BORELLI CONSULTING: Recreational Equipment Reviews

SOG Knives Gov-Tac Field Knife
9 January 2006

SOG: Special Operations Group - words we most often relate to military operations or even law enforcement operations. In this case, the SOG Gov-Tac knife, albeit exceptional in its use as a combat weapon, is being evaluated as a field knife for recreational purposes. Don't misunderstand: quite often, field knives become "survival" knives because of unexpected circumstances, and you'd better have a damn good knife to help keep you alive. The SOG Gov-Tac is such a knife.

Shown in sheath on left and out of sheath on right. The limit to the usefulness of a good knife equals the limit of your imagination.

Now it's hard to imagine that there can be anything special about a fixed blade knife in today's world. After all, we've done so much with metallurgy, finishes, sheath design, etc. What could be left? SOG has put a few special touches into the Gov-Tac, and it just so happens that one or two of them answer specific concerns I have about using any knife.

First I should mention, this knife cuts. The AUS 8 Stainless Steel blade, finished to a Rockwell Hardness of 57-58, is 6.1 inches long and 3/16 inch thick. The cutting edge itself I measure as just shy of 5.75". In place of the single wide blood-groove most of us are used to seeing on combat knives, the Gov-Tac has double grooves on each side that aren't as wide, but provide equal performance and a more stylish contemporary look.

The hilt is almost perfectly symmetrical as it measures 5/8" on the spine side, and 3/4" on the edge side. An eighth of an inch may seem a lot when we're discussing a balanced appearance, but due to the blade design and soft curve of the grip-side of the hilt, it looks quite balanced. Speaking of the grips, they are made of Kraton Rubber with rows of diamond studs on either side and ridges on the top (spine side) and bottom (edge side). The shape is simple palm-swell ergonomic and it fills the hand quite comfortably.

This is one of those concerns I always have about handling knives that the Gov-Tac addresses quiet efficiently: When the knife gets wet with water, sweat, blood, etc, how slick does it become? And if the grips do become slippery, does the hilt protect the hand from sliding onto the blade if thrusting is performed? The Gov-Tac excels in both ways. The shape and texture of the grips ensure a secure hold even when wet, and if any slippage does occur, the hilt is sufficiently large to keep the hand from sliding off onto the blade.

Getting back to the blade design for a few moments, SOG provided thumb-ridges on the spine - about one inch's worth starting 3/4 of an inch off the hilt. If you're pressing the blade down into cuts, this gives your thumb a secure resting place. The thickness of the blade - that heretofore mentioned 3/16" - runs the length of the blade to within an inch of the tip. That provides for good blade strength if any leveraging is going to be done. While it's certainly not a pry bar, it's better than a blade that's only 1/8 of an inch thick to begin with and then narrows at the tip.

The Gov-Tac is a full length tang design, with the pommel essentially screwed on. It and the crossguard (hilt) are also made from stainless steel and have a high-shine black finish that looks quite stylish while maintaining good functionality. To add to the knife's stylish appearance, SOG integrated grey and black washers in the handle, and that grey nicely sets off the deep black finish on the blade. Finally, there is a lanyard hole in the pommel if you like to have cord or leather thongs on your knife.

True to testing form, I had to take the Gov-Tac out back and see what it would - or wouldn't - cut. String, twine, rope, nylon rope, climbing (braided) rope and more: it cut everything with no issues. I took it to a chunk of plastic and sawed through that with most of my effort aimed at fitting the 3/16" wide blade into the clean cut made by the blade. Because of the shape of the tip of the blade - and the fact that it retains its full width to within one inch of the top - I had a hard time punching the knife into those plywood sheets I love to hate. However, I still managed to punch it into the 1/4" inch sheet with no issues, and the 1/2" sheet with a little more work. All in all I'd expect it to take any abuse I gave it in the wilds and perform without fail.

The sheath is made of kydex and locks the knife in two ways: one is the molded shape of the kydex and the second is the security strap that snaps around the handle. Thanks to the mounting options provided and the holes milled into the kydex, you can carry this knife vertically, horizontally, or upside down on MOLLE gear or your belt. It's as versatile as most contemporary sheaths have to be.

As field knives go, the Gov-Tac may not have a lot of bells and whistles. No utility pouch on the sheath. It's not jump rated. No sharpening stone is built in. In fact, with just a cursory glance it looks rather plain. However, once you've handled it and used it you realize just how comfortable and efficient it is. The Gov-Tac is everything a modern day field knife should be - without wasting a lot of weight, space or money on things it's not supposed to be. Try it out and I think you'll like it. I did.

Be safe!

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Also, don't forget to read the Service / Tactical Equipment Evaluations:

5-OK-9 Leads-----9 January 2006
Plus others!!!

Check out this week's Highlighted Training Article about the necessity of properly structuring our training to condition operators to expect life instead of death.

For a listing of reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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