sogs multitools made where??

[ausjulius]

now on the sog multitools there is no place  that it says where theyer made......and thats the same for the nylon pouch... im looking just now at the sog powerlock....
now. if i didnt know better , id say by looking at this tool it is asian made..porablly in taiwan, or at least the most of it ,
if thats the case then why dont they just mark on the tool taiwan.. and if im just wrong here then why no mark the GOOD O' U.S. OF A all over the tool........  ?

[ausjulius]

well i noticed i just posted this in the collectors forum.. so i guess move it to the correct realm....

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I'll do it mate

[Nutznboltz]

Just my 2 cents but, American companies are proud of the fact their products are made in the USA, its a huge selling point and if it were you can bet your bottom dollar it would be marked boldly somewhere, anywhere on the product.  Ever since Sog dropped the USA stamp on the plier heads I've had my doubt about their origins.  Sure they may be assembled in the USA but they could contract the manufacturing of the components from outside.  Sog may have learned a valuable lesson from Leatherman and wisely dropped the USA from their tool.  Comparing some of my older Sogs to the newer ones I can clearly see the difference in quality.  The stamping of the sog name on the plier heads and the grinding is not consistant with their tools from 10 years ago.
If it doesn't say made in the USA chances are its not.  But I still love Sog 

[jzmtl]

My kershaw ZDP shallot says made in u.s., but we all know only japs make the steel. 

[Anthony]

It may be a scenario like Leatherman where the plier heads are made in Mexico, and the handles and inner tools are made here in the US.

I've handled a PowerAssist that was simply stamped SOG repeatedly around the pivot on the pliers and the quality was top notch IMO.  Same thing with Leatherman...I'm sure both companies are pretty cautious with who they use for manufacturing, especially these days with the internet.  A few busted/defomed SOGs or Leathermans could really put a damper on things.

[ausjulius]

yeah , im quite sure that the whole tool line from sog is made in taiwan.. the quality is not really worse than 10 years ago, its  the machining that is different.. and you  can see it ,
the steel is still the same soft stuff.. and the grinding on the tools was never good.. leatherman is poor like that to but they have inproved a lot ..
i am not a fan of the design or quality of sogs , but i cant say it has changed for the worst.. the  pliers are totaly functional, the tools are soft, the knife on one i own is  45-48 rockwell only and is 420 stainless, it will be plunt after cutting through a heavy cardboard roll..  but ive had older sogs that had just as poor steel,
overall the tools are very solid in the plier department and you can put a good deal of force into the plier heard..
they havent realy reduced their priced after changing to producing in asia,, but that dosnt bother me if the tool is useable and the change is not to apparent,
gerber is just bad and they were always bad , their american made tools are no worse than their chinese ones.. :S..

the only thing i would like is honesty from sog, mark made in taiwan if it is made there.. dont just stop marking made in america.. 
id stil buy it if it was a good quality tool...
still hands down the victorinox is the best quality and  for its price  it has to be swiss made, if they started to make them in china and the quality was the same and so was the price,, i dont think i would buy one,, just because worker costs alone  must make up for 1/3 of the price of the tool .. at least.. and  such  a change could never be justified to the consumer without a price change..
with the sog.. hmm the price is fair , id rather like to see an improvement in the blade steel and in the grinding of the blades and tool finish,, as if theyer taiwanese or cinese made this  finishing work shouldnt add much to the cost.. 

[Sean]

With all due respect folks Spyderco is on the right track.
Just stamp the damn thing made on "Earth"  and there... were done!  

[jzmtl]

the knife on one i own is  45-48 rockwell only and is 420 stainless,

Really? That doesn't sounds right at all. 

[Spoonrobot]

I purchased some BO implements from SOG about a year or so ago. The invoice for the saw said: "BO Saw: Sourced Taiwan."

Of course, I'm unsure of whether this is specific to this implement or BO implements or whatever but it is something to note. I do think the stamping and grinding has gotten a lot better. Early SOG implements look crude compared to their current stampings.

[J-sews]

The Paladin tools are all made in Taiwan, and in my opinion the quality is better than their USA-made SOG counterparts.

[ausjulius]

the knife on one i own is  45-48 rockwell only and is 420 stainless,

Really? That doesn't sounds right at all. 

NO... it is horrid!!!!!!....... but then i have had the same on the older american made leathermans,, they are about 48-51 rockwell in the knife blades half the time, same with most sogs, 48-52 at the most, about as hard as a pair of paper scissors ... it is bad!!!!!!,,
 BUT it is no different from their tools marked MADE IN THE U.S. OF A .. so one cant fault it on the  production of the tools outside of the country :O.. for me the multitools are always going to be bad quality in the blades as the consumer looks at that last.
 what i would like is them to be better when they are made in asia , because the steel costs  less and the production costs are lower , so then why not put that into some better quality blades..

