5361

Anyone here enjoy SOG knives?

I have an X-Ray Vision (ATS-34) and a Vulcan Tanto San Mai VG-10. Really great, well made, and were bargains on the used market. The Vulcan is a beauty but the only drawback is that horrible clip. They tried to be “artful” with it by cutting alternating triangles in the clip. It also has some abrupt corners and it protrudes quite a bit from the scales. One time I squeezed the knife very firmly, pressing down hard on the clip, and it ended up cracking at two different points. It was still holding together after that, and frankly you’d never really notice, but it bothered me. Well, I discovered that SOG has a clip replacement service. Unfortunately since the Vulcan had been discontinued a number of years, they didn’t carry a replacement. But I looked into the others offered and found the Terminus XR LTE was compatible. It wasn’t in the list, so I contacted SOG directly. They were responsive and sure enough, mailed out a replacement clip for free. Got it in 2 weeks. Not a totally perfect fit, but darn close enough for me. It’s a really nice improvement over the original. I hear Benchmade is also good about making replacement clips available.

5362

Not a fan of coated blades either. I keep looking at Benchmades , but haven’t got any yet . The clone/ counterfeit thing really helps keep me away .

5363

I bought a Benchmade Bugout Carbon Fiber “counterfeit” or “clone” with D2 steel for $20, and it’s impeccable. The blade is perfectly centered and I don’t think there is any practical differences from the original other than the steel (the original has S90V steel). However, MSRP is $300 for the original and you’d have to be a sucker to buy it at that price.

I don’t mind counterfeits and it was advertised as a Chinese-made clone directly on Taobao so there was no misinformation.

There is a common refrain “American manufacturing is the best.” However, Benchmade is well known to have quality issues despite the premium they charge.

5364

I replied in the other thread but you are welcome. My reporting of counterfeits has been hit or miss but a hit always feels good.

The main bullet point from my other post: buy from trusted sources, whether actual knife stores like White Mountain Knives or known/certified sellers on eBay or AliExpress. If a seller claims to be certified and you aren’t sure, you can always contact the company and ask for verification.

Scams are a real issue. Counterfeit goods are a scourge. So are fake steel stamps. It’s not just the end-use consumers that have to be picky about their brands. Asher Knives was apparently ripped off by an unscrupulous manufacturer. Some of their earlier knives in “S35VN” were tested by LTK and turned out to not be S35VN. It was a whole fiasco.

5365

I couldn’t find the #60 blades from any source other than Chinese makers OR Havalon and I thought they weren’t very standard….but I was wrong. They are a standard, just one that is not popular around here. I see a major surgical blade maker stating that they are popular among pathologists in the USA. And after much deeper search I can see them in my country as well. Not sure if it’s just a position in the catalogue or something I can actually buy…but anyway this is a standard and is not likely to disappear soon.

BTW, Havalon is a skinning blade. And I can see how a pathology blade found use with animal skinning…

And also - I found another major brand that makes folding scalpel handles for #60 blades. Gerber. Though really the noname Chinese handles look much better to me than either Havalon or Gerber. Much smaller, much lighter, better looking.

5366

Ordered from Lazada Singapore this budget folding cutter knife with 10 extra blades for only S$11.10 or about US$8.20.

I think no country can beat China in manufacturing and selling “budget” knives.

A similar item (but with “patented” blade lock ) at WorkPro on Ali Express costs S$29, or about US$21.50.

5367

You should try the mini flipper scalpel knifes on ali for around the same price, they are excellent and with even balls bearings,g10 or titanium and with a real surgical replaceable blade! Excellent neckplace box opener.

5368

Indeed, I have bought on Ali Express two, one a “titanium” scalpel knife with 10 extra blades, and a “brass” cutter, also with 10 extra blades, each costing about US$10 and US$6 respectively. Very useful and cost-effective.

5369

Got this Husky from Home Depot for $11.00 Very comfortable . Feels like a knife in hand and it looks good .

