Rescue Riley said:
In my opinion the pentagon is a not the best choice for field use... it looks cool...but it's designed to be a weapon.
None of Steel Scout's choices match the utility of the SEAL Pup. I agree with you, the Pup is definitely a better choice for camping/ hiking/outdoors. It's also a better choice than the Vision or the Pentagon Elite II. But the Pup wasn't one of his three choices. Maybe he doesn't
want another camping knife.
on the other hand if killing vampires or enemy black ops is at the top of your list the pentagon is the way to go.
That's going more than a
bit too far. The SOG Pentagon is an updated and advanced version of the Randall Knives Model 24 "Guardian" originally designed during the high-crime of the late 1970s for undercover police use. In other words both the Model 24 and its descendant, the Pentagon, are primarily urban use knives.
They're not fantasy knives (killing vampires) or military knives (enemy black ops) or "macho" knives designed to attract the mall-ninjas. From what I've seen, the Pentagon is an underappreciated design the Walter Mitty crowd generally ignores. It doesn't stand out with the "features" they seem to need. It isn't a "tactical folder" so carrying it takes a bit more effort and dedication than they normally have.
It isn't a full-sized combat knife with a hammer pommel and a solid guard like the Daggerts, so it isn't going to attract the military and the even-larger military wannabe crowd, either. Interestingly enough, at least
one Pentagon is being used by a soldier fighting in our country's current Middle Eastern conflict.
The Pentagon
does have a following with the same kind of people who like Bud Nealy's MCS fixed blades.
after years of knife training I've realized that if tSHTF to the point that you need a knife to defend yourself what kind you have is not as big a factor as how it's used.
That's true only up to a point. A lot of people get that far and stop right there. But design
does matter, so why deliberately limit yourself? A Victorinox classic pen knife isn't as effective a defense design as a SOG Trident. That's why the saying is only partially true.
This isn't "Practical Tactical" and I don't know who you've been training with, but the entire history of edged weapons disproves that saying. Ever since the first caveman jabbed another caveman with a pointy stick, it's been been one long series of design refinements. Serious users have been making careful choices about the tools they carry, trying to get more performance out of existing designs and commissioning new ones for literally thousands of years. How many top instructors have personally designed defense knives? Keating, Worden, Imada, Janich, Pick, Newman, Wagner, SouthNarc, Ayoob, and a bunch more.
These men are experts. The definitely know "how to use it". So why did they bother to design something new? Why are the designs so radically different from each other? Because each knife is a specific reflection of an individual style of use or set of requirements. This is why even in an age of laser guided smart bombs and stealth fighters, the SEALS decided they needed yet
another new combat knife and held extensive trials where makers could enter
any design, so long as it fit their basic criteria. Guess which company won?
This is also why the USMC just went through a huge process of developing yet
another new bayonet.
Neither group told their soldiers "it's not what you've got, it's how you use it". They understand, as some of us do, a better design gives you better performance. If you can see the potential that tSHTF
is a possibility, you owe it to yourself to pick the best design available that you can afford (and afford to see confiscated/ lost/ stolen).
For the reasons I've given, I think the Pentagon is the best of the three SOG designs Steelscout listed. Personally, I think the Pentagon is the best commercially available design in its price range and size. If there was something better I would be carrying that instead.
and in the unfortunate circumastance that such an unlikely event should happen a more neutral looking blade will be looked on more favorably by a jury than a double edged dagger style.
Again, only up to a point. Beyond that, it's unreliable third-hand legal advice that offers zero guarantees. Juries judge the "totality" of the evidence. If they don't like you, or the circumstances in which you used the knife, a neutral looking knife isn't going to save you. Anyone claiming otherwise can explain why Alexander Pring Wilson got convicted, even though the knife he used
wasn't a dagger, but an ordinary folder. The jury didn't care about what he used. The jury didn't care he was a normal guy and the hoodlums who jumped him were gang members with long criminal records. The jury didn't care the two guys got him down and were kicking him in the head with steel toed boots
before he reached for his knife. None of that mattered, least of all his "legal" pocket knife.
Where the design really
will make a major difference is whether you get later prosecuted for carrying a prohibited weapon, should you be acquitted on the more serious charges. Prosecutors always seem to take the cheap shot after they've lost the main case. The Pentagon is a no-no. Riley, If you live in
NYC like your profile states, the SEAL Pup you're suggesting as a better choice is
just as illegal to carry because it has a blade 3/4 of an inch too long.
more important than having an awesome knife is attempting to develop your awaareness skills to the point where you will be able to spot an avoid trouble before it arises (in most cases anyway)
...and it's the cases you can't avoid or the ones you missed where the tools you have chosen and how you use them will matter most of all.
Steelscout narrowed his selections down to three great SOG knives.
Of the three he gave us to choose from, IMO for what it's worth, the Pentagon is still the best choice.
)---and have narrowed down my choices. I usually swing for Spydercos, but some reviews of SOG products and some of their unique designs have swayed me over to this forum for my next purchase (sorry, Sal). I like the Vision (titanium), Pentagon, and the Pentagon Elite II. Carry options aren't important, but what feels best and what performs the best? Legalities aren't, as of yet, an issue. Thanks for the help. God bless you, America, and our men and women overseas.
good at saving hey , mate?