Officially, Spencer Frazer and Mikkel Willumsen began working on a collaborative project in the fall of 2017, but the seeds for that endeavor were planted years earlier. The two knife designers had been admirers of each other's work for some time. Frazer, the founder of SOG, and Willumsen, a noted Danish knife maker, ran into each other at trade shows. They watched from afar as each designed and introduced new knives into the market. They flirted with the idea of working together at various times, but there always seemed to be a hurdle to clear or another project that needed their attention.
But in 2016, at a trade show in Europe, Willumsen showed SOG executives a prototype of a knife. That knife ended up in Frazer's hands back in Seattle, and from there the collab began to take flight.
"That first prototype was a pretty big knife," said Willumsen, "but the SOG people I showed it to seemed to be really impressed by it. It got to Spencer about the same time that SOG was starting to make changes to the brand and its knife lineup. So there was some back and forth about getting it to be the right knife for the new SOG that was about to emerge."
Frazer, too, was heading toward a transition. He been the lead designer of SOG since he founded the company in 1986, but he was planning to step away from the day-to-day operations and letting a new leadership team relaunch the brand.
But before Frazer retired he wanted to complete the project with Willumsen. In the end, the two created the new Stout FLK, a small, but sturdy, frame lock folder that blends Willumsen's distinct aesthetics with Frazer's engineering know-how.
PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT
Willumsen and Frazer both agree that the Stout has morphed into a knife unlike any other in SOG's new lineup.
"I've had SOG knives for years," said Willumsen, "and part of what I like about the brand is you can't really take a SOG and compare it to something else. It stands on its own. I knew any knife I worked on with Spencer would have to have that same feel, that same attitude."
Frazer wanted to make sure the knife would showcase Willumsen's design approach.
"I'd known his work as being very beautiful," Frazer said. "His designs are moving. We needed to incorporate his incredible eye into this knife."
Working from the larger prototype that had first lit the flame, Frazer and Willumsen began scaling the design to a smaller format. Willumsen wanted a frame lock, which is important in Europe with its myriad knife laws. Frazer needed to make sure any new introduction would fold into the revamped brand direction SOG was heading toward.
What they eventually came up with is a compact daily carry folder with a 2.62-inch blade made from dependable CRYO D2 steel. True to SOG form, it opens with a bit of a kick and it features a rugged G10 and stainless steel handle. Stout FLK marries Willumsen’s signature silhouette with a proportionately large blade and prominent finger hole and choil, with SOG’s understated lines and touches.
WHAT THEY SAY
Frazer said the Stout FLK is both SOG-approved and appropriately named.
It has that feel of a heavier knife, but it's easy to carry in a variety of environments," Frazer said. "If you have a big knife, there are times you won't carry it, but the heft of this knife gives you the capability and capacity in a very carriable package."
Willumsen, who will sell the knife in Europe, said he expects the small, but beefy folder will attract everyday carry fans who want a well-designed knife at an affordable price.
"This knife has a lot of attitude to it," he said. "It thinks it's bigger than it really is."
And that, said Frazer, is a good way to sum up the collab.
"It's great feeling when you're done working together and you can say 'we took one plus one and made it equal three,'" Frazer said. "I'm really happy with it. We're in a new world now and there's a place for the Stout FLK in it."
