My First VULCAN!..first SOG Folder that blew me away!

C

CelticCross74

Joined
Oct 14, 2013
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518
Alright folks there apparently is a god because I have purchased a SOG folder that not only wasnt poop but just blew me away with how good it is and that is the mighty Vulcan! Up until now the only SOGS that really impressed me enough to pursue are the fixed blades. As most know when it comes to folders SOGS generally suck. I started looking into high end folding SOGS awhile ago and was left scratching my head as to why SOGS highest end folders dont even have pocket clips. Im not gonna spend $400 on some supposed super knife that doesnt even have a clip! Lets see Fatcat, Tomcat, Tomcat 3 or whatever no clips.

Folders like the big Spec Elites just make me nervous as they look to be as cheaply made as say a Flash II. Then one model kept coming up in online searches and that model is the Vulcan, any Vulcan. Deep carry clip stainless full liners all metal arc lock and some thick big slabs of Seki VG10 for blades. I decided to give SOG folders one last chance then found a good price on a VL-01. Having been let down by every other SOG folder Ive had or seen I was just expecting the Vulcan to confirm my sorrows lol.

I expected it to look nice but function like crap. Endless lock rock, tiny or no steel liners at all and after so much disappointment with the horrible plastic arc locks I expected the Vulcans to be so crappy it just seemed unsafe to use.

Boy was I dead wrong! What a beast! I dont care if the scales are zytel its very well done and lite! The ergos of the knife are top notch all around and to my utter amazement ZERO lock rock out the box and none of the screws are loose! The entire arc lock is actually steel! The action of the arc lock is easier than an axis lock and is arguably stronger.

I LOVE that this is a manual knife! No more mouse trap like violent action like a Trident. For such a hefty blade it opens up very smooth and locks up like a bank vault.

This is not going to leave my pocket for awhile hell I like it even more than my $255 Benchmade 757
 
Yup, SOGs Seki line of folders are up there with other more notable companies like BM and Spyderco. I had a Vulcan for a while. It was very well made. The pocket clip bugged me in that it was way too long and I could feel it move under my hand while in use. I have a Spec Elite II and it is a fantastic big folder. The lock up is very solid. Nice knife at a reasonable price.
 
They obviously are as evidenced by my awesome new Vulcan! Yes I totally agree about the clip unnecessarily springy and a bit thin isnt it? Im going to see if one of the clips off my poopy cheap SOGs will work. They at least they are shorter, seem to connect the same way and are made of thicker metal. Will see. For now Im just gonna marvel at this unexpected Seki beast
 
I find the "soft" Vulcan clip rather enjoyable compared to some of the very "hard" clips
on my other folders. Enjoyable in the sense that it goes on easy and comes out easy.
Other knives with very tought clips I fnd myself struggling to work them sometimes.
The Seki folders are a hint of what SOG used to be in my mind as a company, a maker of
not cheap but very high quality knives.
 
If you put a clip on a TomCat it would have to be made from a 53 Chevy bumper.:D Definitely a pouch knife, IMHO.
 
oh...the clip on the Vulcan blows! The only drawback about it but I figured out what to do about it.The Vulcan clip and the clip off a poopy cheap SOG like a Trident attatch the same way yet the poopy SOG clip is shorter and does not rise a seeming quarter inch over the side of the handle. So yes those very dangerous toys SOG markets as knives are going to actually helpl me out here. I have a walmart Trident and a Lowes Flash II. Both are of course total doo doo as knives but have much better clips than the Vulcan so Im gonna take one of them and replace the spring SOG calls a clip thats on my Vulcan with it. Looks like it should work. Whenever I use a firm grip to throw open the blade I can feel the clip suddenly bend inward under my grip then bend back outward when I release it makes for a not very confident firm grip it feels like youre just about to lose control of it. Still I will be more than happy taking apart the Trident etc for the donor clip
 
Tomcat can totally have a very nice clip esp in this day and age there are many customizers that can make it work very well for not to much. There is ZERO excuse for the 3.0 to not have been designed with a very nice one. SOGs high end folders are from the pre overbuilt era and it is painfully obvious SOG doesnt seem to care about its high end folders as they are quite content raking in cash from selling crates of their low end toys at Walmart etc. Very sad really. If Al Mar were alive today SOG would not be like this.