5370

Have been eyeing this Workpro cutter for a while. The price comes down about 10% to US$18.50 during Black Friday Sale, with free shipping.

Just a little bit puzzled why the prices in Spain and Russia are lower than in China, even though the cutter is made in China :confounded:

Similar basic design; but this one has a wood handle which makes it look nicer than the rest.

5371

nvrmind

5372

If you want an absolutely minimal standard utility blade knife then look no further than the US made Quark.
I imported a couple a few weeks ago and am well pleased - hang from my keychain and add little additional weight or bulk.

5373

My scalpel blade is french made, it’s some obscure brand called Opinel, model number 6 and often under 10€ :smiling_imp:

5374

That things is most definitely minimalist !

5375

I wouldn’t call Opinel obscure. But, while I don’t have one, I don’t think that the “scalpel” designation is right.
BTW, on 11.11 I bought the carbon fibre #60 flipper with ball bearings for $11. Much less than in other stores so there’s risk they won’t ship it. But I do hope it arrives because I’m eager to try it.

5376

Opinel are a great option if you want a well made cheap knife manufactured outside China.
I wouldn’t call them obscure either though, there are loads on Amazon and half the hardware shops in the UK have a display case full of them. I have three and they hold a good edge for a long time .
I think that they are one of the very few major manufacturers who use a convex grind on the blade.

5377

Just pulling your leg, comrades :smiley:
But when I think thin & slicy, Opinel comes to my mind immediately

5378

agree, very thin stock…

my #7 has as blade spine thickness of 0.05”

my Benchmade Mini Grip and Mini Osborne use blade stock that is twice as thick, 0.10”

5379

I’ve had Deejo 15g on my keychain for the last couple of weeks. Now I decided to remove it and go back to Spyderco Ladybug ZDP189.
I decided to tell about my experiences with it because it is by far the most remarkable knife that I ever used. It does not mean that much in general because I am not very experienced with knives…but it is what it is.

What I like in deejo:

  • a really large blade for the overall size (note: the handle is actually 1 mm longer than the specs say and the blade is 1 mm shorter so it’s not quite as great as in the specs - but nevertheless great)
  • very lightweight, though I have a MAM 2025 knife that competes here despite having a much more substantial handle (but no lock)
  • very thin - works extremely well on a keychain
  • looks great, by far the best looking knife that I’ve seen

What I don’t like:

  • thin handle gives me a grip that’s less secure than I’d like to. This hasn’t turned out to be a problem in practice and I think that thinness on the keychain is well worth it though
  • single-hand opening and closing is uneasy to do (though I dislike it, it’s not a big deal really)
  • depending on what I do, I handle the knife in different positions. Quite often my thumb ends up on the lock and I unlocked the blade several times. I am right handed. I don’t know how would the design work for lefties, maybe there would be ergonomics issues even larger than that, but at least I can tell that for right handed people the lock doesn’t work great. I’m really curious if making a mirror image of the knife would work better for me.
  • I picked a chisel variant, and a part of the reason was that I wanted to experience cutting with a chisel. I don’t like how it has to be kept at angle when I want to cut straight. Symmetric variants look worse and cost more but I wouldn’t pick a chisel again.
  • it doesn’t cut. Seriously, that’s one of the worst cutters I’ve ever used. I don’t know why. From the factory it came a little dull. I mean, it didn’t shave. I suck at sharpening…but I tried to improve that and I succeeded - it still doesn’t shave but it’s not far. Still, even with a pretty sharp edge it doesn’t cut. I’m know that chisel is bad for cutting ability (I found some study after making the purchase). If I knew that this was the sole reason I would probably just buy a symmetric one, despite the other drawbacks. But I’m not sure. I suck at sharpening and my Ladybug ZDP189 is never near this sharp. But even when extremely dull - it cuts better.
5380

that Quarktool reminds me of the old W.T.Rogers Co. boxcutter: