SOG - not the flavour of the month then??

[tosh]

Strewth!! 

Anyone else noticed that the SOG Tool Forum hasn't been touched for the past 11 days!!
Is that some kind of record??

Honestly.... I thought the tool sections got hit almost every day.

11 Days folks - That's a lifetime on here.


Yet the NEW no-brand section seems to be thriving.

If I were in SOG's market research dept' - they'd be some hollering going off, I can tell ya!!

[AimlessWanderer]

If SOG carry on going down their current line they'll probably end up making appearances in the off-brand forum  Over recent months there has been a lot of quality and design issues highlighted, particularly on the PPP with a Vic OHT gaffer taped to it's leg (PowerDuo), and some of their fixed blade knives

The best thing I ever got from them was a Paladin PT-510 which I believe is now discontinued unfortunately. They're not doing themselves any favours at the moment by the looks of things - lets hope they get their act together before it nobbles them

[sawman]

I wasn't very happy with the last SOG item I purchased.  It was one of those new made in china CrossCuts and it was real shotty construction. 

[Lynn LeFey]

First, the off-brand forum is new, so it should be expected to be getting a lot of attention... particularly from me, since I have a soft spot for cheapos.

I can't speak for everyone, but I'll tell you why >I< am not heavy into SOG.

I have owned 2 of SOG's products. The first was a Crosscut I purchased back in the mid 90s. It was awesome, and I carried it all the time. But I hard used it, and being left handed, scissors have to be particularly good to work well for me (lefties tend to push the blades apart during cutting), so when my beloved Crosscut's performance started to degrade, I decided to replace them with the NEW Crosscut. The manufacturing quality is NOT the same. Now, grudgingly, I must admit the Leatherman Micra is the best scissors on the market. I'm not sure it there is any way to really describe my bitter disappointment. 

The first name-brand full size MT I purchased was last year. It was the SOG Powerlock. The pliers were AWESOME. The rest of the tool was either terrible or meh. Horrifyingly bad scissors, can opener that literally didn't work, meh everything else, and super finicky tool locks. I sold it. Now I own a set of dedicated coumpound action pliers, and better Multitools.

So... for me... the reason SOG forums go untouched is that they have bad products for the price, compared to the offerings of other companies.

Even with all this said, the Powerduo, and Pocket Powerplier are tools I've considered. They're just WAY down the list. I'd be more likely at this point to try a Wenger Ranger with pliers than a Powerduo, and the Pocket Powerplier is just a curiosity.

I know some military folks who LOVE their SOGs, and I say more power to them. They're just not my thing.

EDIT: Yeah... sorry about that, Sawman. I was judging the Crosscut on the old model.

[tosh]

particularly on the PPP with a Vic OHT gaffer taped to it's leg (PowerDuo)

That wasted me AL - lol

[sawman]

You're right - the manufacturing is not the same.  What IS the same however is the price.  I will stick with my Vic scissors for my needs. 

[Syph007]

The new budget stuff from SOG is doing more harm than good.  I do LOVE my PPP, paratool and powerlock though.  That powerduo looked too awful to waste any money on, so I kind of just pretend it doesnt exist.

[Mercury]

particularly on the PPP with a Vic OHT gaffer taped to it's leg (PowerDuo)

That wasted me AL - lol

:Rofl:

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sadly multitools do not seem to be a priority for SOG these days.  They seem to be chasing the high end production knife market, which makes sense as they are a business and that's where the money is.

I like SOG's products, but I've said it before- brilliant concepts with poor execution.  This latest move to manufacture their tools (and other parts of their product line) is one I don't agree with either, but I do understand it.  Basically, the option is, make a fixed blade knife with half a dozen parts, none of which move, and charge $200, or make a multitool, with ~50 or so moving parts and charge $60 for it.  To make it worthwhile, something has to give, and like many cases, it's generally manufacturing costs.

Def

[tosh]

Sadly multitools do not seem to be a priority for SOG these days.  They seem to be chasing the high end production knife market, which makes sense as they are a business and that's where the money is.

I like SOG's products, but I've said it before- brilliant concepts with poor execution.  This latest move to manufacture their tools (and other parts of their product line) is one I don't agree with either, but I do understand it.  Basically, the option is, make a fixed blade knife with half a dozen parts, none of which move, and charge $200, or make a multitool, with ~50 or so moving parts and charge $60 for it.  To make it worthwhile, something has to give, and like many cases, it's generally manufacturing costs.

Def

I see your reasoning....
But why then risk the company's reputation. I would imagine there's more people looking at, not necessarily buying the $60 MT than the $200 knife.
Is it possible they've sold the rights to the foreign manufacturers to build the MT?? It all just seems bizzare.

