SOG Pentagon

Blades from SOG Specialty Knives show up in movies from time to time – usually making quite an impression.  I’ve been told that a poster of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, Sog Desert Dagger sheathed on her leg, hangs in  SOG’s offices.  If I’m not mistaken, a knife-throwing villain in Brandon Lee’s The Crow wields several SOG Government blades, while a serial killer uses a SOG Pentagon in the Morgan Freeman thriller Kiss the Girls.

Appearing in a movie, of course, doesn’t make a knife any better (or worse) than if it remains "undiscovered" by Hollywood.  Jean-Claude Van Damme used the Gil Hibben Double Shadow in Timecop, but that doesn’t make the knife a better fighter.  (It is, in fact, a fantasy blade.)  The Rambo films made hollow-handle survival knives all the rage, but are they really any better than full-tang fixed-blades?  Still, when good hardware plays supporting roles or makes cameos in feature films, this helps bring certain knives to the public’s conscious attention (with mixed socio-political results.)  It was, I think, while watching Kiss the Girls that I first thought to myself, "I think I want one of those Pentagons."

The Pentagon, at the time, was sold with a leather sheath.  This has since been replaced with a Kydex "jump qualified sheath" as a nod to the "tactical" market.  Regardless of sheath, the Pentagon concept remains unchanged.  It is a guardless, double-edged fighter with aggressive serrations on one side.

As a testament to just how wickedly sharp a knife can be, the Pentagon’s needle-tipped AUS-6 spear-point blade stands a few inches apart from other double-edged fighters.  The five-inch blade was extremely well-honed out of the box, both on its plain side and on the combination-pattern serrated side.  It slashes with devastating power, the serrations grabbing and clawing through cloth, plastic, and cardboard.  It also penetrates with authority and pierced many layers of my stacked cardboard tester.

Either from the factory or during my testing, the fine tip of my Pentagon became bent.  It was not noticeable except on close examination, as it was more like a "rolled edge" than a true bend in the metal.  I used a flat diamond pad to remove it and the tip was sharper than ever when I was finished.

Ostensibly, the Pentagon has a "guard" of stainless steel, but the metal collar provides no real protection for the hand.  I typically fret more over guardless knives because I am afraid of injuring myself with my own blade – but the Pentagon’s design helps allay my fears.  The handle swells to the collar, which helps a little, but its best feature is the soft, checkered polymer that comprises its surface.  It provides excellent traction and makes the knife easy to manipulate.  The rounded pommel (which has a lanyard hole) makes for comfortable "feeding" and "capping" of the knife.

The Pentagon moves very well.  It jumps through the air and feels very nimble.  Thanks to the traction afforded by the polymer handle, I can flip the knife over and over again in my hand, reversing and spinning it with ease.

The "tactical" sheath shipped with the Pentagon will not please everyone, though it has been engineered to do just that.  It has a "boot/belt clip," which could be used to carry the sheath inside the waistband, but the portion of the sheath that extends to cover the handle makes this uncomfortable and inconvenient.  As a basic belt sheath it works fine (though I wish the plastic buckle on the belt loop was removable) and it would probably be suitable for a variety of applications strapped to shoulder straps or pack rigging.  I see the Pentagon, however, as a personal defense blade. As such I needed a sheath more in keeping with this application.

Robert Humelbaugh ofSurvival Sheath Systems solved the problem for me, as he so often does for those seeking top-notch carry options for their gear. I had him make one of his basic Tek-Lok equipped belt sheaths for my Pentagon.  While it, like the factory Kydex sheath, makes a rasping click when the knife is removed, it is a superb all-around concealment sheath if you regularly wear a belt (or any other article of clothing to which a a Tek-Lok can be attached).  I wore the Pentagon on my beltline in Bob’s sheath under both my winter duster and a lighter bomber jacket.  It concealed well, was very comfortable, and provided me with quick access to this excellent fighting blade.

There’s little more to say about the Pentagon, in my mind.  It’s a simple knife with a simple mission, well-executed and streamlined.  It handles well, carries nicely (either in its factory sheath for belt and pack carry or in its Survival Sheath aftermarket rig), and cuts viciously.  I think the pictures I’ve shared here do it more justice than my words.  I love this little knife and carry it often, feeling quite prepared for adversity when I do so.

The SOG Pentagon is five sides of the same coin – all of them sharp.