SOG Seal PUP and Pup elite

[jonaddis84]

Researching buying a fixed blade for hunting/camping and I really like the SOG Seal Pup series of knives.  I dont know too much about quality knives, all Ive ever owned are folding Gerbers.  They sound like they should be very high quality based on the fact that they are "seal tested".  Does anyone own one or know anything about them based on experience?  How is the metal quality? 

If you dont like this knife, what would you recommend in the under 5" blade range?

[Joel]

I've never handled any of the SOG Seal knives, but the steel used in the SEAL Pup is Aus-6 which is a Japanese modification of 440A...it contains a bit of vanadium which acts as a grain refiner(smaller grains) which results in a tougher blade which holds a better edge than standard 440A...assuming the proper heat treat of course. The Elite uses AUS-8; a modification of 440B.  I should probably mention that the SEALS use a lot of different knives, and the SOG series is just one of them.  Beyond that, I can't say much since I don't comment on what I haven't tried.  I'm sure if you Google on that particular series, you'll get some links to hands on evaluations.