Sogzilla thoughts

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Fredlee55

Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
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I've become a sog nut of late, buying most of their below 75 line. I've read how Sogzilla looks to be an attempt to copy spydercos Byrd line and endura. I have a Byrd and in my mind there is no comparison. Yes, the lines are similar but the quality is truely not. I don't own the Endura and figure it's a closer match but although I own tenacious and para2 I'm just not a big fan. Anyone else love the Sog line? Did notice a mention of flash feeling cheap and I agree, the blade is just not substantial
 
Welcome to BladeForums!

Have to admit I'm not a fan of SOG knives. Muck like CRKT, I just can't seem to warm up to them. I've owned one SOG and sharpened several for friends, and they're not my favorite. The SOG Twitch ll was returned to Bass Pro just minutes after opening. The replacement off the rack was worse, so I returned it and asked for asked for a refund. Horrible blade play in both directions, way off centering, etc. The ones I sharpened for friends just felt cheap and did nothing for me.

The Sogzilla and Byrd lines are 8Cr13MoV Chinese budget knives. Actually most of the SOG under $75 knives are 8Cr13MoV Chinese budget knives. I've owned a couple of Byrd Cara Cara knives and they felt like higher quality construction than the Chinese SOG knives I've handled. Ultimately, both were given to friends that had really bad $5 gas station knives. I'm not a huge fan of budget Chinese knives, but I think Spyderco and Kershaw do a pretty good job considering the price. SOG just misses the mark for me completely.

I think the best bang for the buck folder in the below $75 (way below) range is the Ontario Rat 1.

Fortunately, there's lots of choices in the knife market to fit any taste or budget. Glad you like your SOG knives... Enjoy!
 
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Fredlee55 said:
I've become a sog nut of late, buying most of their below 75 line. I've read how Sogzilla looks to be an attempt to copy spydercos Byrd line and endura. I have a Byrd and in my mind there is no comparison. Yes, the lines are similar but the quality is truely not. I don't own the Endura and figure it's a closer match but although I own tenacious and para2 I'm just not a big fan. Anyone else love the Sog line? Did notice a mention of flash feeling cheap and I agree, the blade is just not substantial
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I own two SOG knives. An AirSOG and a Flash 2. At one point in time, I had three of the Flash knives. One rescue, a combo edge and a plain edge. The rescue could be considered a poor man's Emerson SARK. Now I just have the plain edge. It makes a great steak knife.

Personally, I like the Sogzilla series. Should make a good budget EDC or be a great knife for in a bug out bag. I've always thought the slip joint version would be a fun knife to own.
 
augustus88 said:
....The Sogzilla and Byrd lines are 8Cr13MoV Chinese budget knives. Actually most of the SOG under $75 knives are 8Cr13MoV Chinese budget knives. I've owned a couple of Byrd Cara Cara knives and they felt like higher quality construction than the Chinese SOG knives I've handled. Ultimately, both were given to friends that had really bad $5 gas station knives. I'm not a huge fan of budget Chinese knives, but I think Spyderco and Kershaw do a pretty good job considering the price. SOG just misses the mark for me completely.
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When SOG came out with the Sogzilla line, that is precisely when I stopped buying SOG knives. I believe I purchased an Access Card 2.0 after that point in time. (I believe I own three Tigersharks if that gives you any idea.) Prior to that, I purchased quite a few SOG knives and still own most of them. A gave away my Twitch II, which was perfect by the way (in reference to the above comment). I really liked that knife. I bought an Twitch XL as a replacement.

As far as I'm concerned, SOG did copy the Spyderco hole and that was just about the last straw for me in terms of SOG. I still use a number of my SOGs and have always liked them for the most part contrary to the criticisms.

I might add, Enjoy the knife journey. I know that I have enjoyed it and SOG was a big part of my early 2000's knife buying history.

Spencer Frazier was just at SMKW representing SOG there. Ten years ago, I would have made a special trip just to see him and visit. Not any more...
 
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As much as I've loved some budget SOG folders in the past (favorite being the Arbiter G10) I can't really recommend them over the Byrd line, these are just very very hard to beat for the $.

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In a match against other budget folders, I'd rather get a KaBar Dozier, Ontario RAT, Byrd Cara Cara, HARNDS Nyx, Kershaw OSO Sweet or ESEE Avispa before I picked up the SOG
 
Welcome to the forums. The only SOGs I've ever owned was a Powerplay MT and Field Pup. I eventually got rid of both. I think there are better bangs for the buck out there, but you need to find what works for you.

I also have to admit I hate the big "SOG" logo that is on a lot of their knives.
 
Not fond of their big logo on many of their knives now. I do think their multi-tools are quite good however and consider them in the "top three" brands. I like the Mini-Vulcan. Both Vulcans were my first flippers that I purchased and used.
 
I don't mind the Sogzilla line. I just wish I would have picked up a small and large red one when they were available. I love bright red folders and almost no one makes them. I have a couple other SOGs , an original Tom Cat (what a cool knife), an original pentagon and I also picked up the all steel Sogzilla. I don't really use them as I've carried and used Spyderco and Cold Steel for years. I really liked the Vulcan Tanto in San Mai but again it's no longer available.
 
