Why do so many people on this forum dislike sog

Larry Turko said:
IDEAL, I didn't even bother reading the responses to your question because I'll bet most of the reasons don't stand up to any intellectual scrutiny. An even more hated knife company on this forum is Cold Steel. A lot of people also don't like CRKT and Gerber.
What these four knife companies have in common is the fact that most of their products are actually affordable and not made of the most exotic steels available.
I own a ton of CS , a fair amount of Sog and a smattering of CRKT and Gerber. I may like some models more than others, but all have been easily worth the money.
I think some people attack these brands because they're easily led sheep, who love to denigrate companies they've learned to regard as fair game. Others are simply snobs who think the only worthwhile knife is one that costs multiple hundreds. Can you imagine spending $800.00 for a Busse when you can get a knife, at small fraction of that cost, that can do anything a reasonable person could ask of it?
Cold Steel once challenged Busse to a torture test comparison between the CS Trailmaster and the Busse Battle Mistress [ I think that was the model] Needless to say Busse didn't take them up on it.
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Maybe you should "bother" reading some of the responses - most, if not all, are quite reasonable.
 
Ive had one and it was the original Tomcat. I couldnt keep it sharp but im not good at sharpening either. I will say it ranks at the top as far as lockup and being built like a tank.

sogtomcat.jpg
 
This is very weird. I swear I just read a posting suggesting that I should 'bother' to read all the postings, which I've just done. However now I don't see that posting. Well, I am a computer moron.
In any case I'm happy to see that not all the postings were negative. I have both the 5" spec-elite II folder and the older 5" PE " folder. The arc-locks on my two models are rock solid. Someone above claimed, that for the money, people can " do better" with other brands but the truth is, that for mega-folder lovers, Sog and CS are virtually the only game in town.[ I'm aware of Cuda but I think those knives are much more expensive]
Someone else above also claimed that Sog folders were chunky so I guess that individual also doesn't like ZT because few knives could be chunkier than my ZT 200.[ or did he say clunky?]
I'd just like to finish by stating that I like, and own, quite a few Spydercos, half a dozen Emersons [ which I regret a little as I think they're somewhat overpriced] and, possibly Benchmades most expensive folder; the large Rukus, as well as a smattering of other brands. I'm listing these 'respected brands' to demonstrate that I don't buy CS and Sog because that's all I can afford , but because even after comparing them to 'better' brands I still like them and will continue to buy models from these two companies that catch my fancy.
 
I still like a few SOG blades; they're not all bad, like I think the Trident is just a great blade.
 
Larry Turko said:
Cold Steel once challenged Busse to a torture test comparison between the CS Trailmaster and the Busse Battle Mistress [ I think that was the model] Needless to say Busse didn't take them up on it.
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Actually, if I recall it right, Busse challenged Cold Steel at BLADE one year to a right now, right here, challenge & Cold Steel declined.

That said, I owned a few SOG knives in the past & they were excellent knives in their day. Later designs did not interest me much till they came out with the Trident folder. I really wanted to like it, but for the money it just not seem worth it. The recent copies of other designs is upsetting as I had hoped SOG would come up with some new stuff I'd like.
 
come on guys no use arguing on something that is a personsable choice. if you do'nt or do like sog lets move on .no use to start spitting on each other.it's simple buy whatever you like & lets move on. trying to prove one knife is better than another is like arguing over dogs or girls.
 
DennisStrickland said:
come on guys no use arguing on something that is a personsable choice. if you do'nt or do like sog lets move on .no use to start spitting on each other.it's simple buy whatever you like & lets move on. trying to prove one knife is better than another is like arguing over dogs or girls.
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Girls are much better than dogs!
:D
 
I have used a SOG Seal 2000 on a deployment to Iraq. One of the reasons I decided to learn about different metals was because of SOG's inability to stay sharp. I could put a hell of an edge on it but after one or two uses it would be dull again. My K-Bar (which cost $20 less) was harder to sharpen but would hold an edge for a few months before it would need a touch up. I still have my SOG; I keep it around as beater knife. SOG- good for diving, bad for combat.
 
Larry Turko said:
IDEAL, I didn't even bother reading the responses to your question because I'll bet most of the reasons don't stand up to any intellectual scrutiny. An even more hated knife company on this forum is Cold Steel. A lot of people also don't like CRKT and Gerber.
What these four knife companies have in common is the fact that most of their products are actually affordable and not made of the most exotic steels available.

