SOG Pentagon Elite 1 Knife Review

“SOG started some 25 years ago in my apartment with a simple mission: To create innovative products that stand apart from the pack. While SOG has grown, our commitment to that original mission has remained the same. Today, it’s one of my greatest satisfactions to receive letters from SOG enthusiasts the world over, expressing the fact that our products have lived up to their highest standards. It inspires us to continue to build superior products that last… knives and tools that help you meet the challenges of a demanding world.”

Born in 1955, Spencer Frazer was a creative kid with a great curiosity for how things worked. As he grew older, while in the Boy Scouts, he gained an affinity for knives and axes. But it wasn’t until much later that this interest would be channeled into actually creating knives and tools.

After graduating from UCLA as a math and science major, Spencer started his own company in the professional audio industry, designing a whole new style of speaker system.

“I learned to work with many different materials as I built models and prototypes,” he says.

Then Spencer went on to work in the aerospace defense industry – in the Top Secret Black Projects Division – as an R&D tool/die and model maker. He recalls, “I saw things there I still can’t talk about.” At about that same time, while becoming involved in the modern art movement and meeting with top artists, Spencer learned a lot about scale and color. He went on to work in product development, creating toys and consumer products.

All these life experiences converged the moment Spencer saw his first Vietnam SOG Bowie: “The knife was magical in how it looked and felt. You could see the history as well as the functional aspects of the knife.” That single knife spawned the birth of SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Inc. His one goal: to reproduce the mystical knife… the SOG Bowie. “We started our company by having to sell a one-knife line at the very high price of $200 retail!”

Today, SOG is a true innovator in the knife industry. Having won many industry awards, SOG was one of the first companies to be synonymous with a high-tech modern image. “SOG was the first company,” says Spencer, “to produce a sculptural faceted folding knife. We called it the Tomcat. With the Paratool, SOG became the second company ever to produce a folding multi-tool. And we remain the only company that uses compound leverage in our multi-tools; the only company to have adjustable lock-on clips on our folding knives; the only company to employ one of the strongest locks in the industry with the Arc-Lock; the only company to use exotic BG-42 steel cost effectively in the production of our knives; and the first company in the world to offer an automatic opening multi-tool.”

But those are just a few of the landmarks Spencer Frazer has helped SOG achieve. “I design each one of our products,” he says, “to be functional and comfortable to use, as well as aesthetically pleasing. If I personally don’t like them or wouldn’t use them, they don’t make it into production.”

Today, SOG is distributed and sold throughout the world. Law enforcement specialists, military, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, industrial professionals, and everyday carry knife enthusiasts have come to rely on SOG in the most extreme conditions. “We don’t settle for ordinary,” says Spencer. “We never did, and we never will.”

Today we will be discussing the SOG Pentagon Elite 1.

The Blade:

The blade on this knife is made out of VG-10 steel. This is a high end steel that is often compared to 154CM as well as ATS-34 steel. VG-10 steel does have slightly more chromium than the other two styles of steel, which will help when it comes to enhanced corrosion resistance. The steel also contains vanadium, which does help to make it a tougher steel than the other two steels. This is a Japanese steel that was slowly introduced into the American market and is now received well in the American market. This steel is relatively hard and can get very sharp with the right equipment. Its toughness is going to be capable of standing up to most tasks. The steel has been hardened to an RC 59-60.

The steel has been finished with a bead blasted finish. The bead blasted finish is sued to give the knife an even, gray surface. This is created when the manufacturer uses abrasive glass or ceramic beads that are then blasted at the metal at a high pressure. The even matte finish reduces reflections and glares that would come off of this knife. The blasting does create an increased surface area as well as micro-abrasions, both of which make the steel more prone to rust and corrosion.

The blade has been carved into a spear point blade shape. The spear point is a similar blade to the needle point because they are both great for piercing. However, the spear point is stronger and does contain a small belly that can be used for slicing. The shape of the spear point is created with a symmetrically pointed blade that has a point that falls in lien with the center lien of the blade’s long axis. Both edges of the knife will rise and fall at the same time to create a very symmetrical and even blade. This blade shape is different than the needle point because the needle point does have a sharp but weak point, while the spear point has a strong point that is also sharp enough to use for piercing. Like earlier mentioned, the spear point does have a small belly that can be used for some cutting. If you were to compare this belly with that on a drop point or clip point though, it would seem incredibly small. Overall, the spear point is considered to be a hybrid shape because you do get both the piercing and slicing ability as well as the strength plus the point that can pierce, and not to mention the belly that can be used for slicing.

