SOG Specialty Knives and Tools Donates Product to Nonprofit

Knives, multi-tools will be used on Big City Mountaineers wilderness outings

02.08.2010 – Denver, Colo. – SOG Specialty Knives and Tools, LLC, a leading manufacturer and marketer of specialty knives and tools, has donated knives and multitools to Big City Mountaineers, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of under-resourced urban teens through transformative outdoor experiences.

BCM will use the multitools and knives in its summer wilderness programs, which match five at-risk teens with five adult mentors for a week of backpacking or backcountry canoeing.

“On our more than 50 weeklong wilderness trips in 2010, it’s important that we have reliable equipment,” said BCM executive director Syd Jones. “The high quality of SOG knives will help us maintain the safety of our teams in the field. We have been looking for a river knife for our Boundary Waters canoe trips, and the SOG Pentagon perfectly fits our needs.”

Through all BCM’s programs, teens and mentors will spend more than 4,000 days in the backcountry in 2010. SOG’s knives and multitools will be utilized in many wilderness tasks, from camp kitchen use to fixing broken equipment.

“In addition to the truly transformative beauty of the outdoors, we believe the ability to experience the self-reliance and self-discovery that comes with outdoor adventures is a critically important component to the development of youth,” says Spencer Frazer, Founder and CEO of SOG Specialty Knives and Tools. “We are delighted to be able to play a part in helping Big City Mountaineers advance their mission of enhancing the lives of urban teens and look forward to a long and meaningful engagement with this innovative program.”

About SOG
SOG was founded in 1986 by Spencer Frazer, a former R&D tool and die maker for the Top Secret Black Projects Division of the aerospace defense industry. SOG’s name was inspired by an elite joint services military unit – the Studies and Observation Group – formed in advance of the Vietnam War to conduct covert operations and sanctioned to develop and purchase their own weapons. Since the introduction of its first products, SOG has become the favored brand for specialty knives and tools by the military, law enforcement personnel, industrial tradesmen and outdoorsmen worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.sogknives.com.

About Big City Mountaineers
BCM is one of the largest non-profits in the country devoted to working exclusively with under-resourced teens by using the outdoors as a transformational element in their lives. BCM runs its recreational mentoring program in selected major urban centers throughout the country, with its largest program areas in Denver and San Francisco. Learn more at http://www.bigcitymountaineers.org.

In case you have not heard SOG has partnered with R. Lee Ermey aka The Gunny as our national spokesperson.  Check out the Gunny page on the SOG website for more information.

He has also started writing a column for Tactical Knives in each issue.  The first of his columns has been posted on the tactical-life.com website.  If you want to read what Gunny has to say about knives it is a good read, check it out at http://www.tactical-life.com/online/tactical-knives/gunny-on-the-edge/

We just added some new items to the SOG website. Bluto (Red) and Stingray (Stingray).

There is now a Red handle version of the Bluto.  This is a limited edition of only 250 pieces.  It is in stock right now and shipping.

Second is a very special knife, the Stingray with Stingray hide inlay.  We refer to this model as the Stingray Stingray.  It just sort of makes sense and was a slam dunk for us.  This is also a limited edition of 500 pieces and is shipping now.

We are holding our first ever customer appreciation days at the SOG HQ. The days will be August 21 and 22, 2009 from 11 am to 5 pm. Check out the flier below.

So if you are in the Seattle area come by and get some knives at great prices.

The new SOG 2009 product line catalog is available for download.

Check out the new products including the Creed, Bluto and Fish On.

The original Access Card has been retired. It is always a sad day here at SOG when we have to retire a knife, but sometimes things have to be moved aside for new improved versions.

The new Access Card 2.0 is a great replacement for the Access Card.  The new version has an extremely light but strong handle, the smooth operating Arc-Lock, and a upgraded VG-10 blade.  We are also doing two different versions of it a silver version with sheepsfoot blade and a black version with a clip point blade.  Both have a low carry reversible pocket clip and are beginning to ship now.

Just received my copy of the March 2009 issue of Tactical Knives, which features the Fatcat knife on the cover.  If you have not seen the magazine go to your local book store and check it out or better yet go buy yourself a copy.  There is also a nice article to go along with the cover photo about SOG’s newest Arc-Lock knives.

We are currently in the process of uploading all the new product information to the SOG website. In the meantime if you can not wait to see everything online a PDF of the catalog has been uploaded for your enjoyment. The file is about 10 MB in size so give it some time to download.

To download the catalog click here .

At the 2007 Blade Show SOG Knives presented a new concept in knife making the reverse collaboration. With this new concept we worked closely with custom knife maker Kikuo Matsuda of Kiku Knives. Spencer and Kikuo worked on the final design and Kikuo is going to produce the knife in limited quantities for SOG.

As a part of the Blade show there is a competition for several knife of the year awards.  These awards are voted on by fellow knife manufacturers a select jury.  This year SOG and Kikuo won the award for knife Collaboration of the Year.

I will be posting more details and images of the knife soon co check beck for more information.

I have been talking with Mark Wienert of Life Song Wilderness Adventures. Apparently he has a SOG Bowie and has been using it for almost 10 years as a part of his wilderness training classes. On his site there is a good discussion about survival knives and his working with Bear Grylis in Man vs. Wild. I just got info from him that he is starting a new class called the Edge. From talking to Mark this sounds like a great course. Just passing along some info that might be on interest.