Sog,s where are they made ???

[JAfromMn]

Where are sog multitools made now.

are all of them made in China.



I just compared a old ppp I gave to my bro in law a few years back and there are alot of difference's the older model is better made with bolts not torx fasteners and has a different pliers head.


I'm just wondering.

[JAfromMn]

Nobody knows

[JAfromMn]

I'm hoping the power lock and power assist are made in USA .

I'm googling trying to find out.

[ducttapetech]

I am not 100% sure Joel. I looked at the papers that came with my Powerlock and it say it is made in the USA. But I think mine is a older one. Has no gear covers.

sent from my mobile

[JAfromMn]

I looked on the net last night and I couldn't find anything about where they are made.


I have a feeling made in China mostly since I couldn't find out anything

bummer

[tosh]

Ahh,   

The multitool as we knew it has passed.

Almost gone are the once great names. I too feel your sorrow. Personally, I truly detest buying Chinese products that  rely on past built up brand names to sell what is generally accepted as inferior products.

Admittedly, they are not all bad. But pick up a tool built in  America, UK, Europe and be won over by the sheer heft that in itself instills confidence. By comparison the eastern products may look identical until we begin to notice all the cost cutting that's taken place, thinner steel, poorer grade steel, inferior fixings, shoddy QC checks etc etc. Yet the actual fit and finish is almost always impeccable, probably due to the high reliance on automation during manufacturing and assembly, for which our eastern friends excel.

Yet I would gladly exchange 2 exactly identical multitools for one that was built more by hand and although no two would ever be the exact same the quality would just be..........better.

And that's basically why I'm not that bothered about future releases, as far as I'm concerned the moment has passed, the era gone. What remains is little more than a replica but not the real McCoy!

[JAfromMn]

Excellent post tosh

my feelings exactly

[Essexman]

....................... probably due to the high reliance on automation during manufacturing and assembly, for which our eastern friends excel.

Yet I would gladly exchange 2 exactly identical multitools for one that was built more by hand ........................

In my area of Product engineering the opposite is true. Cheap product from the Far East are all hand made as wages are low.

The only way for the factory in UK to secure the same work was to develop automatic assembly that would run 24/7 with minimum staff to cut costs. Happy to say it works and we are seeing work come back from far off so called "low cost" factories.

[JAfromMn]

a picture says a thousand words

[dks]

Just because a product does not say Made in USA, it does not mean that it is not made there.

LM Juices, for example, are US made but this is not stated on them as some of their parts are imported, so according to (I think) California law they are not 100% US made, thus they can not say so. There have been a few threads discussing this isuue here before.
Some SOG models, like the powerduo are known to be made in China and, I think, state that. It is funny that the Chinese made ones seem more honest in a way, stating their country of origin.

There are many Western companies living off their once good name, without the need to go to China.

We have talked before about Sheffield knifemakers and the comparison between the quality of some older products and the newer ones, made under the same name still in Sheffield. The quality has gone downhill in many cases, without having to move the production abroad.

There are also discusions, in BF, about the Buck 110 or some Case xx models that have been made in the US for many years, where the quality of the newer ones is not considered to be the same as the older ones. (I do not have any older ones to compare)

I just buy the product, not the history or the country of origin.
And if a product is bad I blame the company that puts its name on them and sells them; If they are happy to sell a product under their name that means that they are happy with its quality too.

[AimlessWanderer]

 

Asking if a company gives a crap about quality gives a much better answer than where they are made. Discovering where a tool (or it's components) are made, does not answer the quality question.

I am known for lampooning an American company for their quality, and for carrying Chinese made good which have proved themselves worthy of pocket time. A tool is either well made or it isn't, and country of origin is no assurance of quality. I can buy well made British stuff, or piss poor British stuff, and the same goes for American and Chinese, and indeed Swiss (just look at the 108mm line, and the Hunter Pro knife as reveiwed by Syph)

[Nhoj]

I agree that country of origin does not determine the product's quality (although there is a strong correlation), but I would also rather by a product knowing that the sale paid an American worker instead of a Chinese one. This reason is not because I have anything against anyone Chinese, but I feel the manufacturing and labor processes that are employed by many Chinese companies are not something I wish to encourage by paying them more.

[dks]

Or by paying a Chinese company more, more money will go to the workers there, conditions will improve and so on.

If less money goes to the Chinese then maybe the conditions will just get worst 

There have been endless discussions, especially in BF, regarding the Chinese working conditions, whether, for example, Spyderco chinese products are made in a sweatshop.    I doubt that SOG and Gerbers  and spyderco and AGRussel and Buck and even SRM etc. Chinese models are made in sweatshops, irrespective of how good or bad they are.

