SOG Tomcat

[MarcusH]

A classic piece from the history of cutlery, one of my favorite non-Spydercos with a certain sentimental value for me.
The Tomcat was my first real expensive knife, bought way back then in the late 80s.
I had the variant with the "EDM. WA." engraving and carried it almost exclusive for a few years until some piece of s***t stole it together with my backback in 1995 in Paris.

I always wanted to have a Tomcat again, last week it arrived. I was pretty lucky to score one in almost mint condition, it's the mid-90s edition with 440C.
Yes, they already knew how to built knives in Seki-City more than twenty years ago... :D

[SpyderNut]

I've always admired this knife. Thank you for the excellent photos.
Long before I was acquainted with Spyderco, I had planned on buying a Tomcat. Beautiful lines, IMHO. I think the only reason I didn't buy one was due to lack of funds. :o Enjoy your new knife! It's a beauty for sure.

[MacLaren]

That's really sweet
I have an SOG Trident. Not near that nice though.

[Monocrom]

Haven't seen one of those years. Very nice.

[jmh58]

That's a kool knife.. Like to handle/bolsters!! That blade shape has got some serious sweet curves!!!! John :)

[Monocrom]

The only thing with those sweet curves is that if you're in a hurry, your fingertips will slip off those curves while trying to open the knife.

[phillipsted]

Oh, wow, Marcus... That brings back memories for me too. I had one of the first generation Tomcats as well. Absolutely gorgeous knives - even though they were also bulky and extremely heavy. But the quarter-inch thick blade was really a selling point as a hard-use folder at the time.

SOG never released another version of the Tomcat as good as that first one. Subsequent versions were of questionable quality with some well-publicized QC problems. That's what happens when a manufacturer gets sold to an anonymous Firm who's not invested in the products themselves...

TedP

[David from NC]

Many years ago, I screwed up and sold my Al Mar SERE (folder) but got to missing that "niche" (large, overbuilt folder for ultra hard use) so I was eyeing these. A few weeks later my mom told me to pick one up and she'd pay for it as a birthday present. :D

I carried it in it's nylon pouch on my belt but tried to carry it in my pocket a few times...uhyeahNOOOOO...! :D

My mom died a while back but I can never bring myself to sell it or give it away (like I do a lot of mine). It's old and dirty looking...my wife even used it for a tour as her "garden knife"...but still sturdy and usable. It is definitely one that makes the overused cliche "locks like a bank vault door" come to mind.