Every year millions of Americans start the new year with a resolution to lose weight. Beren McKay, SOG's Vice President of Product Development and Innovation, started contemplating dropping some weight in 2021 more than 18 months ago – but he wasn't thinking of crash diets or increased exercise for himself.
He wanted a couple of his favorite SOG knives to lighten up. This month, SOG introduces Terminus XR LTE and Kiku LTE, "skinny" versions of two of the company's best-selling knives. The key to the weight loss? McKay and SOG's engineering team made the guts of both folding knives – the liner – out of strong but lightweight carbon fiber. It's an approach not used by other knife companies, either. According to McKay, SOG is the only major knife brand using carbon fiber liners.
"What we discovered," said McKay, "is we can improve the carrying ability of a knife without sacrificing too much performance."
ULTRA INSPIRATION
It was SOG's Ultra XR, which tips the scales at just 1.2 ounces, that served as the impetus for the LTE knives.
"We had good success and feedback on the Terminus XR when we introduced it in 2019," McKay said. "I'd been carrying one around for a while, but there was one thing that was dragging on me. I had just come off carrying the Ultra XR and I really liked how that knife, at just over an ounce in weight, kind of disappeared in my pocket. It was such an easy knife to carry. I just wished the Terminus was that light."
So McKay started playing around with weight-shaving options and fixated on the liners (that part of the knife that sits between the blade and the handle and is designed to protect the separate parts from rubbing and damaging each other). SOG chose the Terminus XR because it's an ideal daily carry knife. But where SOG had the most opportunity to push the boundaries was on Kiku XR. A lot of outdoor users, campers, hikers and hunters love this short, yet beefy folder, with the most heard request, “Please make it lighter!”
McKay said SOG had used carbon fiber before on the long-gone JetEdge model and the discontinued Arcitech. But it was used for aesthetic and decorative purposes, not to provide a real technical advantage. These two new knives represent the first time SOG has used carbon fiber for this kind of purpose. So how much weight did McKay shave off?
• Terminus XR weight: 3.2 ounces
• Terminus XR LTE weight: 2.2 ounces
• Kiku XR: 5.6 ounces
• Kiku XR LTE: 4.1 ounces
"We got the Terminus XR LTE to a weight that's almost imperceptible in my pocket and we cut down a lot of weight on the Kiku XR LTE which is important for outdoor users, especially those who are counting every ounce they carry," McKay said.
LESS CHUNKY, STILL STRONG
McKay's biggest concern with replacing the steel liners in the Terminus XR and Kiku XR was that it would compromise some of the lockup strength of the XR lock, which has routinely tested at above 1,000 pounds of lockup strength. The Terminus XR, said McKay, still routinely measure at or above 750 pounds of lockup strength. "And that's still about three times above what anybody will ever need for lock force." The Kiku XR LTE tested at above that 1,000 pound threshold, McKay said.
"The upshot is even though they're lighter, they're still massively strong, and you don’t have to compromise on blade size" McKay said. Here's the other upshot: Expect SOG to expand its LTE offerings, but McKay is cagey about discussing what other models can stand to lose some weight. "I'll say this," said McKay with a chuckle, "there will be more knives with carbon fiber liners."
