The s.o.g creed survival knife review
The story of SOG’s inception began in Vietnam, where members of a highly classified US special ops unit carried a unique combat knife into the jungle on covert missions. This special unit was known as MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group), and the US Government once wholeheartedly denied its existence!
Consequently, SOG has created the Creed Fixed Blade Knife as part of their “outdoor” line of fixed blade knives.
This knife features an overall length of 12 1/8 inches; a clip point blade that measures 7 1/2″ inches in length and is made from 1/4″ thick, AUS-8 stainless steel hardened to 57-58 Rockwell; stainless steel quillions; a handle made from moulded Kraton with a checkered surface and finger grooves, a stainless steel butt cap with a lanyard hole and, it is supplied with a heavy-duty leather sheath.
While I like SOG knives, their main focus is on tactical knives. However, they have a few designs, like the “Creed”, that would serve as dedicated survival knives.
While the blade of this knife somewhat resembles that of a Persian Scimitar, it isn’t easy to classify because, while the SOG website calls it a clip point, it is technically a tailing point. After all, the point is positioned above the spine. Yet it also exhibits a distinct clip with a false edge.
Regardless of how you classify it, however, this blade design works!
With a 7 ½” blade made of AUS-8 stainless steel, available with or without a hard black titanium nitride finish, the weight forward design of this blade is well configured for light to medium chopping tasks. The straight edge combined with the long “sweep” and the shallow “belly” is perfect for carving, slicing, splitting, and removing the hide from harvested game animals.
In addition, the deep hollow grind enables the user to put an extremely sharp edge on this knife. With a Rockwell Hardness of 57-58, the AUS-8 steel will hold an edge very well without chipping because it contains 0.70% to 0.75% Carbon, 13 to 14.5% Chromium, 0.10% to 0.30% Molybdenum (bonds with the Chromium during forging to form hard, double carbide, to improve the abrasion and corrosion resistance of the steel) and 0.10% to 0.26% Vanadium (produces a fine grain structure in the steel which enables the edge to be sharpened to a very keen edge).
Consequently, this steel is an excellent choice for a dedicated survival knife because it is highly corrosion-resistant and it will hold an edge well. In addition, although I don’t care for the double quillions (as I would prefer only one), I do appreciate the fact that they, too, are made from stainless steel.
The checkered surface and the finger grooves on the Kraton handle provide the user with a positive grip. Kraton is impervious to absorbing moisture and chipping, cracking, or splitting. This handle material also provides the user’s hand with shock absorption whenever the knife is chopped.
Consequently, like all SOG knives, the “Creed” is a very well designed and strongly built knife constructed from an excellent choice of materials for the intended purpose. Also, due to its design and construction, the SOG Creed would make an excellent choice for a dedicated outdoor survival knife.