I think some people attack these brands because they're easily led sheep, who love to denigrate companies they've learned to regard as fair game. Others are simply snobs who think the only worthwhile knife is one that costs multiple hundreds. Can you imagine spending $800.00 for a Busse when you can get a knife, at small fraction of that cost, that can do anything a reasonable person could ask of it?
Cold Steel once challenged Busse to a torture test comparison between the CS Trailmaster and the Busse Battle Mistress [ I think that was the model] Needless to say Busse didn't take them up on it.
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Since you judge people before even reading their responses and basically call them idiots illustrates your personality quite well. Clearly, I would not rely on your skills in judging the quality of anything...

Anyways, back to the original post, I personally don't own any SOG knives mainly because I found them to be functionally weak and just felt and looked cheap. SOG is one of the big brands that they have at my B&M store so I get to hold them if I like. Frankly, after picking up different folders (their fixed blades do nothing for me aesthetically so I didnt even bother with those) I found them to be over priced and felt like total crap. I had this opinion long before coming to this forum and before I knew sog was a hated company here. Anyways, YMMV but I know ill never buy a SOG or a CS knife.
 
I don't hate SOG knives. I own quite a few of their blades. I was never particularly impressed with the Flash II (had two). The Vulcan was too big for EDC but a good knife with some hotspots during use. The Mini Vulcan is a good large EDC blade but has some hot spots if you use it much. The list goes on, but I keep buying SOGs.

I particularly like the Access Card 2 for desk use or a very flat knife for EDC. Few seem to own them. The Twitch series is very good in my opinion.

I think SOG tries to make trendy knives and they probably fail at that. Other than VG-10 and some of the old carbon steel blades, the steel is average from my point of view. I like the Seal Pup Elite for general woods carry and it fulfills that function well. It would be better with VG-10. Sure there are lots of other choices for that purpose. I admit that I don't look at every knife from every manfacturer before I choose a blade.

I think their pricing is a bit high for the steel they use. But I am not an expert in that department. I usually visit their booth at the Blade Show and often buy one of their new blades at that time. Spencer seems like an okay guy.
 
Halfneck said:
Actually, if I recall it right, Busse challenged Cold Steel at BLADE one year to a right now, right here, challenge & Cold Steel declined.
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Yes, Cold Steel is only interested if they get to perform the testing and it's not public. ;)

Actually, the knives that Camillus made for Cold Steel, as well as many of their old Japanese knives, were solid, functional pieces. Not flawless, but good values for the most part.

Anyway, Larry Turko:
Is there some snobbery here regarding knives? You bet! And if you go to a forum about pens, where people who LOVE pens congregate to talk about the pens they love, you'll find snobbery there, too. And if you jump in with a "I love Bic pens, real people can afford Bic pens and all you guys are poopoo heads! :mad:" type of post, you'll be taken about as seriously there as you are here. Same with cameras, same with outdoor clothing. People who care enough about any product to actually pursue knowledge about it on a recreational level are going to be interested in what makes that product good or bad, and, with knives, the materials used in the blades and handles just happen to be major contributing factors. If you love CRKT, Cold Steel, SOG, etc. then that's great--you have a lot of product available to buy. I've owned, and liked, products from all three. Unfortunately, all three have had to downgrade their materials and quality in the face of economic problems, and while I don't think they're evil for doing so, I'm also not particularly interested in their current offerings.

Is an AUS-4 knife better than no knife at all? Yes. Is an ugly girl better than no girl at all? If it's dark, yes. That said, when there are other options available...
 
from what i've seen, 75% of the people who hate SOG have never even owned a quality SOG and I don't mean the cheap fusion line. 75% of these people who complain repeat whatever others say and need to own their own SOG's to contribute to the discussions.
 
SOGs that I've owned and liked:

Tomcat and Stingray folders

Pros: Very solid lockup and robust blades. Never even got a hint that these locks were going to fail. We're talking Spyderco Manix-level lock security.