Or that most TVs, computers and general electronic equipment is made by slave labour, and Sony, Apple, Cannon etc. have no idea, or are all in it and support it.

These sort of discussions just get down to the point of politics (forbidden here !!) , down to suporting your own country, saying that if you buy from country X then you are supporting their regime/army etc. which you do not like.. Some people will not want to support even a vilage or town that is not their own, even if it is their own country; see football teams as an example. If a copy is made by someone in a persons country then it is just "inspired by". If it is made in another country then it is a "blatant copy", as seen, for example, with the Buck 110 style knives made worldwide.

I would gladly just buy products made by my family only if that was possible 

When the quality is equal then I will support certain countries/towns/villages if possible.

[SolomonKane79]

"If less money goes to the Chinese then maybe the conditions will just get worse".
One of the most retarded things i read in a while. Or maybe just dishonest.

[dks]

"If less money goes to the Chinese then maybe the conditions will just get worse".One of the most retarded things i read in a while. Or maybe just dishonest.

I think you missed the    smiley icon, or chose to ignore it.

To quote you, your statement was "One of the most retarded things I read in a while" (apologies if it is a medical condition).

I assume the only honest opinion, for someone like you, would be the one that agrees with whatever opinion you happen to hold at the moment.

Feel free to tell all what they are allowed to post, say or think. We are very understanding.

[enki_ck]

[moderator]

Guys, no need for name calling or getting personal. If you wish to discuss it further, go to PM.

Keep this discussion tool related. (And no, calling someone a tool is not tool related. )

[/moderator]

[dks]

OK, I will be happy if both posts were to be deleted so we can go back to discussing tools.

[TheDude]

I was led to believe. Parts made in China. Assembled in USA. I believe any product only has to be 51% made in that country to be branded "made in....". Apparently this includes some Victorinox knives.
I have on good authority that 90% of steel die cutting machines worldwide are in China. If you take out high precision tools and medical devices etc that are produced in northern Europe, it doesn't leave much room in that 10% for MT's.
The good news is most of the die cutters are made in Germany I think.

[Medic82]

Don't SOG also have a company in Taiwan that makes some stuff for them? They used to have it but don't know if everything is moved to China.


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[JAfromMn]

Since this is my thread in gonna give a few soggy thoughts of mine. 

I traded my bro in law for his usa stamped sog.

there was nothing wrong with the power pliers I had but the finish of the USA stamped plier is nicer. The usa pliers head model was finished way better. The frame was stamped out better with no crinkle's.

the pliers are different. The made in USA are not as ground on to make a point.

USA opens smoother since it was new. The newer one opens just fine with one hand but it doesn't glide open like the old one.

the old file is harder and cuts better. It is also stamped sog .

the rest of the blades seem the same. I haven't seen the older scissors , plane blade, serrated blade, 1/4drive , or new v cutter.


the made in USA uses the hex bolt construction we are all used to from sog.

the newer model is held together with torx fasteners

I'm a nerd that I pay so much attention.

I'm more than a little disappointed to watch sog.

I like most of there designs. If they made a quality product they would have alot of must own tools

the way they are now I  won't risk my money. Most of the time


I wish I had a made in USA stamped power lock so I could tell you if I thought there was a difference I'm a nerd 

[ducttapetech]

Mine is USA made, does not have hex bolts and does not have gear covers. I wonder if mine is an in between one.

sent from Nate's mobile

[Magic Bus]

Mine is USA made, does not have hex bolts and does not have gear covers. I wonder if mine is an in between one.

sent from Nate's mobile

How can you tell it's USA made Nate? Is it stamped as such? My Powerassist I would say is really nicely made and has hex bolts. Does this mean it is US made?

[ducttapetech]

I think yours may be made in the USA. Mine says it was made in the USA on the package and flyer that came with it. But no where on my powerlock is it stamped "Made in the USA" Just a Bunch of patent numbers and Sog stamped on some of the tools and on the frame.
I am new to the Sog Multis so my knowledge is limited.

sent from Nate's mobile

[ducttapetech]

Here is a few pics. Hope this helps.

sent from Nate's mobile

[ducttapetech]

sent from Nate's mobile

[Magic Bus]

Thanks for the photos Nate. Looks like mine has the same plier head as far as I can tell with "SOG" stamped in the same place as yours  I'll get my hands on a Powerlock at some point 

[ducttapetech]

You will like it. Well, I do anyways. It has a few quirks, but so does every multi. But the thing is a beast.

sent from Nate's mobile