Looks like SOG Knives is going the Cold Steel way

[Gsg9]

SOG Knives has been acquired by GSM Outdoors, the same company that acquired Cold Steel.
Whatever that means...

https://www.knivesillustrated.com/gsm-o ... og-knives/

I have a SOG TomCat 3, excellent folder, the original TomCat won Blade Magazine knife of the year award in 1988, now looks to be gone from their folder portfolio...

Might need to get a SOG Bowie before it eventually disappears...

[GarageBoy]

The Seki city Bowie hasn't been made in forever. Regret not grabbing one. Hattori still sells one

[ladybug93]

a sog flash was my second real edc. i carried it for over five years. it was fine and it served me well enough, but definitely not a great knife. it always suffered from blade play, but still got the job done.

i haven't seen any negative effects on cold steel yet, so hopefully the same will be true for sog and they'll keep doing what they do or get better with having more resources.

[Pokey]

I've got a few of the Terminus XR's w/ D2 steel and a couple of Twitch II's with their standard AUS-8 steel. (all flippers) The Terminus XR's are a good light to medium use folder and the Twitch's are more of a gentleman's knife. Nothing too tactical.

I've noticed for the past few years SOG was really trying to improve their image and products, and introduce more than just multi-tools and scary looking tactical stuff. I wonder if that was polishing up the company in order to sell it?

[kennethsime]

I never liked the Flash, but did really like the Twitch II. I've also always liked their tomahawks and fixed blades.

SOG has been doing some more interesting things lately with the XR Lock (their knockoff of the Axis Lock) and using some higher-end steels. I wonder what the buyout will change at SOG?

[Naperville]

SOG < Cold Steel.

I like SOG fixed blade designs but I'm no fan of Aus8 so I do not buy them. Cold Steel makes a lot of knives in Aus10, and I don't buy those either.

I like the SOG Pillar, but I do not yet own one and it is in a bade length that is of interest.

[Manixguy@1994]

I’ve had maybe 4 SOG knives , the Arcitech jigged bone was nice but after I got it realized it was too fancy for my tastes if I had bought the Carbon. Fiber I would still have it . The Twitch XL was ok but was not fond of the blade shape to handle . The X-Ray Vision Tanto felt nice in hand for me but blade was rather thin and tip was not very beefy. Last year I bought the premium CPM35V auto in Micarta , the button using it was rather small and action was weak in comparison to others I own . I don’t dislike SOG many people like their models they just don’t work for me and don’t have any at this time . MG2

[JRinFL]

This part of the market is contracting hence so many selling out. At least they didn’t sell to Taylor Brands, but only time will tell if they follow the same path.

[aicolainen]

The Flash 1 was one of my first EDC folders as well. I liked pretty well, despite all its quirks. Would probably have used it more/for longer if it wasn’t for the assisted opening.

After that, I have not seen anything from SOG that has piqued my interest. Still not interested, but my impression is that they have been trying harder lately, and putting out much more relevant and competitive stuff. Let’s hope that trend continues.

[Snacktime]

My last SOG purchases 4-5 years ago have completely turned me off the brand. I have seen them try for a higher quality product and fail to meet the price point. At this point I am okay with SOG going away, as I don't see how GSM could do worse. SOG is chasing a moving target my coping and following.

Ohh GSM sells clones/offbrands SOG is definitely not in worse hands, same business plan.

[soc_monki]

Cold steel has been ok for the past year, but the 2022 models they are coming out with look...not promising. I figured it would be a year or two before cold steel started to show the gsm-ification. I expect it will be the same for sog. I honestly wanted a seal xr, checked one out at smoky mountain knife works, and I thought it was awesome. Great fit and finish, awesome action, solid lockup. Bad points? Frn scales, and the $200 price point. They used to be what... $140? I probably would have taken it for that. But the big SOG on the clip and the scales turned me off for $200. Especially when I have my shamans and my Benchmade Adamas.