This is a combo blade, which is when the blade has both the plain edge portion as well as the serrated portion. The plain edge extends for roughly 2/3 of the blade on the upper portion. This section can be used to give clean cuts or be used for fine detail and tip work. The serrated portion is the portion closest to the handle. This section can be used for swing through thicker materials that you might happen to encounter. The benefit of a combo blade is that you should get the best of both worlds with it. However, the common complaint when it comes to a combo blade is that both portions are so small that you can’t really utilize either one of them.

 

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of Glass-Reinforced Nylon, which is a very similar material to Zytel. This is a thermoplastic material that is strong, resistant to both bending and abrasion, as well as being almost indestructible. This material is so strong and nearly indestructible because the nylon fibers are arranged haphazardly throughout the knife which creates a knife that is strong in all directions. This is different form the other fiberglass resin laminates such as G-10, Carbon Fiber, and Micarta, which have the strands arranged in a single direction. Many people did not warm up to this material because it is so modern and synthetic, it was believed to be plastic feeling, and it does offer less grip than G-10 would.

This can be such an inexpensive material because it can be injection molded into any desired shape and textured in a multitude of ways in the production process. The overall benefits to this knife is its strength, its toughness, its cost, and how low maintenance it is going to be. The overall cons to it is that it does not offer as much grip as you could get out of a different synthetic material, and some people feel like it feels plastic-y.

The knife has a straight belly and a straight spine, both of which come in slightly in the middle to offer better grip. The butt on this knife is rounded. There is some jimping near the blade on both sides of the handle which will give you more control.

 

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip on this knife is a reversible pocket clip for either left or right handed carry. This helps to make the knife more comfortable for each individual to use, because you don’t have to carry it on a side that is not familiar to you. That being said, it is not reversible for tip carry, and can only be attached for tip up carry. Tip up carry is definitely the more dangerous of the two because if the knife happens to accidentally come open while in your pocket and you reach into your pocket, it could easily slice your hand. This is a not a deep carry pocket clip, which is a disadvantage.

The clip is kept in place by one big screw and two much smaller screws. The screws are silver, which match the rest of the hardware and the pocket clip on this knife. The pocket clip has been mostly skeletonized which does cut down on weight.

 

The Mechanism:

             This is a folding knife that has been equipped with a thumb stud as well as SOG’s Arc-Lock.

The Arc-Lock is described by SOG by saying, “With its ambidexterity – and all the other attributes knife enthusiasts so relentlessly seek – the Arc-Lock might just be the perfect lock.” It has incredible strength: Tested at over 1000 lbs. of force (measured at the lock), far surpassing conventional lock strength. It also has high speed: Lightning-quick, one-handed opening and closing capability. It is a safe mechanism to use: Spring-action securely retains blade closed, keeping fingers safely clear while unlocking. And it is incredibly durable: Self-adjusting over time and easily cleaned for long-term optimal performance.

 

The Specs:

The blade on this knife measures in at 4 inches long with a blade thickness of 0.14 inches. The handle on this knife measures in at 4.75 inches long. The overall length of this knife measures in at 8.75 inches long when it is opened. It weighs in at 4.3 ounces, which is a weight right in the middle for an EDC knife. This knife was made in Japan.

 

Conclusion:

When SOG is talking about this knife, they say, “A folding version of the Pentagon, the Pentagon Elite has all the benefits of its big brother as well as a bead blasted blade that reduces reflection. The stainless steel blade offers the instant choice between a serrated or beveled edge, giving you the best of both worlds for cutting virtually any material. Extremely lightweight, the Pentagon Elite features a glass-reinforced GRN handle with stainless steel liners that provides sensational feel and balance. Tested at over 1000 lbs. of force at the lock, the Arc-Lock is SOG’s strongest lock. It can be carried conveniently with its reversible low-carry pocket clip.”

The Pentagon Elite series by SOG has been amazingly popular with military and law enforcement officials as well as the general market.  The Pentagon Elite I is the “smaller” of the two versions.  This is still a good sized knife.  Made with a low reflective bead blasted 5″ VG-10 blade, the Pentagon Elite I is plenty big.  At the tip of the blade is a shark tooth tip that increases the point strength of the blade.  The handle is made of glass and Kevlar reinforced Zytel.  Very comfortable to hold, the knife has ambidextrous slotted thumb studs to open the knife with and is machine screw constructed.  The Pentagon Elite knives all use SOG’s innovative Arc-Lock system and this knife also has a reversible military style clip.  This SOG also has a limited lifetime warranty.  You can pick up this knife today at BladeOps.