Plowing through a sea of folding knives there lies great difficulty in finding new innovative designs. After all, several manufacturers have been creating reliable, well designed assisted-opening knives for years. And what’s not broken, needs not fixing, right? Well, SOG decided to look into new mechanisms and methods for opening an assisted knife and gave birth to the SOG Quake and Quake XL.
The folding knives I currently own are activated by either a thumb stud located on the blade or a flipper on the back side of the blade. SOG went a completely different route with their SOG Assisted Technology or SAT 2 utilizing the black cross guard to serve dual purposes. As the SOG Quake folds into the handle, the cross guard pivots on a hinge from perpendicular to parallel with the blade. Once folded, the cross guard becomes the lever you push to open this assisted knife.
The assist mechanism is a set of opposing high-tension coil springs. Exerting outward pressure on the cross guard, there comes a point where the spring retaining the blade is overcome by the spring that opens the knife. The opening spring is no joke and obviously where the name Quake came from. My opinion of this mechanism can be found in my final thoughts. To close the SOG Quake, you simply push the thumb button. The button-lock is a spring activated mechanism the extends into the tang when deployed thus locking the blade in place. Additionally, SOG uses a safety switch that will prevent the accidental deployment of the blade for increased safety while carrying.
The construction of the SOG Quake is best described as rugged. Weighing in at 5.8oz this is no lightweight. Premium Japanese VG-10 Stainless Steel is used for this .126″ thick blade. VG-10 steel can be sharpened to a fine edge, remain durable all while maintaining a hardness of Rc 60. The “clip point” blade also features an attractive dual tone finish. Forged aluminum is the material of choice for the sturdy SOG Quakes handles. Anodized in FDE (Flat Dark Earth) for those tacticool guys and deeply serrated for increased grip in all conditions. Additionally, the deep serrations help keep the knife secured in pocket when using the low carry reversible steel belt clip.
Final thoughts: Although the SOG Quake is a robust, well-built knife by all standards, it’s not my daily pocket carry knife. There are several reasons for this decision. The 5.8 oz. weight as well as the 5/8″ overall thickness is a little bulky for my personal taste. In addition, the SAT2 opening mechanism is a little difficult for me to open consistently. The amount of outward pressure needed to quickly deploy this blade is a bit much. It may become easier over time through repeated use but for now, I wouldn’t trust my life with it based on my ability to one hand open this knife. That being said, the SOG Quake is still part of my EDC. This knife, along with a few less pocketable EDC items are carried it in my Vanquest Mobius 2.0 VPacker that I recently reviewed.
SOG Quake specs courtesy of sogknives.com
- Overall length: 8.3″
- Closed length: 4.8″
- Blade length: 3.5″
- Blade thickness: .126″
- Blade material: VG-10 Premium Japanese Stainless Steel
- Blade hardness: RC 58-60
- Blade shape: Clip Point
- Edge type: Straight
- Product weight: 5.8 oz.
- Handle material: Forged Aluminum
- Handle color: Anodized FDE
- Belt clip type: Reversible Low carry
- Locking mechanism: Button Lock