In a way I would rather they quit the MT thing and be remembered for great products than walk the same shameful path as schrade.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have to say that the worst SOG is still miles better than the best Schrade.

That having been said, the Schrade thing is a great example, although not the way you think.  Schrade (the original) went out of business trying to keep high quality products out there.  Then, they went out of business, the assets went up for sale and the name and designs were on the next fax to the smurftiest manufacturers in China.

SOG is probably making compromises to keep that from happening to them, especially now that they are no longer an independent operation and have a parent company to report to.  If X does not equal or is greater than Y, then the whole thing goes bye bye.

Def

[Syph007]

OH..... so SOG was recently bought? Who owns them?

[dks]

I thought Taylor Tools that bought Schrade was a US company, not Chinese 

Chris from SOG has not been around lately, for some reason. I would have expected him to be around all the time seeing the problems their newer products have.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Schrade was indeed bought by Taylor cutlery, which is indeed an American company.  Unfortunately they are a marketing company that specializes in producing knives for mass market and big box stores.  They are interested only in a bottom line and so they obtain the cheapest products they can, put name brands on them (like Schrade, Smith & Wesson etc) and sell them for as much as they can.

The cheaper the product, and the more they can sell of for, the happier they are.

Def

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

[dks]

I know...   

Surprisingly, in BBF there have been some good comments on the Schrades of late, so maybe they are sorting their quality out now.

[Syph007]

Grant was it that brand that you were saying the MT was so bad that when you squeezed hard the handles would actually bend like they were made of about the same grade of metal as an pop can?

[Zed]

I like my sogs and love my ppp for pocket carry but since getting the swisschamp even my ppp is in my box  my only real issue with sogs is there file as  not consistent  as ok or crap  I dont mind there scissors but fitted vic type too my ppp,I would love to see a ppp sized powerlock a pocket power lock ppl    

[enki_ck]

Grant was it that brand that you were saying the MT was so bad that when you squeezed hard the handles would actually bend like they were made of about the same grade of metal as an pop can?

Bob/J-sews was the strong man I think.

[lowtech]

I do only own 2 SOGs atm, a Paratool and a Power assist (thanks Crouton!)
The Paratool is very well manufactured and has a nice fit and finish, as far as i can tell from the tools in it i believe it´s an older model.
And while it is a very well made tool, it is a bit outdated construction wise, it just takes me too long to get to the inboard tools for EDC.
I fiddle with it and so far i could not convince myself to sell it (actually, i am thinking about getting a plastic holster for it...).
The Power Assist is a nice tool, too. It is powerful and well equipped - I have not used it much, but i would not say it´s not made well.

The only other SOG i had was a crossgrip, it was well made, too but too tiny so i traded it for more stuff i probably don´t need. ;-)

I just had no reason to post in the SOG section as i did not have any real problems or questions about mods or the like.

But i keep checking back to read how bad the Powerduo is to help preventing me busing one... I like the concept, i must admit.

[nelson]

Love the Paratool I have for its quality and quirky design, and I have a crossgrip I pocket occasionally... I really really wanted the PowerDuo to be good and I actually have a Powerassist on the way purely out of curiosity after watching a few YouTube vids on it, but will probably trade it on after the novelty wears off as I only keep around 10 tools and tend to swap, gift or trade them among a friends and workmates.

I probably wouldn't have mentioned my SOGs or getting the new PAssist on the forum as theyve been reviewed extensively already.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Landrew]

Never underestimate the havoc that can be caused to a successful company by wrongheaded financial analysts' advice.

[J-sews]

Never underestimate the havoc that can be caused to a successful company by wrongheaded financial analysts' advice.

Amen to that brother

[scrappy]

Sadly multitools do not seem to be a priority for SOG these days.  They seem to be chasing the high end production knife market, which makes sense as they are a business and that's where the money is.

I like SOG's products, but I've said it before- brilliant concepts with poor execution.  This latest move to manufacture their tools (and other parts of their product line) is one I don't agree with either, but I do understand it.  Basically, the option is, make a fixed blade knife with half a dozen parts, none of which move, and charge $200, or make a multitool, with ~50 or so moving parts and charge $60 for it.  To make it worthwhile, something has to give, and like many cases, it's generally manufacturing costs.

Def

Well said. Sog still has some good tools like the power lock but nothing new is that great from the quality I have seen, however, I think that is because they are focusing on profit and knives which have a much better margin. I can understand that. I have had great experiences with their customer service, so that keeps me interested in their products. Hopefully something good will come out.