Ever since I fell in love with the SOG SCUBA/Demo knife I've had kind of a soft spot in my heart for their fixed blade knives. Sure, the folders are cool and all, but for some reason the fixed blades SOG makes really appeal to me. This week I'm writing up a review of their TL-02 Team Leader knife and it definitely would serve well as a Tactical blade. Given its size and performance, it's not overbearing but does well in the field. It would be easily explainable to LE administrators and wouldn't overweight your kit if you're humping everything on your back. Let's take a look.
As you can see from the picture above right, the five inch blade has a saw tooth back. Now mind you, that's not the typical "survival knife" back that has some notches cut but doesn't actually cut much. It's a true double-tooth saw - and I can tell you from experience that the points of those teeth are SHARP. Why is it that every new knife we get has to taste blood? and so often it happens to be that of the guy holding the knife? Probably comes down to proper handling... or not. The drop point blade isn't overly aggressive but is just about perfect for general field duties. And by that I mean the kinds of chores you'd most often use your knife for around a campsite or on an outing.
The handle is nicely shaped and comfortable in my medium sized hands. The Zytel grip slabs provide a fair amount of friction / traction under slippery conditions and the swell of the handle closer to the back fills the palm well. There's a lanyard hole in case you feel the need. There are what I refer to as "press ridges" in the spine and in the finger grooves. Why? Because with this knife you may need to be pushing on either side. The one thing I'd like to see is a bit more curve / hilt on the spine side. If you're cutting into something with the main edge and your hands are slippery it's easier than I'd like to push your thumb into the saw teeth.
Except for that minor criticism I really like this blade. It's not heavy, weighing at less than a 1/2 pound. Overall length is 10.25 inches, so it's really not overwhelming. Like I said... it's a good field knife. It comes in a plain black leather sheath with the SOG Logo embossed on it. A snap strap secures the knife and the belt loop will fit a belt up to about five inches... I can put my hand into it. To keep the sheath from bouncing around on smaller belts, SOG put a snap in the loop at about two inches from the top. That will make it fit most belts about right. Pay attention to how you sheath this knife. The interior of the leather isn't cut to fit the saw teeth on the knife's spine, so the sheath conforms to the knife as you put it in and out. Unless you want to chew up both sides of the sheath inside, sheath the knife the same way every time.
The Team Leader Survivor grew out of the Team Leader. Shown right (along with the sheath) the Team Leader is an equally suitable general purpose field knife... minus the versatility added by the saw teeth.
So, how did the Team Leader Survivor do in cutting tests? Pretty well. Out to the shed I took it to find everything from string to rope to cut with it. And, given the saw teeth, I also headed out into a nearby wooded lot to see about cutting some green limps. The hardest part of sawing anything with the knife was the fact that I'm used to using a saw that is MUCH longer. The knife handled everything I tried to cut with no issues. Except for the shortness of the saw stroke, it even cut through a few pieces of pressure treated 2x4 without any problems.
The knife is available in two different types of steel: AUS 8 or DuraTech 20CV. I don't know enough about metal to know the pros and cons of each, but I've always been happy with my knives made from AUS-8 stainless (and it's more cost effective). Recommended retail runs between $130 and $275 depending on the steel, but a quick online search found me one (AUS-8) for less than $100. At that price, given the versatility of the knife, I'd invest in a nylon sheath (with a hard plastic insert) that allowed for MOLLE mounting and offered a utility pouch. (Yeah, yeah... I know. I'm too militaristic).
All in all a good knife. I like it. Check out more info about it on the SOG Knives website.
