What's the Deal with manuf. mixing up 440C/AUS8A?

I just finished reading all of the posts on this thread. I kept away for a while, but came back to see what has been up.

Ron and SOG: Yes, you misrepresented your product in a fashion that you shouldn't have. The problem is that now you have cheesed off knife knuts, even if we couldn't tell the difference between a SOG knife ground from 440A and a SOG knife ground from 6A. (by the way, thansk Sal! I'll be using 6A, 8A, AUS-8, and AUD-6 from now on!) I can understand how difficult building a knife company must have been. In october I get my Management Degree, so I knof about distribution channels, manufacturing, marketing, etc. If customers knew the ins and outs of business, perhaps you would be catching less flack because of this decision. Then again, if customers knew more about steel, SOG wouldn't have made this decision either! Point is, you took your risks, amde some decisions and now you have to deal with the negative results of your business decision.

Greatly in your favor I see the following:
1) you explained what SOG did in the past and is doing now with respect to labellign steels. You are righting the wrong that was done in the first place.

2) Ron, you on behalf of SOG have taken the time to "come clean", which is ABSOLUTELY the best thing you could have done. Either way you take heat, but this way you fix a wrong and hopefully retain customers.

I for one hate it when a company or individual misrepresents what they are selling. I wouldn't buy Cutco if my granny was selling it because they teach their reps enough BS to baffle the rbains fot he average consuer and make a sale. That is crap. Since SOG, largely through the efforts of Ron I think, has come clean and weathered the storm of angry knuts, you will definitely keep customers. If you hadn't said what you did Ron, I would not frequent the SOG forum anymore and I would not even consider SOG products in the future. If I can't trust you, I can't deal with you. I have no SOG products, though I definitely have some knives on my list of want to buy blades, includng the 2 SEAL knives, the Power Plier with the covers for the handles, the carbon steel traditional SOG blades, SCULPTURA and the Recondo. Oh, your daggers as well. Since you, SOG (and Ron) have been honest, you haven't lost me as a potential customer.

To the SOG people: please give Ron an extra day off and unplug his computers. He has been online more while on vacation than while at work. I am serious. He deserves some reward for the outstanting Job he is doing. Give him a knife too! After all, Ron is a knife knut himself.

Edited to add Sculptura, and hopefully SOG can make a ncie Teal colored one.... :)
 
Well said! I too will be proud to buy the BG-42 Field knife as and when! If this had come out a different way, SOG would have lost me as a customer just like Browning have. Thanks for being honest Ron.:)
 
Hopefully this will be my last post on this thread. But maybe not.
In reviewing this whole thread, I'm kind of dumb-founded. The language and ideas here are so extreme and bizarre that I'm shaking my head in wonder and amazement. All this talk about "LIE", "coming clean", "righting a wrong", etc. is ridiculous. What are we talking about here? Abortion? Gun control? Child molesting? Some massive, destructive fraud? Huh? This is quite odd and peculiar. What should have been a civilized and intelligent discussion has devolved into something pretty idiotic. It reminds me of the Jerry Springer show.
I think some people have too much free time on their hands, need a reality check, and like the sound of their voice a little too much, especially the one who started the "lie" routine.
Note: I am not an ardent SOG fan.
 
Personally, just my humble opinion, but I feel that education is a part of marketing. Catalogs should help educate the customer as to what's better, not baffle or misdirect, intentional or otherwise..

Again, JMHO, but probably the best course of action would be to call a spade a spade, and properly label everything right the first time. If the customers are confused, or don't know what a certain steel is, use a page from the catalog to educate them - if for nothing else than it will encourage customer loyalty because it shows you care enough to explain it to them.

Assigning blame isn't as important as fixing the problem, no matter how (in)significant it really is, right?

Now, where's my Sculptura?

Kevin
 
I'm grateful to Ron@SOG for coming here to clarify SOG's take on this.
He didn't have to.
He's been taken thru the wringer for it and gave a good account for SOG.

While I'm not in agreement with the reasoning SOG uses to "dumb down" the steel description for the "non-knife" public, I do understand that reasoning.

Most people would look at you with glazed over eyes if you started talking about the different grades of cutlery steel to them.

"You know, ATS-34 is different than 440C because it's yada yada yada"...:rolleyes:

We have to remember that the majority of people in the world are not interested enough in knives to devote the time and trouble most of us go thru to educate ourselves in this venue.

Anyway...
The fact that SOG has recognized this substituting one steel name for another is not a good thing and has already taken measures to make amends even before this thread was written, speaks well for them.

As far as I'm concerned, I will continue to purchase their product as long as they make product that suits my desires and/or needs.
'Nuff said.

Now if companies like Browning and a few others would take SOG's lead and run with it, we could all be rest assured that what we buy is what they say it is.
 
Least we forget, in our excitement to trip all over ourselves on the steel issue,SOG knives were always manufactured in these steels (whatever we call it), and these are the products that we have proudly owned, used, and read about for many years. SOG has built a respectable reputation on the performance of it's products. They have been tested and proven by time.

You would think that in the Twenty First Century we would have put fetishism to rest. A part of me is dissapointed that the products were misrepresented, but, the focus on the latest hyped steel is getting old fast. Obviously, AUS-8 works well in these products.

N2S
 
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