SOG rebranding by consultancy

[Wunderbar]

Still the same stuff just higher costs. Sounds like Spencer Frazier wants to build a bigger house.
A little history of SOG. Catalogs in th 90's would praise Spencer as "The Brainchild of modern knife design" No.
Must be something in the water on the west coast. Emerson seems to have the same attitude.
Also back in the day, SOG lied about their blade steels. They listed them as 440A and 440C when they were really
AUS6A and AUS8A. Later they were busted for listing their knives as Made in the USA but they were really made in Japan and possibly assembled in the US. Fast forward to SHOT 2019. The SEAL XR is what operators asked for, $35V.....maybe but most of us in the military don't know or care what steel is on our knives. Plastic handles??? I don't think anyone gets excited over plastic. SEAL XR for some $170 made in Taiwan? Could have been made in the US if SOG had a manufacturing base. ZT must be stealing their "market share". ZT has lots of knives in that price range made here with S35V but no plastic handles. Give it some time and Spencer will take credit for the Axis lock on all his "maybe it's D2 steel" bladed folders which are flooding the market like all these new chinese companies.
I recommend everyone pass on this company.
Too much BS going on.
Stick with other companies. Especially the ones that actually make knives not just market them.

 

[22-rimfire]

...Stick with other companies. Especially the ones that actually make knives not just market them.

I have nothing against companies that have a third party make them. But honestly, I have been staying away from SOG. As mentioned before, I do like their pliers-based multi tools. I think Blackjack and Rough Ryder slip joints are the only knives I have purchased made by a third party in recent years.

 

[sliceofaloha]

I wish they'd start having Seki make their knives again like they did back in the day.
When I hold a SOG made in Seki....it's like I'm nostalgic for something I wasn't around for anyway...
Love the older designs, truer to their function of heavy duty military type tasks, the execution of those old designs by the Seki factories...
These really were great knives named after one of the craziest military units in Vietnam.
I think as a company they've been able to ride that special forces wave and Seki making great knives wave for quite a while
but the swell is finally petering out.

Man, I'm with you on the Seki days. Came across this one (bottom) in my recent searches for around 5 Benjamins if I recall....

 

[Korean Hog]

Man, I'm with you on the Seki days. Came across this one (bottom) in my recent searches for around 5 Benjamins in I recall....

Man...that's beautiful, if I didn't already blow my wad on other knives in that price range, it'd be very tempting.
The MACV SOG blade shape has always been pretty to me. The SOG Trident folder is one that started getting me into knives when I was younger.
The Hattori branding in lieu of SOG branding is particularly interesting on this one.

 

[Korean Hog]

Still the same stuff just higher costs. Sounds like Spencer Frazier wants to build a bigger house.
A little history of SOG. Catalogs in th 90's would praise Spencer as "The Brainchild of modern knife design" No.
Must be something in the water on the west coast. Emerson seems to have the same attitude.
Also back in the day, SOG lied about their blade steels. They listed them as 440A and 440C when they were really
AUS6A and AUS8A. Later they were busted for listing their knives as Made in the USA but they were really made in Japan and possibly assembled in the US. Fast forward to SHOT 2019. The SEAL XR is what operators asked for, $35V.....maybe but most of us in the military don't know or care what steel is on our knives. Plastic handles??? I don't think anyone gets excited over plastic. SEAL XR for some $170 made in Taiwan? Could have been made in the US if SOG had a manufacturing base. ZT must be stealing their "market share". ZT has lots of knives in that price range made here with S35V but no plastic handles. Give it some time and Spencer will take credit for the Axis lock on all his "maybe it's D2 steel" bladed folders which are flooding the market like all these new chinese companies.
I recommend everyone pass on this company.
Too much BS going on.
Stick with other companies. Especially the ones that actually make knives not just market them.

I'm not just joking, but seriously, I think it's that at some point at least a platoon sized group of SEALs used their knives and gave them praise.
This would swell most people's heads up real bad, I mean, you do have some of the toughest dudes on the planet telling you that you're knife is good enough for them to use on SEAL missions....ALSO, when The Teams do decide that they want to place on order for your knives, you get to tell the world for decades how SEALs like/liked your knives and you can ride that crap into the ground as far as marketing to the general public.

Americans/men/boys nearly never tire of Special Operations stories and a knife is like this tangible little piece of the story you can hold and let your imagination run wild. I watched an interview with Nutnfancy and Spencer Frazer, and if you read between the lines, SOG as a knife company has pretty much always been more concerned about the look of their knives rather than the function. The first knife they liked the looks of just happened to be functional. Looks sell knives to the general public.
I was talking to the guy at my local knife store and he said the "gas station" knives outsell every other knife brand because they look cool.
This store has Cold Steel, Benchmade, Spyderco, Chris Reeve, Kershaw etc. etc. but people continue to come in there talking on a $900 phone to buy a $10 knife because "it has a rad paint job and these neat little spikes AND it's spring loaded opening deployment is sick"

Another thing about SOG is that Spencer Frazer isn't the CEO anymore, they hired a new guy and Spencer is more of a designer, that also gets his cut of the profit obviously, but I suspect the new guy is solely concerned with profits. Their knives are good enough to sell at large department stores, but I suspect they will continue to lose respect in the knife community.