Cons: Kraton handle scales are terrible idea for pocketknives--keys eat them up very quickly. AUS-6 (it was never 440A, despite what catalogs said--not that it would have made a difference) sharpened easily but lost sharpness very quickly. Blades not at a good geometry for slicing--very thick right above the edge shoulders. Strong, but would crush a tomato versus slicing it no matter how sharp you got 'em. I never tried fully convexing the blades, now that I think of it. Thinner edges would just blunt even quicker, though.

Bowie in SK-5
Pros: Damn it's a good looking knife! Strong as hell (how could it not be at 5/16" stock thickness?) and holds an edge pretty well in most uses.

Cons: Again, blade geometry. Technically, this really shouldn't be listed as a con, as the knife was designed to be a fighting knife, and will slash throats with aplomb and open large, gaping wound channels with its thick cross section. Worth noting, though, that a deep hollow grind that comes out to full thickness so quickly is very poor blade geometry for utility use, or really ANY kind of use outside of sentry elimination or opening packages. Before the stories begin, I'm sure there's somebody out there who's skinned an elephant with one and then saved a child's life with it in an emergency heart transplant. Nonetheless, other blades will run circles around it.

Government and Government Recon
Pros: One of the best general utility fixed blade patterns put out by any production maker in my opinion. Light but stout, excellent blade geometry for cutting, and it came in an SK-5 steel version! I have two, am selling neither.

Cons: Kraton, Kraton, God-damned Kraton. My old soldier, the one that really gets used, is still going strong, but the handle has worn smooth of all its original texturing and is scratched, cut and torn in many places; deserts with all their prickly plants are not nice environments for such soft stuff. Someday I'll cut the remainder off and put a real handle on it.

Revolver

Pros: Decent blade steel (AUS-8 is a climb from AUS-6 anyway) and a very effective saw for its size.

Cons: Having used it to collect some pieces of a newly fallen mesquite tree in New Mexico, I can say that the hollow handle (top and bottom) with those fairly sharp Zytel edges will get to wearing on your fingers and palm pretty fast. Still, it beast the hell out of trying to break the tree limb off. :)

All of these were from the Japan-made era, and I'll be holding on to them. Not the best knives I have, but I like 'em.

Others I've had and am just not impressed with. Many of the newest SOGs seem to have consistent issues with ergonomics. I'd not say that if I was the only one as it's a subjective assessment, but when none of my friends or coworkers (the knife-oriented ones, anyway) like the handles and all mention "sharp spots" and similar things, I think it has some legitimacy. Other than the Team Leader, my SOGs of the last few years have been the Vision, the Tomcat III, new Bowie in AUS-8 and the Trident--all of which I tried for awhile and then gave away to family. I also haven't been hugely impressed with the Arc Lock in comparison with Benchmade's version. Never had a failure, but a couple of them became notably less than springy in their action over time without really excessive use.
 
I've never owned an SOG, but I have looked at and handled some of their stuff. I like the Seal fixed blade and one of the bowies (can't remember which). The folders don't really appeal to me as much as Spyderco or some Cold Steels.
 
I think those who dislike SOG knives would do well to check out their Seki-made folders. These are a whole different breed: no blade-play, quality vg10 steel, and a good quality, ergonomic handle. The arc-lock on these is better than any BM axis lock I own. I paid around $90 for my full size Vulcan and $80 for my Visionary 2 and Spec Elite 1, and $120 for my Tomcat. The price seems about the norm for knives of that quality.
 
I wouldn't say I hate the brand, they just don't offer the type of knife I like.

When it comes to fixed blades, I like simple utility designs, either flat or convex ground. Most SOGs are hollow ground fighters, with double quillon guards, serrations or sawbacks, etc. Just not my cup of tea. AUS8 is fine by me if the knife is priced accordingly, which to me means well under $100. The NW Ranger is the only fixed blade from SOG that I find somewhat appealing, and it still is far from the top of my wish list.

One of my customers is an avid SOG collector (he's not the type to use knives, so I don't know how they perform for him), so I've handled quite a few of them over the past years. Their Fusion line has horrible fit and finish with gaps between the handle and the guard and uneven grinds, but their regular line is quite good when it comes to overall build quality.

I can't say I've ever payed much attention to their folders. The Blink and Aegis seem somewhat interesting and priced right, but I'm not crazy about assisted opening knives and I'd rather spend the money of some of Spyderco's, Benchmade's or Kershaw's offerings.
 
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