The SOG Knife was designed for, and issued to, covert

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personnel during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Design

The SOG Knife was designed by Benjamin Baker, the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO). A chrome-moly steel known as SKS-3 was chosen for the blade and hardened to a

Rockwell hardness Rockwell may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Rockwell'' (album), a 2009 mini-album by Anni Rossi * Rockwell, a fictional town and setting of '' They Hunger'' * ''Rockwell'', a 1994 film about Porter Rockwell * Rockwell, Maine, a fiction ...

of 55-57. The blade pattern featured a convex false edge on the

clip point The clip point is one of the three most common shapes for the blade of a knife (the others being the drop point and the spear point). Clip point blades have the appearance of having the forward third of the blade "clipped" off. The clip itself ...

of a

Bowie knife A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. Since its fir ...

.Pacella, Gerard (2002), ''100 Legendary Knives'', Iola, USA, Krause Publications, p 99. . The stacked leather handle was inspired by a Marbles Gladstone Skinning Knife made in the 1920s owned by Baker, into which finger grooves were molded. The blade was typically parkerized or blackened to reduce glare. This was done so by applying a dark gun-blue finish (similar to those used on guns) on this SK-3 carbon steel knife. The knife was carried in a leather sheath which contained a sharpening steel or whetstone.

Usage

The SOG Knife was unmarked and supposedly untraceable to country of origin or manufacture in order to maintain

plausible deniability Plausible deniability is the ability of people, typically senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command, to deny knowledge or responsibility for actions committed by or on behalf of members of their organizational hierarchy. They may ...

of covert operators in the event of their death or capture. Original models are extremely valuable collector's items among both knife and militaria collectors. The later replicas are also in high demand by collectors, especially the early ones made in Seki.

Manufacturing

The first contract was awarded to Japanese Trading Company Yogi Shokai, Okinawa for 1,300 seven-inch blades designated "Knife, indigenous, RECON, blade, w/scabbard & whetstone" at $9.85 each. In 1966, SOG ordered 1,200 sterile knives with six-inch blades and black sheaths and in March of the following year an additional lot of 3,700 was ordered. This second lot was serial numbered for accountability purposes and was designated "Knife, indigenous, hunting, blade, w/black sheath and whetstone". Further knives were ordered from Japan Sword, Tokyo as well. The orders were actually fulfilled by a number of knifemakers and as a result, the various lots had minor differences such as blade bluing color and guard color or shape. Although the SOG office based at Kadena and Yogi Shokai were in Okinawa, it is believed that only a major knifemaking source like Seki could have fulfilled all these orders. The S1 and S2 knives were manufactured by Hattori of Seki under contract to SOG Knives USA from 1986 to 2005, after which SOG shifted to manufacturing in Taiwan. Hattori also manufactured the three commemorative SOG bowies for Boker, for sale in the European market. SOG also contracted with Kinryu Co. Ltd of Seki Japan to manufacture the Recon Bowie and the Scuba Demo until 2007. None of these knives are currently in official use by any branch of the US Military.

Variants

Replicas of the SOG knife have also been made by Al Mar Knives, Ek Knives, Tak Fukuta for Parker, and Strider Knives.

S1 Bowie

In 1986, a company named SOG Specialty Knives based in Santa Monica, California marketed a knife manufactured in Seki City, Japan very similar to the original SOG knife. The S1 Bowie had a blued SK5 carbon steel blade, was marked with the US Army Special Forces Crest. The S1 Bowie was a replica of the commemorative versions of the original MACV-SOG knives, rather than the actual sterile unmarked knives used in combat.

SOG S2 Trident

SOG variant with an Aus8 stainless steel blade and black micarta handle in commemoration of the U.S. Navy SEALs.

Recon Bowie

Equipped with a distinctive banana-shaped blade. This type of knife was actually the first to go into service in Vietnam.

SCUBA/Demo

Introduced in 2001, it is the rarest knife in this group as only one true original is reported to exist. It was created for and assigned to the USN Advisory Detachment, which operated coastal gunboats.

Users

References

External links

Gallery of SOG knives

SOG S1 Bowie
- Information on the replica of the SOG Knife (Manufactured by SOG Specialty Knives) used by MACVSOG Forces in Vietnam {{DEFAULTSORT:Sog Knife Mechanical hand tools Camping equipment Military knives