I feel sure that the Sogzilla folders are just fine for what they are. If I want a hole, I choose Spyderco. SOG seemed to price themselves out of the market for folks that pay attention. A lot of people put SOG down and I have consistently been a defender. But the Sogzilla thing pushed me away.
 
When the Sogzilla first appeared, it was taken by many to be a slap in the face (so to speak) to Spyderco. The design was not a clone, but the similarities were uncanny and there was little effort for creativity to happen. They basically redesigned the Delica/Endura, which is a hallmark model from Spyderco. When looking at it for the first time, the first thought that most people here had was "copy", not innovative design.
 
I'm not really a huge fan of sog products. Especially when they pulled a gerber and eliminated 90% of their high end offerings. Now to me they are a CRKT or gerber. Now I do buy their products when its something that I just want to mess around with and not take seriously. As such I got a sog seal pup I paid $20 bucks for at my local grocery store. I also picked up a fast hawk and throwing knife set. The only thing that didn't break was the seal pup. But I don't use it either.
 
I've owned at one point most of the seki made sog fixed blades. They were quality. I have an aegis which is okay but has the blade play sog is known for. Their seki arc lock folders are quality. I was happy to see some USA made products come out this year. The fixed blade (pillar I believe) looks great. The problem is they have priced themselves out of the market for what you get compared to the competition. That includes their budget models. They have taken the crkt model. Further, most of their new stuff is way to mall ninja for grown adults. Last, in my mind sog did copy spyderco to a certain degree and they are paying for it in the enthusiast market. This will only hurt their attempts to sell higher end items like their USA stuff meaning they will fall back on their mall ninja junk. They screwed themselves.

I will still use the older models I own though. I still edc my seal pup. My seal team is the most used knife I own. It is my go to around the house and yard do everything beater. That said, until the value is competitive I have no future plans to buy more sogs. Way too many better options.

Just to add another budget option I haven't seen mentioned, the Ontario Utilitac II is a great knife at a great price.
 
craytab said:
....They have taken the crkt model. Further, most of their new stuff is way to mall ninja for grown adults. Last, in my mind sog did copy spyderco to a certain degree and they are paying for it in the enthusiast market. This will only hurt their attempts to sell higher end items like their USA stuff meaning they will fall back on their mall ninja junk. They screwed themselves.
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I tend to agree with this. The CRKT model is not necessarily a bad business model.

On the hole thing..... I agree when they came out with the Sogzilla line, I took it as a slap in the face to Spyderco. I was just getting into Spydero knives at that time. But time has passed and others have copied the hole approach now. So, I am less upset with SOG over this now. Their Arc Lock stuff tends to be pretty good overall. But it is a near copy as well of Benchmade's lock as I understand it. Their lock works very well.
 
PURPLEDC said:
...The only thing that didn't break was the seal pup. But I don't use it either.
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That's a pretty darn nice knife IMO. I hear the general criticisms, costs much more than it should and the newer seal pups are made in China now (still aus-8).

I haven't used it a whole bunch, but it felt like a nice in between, it's just about slightly bigger than the average 4" folder opened. More steady since it's fixed. Very light and fast.

I will concede you can get 2-3 mora companions for about one of these, and the companion IMO is also a great fantastic 4" blade, especially the HD.

But you have to understand, I played with the seal pup at the store and it begged me to take it home
I could not refuse.
 
Got the Seal Pup Elite and I think it is a good knife. I don't care for the plastic handle, but as a knife it works just fine. Always felt the Field Pup was a pretty good value too. Been a while since I looked at one however. Used to give them as gifts.
 
That's another thing. Sog is moving a lot of production to China when it was formerly Taiwan and before that seki. It is just a continued cash grab at the expense of quality for the end customer. The field pup is a good example. It use to be aus8 and made in Taiwan. Now it is 7cr and made in China. I have one and it is a good knife. Might even be a good value if it was priced like a low end Mora.
 
I'm a big fan of SOG knives, been using them since the 90's. The SOGzilla is a great tool. I use mine a lot. It takes a lot of abuse. I've been curious to try the Byrd line of knives to compare the two, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. When I first picked up my sogzilla I decided to do a mini torture test (nothing crazy like you see on youtube). Lots of wood processing, drop tests, and I even threw it at a few trees.

The good, it actually holds an edge better than I would have guessed. Feather sticks decently enough for a folder using 8cr13mov (I think?!), holds up great with the drop test (same test broke the screws holding the g10 scales on my emerson cqc15), and it stuck in trees very well when thrown without hurting the lock up. After all the abuse there's no side to side or up and down play in it like you'd expect a cheap made in china folder. The deep carry pocket clip is nice and reversible (for us lefty's).

The bad. It doesn't sit very well in the pocket. It's very thin, but tall, if that makes sense. I have the one with the split hole which is cool if you like opening your knife like an emerson, but bad if you don't like it snagging on things in your pocket.

If you can pick them up around $20 you have a great knife at a great price. If you are paying the $30+ price point there are better options out there. I recommend checking ebay for used ones, as I picked mine up for around $9 shipped last year. This is definitely a knife to get if you want to use it as a tool, and not something to post on instagram never used.
 
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