SOG Fixed Blade Knives w/Sheath - SEAL Team Elite Survival Knife, Hunting Knife & MOLLE Tactical Knife w/Black TiNi 7 Inch Blade & GRN Grip (SE37-N)

I purchased this knife to add to my collection and to carry while hiking the trails. It's not going to sit in any display case. If I'm going to be eaten by a bear someday, I will at least want him to think I wasn't the easiest prey he took down!Honestly, why doesn't everyone make an excellent fixed-blade knife? There are no moving parts; just a piece of steel and a handle. How do you screw that up? The fact is, there are some poor quality, poorly designed blades out there. This isn't one of them. What I want from a blade is good steel that sharpens fairly easily and holds it's edge well. I want a comfortable, durable handle that can withstand a LOT of abuse. I want the entire unit to feel well balanced in hand. That's it. Really, beyond that everything else is just aesthetics and tweaks. Small tweaks such as the jimping, partial serration, the titanium nitride coating, and extending the tang through the end of the handle are all meant to customize the the blade to help it serve a particular purpose. I don't necessarily NEED these features but I like them a lot! On the top of the blade where it meets the handle, it is jimped and curved just right for my thumb to fit. The titanium nitride coating I think is a better choice than teflon for darkening a blade. Teflon wears off quickly, this will not. The partial serration gives the blade more of a multi-purpose nature which was a feature I wanted since this will be a working knife for me. Having the tang extend through the end of the handle allows the knife to be used for hammering and breaking things which I also like. SOG uses AUS8 steel which is a special formulation made by a company in Japan. It is comparable to 440C steel but I think (don't hold my feet to the fire on this...) it has a little more Vanadium in it. I can attest that it is good steel. I keep it shaving sharp, and it has held its edge well compared my other blades and I haven't babied it!Finally there are aesthetics. Stuff we don't really need but who doesn't want to look cool, right? I have to say even if a knife had all the features I needed, I wouldn't buy it if it was ugly. Go ahead, tell me I'm shallow! All of my friends ooh and ahh over it and this (because I'm shallow) makes me happy!So to sum up, good job SOG! This is an excellent blade. My expectations were met and exceeded. I can see that this blade will hold up to my punishment and I will have it for a very long time, or until someone steals it!

This is a great knife - I bought it for my survival knife to carry on day hikes.I also have a K-Bar Fighting/Utility knife which is great but not the best for a survival knife as it's fairly light.The Seal Team Elite is a bit heavier than the K-Bar making it better for any situation which would required chopping/cutting wood etc. It is also a stainless steel so it will resist rusting. There are options out there better suited for a survival knife (heavier etc.) but, for me, this knife offers the best combination of survival and utility/every day.This knife arrived super sharp - testing it on a piece of paper - I lowered it very lightly, slowly and without applying any pressure, it just sliced right through.The handle feels good - although I think it could be improved to use a material of better grip. It feels a bit slippery when used in a chopping motion. The lower side offers ridges contoured to a finger grip. You can stick your thumb onto the first, top ridge of the knife for work that requires more detailed handling.It has a sharp pointy tip for boring holes/piercing - a straight edge for slicing and serrations for cutting cloth/rope.I highly suggest the Nylon sheath for any intended use. The K-Bar has a very nice, refined Kydex sheath which includes a quick thumb release tab where as the Kydex sheath for this has a button strap at the top - so you'd have to release the button strap to pull the knife out. Without the button strap, this knife is loose and can slip right out of the sheath.The nylon sheath has a noisy velcro strap for some covert applications HOWEVER you do not need to use it at all! The nylon sheath has a thinner kydex sheath on the interior which the blade slides into and holds the blade in very securely. It requires a tug to pull out and will not slide out when held upside down and shaken. In fact, holding the knife handle, it's impossible to fling the sheath off the blade under rotational inertia. The nylon sheath offers all the tactical vest loops on the back and has a small pocket on the front which is the perfect size for a Leatherman tool or 9mm clip.