Survival Knife – SOG – Spirit Review
This is a review for the SOG “Spirit” Knife, shown below:
SOG – Spirit
The SOG Spirit. I purchased mine at Walmart (I know, I’m so sorry), but it is also available through Amazon. From the Amazon description:
The Spirit looks like a futuristic tribal spear taking off from Area 51. Sleek and aerodynamic, it hides a secret. . . unscrew the handle to complete the spear! In a survival situation, use a branch to make the spear shaft and tighten it with a nail or with the provided setscrew. The Spirit can be thrown or used as a cutting tool, so it works great for any type of outdoor expedition. Do you have the Spirit? This SOG knife is backed by a lifetime warranty.
Do we call it a knife or a spear? It really functions as both. Let’s start by examining this tool a bit closer.
Back view – Locking Pin
This is a view of the flip-side. Notice the little screw/pin in the handle? That assists with the conversion to a spear. “The Spirit” is a double edged blade with a VERY sharp spear tip set into a plastic base. That BASE is then screwed into the main handle. This is an odd design to begin with, but I thought I could get used to it. It LOOKS badass, so that is a plus. It claimed I could use it for knife throwing, which is a minor passion of mine. I purchased it and brought it home…
Quality and Use:
I was VERY impressed with the quality of the blade itself. The blade is strong, and very sharp. I actually sliced my thumb open accidentally while getting this guy out of the package. I was unimpressed by the material of the handle. Now naturally, I started playing with it. I threw it into trees like I would a normal throwing knife, I cut things with it to test out sharpness and just generally… tried it out. The sheath of the SOG Spirit was also unimpressive. I REALLY dislike the women cloth sheaths. The tip of your fixed blade knives ALWAYS catch when putting in back in the sheath. Leather, metal, plastic and really anything would be better than a cloth sheath.
In it’s sheath
Here’s what you’re looking for:
I threw this thing maybe 10 times into a tree before the handle (from shock and direct hits) BROKE right off the knife. It just snapped out of the knife and it’s base. This sucks. It is really disappointing since I wanted to use the knife for many years to come. I wanted to sleep with it and take it with me to the movies (not recommended). However, our relationship was cut short by this utter failure of cheapness. Picture of handle portion that broke. Top “bullet” shaped portion stays with the knife, and was actually very strong. No issues there, it was just the cheaper lightweight handle below that sports the line-grips.
Handle
What Now?
Guess what? One of the cool things about this thing is that the base is THREADED!
Handle Unscrews
So now I have an awesome spear tip to take with me in my survival bag. Grab a broom or any threaded pole that will fit and FORGE THY WEAPON! You can also put a strong branch into the hole, and use the included pin to tighten everything up. The instructions also suggest using a nail through the pin-hole, if you lose the pin during the apocalypse.
BEHOLD!
Converted to Spear
I was overall disappointed that I was unable to use the SOG Spirit as a throwing knife. I’m happy and content enough knowing I have a very nice quality spear head to take with me to the woods. I see it coming in handy as a survival tool and even just for fun/throwing at objects while camping. I LIGHTLY recommend this a BUY, depending on what you need. If you need a throwing KNIFE…do not get this. If you need a regular double-bladed belt knife, a spear head of good quality, or a wall display (with a better stand of course) then I would recommend this to you.
Link below to view on Amazon and purchase if you would like. You can see some of the related SOG knives and products through that link as well. They even have a Spirit II out now, which is a slightly different design and may be better overall. The handle looks the same to me, but the blade looks nicer. Let me know if you purchase it and would like me to possibly post your review for everyone.
Thanks for Reading!
Comments welcome below…
-Matthew Pizgatti
