The SOG Knife was designed for, and issued to, covert Studies and Observations Group personnel during the Vietnam War. It was unmarked and supposedly untraceable to country of origin or manufacture in order to maintain plausible deniability of covert operators in the event of their death or capture. [1]
The SOG Knife was designed by Benjamin Baker, the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO). [2] A chrome-moly steel known as SKS-3 was chosen for the blade and hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 55-57. [2] The blade pattern featured a convex false edge on the clip point of a Bowie knife. [1] 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. [1] [2] The blade was typically parkerized or blackened to reduce glare. [1] 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. [1]
The first contract was awarded to Japanese Trading Company Yogi Shokai, Okinawa for 1,300 seven-inch blades designated "Knife, indigenous, RECON, 7", w/scabbard & whetstone" at $9.85 each. [2] 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. [2] This second lot was serial numbered for accountability purposes and was designated "Knife, indigenous, hunting, 6", w/black sheath and whetstone". [2] 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,
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. It had a blued SK5 carbon steel blade, was marked with the US Army Special Forces Crest, [1] and named the "S1 Bowie". It was a replica of the commemorative versions of the original MACV-SOG knives, rather than the actual sterile unmarked knives used in combat. SOG made a version with an Aus8 stainless steel blade and black micarta handle in commemoration of the U.S. Navy SEALs, [1] known as the "SOG S2 Trident". The other Vietnam replica knife is known as the "Recon Bowie" by SOG with a distinctive banana-shaped 7-inch blade. This type of knife was actually the first to go into service in Vietnam. The last replica knife is the "SCUBA/Demo" which was introduced in 2001, 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. 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. Replicas of the SOG knife have also been made by Al Mar Knives, Ek Knives, Tak Fukuta for Parker, and Strider Knives. [1] 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. 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.
A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for Jim Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.
A Japanese kitchen knife is a type of a knife used for food preparation. These knives come in many different varieties and are often made using traditional Japanese blacksmithing techniques. They can be made from stainless steel, or hagane, which is the same kind of steel used to make Japanese swords. Most knives are referred to as hōchō or the variation -bōchō in compound words but can have other names including -kiri. There are four general categories used to distinguish the Japanese knife designs: handle, blade grind, steel, and construction.
A pocketknife is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives (jack-knife), folding knives, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A typical blade length is 5 to 15 centimetres.
Buck Knives is an American knife manufacturer founded in Mountain Home, Idaho and now located in Post Falls, Idaho. The company has a long history through five generations of the Buck family from 1902 to the present day. Buck Knives primarily manufactures sport and field knives and is credited with inventing the "folding hunting knife" and popularizing it to such a degree that the term "buck knife" has become synonymous with folding lockback knives, including those made by other manufacturers.
The Gerber Mark II is a fighting knife manufactured by Gerber Legendary Blades from 1966 to 2000, with an additional limited run of 1500 in 2002, and full production resuming as of July 2008. It was designed by retired United States Army Captain, Bud Holzman, who based the pattern on a Roman Mainz Gladius.
GLOBAL is a Japanese brand of kitchen knives and accessory tools owned and manufactured by the Yoshikin factory of Japan. The Yoshikin Factory is owned by the Watanabe family and located in Tsubame, Japan.
A push dagger is a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped and held in closed-fist hand, so that the blade protrudes from the front of the fist, either between the index and middle fingers, or between the two central fingers, when the grip and blade are symmetrical. Less often also called push dirk, which although a dirk is also a relatively short, close-combat thrusting blade, it is normally a long-bladed thrusting dagger.
Kershaw Knives designs, sources and manufactures a wide range of knives, including pocketknives, sporting knives, and kitchen cutlery. Kershaw is a brand of Kai USA Ltd., a member of the KAI Group, headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States.
The V-42 stiletto was a stiletto and fighting knife issued during World War II to the First Special Service Force, a joint American/Canadian commando unit.
Cold Steel, Inc. is an American retailer of knives/bladed tools, training weapons, swords and other martial arts edged and blunt weapons. Founded in Ventura, California, the company is currently based in Irving, Texas after an acquisition by GSM Outdoors in 2020. Cold Steel products are manufactured worldwide, including in the United States, Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, India, Italy and South Africa.
SOG Specialty Knives, Inc. is an American knife and tool manufacturing company famous for their reproduction SOG Knife from the Vietnam era.
VG-10 is a cutlery grade stainless steel produced in Japan. The name stands for V Gold 10, or sometimes V-Kin-10 (V金10号). It is a stainless steel with a high carbon content containing 1% Carbon, 15% Chromium, 1% Molybdenum, 0.2% Vanadium, and 1.5% Cobalt.
Fällkniven AB is a Sweden-based manufacturer of knives and knife-related gear and apparel. Fällkniven was founded in 1984 in Boden by Peter Hjortberger. The company started importing knives and, in 1987, began designing knives. In 2009 Eric Hjortberger, the founder's son, took over as president of Fällkniven AB.
Ek Commando Knife Co. or Ek Knives is an American combat knife brand produced by several different companies since the original founded by John Ek in 1941. In May 2014 the Ek brand was purchased by Ka-Bar which began selling its versions of Ek knife designs in 2015. Although not officially issued gear, Ek Knives have seen use by US forces in six major conflicts: World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. Ek Knives manufactures Bowie-style blades, daggers, and a Fairbairn-Sykes MkII. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Clark Gable, and General George S. Patton have been identified as Ek knife owners.
Emerson Knives, Inc. is an American company that produces knives and related products. It was founded in 1996 by custom knifemaker Ernest Emerson in an effort to mass-produce his folding knife designs for the U.S. Military and collector markets.
Ka-Bar is the contemporary popular name for the combat knife first adopted by the United States Marine Corps in November 1942 as the 1219C2 combat knife, and subsequently adopted by the United States Navy as the U.S. Navy utility knife, Mark 2. Ka-Bar is the name of a related knife manufacturing company, Ka-Bar Knives., Inc., of Olean, New York, a subsidiary of the Cutco Corporation.
Al Mar Knives is a production knife company headquartered in Tualatin, Oregon, United States. Al Mar Knives was established in 1979 by Al Mar, and has a reputation for making tactical knives of innovative design. While headquartered in the United States, Al Mar knives were made in Seki City of Japan from 1979 to 2019.
The American Bladesmith Society, or ABS, is a non-profit organization composed of knifemakers whose primary function is to promote the techniques of forging steel blades. The ABS was founded by knifemaker William F. Moran, who came up with the concept in 1972 when he was Chairman of the Knifemakers' Guild; the following year, he introduced Damascus steel blades at an annual show. In 1976, he incorporated the organization, and it received non-profit status in 1985.
A fighting knife has a blade designed to most effectively inflict injury in close-quarters physical confrontations. The combat knife and the trench knife are examples of military fighting knives.