[ausjulius]

I purchased some BO implements from SOG about a year or so ago. The invoice for the saw said: "BO Saw: Sourced Taiwan."

Of course, I'm unsure of whether this is specific to this implement or BO implements or whatever but it is something to note. I do think the stamping and grinding has gotten a lot better. Early SOG implements look crude compared to their current stampings.

yes the american made tools are absent of fine tool cutting stamp work,  and are stamped with a standard stamp, so you can see it in their profiling of the tools and handles..
as i said the finish was not worse,, but different work ......

[scrappy]

I had no idea

I thought sog was made in the usa
or at least their tools are... I will go look at my plier heads.

[David Bowen]

Ok I got my e-mail back from Chris and he says all the tools are made in USA! 

[prime77]

Ok I got my e-mail back from Chris and he says all the tools are made in USA! 

Good to know. Thanks Dave.

[scrappy]

I checked the last 5 tools I bought and no where does it say USA but my older models do. I think that is fishy. 

[J-sews]

Ok I got my e-mail back from Chris and he says all the tools are made in USA!  

Good news Dave. If you get a chance, maybe ask him why they stopped stamping USA on the plier head?

[Anthony]

I seem to rember that the Powerassist I had didn't say USA anywhere on the tool, but in the booklet it said "Made in the USA". 

[DaveK]

This may sound controversial, although I don't mean it to be, but have any of you guys ever considered the stamping "Made in USA" on something doesn't necessarily help them sell tools around the world?

Being US made has significance for Americans, but it wouldn't be a huge selling point in Europe or Asia.

Just a thought.

[J-sews]

This may sound controversial, although I don't mean it to be, but have any of you guys ever considered the stamping "Made in USA" on something doesn't necessarily help them sell tools around the world?

Being US made has significance for Americans, but it wouldn't be a huge selling point in Europe or Asia.

Just a thought.

Oh. Sometimes we forget that there's anybody else but us on this planet. (just kidding)  

[DaveK]

Well, an extreme example I know, but how many tools stamped with USA do you think they might sell in Iran?

I wouldn't imagine they sell many in France either, etc.

[jim guy]

could it be the same as LM's not being marked any more, something like the cant be sold in california if they say usa, but have parts from other countrys?

[DaveK]

could it be the same as LM's not being marked any more, something like the cant be sold in california if they say usa, but have parts from other countrys?

I thought that, but SOG are telling us that they are US made - they just stopped labelling the tools that way.

[jzmtl]

I bet it's more to do with learn from leatherman's court case, not foreign market.

[jim guy]

could it be the same as LM's not being marked any more, something like the cant be sold in california if they say usa, but have parts from other countrys?

I thought that, but SOG are telling us that they are US made - they just stopped labelling the tools that way.

I have looked at a bunch of power locks none of them say usa, not that its that big of a deal, now if it said MADE IN ENGLAND I might back away !  just kidding.

[Nutznboltz]

I checked the last 5 tools I bought and no where does it say USA but my older models do. I think that is fishy. 

I'm with you Scrappy,  I find it highly suspect that a company who's been in business in the USA since 1986 has now dropped the "USA" from their product. 

[american lockpicker]

could it be the same as LM's not being marked any more, something like the cant be sold in california if they say usa, but have parts from other countrys?

I thought that, but SOG are telling us that they are US made - they just stopped labelling the tools that way.

I have looked at a bunch of power locks none of them say usa, not that its that big of a deal, now if it said MADE IN ENGLAND I might back away !  just kidding.

I like made in England stuff.

[Roadie]

gerber is just bad and they were always bad , their american made tools are no worse than their chinese ones.. :S..

still hands down the victorinox is the best quality and  for its price  it has to be swiss made,

In your opinion, this is not fact. Please don't make sweeping statements like that as though they were fact. There are plenty of people on here who think Leatherman are better quality than Victorinox, and that Gerber do in fact make good tools. I've nothing against you having an opinion, but don't try and pass it off as fact

As for SOG blades being soft, have you tested multiple specimens? Could the one you measured (you did the test yourself i assume?) have been one that slipped through undetected?

[DaveK]

gerber is just bad and they were always bad , their american made tools are no worse than their chinese ones.. :S..

still hands down the victorinox is the best quality and  for its price  it has to be swiss made,

In your opinion, this is not fact.

I have to back you up there Roadie. I (as I know you do) have plenty of Gerber tools that have excellent quality and represent excellent value for money, as compared to any brand. There are many regulars on this forum who prefer certain Gerber tools to the Swisstools.

As you rightly say, any preference is purely opinion.

I also find it surprising that SOG blades are suspect - given the number of people who swear by them on this forum, and also wonder about what percentage of SOG blades are "soft". It would be interesting if our resident SOG representative could respond.

Ausjulius - have you considered sending your test findings to chris@SOG for comment? He's a really helpful guy and has resolved many questions for us in the past - maybe you could PM him your test data?