From what I understand (and I'm no pro here, so someone correct me if I'm wrong), there is no "officially endorsed" SEAL knife (or SF endorsed knife) and that the military cannot officially endorse any product (legally).
Back around 1992, the SEALs (either the West Coast or East Coast group) performed a rigorous competition for the best overall knife for their purposes. SOG's knife won that competition (among stiff competition...actually, I believe one or two other companies won ahead of us, but were overlooked for some minor issues). Is it the knife every SEAL carries? No. Do most carry it? Most likely not. I'm under the impression they have a fair amount of latitude to which products they individually carry. Their decision was based on issues related to design, durability, materials, cost, and the ability to produce desired quantities.
SOG named its knife the SEAL Knife 2000 based on winning the competition. And yes, we do currently sell a lot directly to some of the SEAL groups and well as other SF groups (is that a "contract"?). I'm sure other knife manufacturers can say that as well, because there are some outstanding knives the special forces buy and use.
I know SOG has up till recently used the word "official" in advertising, but that was based on winning the competition.
There are a couple of great articles on this topic out there...related to the competition.
Hope this helps a bit.
Ron@SOG
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