Home / Featured / SOG April Fools’ Contest Really Stands Out

SOG April Fools’ Contest Really Stands Out

April 1, 2019

It’s April 1st, and the knife world is celebrating in style. SOG went the extra mile this year with a company-wide April Fools’ design contest that resulted in the Sterminus XR, a new variant of the Terminus XR with scales that can be converted into a stand for the second most important part of your EDC: your smartphone.

The Sterminus XR is the brainchild of SOG Design Engineer Ariella Halevi. Users remove the scales – which come in a variety of cool colors – and hook them together with latches at their bases, creating a smartphone stand so you can continue to browse knives, post on knife forums, and binge on knife review videos with ease pretty much anywhere you are. And, as an added bonus, the cutouts on the scales provide a glimpse of the XR Lock in action too.

We asked Halevi if she thought that there would be a market out there for the Sterminus XR if it ever went from concept to real life product. Then we had to ask again, because we were responding to a text when she answered us the first time. “Sadly, yes. Our phone addiction has gone beyond the realm of reality,” Halevi acknowledged.

SOG VP of Marketing Jonathan Wegner came up with the contest, which he says was designed as a break from some of the hard work the crew has been putting in. “Our entire team has been consumed in some pretty significant company-wide heavy lifting lately, and we were looking for a way to add a touch of levity and fun to the workplace.” Wegner says the contributions and enthusiasm ended up being amazing. “We knew it already, but this reinforced the fact we have a ton of creative people who work here.”

SOG’s Matt Crawford also adds that, although the April Fools’ designs were meant to be more goofy than practical, there are hints here and there that could inspire real knives in the future. “Some of the entries had subtle nods to things we do well with our knives, so that helped drive home a bit of what we’re doing right.”

As for the award-winning Sterminus XR itself, a 3D-printed prototype of was made, but eventually broke. Halevi tells us her masterpiece is going to remain in the conceptual stage for now. “It did work as a phone stand. A little more R&D and we could dial it in, but it’d require a reconfiguration of the entire knife.” Maybe the world just isn’t ready for the Sterminus XR yet.

Knife in Featured image: SOG Sterminus XR

Related Items