criticize that alloy. It seems hard, I'll know better on the Edge-Pro. But let's be real; my 400 buck SnG and my 25 dollar SuperKnife lay on the end table beside me every night. When a UPS package arrives, I grab the first one that falls to hand, and they both work.

This is MY opinion. I'd like to see a thoughtful response from a Chinook guy. That's what this column is, after all, a place to exchange ideas. I know that a Sebbie will jump in, but then again, you knew that, too.

 

[Crayola]

Hey there Tourist! Congrats on the name change, by the way.

I don't want to say much, as I am worried about causing too much thread drift. I have no SOG knife, nor do I have a Chinook. But your thread is very interesting for another idea it represents.

On the BUCK forum right now, Mr. Rummerfeld (sorry if I got the spelling wrong) talked about the Buck Nighthawk fixed blade, 420 HC steel and ATS-34. He mentioned that in normal field use, a user would have a hard time noticing a difference between 420HC. Hiven the geometry of the blade and the heat treat, the Nighthawk, as is, is a great blade.

Now all I want to say is that I think a lot of time we tend to have this little box in our heads, that only has room for x amount of handle materials, and y amount of steels. So when ATS-34 came along, we had to kick out one of the steels in that box to make room for the new one. And then when BG-42 came along, well now there is no room for 440-C. And then S-30v comes along, and... you get my point. Instead, we need to remember that a good cultery steel is a good cutlery steel, despite what is new that comes along. Also, a lot of talk about what steel is better or worse is fun to talk about, but I think a lot of users, including many of us, don't really see the differences. I'd rather have a knife of AUS-8 with good geometry than one with poor geometry made of BG-42.

So I applaud you for getting a plain old SOG, with a rubber handle and AUS-6 blade. I bet it can zip through many letters, boxes, and strings before it will really need a touch-up. Enjoy.

 

[The Tourist]

Crayola,

No, man, your comment is NOT thread drift, that's my point.

I agree, we tend to jump to that new invention or that new alloy. We tend to discard the very implements that filled our needs. And I'm guilty of it, as well.

I think you're on the money with 'actual use.' If you gave a guy two identical knives of similar heat treat but different alloy, I'll bet that he couldn't tell the difference. I've taken mid-priced knives, given them a mirror sharpening on the Edge-Pro, and astounded my friends.

And by the way, thanks for answering my thread with positive comments. All too often a solid statement about a specific knife or opinion on martial arts draws nothing but flames. My best friend likes Emerson's chisel grinds; Sharp Phil and I disagree on many topics. But we all seem to be friends and good role-models for the sport.

I'll check this thread tomorrow. Just because I bought the SOG, there will be at least one guy who believes I trashed his beloved Chinook. I chose one over the other, that's all, and I documented why.

 

[SilverFoxKnows]

Last weekend I was breaking down some old carpet and grabbed my Buck 110. It sliced right through with very little resistance. I touched it up on a Henckels steel afterwards and it will still shave hair. I find it a little heavy to carry everyday but when it comes to house/yard work I appreciate the substantial handle. I'm starting to believe there is no ONE knife that will do it all. And there is certainly room in my life for low-end knives.

Frank

 

[glockman99]

I have owned a couple (or more) Chinooks, and a couple SOG Tomcats (the original versions with the nail-nick), and I think that the Tomcat is alot more of a "hell-for-stout" folder than the Chinook, as the large hole in the blade of the Chinook always make me think that that huge hole would be a good place for the blade to snap if used as a pry-bar.

 

[brownie0486]

glockman99:

I can get the knives at wholesale.

If you would put together a few users who would like to test that theory and reimburse at cost, I'll be happy to vise it at your direction to confirm or dispel that notion.

I hadn't thought that of my chinook, but it is a valid question nevertheless.

I just took mine out and looked at it again. I wonder if Sal would reimburse for that test.

Brownie

 

[AntDog]

The SOG Tomcat is one HELL of a stout knife! I have a friend who owns one and works in the construction business. He said he went to cut through some tar roofing paper, and he encountered a little resistance. He said he kept cutting thinking "man, this is some tough tar paper!" When he got through, he peeled it up and he saw that a big part of the material he was cutting through was concrete!!! Sure the blade had a few scratches and nicks, but there were no major dings and it sharpened up fine. He still uses it all the time.