The Architec looks very nice but kind of odd at the same time. Like an answer to a question nobody asked. At least it has a clip. Where I live it is illegal to own or carry automatic knives so thankfully there are no SOG-Tac Autos also flying off the big box shelves. Those just look like well...bad. Both the Pentagon Elite and Spec Elite have straight up plastic FRN which I believe is below zytel. First if you leave one of those two knives in the car on a hot day the FRN will damn near start to melt. Both knives just do not have enough handle for the blades. I know they have steel liners which is great but theres just not enough liner to anchor the physics of such a big blade. I have read time and again about how both of these knives are almost impossible to tune lock rock out of because the handle simply is not enough anchor and control for the huge blades. Makes sense to me. I already have what these two knives are going for and failing at and that thing is a Benchmade 710.

Obviously all of SOGs high end is just from a different era and it shows. Fatcats must just still be sitting on shelves and in warehouses around the world under layers of dust. Lets see for $400 I can have a big knife with take it or leave it styling that has no clip so Id be forced to shove it in a pocket or use a sheath OR I can finally buy a ZT 0600 otherwise known as the Super RJ Martin Q36 that has style, form and function so good you could frame it and hang it on a wall as art...showing the CLIPside profile. LOL
 
The Tomcat was introduced in 1986, an era when no folders had clips.

sog-tomcat-1-original-box-sheath-jwpablo-ebay_zpstsctmfbm.jpg


My oldest folders are from the same era, Browning Sportsman 506, Kershaw 1050 Folding Field and Valor Super Sport 360.
All of them came with sheaths. The sheer size amd/or weight of these vintage folders is such that "clipping" them would not
be practical.

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As for the clip on the Vulcan, yes it is built in and it is quite flexible. But becaue the Vulcan is quite thick in tjhe handle, I don't carry it
in the warm months. In the colder months that "soft" cip allows me to clip it to the inside pocket of my jackets, including winter ones. A normal tight clip would make this a very difficut task. In the warm months I carry a Visionary which is flat and wears well on shirts/pants.
 
I looked at swapping out the Vulcan clip for one off a Flash II. It would take a little modding of the clip but it is very doable.
 
I tried the clip from a Flash II last night. Need a drill for metal and Im all set. Clip from Trident is a no go. Boy that Browning is nice! Knives had clips in the 80's just not many. A custom clip can be done for anything hell I just watch a YT vid tonight of Will Moon and his Fatcat that he made a custom titanium clip for! Then again Im not exactly Will Moon.Once I can drill the Flash II clip Ill be pretty happy it actually fits really well and looks great!

Yeah some knives are just meant to be sheath knives like the Buck 110 speaking of which I got the Lochsa 110 with clip and thumbstuds and it SUCKS! The clip is perfect but there is zero thumb access for the studs you really gotta fight your thumb under and puuuuuussshh very hard in order to move it to lock. Anyways I am still loving the Vulcan it hasnt left my pocket in the days that I have had but will soon as I send it off to be pro sharpened. The knife has a very well done edge its just not very sharp.
 
Yep, the Vulcan is outstanding. We've got two of the minis - one with the San Mai Tanto blade (mine) and one with the recurve (my son's). They are great knives. I don't mind the clip and in fact like its zero-profile carry. My only complaint about the knife would be the nylon washers - I'd prefer it if they were PB.

If you're looking for other options in the SOG lineup, try the Twitch II. It is a great little EDC knife. Tough as nails. Mine gets even more pocket time than the Vulcan mini does.
 
I have a Twitch II and its more SOG lock rocking doo doo. Thats okay though as Ive got Vulcan fever at the moment. I havnt been this blown away by a knife since my first Benchmade 710! Just got my mini black tini today and it is also freaking sickeningly awesome! Full size tanto Vulcan arrives tomorrow and the mini tanto Vulcan arrives on Friday for a total of 4 Vulcans this month! Where have these things been the last 20 years Ive been collecting lol? Everything about these knives is refreshing from the non benchmade/spyderco current design flood and I like the Arc Lock better than the Axis.
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there was for example the Buck 186 Ti knife it had a clip. There was another Buck Knife Ti that was a bit bigger than the 186 I think I just know there were 2 Ti Bucks with clips for a couple years in the later 80's and a couple of Japanese knives that also featured clips cant remember what they were though..
 
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