 

[kylemiller]

Anyone else feel like they could turn things around at SOG?

 

[soc_monki]

Anyone else feel like they could turn things around at SOG?

Sure they could. I think they're trying. The new designs without all the SOG branding all over them look much better. Don't know how they feel or work, but the one with the bowie style blade intrigues me. However I won't spend the money on one until I can check it out because I've never been impressed with their fit, finish, or materials.

For example, I worked with a guy who had a flash 2. That thing was such a hunk of junk... But for some reason he loved super cheap knives. I guess that was the demographic they were going for?

And I would pick cold steel over sog. My ad10 is a pretty amazing knife, although I got mine for very cheap, and it's hollow ground! My 4max Scout is coming today and at 83 bucks will probably be the highest value knife in my collection. As well as the beastliest! Am looking at getting an SRK fixed blade as well. Can't beat it for 42 bucks I think!

Still, I hate marketing and marketing people. I refuse to watch commercials, I don't even have TV, just streaming services. I block advertising on YouTube and other websites because if I am not interested then I'm not buying no matter what your commercial looks like. Sog needs some real knife people to get in there and fix things. Same with Gerber!

 

[Korean Hog]

Anyone else feel like they could turn things around at SOG?

Definitely, that's what's so frustrating about the current average they're putting out.

 

[Korean Hog]

Sure they could. I think they're trying. The new designs without all the SOG branding all over them look much better. Don't know how they feel or work, but the one with the bowie style blade intrigues me. However I won't spend the money on one until I can check it out because I've never been impressed with their fit, finish, or materials.

For example, I worked with a guy who had a flash 2. That thing was such a hunk of junk... But for some reason he loved super cheap knives. I guess that was the demographic they were going for?

And I would pick cold steel over sog. My ad10 is a pretty amazing knife, although I got mine for very cheap, and it's hollow ground! My 4max Scout is coming today and at 83 bucks will probably be the highest value knife in my collection. As well as the beastliest! Am looking at getting an SRK fixed blade as well. Can't beat it for 42 bucks I think!

Still, I hate marketing and marketing people. I refuse to watch commercials, I don't even have TV, just streaming services. I block advertising on YouTube and other websites because if I am not interested then I'm not buying no matter what your commercial looks like. Sog needs some real knife people to get in there and fix things. Same with Gerber!

I'm not a businessman, but I've often wondered why they don't hire "knife guys" that are more in the "know" unless its like you said and the product they're aiming at a certain demographic just simply doesn't require that kind of knowledgeable contribution.
Really, I think that's where companies like Spyderco and CRK come into play where the driving force behind the company are true knife nuts themselves. They inherently know what passes and what fails whereas good looks that function better than complete junk impress most anyone else.
I think we forget sometimes that the knife world and all its idosyncracies are, in fact, not common knowledge. S35VN and 1095 are confusing "acronyms" for most...

 

[Silent H]

Anyone else feel like they could turn things around at SOG?

Absolutely, and I hope the newest line of XR knives will do the trick for them. I'm a huge fan of the Axis lock, and the XR lock seems similar enough (but with a flipper!). I should be getting my terminus XR by the end of the week (thanks to Knife Rights), and I'm excited to try it out. I've also had my eyes on the Pentagon XR...

 

[sabre cat]

I pay attention to what knife brands and models I see in public. SOG is not very high on the list. I see more Gerber and Kershaw than any other budget line.

The few times I’ve seen SOG products, the Flash series seems to lead.

 

[soc_monki]

I'm not a businessman, but I've often wondered why they don't hire "knife guys" that are more in the "know" unless its like you said and the product they're aiming at a certain demographic just simply doesn't require that kind of knowledgeable contribution.
Really, I think that's where companies like Spyderco and CRK come into play where the driving force behind the company are true knife nuts themselves. They inherently know what passes and what fails whereas good looks that function better than complete junk impress most anyone else.
I think we forget sometimes that the knife world and all its idosyncracies are, in fact, not common knowledge. S35VN and 1095 are confusing "acronyms" for most...

Most of the general population still think Gerber is a top player in knives, or even Camillus. The guy i referenced in my post also held Camillus in high regard, and I don't mean what Camillus used to be, but their current offerings. Yes they are one of the oldest manufacturers in the states, but they aren't the company they used to be. Gerber is trying to come back, and I hope they do, but they need to do more. SOG needs to do more. Any business that does well usually has a driving force behind it, like Sal Glesser or Les De Asis. If SOG could get someone like that in there they could really get back on track. And they may have someone like that in there, I don't pay that much attention really! But their new knives do look good, and seem to have some positive things said about them, but knowing how they have been in the past I still can't bring myself to buy one to try!

