SOG Flash II

Reviewed 04/15/2018 by Danny McIntosh

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Found this flash11 underneath the radio equipment in the turret of a Bradley Fighting vehicle. The nut was missing from the blade pin. I repaired it and have used it for everything. The blade has a little slop but still useful. A great every day carry. Blade almost used up now.

Reviewed 06/20/2016 by Lunker

-Price Paid: $35.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

Love this knife. I have owned one for years. I like the straight edge drop point model. The flat ground blade is easy to sharpen and holds an edge fairly well. The handle is comfortable in the hand and tougher than it feels. The pocket clip is set up for deep pocket point up carrying and can be switched for right or left pocket. My only complaint is about the blade closed lock. It is in an awkward position for quickly unlocking but blocked it into the unlocked position with some glue and never had a problem. Overall this knife is affordable and reliable and a great choice for every day carry

Reviewed 08/10/2015 by Michael

-Price Paid: $48.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

This is great knife. Razor sharp out of the box. Takes a great edge and keeps it well. As my edc knife, it totally kicks butt.

Reviewed 11/22/2013 by Aaron

-Price Paid: $45.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

The SOG Flash II falls flat on its face. You can watch the video to see all the details, but this is a great idea that was poorly executed. The blade itself is really well designed, but the handle is not ergonomic at all and was not fun to use. For the price SOG wants for the Flash II you can buy the SOG Aegis or the Kershaw Blur, Thermite, CRYO II, or Freefall all of which are open assist and feel way better in you hand.

Reviewed 07/06/2013 by Clint

-Price Paid: $55.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

I am a police officer and carried this knife in my vest for about a month before I started having problems. It all has something to do with the plastic the handle is made out of, the pocket clip twisted forward inside the handle ruining the hole its inserted in. And now the blade is starting to have excessive side to side wobble and I no longer believe it to be safe trust the lock. Also I carried the knife locked due to its spring assist, but the location of the lock makes it difficult to quickly undue for a rapid draw. However the blade on the knife is phenomenal, very good quality.

Reviewed 06/17/2013 by J. Laflamme

-Price Paid: $70.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

The scores are based on the price. Mine is a drop-point straight edge.

I have worked as a chef for a number of years. I know my knives and my steels. This is my all purpose for around the house and at work for the jobs that don't need a cooks knife (cutting bags, cardboard, binding bands

Build:8. Only because I'm wary of plastic handles. I like to see the frame (or tang on a fixed). Otherwise the build is great. It hasn't even needed the pivot tightened in 3 months. The lock feels secure, and it opens with a confident thunk.

The AUS-8 steel is a nice balance between holding an edge and ease of sharpening. After sharpening it only takes a bit of stropping and it's good as new. When sharpened and stroped with diamond paste I can shave with it. It's not VG-10 or Cromova 18, but it's not bad. Besides, raise the quality of the steel would have raised the price and I want a work horse not another Yanagi sashimi.

Ergo: Good. I wish I could fine tune the thumbstud, and the top of the handle could have a more agressive pattern, but over all it's good. It doesn't jump into my hand from a clipped position, but I can easily pull it from a pocket in the ready position. The handle is quite square but doesn't hang up in a pocket.

Value: I love the knife. It's beyond EDC, I feel naked without it. I've spent many times more on high end cooking knives. But my Hon Yaki's aren't EDC friendly. This knife is like a good dog, you can rely on it. And if I lose it for some reason it's not expensive to replace.

Overall:10 I love the knive. Good edge, good handle, convient assist and it looks good.

Reviewed 01/17/2013 by Brandon

-Price Paid: $40.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

SOG builds an incredible knife, even if they are made in China or Taiwan. I have used my Flash 2 as an EDC knife for a while now (rotated out with other knives of course) and it is my favorite. The spring assist makes it so easy to use, great pocket clip, and personally for me the yellow handle was an easy sell. I have used it camping, hiking, and everyday! I really have no bad things to say about this knife. I have had it for about 2 years now, and it is still as sharp as the day I got it. The satin finish makes for an elegant looking blade too.

