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SOG Flash II

A Review by Phil Elmore

As assisted-opening knives become increasingly popular,
thanks in part to offerings from
Kershaw and
Meyerco,
it’s tempting to dismiss more recent almost-switchblades as simply more of the
same. The lure of the assisted opener, of course, is that it provides
the fast opening and quick-click gadget factor of an automatic knife without
the legal hassle of a true switchblade. While some assisted openers are
more… flash… than substance, the
SOG Specialty Knives
Flash II is anything but a spring-loaded gimmick.

Is there another assisted-opening tactical folder as
good as this? The Flash II is superb.

I’ll be honest with you: I go through a lot of
tactical folders. Partly because I am always testing a new evaluation
sample and partly because I just enjoy knives, I rarely have the same folder
in my pocket for more than a few consecutive days. One exception is the
Flash II, which keeps finding its way into the rotation and stays longer in my
pocket than many of its competitors. I shall preface this review, then,
by saying that I genuinely like the knife and find it a well-designed,
well-executed tactical folder.

Associate Editor Lawrence Keeney wrote of his own positive
experiences with the camouflage-handle Flash II in the subscriber-only content
of The Martialist. As a martial artist, my own needs and
requirements for a knife are different than Lawrence’s. It was with this
in mind that I tested my Flash II a black-handled drop point model and
became quite fond of it in the process.

As the publisher of this magazine I spend a great deal of
time dealing with incoming mail and packages. My EDC knife, therefore,
spends a great deal of its service time carving its way through cardboard,
packing tape, and paper. The SOG Flash II performed these tasks
effortlessly and it was a lot of fun to flick open for each use.

My Flash II has a 3.5-inch partially serrated blade of AUS-8
steel. It had a great edge out of the box and is ground on both sides
(though the serrations are ground on one side only). Graduated,
ambidextrous thumb studs provide leverage to start the blade open, after which
it slides the rest of the way to lock with a heavy “click.”

I’ve taken to opening the Flash II with an abbreviated push
of my thumb the same sharp flick that some people use to snap open standard
tactical folders without maintaining thumb contact through the arc. In
theory, an abbreviated flick is necessary to keep the thumb from
traveling into the cutting edge as the opening blade travels past the thumb
under spring power. In practice, though, I haven’t seen much danger of
this with the Flash II, because its blade travels relatively slowly compared
to other assisted-openers. The speed is reduced, no doubt, by the weight
and length of the blade for unlike some gadget folders on the market, the
Flash II is of significant size.

The dimensions of the Flash II, in fact, make it perfect in
my mind for use as a defensive folder. The 4.5-inch plastic handle
(which is covered in an unusual checkering pattern whose diamonds elongate as
they get closer to the blade opening) fits my hefty palms very well, has a
pleasant texture that provides good traction, and is ergonomically contoured
to form an integral guard. The thumb grooves cut into the spine of the
handle which is chunky at half an inch thick are not deep enough for my
tastes, but they’re better than nothing. Another set of grooves are
molded into the spine of the handle on the clip end. The shape of the
SOG’s butt makes it suitable for strikes, either with the blade open or with
the closed knife serving as a fist load.

Positioned
above and behind the lanyard hole in the handle is the Flash II’s low-ride
pocket clip. While stylized a bit more than I would prefer, the clip
works well, has good tension, and provides for a smooth draw from the pocket.
The mounting in the middle of the handle’s end means the clip is secured with
a single Torx screw. It can be reversed for left-hand carry.

I chuckled when I reversed the clip to test it because the
folks at SOG obviously thought this through. They’ve put a hole in the
clip through which you can fit your Torx driver in order to secure the
reversed clip. The single screw mount means the clip will shift a little
to either side if you try to push it, but I haven’t had any problems with
regular pocket carry and didn’t notice this until I tried to move the clip
purposely.

The Flash II is configured for tip-up carry only. The
spring assist mechanism keeps the blade shut under mild tension, so there’s
little chance it could drift open in the pocket to poke an unwary owner’s
fingers. For the very nervous, SOG has included an excellent safety
device.

When the clip is reversed, the screw can be
accessed through a hole in the clip.

The safety is small and placed out of the way. I wouldn’t
recommend trying to use it for day-to-day operation, though. It cannot
be easily accessed with one hand in position on the handle. It is also
small enough that it requires fine motor skills to manipulate. For
storage or for extra-safe utility carry, however, it works very well.
When “off,” red-painted metal shows through the safety’s opening in the
plastic handle. The device is an integral part of the design, not a
tacked-on afterthought.

The Flash II incorporates a bolt-action lock. I like
it because it can be manipulated without placing one’s fingers in the path of
the closing blade. When the knife is closed, the switch for the lock
moves freely forward and back. Open, there is a tiny amount of slack in
the bolt. The user must take up this slack and then push against tension
to release the lock. There is no side-to-side play in the open blade.
I did manage to force a miniscule amount of vertical play by pushing down with
great force on the spine, but this was negligible.

The Flash II penetrates well.

The Flash II’s drop point blade made it both an excellent
slasher it cut paper to ribbons even after enduring the Holiday season’s
package-opening and box-breaking activities and a good thrusting tool.
My much-used stacked-cardboard tester suffered several deep wounds as I drove
the Flash II into it, both in forward and reverse grips.

The Flash II’s drop point proved a very useful blade
shape.

The factory edge sliced through what seemed like
reams of paper.

Many people mistrust overly positive reviews because they
see these as knife magazine fluff public relations copy for the
manufacturer. Rest assured that if you read a positive review here,
it is positive because the product covered warrants this. As such, my
high regard for the Flash II has been more than earned by the knife’s design
and performance.

I like many SOG products, but there are few I’ve liked as
much as the Flash II. This is a superb assisted-opening tactical folder
that should serve you well for both utility and defense.

It’s a lot of fun, too.

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