February 24th, 2025
7minute read
Conrad Ben Baker was a problem solver.
From this request were born the rare and legendary MACV-SOG knives.
One of several groups under MACV command was theStudies and Observation Group, or SOG.
In the upper left corner, MACV-SOG team member Grabianowski has his SOG knife attached to his LC-1 suspenders. Image: Courtesy of Jason Hardy
MACV-SOG conducted dangerous recon and raids over the fence into Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.
[Dont miss our article onAmericas Allies in the Vietnam War.]
Rather, he said his first inspiration for the SOG knife was his fathers Marbles Gladstone skinner.
SOG team member Michael Buchanan has his knife attached to the left side of his gear. Image: Courtesy of Jason Hardy
The profile for the knife Baker settled upon was his version of the American Bowie.
Original 7-bladed knives had a long clip on the top of the blade.
Coupled with a slightly lowered tip, Baker said these knives gave excellent penetration.
These SOG members exchange information while on a mission. The near team member has a SOG knife attached to his suspenders. Image: Courtesy of Jason Hardy
The 7 Recon knives were intended for covert operations; the shorter blades Baker felt had better utility.
Baker chose SK-3 steel for the blade.
Japanese SK-3 is an equivalent to U.S. O-1 steel.
A SOG knife is visible in the back row of this Recon Team Arizona photo. Also seen areM79 grenade launchersand aSwedish K submachine gunin the front. Image: Courtesy of Jason Hardy
SK-3 is a high-carbon tool steel that holds a good edge.
Baker had the blades heat treated to 55-57 RHC for a compromise of edge retention and ease of sharpening.
Because it is not a stainless steel, the SOG blades were dark-blued to protect the metal.
This indigenous soldier carries a SOG knife on his belt. Image: Courtesy of Jason Hardy
Some blades exhibited a plum color that Baker said was the result of different bluing processes by the makers.
The knifes guard was of particular interest during the design phase.
Baker wanted a cross guard for full hand protection, anterior and posterior.
An indigenous soldier with Recon Team Connecticut holds a SOG knife. Image: Courtesy of Jason Hardy
He and his team experienced just this on the large test animals.
A stacked leather washer handle emulated his Marbles hunter.
Baker gave it finger grooves for both a positive grip and indexing.
A MACV-SOG soldier, center rear, with his SOG knife poses with his indigenous teammates. Image: U.S. Army
Its cross-section tended toward oval for the same reasons.
The guard and pommel were either brass, steel, or, in some cases, aluminum.
The pommel contained a lanyard hole.
The SOG Bowie 2.0 traces its roots to the original SOG knives used during the Vietnam War. Image: SOG Specialty Knives & Tools
The mechanical connection between the handle and blade was accomplished with a threaded through-tang and nut at the pommel.
This full-length tang added strength and balanced the knife to Bakers liking.
MACV-SOG knives came with right-handed leather sheaths that had a dropped belt loop.
Sorry, PALS and MOLLE mounting systems were decades into the future.
Early sheaths were brown, then later black.
Stitching and rivets shored up the cowhide.
The knife was retained by an angled and snapped strap.
The price per unit was $9.85, or about $100 in todays currency.
These are regarded as three important historical knife cities.
This was also the reasoning behind the MACV-SOG knifes Japanese SK-3 steel.
These had the shorter profile and black sheaths.
The cost for this run was $8.40 per knife.
The third and final order of unmarked MACV-SOG knives occurred in March 1967.
They were etched with serial numbers, with the numbers added for accountability.
In Practice
I recently had the honor of interviewingU.S.
Army Special Forces Major John Plaster, who served three tours in Vietnam with MACV-SOG.
He stated he still has his issued SOG knife, a serial-numbered third-run version.
It could also reveal enemy combatants carrying a SOG knife as valued targets.
He related that U.S Army Master Sgt.
Roy Benavidez used his SOG knife to dispatch a Vietcong attacker during an especially violent helo extraction.
For his actions to save other soldiers that day, Sgt.
Benavidez was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
In addition to Maj. Plaster, I interviewed author Jason Hardy.
He was kind to fact-check me where needed and provided many of the photographs used in this article.
You could see the history and the functional aspects of the knife.
The current homage is the SOG Bowie 2.0.
MSRP is $199.95.
The SOG Tech Bowies come in either black TiNi or stonewashed blades with modern Kraton handles.
It has the same racy profile as the MACV-SOG knife but at 2/3 the size.
I bought one and carried it on the job and for diving trips in Hawaii and the Bahamas.
I still have it.
Conclusion
Ben Bakers creativity led to innovative equipment that saved lives and supported the fighters.
He brought standardized field watches, covert uniforms, and even native-friendly field rations to the battlefield.
But for all his contributions, the sleek and deadly MACV-SOG knife remains Bakers most famous procurement.
Go to forum thread