I really want to try a Seal XR. It just looks awesome, with that almost 4 inch clip point, it just looks mean. At 170 bucks though, it makes me hesitate when I can pick up something of known quality like a Spyderco or Benchmade or even a ZT! Right now I'm waiting on my 4max Scout to be delivered and I had no reservations on ordering one up, especially for 83 bucks. And I know for a fact that the 4max will be good quality and hold up to nearly anything I can throw at it. My AD10 has proven that, and its beefier than the AD10! I don't have that kind of confidence in SOG, yet at least.

 

[sabre cat]

I don’t really have that type of confidence in SOG either. I have more in Gerber than SOG and that’s not saying much.

I probably have more in Cold Steel and I don’t really care for CS!

 

[Korean Hog]

SOG folders are what have given me grief in the near past.
Currently, I have had no issue with their standard fixed blades.
Had a SOG Fusion Bowie snap in half while doing some light chopping, but like I said, the standard fixed lineup
still seems to be good for the money.
Just bought this SEAL Team for hell of it and to make monotonous duct work and unit change-outs more interesting.

My older SEAL Pup Elite has seen many a change-out and lots of ductwork
Been on a lot of camp-outs when I was in Scouts
Used as a fishing knife as well on countless late-night surf fishing excursions.
This old school Seki AirSOG gives me a lot of joy as well

I wonder if SOG could meet "knife guys" half way and re-tap our section of the market with limited sprint runs/ re-issues of old school shapes.
Have them produced in Seki Japan, the whole nine... and I'm talking limited produc. runs of 300 per with no hope of the model returning for quite some time, if ever.

 

[Lodd]

Well, you see, the thing is, if you look at the prices they are asking for their larger fixed blades (most of them in AUS8 no less!) you could also look at, say, a bradford.

Edit: Allright, I may be stretching things a little, but you get my point. Those AUS8 knives are pretty expensive for what they are.

 

[Stelth]

For me, Sog is just an also-ran. Their time has come and gone. They don't even manufacture their own products so unless they come up with something completely unique and groundbreaking I won't be paying attention to what they're doing.

 

[22-rimfire]

... For example, I worked with a guy who had a flash 2. That thing was such a hunk of junk... But for some reason he loved super cheap knives. I guess that was the demographic they were going for?

I have owned several Flash 2's. I bought them at Lowes which makes them very easy to buy. They were a piece of junk overall for a folder. I hate it when people's perception is built based on just one of their knives and one of their worst in my opinion.

That doesn't change the fact they SOG tended to use fairly cheap steel for their knives overall with the Seki VG-10 probably being the best (and most expensive I might add) before they turned production to Chinese factories. The Chinese can make a very good knife, but they do it to the specs that are provided to them in the case of SOG.

 

[soc_monki]

I have owned several Flash 2's. I bought them at Lowes which makes them very easy to buy. There were a piece of junk overall for a folder. I hate it when people's perception is built based on just one of their knives and one of their worst in my opinion.

That doesn't change the fact they SOG tended to use fairly cheap steel for their knives overall with the Seki VG-10 probably being the best (and most expensive I might add) before they turned production to Chinese factories. The Chinese can make a very good knife, but they do it to the specs that are provided to them in the case of SOG.

I had experience with 2 other sogs. A kilowatt (I think?), supposed to be for electricians. Cheap junk. The other I don't know what model, but it was actually decent, with wood scales. I think the guy lost it though, I felt bad for him he really liked that knife.

Still, I really want to try a seal xr if I can find one for a good price one of these days!

 

[GIRLYmann]

Anyone else feel like they could turn things around at SOG?

look, they have expanded their product line
with other stuff like backpacks, flahlights,
and even a time piece.
it wouldn't surprise me if someone
sold them the idea of packaging weed in fancy sog lable boxes with zippo art lighters.
what i m saying is they tried everything in so
far as to sell the brand;
without ever having realised that their core
products just did not have enough of a
following to warrant all the other neat stuff
which aids with brand loyalty amongst
fanboys...
in short, whatever future left of sog knives
as a cutlery brand , must comei n the form
of knives created by a bunch of credible
knife designers i don't claim to know how
a cutlery business should run, but sog
knives the company seems more of a marketing firm selling oemed products.
and since the present owners have no manufacturing capability,
they can always refocus their business
without cutlery altogather or perhaps
upscale with jointly financed runs of mid tech.

 

[Korean Hog]

Well, you see, the thing is, if you look at the prices they are asking for their larger fixed blades (most of them in AUS8 no less!) you could also look at, say, a bradford.

Edit: Allright, I may be stretching things a little, but you get my point. Those AUS8 knives are pretty expensive for what they are.

Yeah there's something about the design/ shape of the SOG fixed blades that I like and they hold up decent.
If the look doesn't particularly impress you and you just want any knife that fits a certain level of value and function, looking elsewhere is probably a better option.

I'm with you on price too, may not be the same price, but when you're browsing through blades and you can get a much better deal on something that's no more than a $50 bump up in price, it's hard not to spend that extra little bit.
I just particularly like the looks of the SOG fixed blades and the price isn't something I consider too bad for what I'm getting.