Reviewed 11/19/2012 by Jack Makinson

-Price Paid: $32.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

The best blade I've ever owned!!!

Reviewed 07/07/2012 by Derek

-Price Paid: $50.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

Very well built little knife. I have the tanto half-serrated version and for $50 it's pretty unbeatable.

Reviewed 03/20/2012 by Jon

-Price Paid: $55.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

First of all STOP SAYING THIS IS AN "ARC" LOCK!!!
This knife does NOT have the SOG "ARC" lock. It actually has a piston type lock. I have a SOG Spec Elite that has a true ARC lock and believe me there is a difference.

Ok rant over.
I am a firefighter/emt so I carry need a good solid knife that will hold up to lots of use and also won't cost an arm and a leg to replace if something happens to it. This kife has held up very well and is one of the best values for an EDC around.

Features worth mentioning are the excellent pocket clip. I have the blackened titanium nitride finnished blade and the clip is near invisible against my dark navy blue nomex duty pants. The clip allows the blade to carry vary low in the pocket and retains the knife well.
The spring assisted opening deploys the knife quickly and the blade locks up solidly agaings the lock. If blade wobble/play develops you can tighten the torqe screw to adjust it.
This knife is very light. People are often surprised with its weight when I hand it to them.
This is a lot of knife for the money. And I would reccomend it to anyone that needs a sold EDC knife.

I do have one complaint. And its the handle. Grips are very subjective but this one just plain sucks in my opinion. The cutout for the middle finger is smaller in with than the space for the index finger and the ring finger. This makes griping the knife feel very unnatural and kinda uncomfortable. When I use the knife I find myself wanting to grip back behind the finger choil and place my index finger where the middle finger was intended to go.

So overall solid knife with decent steel (aus-8) with medeocre ergo's. But for the price a very good buy.

Reviewed 06/15/2011 by Lloyd

-Price Paid: $78.00
-Used for Self Defense
-Owned for 6 months

Comments:

The Flash II I'm rating so well is the more expensive aluminum handled version. The workmanship and finish is very fine, even in small details. The assisted opening, on this one at least, is slightly faster than the zytel-handled version. Closing is also quieter.

Blade lockup is bank vault, and the arclock is perfect. It is heavier than the zytel version ( 4.1 vs 3.0 ounces). The aluminum-handled Flash is definitely strong enough for tactical use. Not so sure about the zytel. I prefer the lighter, cheaper Flash for daily work where I could have nasty cutting chores or loss of knife. I carry the aluminum version in the evenings. Last point: the aluminum version opens with a loud, very authoritative thwack! because of the acoustic response of the aluminum handle.

Reviewed 04/13/2011 by Josh

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

SOG Flash 2 arc lock 1/2 serrated. This knife is really a good buy overall for around $40. You can't expect the same quality as you can get with 100+ dollar knives. This knife opens fast, locks up solid, the arc lock is great, and the blade was sharp from the factory. It is super light for it's size and carries low in the pocket with a reversible clip for left or right or left hand users. If you want a good quality edc that you can afford then this should looked at.

Reviewed 04/05/2011 by ACO

-Price Paid: $60.00
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Less than 1 Month

Comments:

Blade-to-handle connection is wobbly. Does not come close to advertising claims. Assisted opening is nice feature but a gimmick. Structurally this knife is a toy compared to similar priced CRKTs, Gerbers, Spydercos, Kershaws, Cold Steels, etc. Bummer: I have SOG multitools and fixed blades that are unbeatable.

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Reviewed 01/28/2010 by Larry

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

The SOG Flash II has been in my EDC rotation for nearly a year. It is definitely one of the least expensive folders I own and I paid under $40 for it. With that in mind, I think it's an exceptional buy. The knife has a solid lock up and decent ergos (better than my Kershaw Blur). I'm not crazy about the handle material, but it does make this folder the lightest by far that I own. The pocket clip is mounted flush with the end of the handle, so none of the knife is showing outside of your pocket (except for the clip, which I would prefer a blackened one instead of the silver). In terms of performance, it cuts well and is awfully handy as a utilitarian blade. It could be use in a pinch for self defense, but it would not be my first choice for that role.

