physics

SOG Knife

SOG Knife is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SOG Knife rather than just read about it. In short: The SOG Knife was designed for, and issued to, covert Studies and Observations Group personnel during the Vietnam War. Design The SOG Knife was designed by Benjamin Baker, the Deputy Chief of the U.S.

Key takeaways

SOG Knife belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SOG Knife to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SOG Knife from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The SOG Knife was designed for, and issued to, covert Studies and Observations Group personnel during the Vietnam War.

Design The SOG Knife was designed by Benjamin Baker, the Deputy Chief of the U.S. Counterinsurgency Support Office (CISO). A chrome-moly steel known as SKS-3 was chosen for the blade and hardened to a Rockwell hardness of 55-57. The blade pattern featured a convex false edge on the clip point of a Bowie knife. 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. The blade was typically parkerized or blackened to reduce glare. 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.

Usage The SOG Knife 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. 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.

Manufacturing The first contract was awarded to Japanese Trading Company Yogi Shokai, Okinawa for 1,300 seven-inch blades designated "Knife, indigenous, RECON, 7 in (180 mm) blade, w/scabbard & whetstone" at $9.85 each. 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. This second lot was serial numbered for accountability purposes and was designated "Knife, indigenous, hunting, 6 in (150 mm) blade, w/black sheath and whetstone". 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. 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. 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.

Variants Replicas of the SOG knife have also been made by Al Mar Knives, Ek Knives, Tak Fukuta for Parker, and Strider Knives.

S1 Bowie 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. The S1 Bowie had a blued SK5 carbon steel blade, was marked with the US Army Special Forces Crest. The S1 Bowie was a replica of the commemorative versions of the original MACV-SOG knives, rather than the actual sterile unmarked knives used in combat.

SOG S2 Trident SOG variant with an Aus8 stainless steel blade and black micarta handle in commemoration of the U.S. Navy SEALs.

Recon Bowie Equipped with a distinctive banana-shaped 7 in (180 mm) blade. This type of knife was actually the first to go into service in Vietnam.

SCUBA/Demo Introduced in 2001, it is 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.

Users United States

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SOG Knife

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SOG Knife claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SOG Knife before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SOG Knife ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SOG Knife

In research: SOG Knife appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SOG Knife in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SOG Knife is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Camping equipment, Mechanical hand tools, Military equipment of the Vietnam War, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SOG Knife outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SOG Knife in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SOG Knife means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SOG Knife out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SOG Knife in simple terms?

The SOG Knife was designed for, and issued to, covert Studies and Observations Group personnel during the Vietnam War. Design The SOG Knife was designed by Benjamin Baker, the Deputy Chief of the U.S.

Why does SOG Knife matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SOG Knife?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SOG Knife.