Brand in Focus: SOG
Most knife brands start with a workshop. SOG started with a piece of history. In 1986 Spencer and Gloria Frazer set out to recreate a knife that very few people had ever held: the fighting knife carried by MACV-SOG, a covert special operations unit during the Vietnam War. They placed a single black and white ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine, and that was the beginning of SOG Specialty Knives. Today the name stands for a lot more than one replica, but you can still feel where it came from.
From a replica to a full lineup
The first SOG Bowie was made in Seki, Japan, the town that has been making blades for centuries. Spencer Frazer did not simply copy the original. He changed the handle, used thicker stock and reworked the grind lines, so the knife was a tribute and not a museum piece.
In the 1990s SOG designed the SEAL 2000 for the US Navy SEAL knife trials. That knife and its smaller sibling, the SEAL Pup, now sit in the knife exhibit of the National Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida. From there SOG moved into folding knives, assisted openers and multitools like the PowerLock and PowerAssist. In 2021 the brand became part of GSM Outdoors, the same group that owns Cold Steel. Production is spread across Taiwan, Japan, China and the United States, depending on the model.
The XR Lock
A lot of today's SOG folders share three letters in their name: XR. The XR Lock is a crossbar lock. A spring loaded bar runs across the handle and sits behind the blade tang when the knife is open. You pull the bar back with your thumb to close it, from either side, so it works for left and right handers alike. It is strong, easy to use with gloves, and it lets you flick the blade open and closed in a very satisfying way. If you want to see how it stacks up against Liner Locks, Frame Locks and Back Locks, our guide to knife locks explains them all.
Here are five SOG products we currently have in stock, from the classic fixed blade to a pocket sized multitool.
SEAL Pup: the classic
If you buy one SOG to understand the brand, make it the SOG SEAL Pup. It is the compact version of the SEAL 2000: a 12.5 cm clip point in AUS-8, 4 mm thick, with partial serrations near the handle and a grippy thermoplastic elastomer handle. At 146 g it is light enough for a pack or a belt and tough enough for camp chores, rope work and whatever else the day brings.
SEAL XR: SEAL heritage, folding format
The SOG SEAL XR Serrated USA Made takes the look of the SEAL fixed blades and puts it into a big, solid folder. The 9.9 cm blade is 5 mm thick, made from CPM S35VN with a serrated section, the handle is GRN, and the XR Lock holds everything in place. It is made in the USA, and it feels like a knife you could hand down one day.
Pentagon XR: a dagger profile that folds
The Pentagon name has long stood for SOG's dagger style knives, and the SOG Pentagon XR OD Green brings its symmetrical, dagger style blade profile into a modern folder. You get a 9.2 cm CPM S35VN blade, OD green G10 scales and the XR Lock. It looks dramatic, but it is also a very precise tool for piercing and detail cuts.
Ultra XR: barely there
At 34 g the SOG Ultra XR Carbon Graphite is the kind of knife you forget you carry until you need it. The 7.1 cm blade in CPM S35VN is only 2 mm thick, so it slices cardboard, fruit and packaging tape with ease, and the carbon fiber handle keeps the weight down. For a suit pocket or a light EDC setup this is the one.
PowerPint: the multitool side of SOG
SOG is just as well known for multitools as for knives. The SOG PowerPint weighs 119 g and still packs 16 locking tools, including needle nose pliers with wire cutters, scissors, a 1/4 inch bit driver, a file and a bottle opener. The geared plier head gives you more squeezing force than the size suggests. Our multitool buying guide helps if you are still deciding.
Which SOG suits you?
For outdoor work and a piece of knife history, take the SEAL Pup. If you want a heavy duty folder, the SEAL XR is hard to beat, and the Pentagon XR is for people who like a bold look. The Ultra XR is the lightweight pick, and the PowerPint covers everything that needs pliers. Browse our SOG collection, check our guide to blade steels if CPM S35VN and AUS-8 sound like a puzzle, or see all SOG products in our shop.