Reviewed 01/18/2010 by Eddie

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for 3 months

Comments:

SOG Flash 2 1/2 serrated w/ new arc-lock system

This is a review for the arc lock version of the SOG Flash 2 1/2 serrated.

Overall, this is a good sized EDC/tactical folder. I noticed it has quite a bit of weight to it and feels completely different from the tiny Flash 1 which I reviewed as a "toy knife"

The Flash 2 is a damn fast knife, one flick and the blade shoots out lightning fast, hence the name flash! Anyways, the blade is razor sharp out of the box and the arc actuator is a nice addition from the original slider lock release which rattled, made noise and felt quite cheap. The arc lock is a smooth crown like thumb stud and does not move/rattle freely.

Like other SOG folder, there is a safety lock which is quite pointless, and I actually accidentally activated it in my pocket and went to open the knife, only to find out it was locked.. in some situations this can mean your life, so I recommend gluing it.

My one problem with this knife, as reviewed by a famous youtube knife reviewer "BLUNTTRUTH" is that the handle has that strange cutout groove as if SOG was trying to make it grippable? in two positions, but it does not work either way. When you hold the knife it is quite awkward and uncomfortable. Also, there is ZERO gimping or traction on top of the blade, but instead some pointless ramp that goes up with a bit of texture and does not deliver any utility.

Overall, I would actually recommend the SOG Trident over the Flash 2 as an EDC/tactical blade because it does everything right.. a GREAT and large/comfy handle, GREAT gimping, and a smoother working arc actuator with no hiccups.

overall the Flash 2 is a fine knife for EDC if you want a "work knife" to open fast and cut well and don't mind jacking it up. I give the flash 2:

6/10

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Reviewed 11/22/2009 by Mike

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Light Duty/General
-Owned for 1 year

Comments:

The opening action on this is very quick due to the spring assisted mechanism. This is the coolest part of the knife. The closing action feels like it grinds - I have used several and they each felt like this. The handle material is practical but feels cheap to me. The one that I own was not very sharp out of the box and it did not take much use to make it as dull as a butter knife. It fits my hand well and feels good and secure to hold. The nice thing about this knife is that it is easy to sharpen and is reasonably priced.

Reviewed 09/22/2009 by Russ

-Price Paid: N/A
-Used for Every Day Carry
-Owned for Greater than 1 year

Comments:

I bought one of these new at a swap meet for $30 and I've seen several on Ebay for around $35-$50. For the money I don't think there's a better daily carry. I is very light and tough and stays out of the way when carried in your pocket with the clip on the outside. The only problen I had with it after 2 years of heavy use was that the belt clip broke the Zytel handle allowing the belt clip to rock back and forth a bit. Not a big deal but it bugged me enough to give to my son who now has used it as a daily carry for over a year now. It retained it's edge well and and was easy to use. I'm now very spoiled when it comes to an every day carry knife because it was very easy to use one handed snapping out easly and positively every time with little effort and the blade lock was easy to close with one hand as well. I'd slide the lock forward with my thumb and use my leg to close the blade. No thought involved. An extension of my hand. I don't like liner lockes because it puts my thumb in front of the blade while closing. I'm sure I'll unthinkingly cut my thumb one day trying to close it with other things on my mind. I replaced it with 2 Gerber Prestos (the all plastic handled one...not the aluminum one) because they where supper cheap and where also great budget knives though I think the Flash II was a tougher knife. The Prestos were so cheap it was hard to pass up I've broke the tip on one and lost my other Presto recently and I'm going to try to get a Kershaw Spec Bump if I can find a cheap one. But the SOG Trident looks really good for the money and the Flash II with the aluminum handle might be the perfect every day carry.

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