Flash II (TFSA98-CP)

I have an extensive collection of folding knives, most of them see time doing hard work on my farm or on the go. This SOG Flash II is a work of functional art.The body is lightweight, but with excellent gripability due to the rounded finger cutouts and checkering. All of the screws make this an easy-to-service knife, without being obtrusive or creating uncomfortable lines (they are recessed). The blade is strong, sharp, serrated, and locks firmly into place. The pocket clip is very nice, keeping the whole thing under wraps, but yet easily at hand. The clip is changeable, to suit righties and lefties (handedness, not politics) and is very sturdy.The blade mechanism is where the true engineering marvel becomes apparent. Only the slightest pressure on the thumb stud flicks this knife to full, 100% locked-open. It happens so fast that you can hardly see it, and with a satisfying "clunk" that lets you know, without looking, that it is ready for use. The thumb stud is ambidextrous, so you can use it in either hand if the other is full. This often comes in handy around the farm when your dominant hand is holding something and you need your knife useable in the other. The blade itself is strong, sharp, holds its edge well, and the serrations take care of business with little fuss. This whole process lets you keep your eyes and focus on the task at hand... the knife is simply ready for use with hardly a thought.Holding the knife during opening is done by gripping the knife the same way you will be holding it when you use it... no fumbling the knife around in one hand while you try to get the right thumb angle for opening and another grip angle for holding. There is also no 'flicking' of the wrist to get it to the lock position. The knife simply opens with a bit of thumb pressure applied, at a natural angle while gripping the knife normally.It would seem that the spring mechanism would risk unintentional opening, but this has never happened to me. The pivot is oblong to keep it closed, but just a bit of pressure at the right angle will open the knife. I leave the safety on "red = dead" setting, and haven't noticed any looseness at all. If there was, a dab of Locktite would keep the safety off.Closing is done much more easily (again, gripping the knife naturally) using the slide on the side (and not in the path of the blade), than with the normal knife block at the base of the blade. It won't spring shut (you still have to fold it against something), but this can be done with a very firm grip on the handle, without worrying about pinching your thumb as the blade closes.My only light criticisms:1) The closing button is not ambidextrous... you have to use your right hand to close it. Considering this is done once the work is finished, it doesn't bother me much. The safety (if you use it) also is only on the right side.2) If the handle were rounder, more like the Kershaw Blackout, this would be one sexy, comfortable work of art. As it is, it looks and feels a bit more like a tool.If you are looking for a hard working, intuitive to use knife, look no further. Buy this knife.

The SOG Flash II is my first assisted opener. I chose the plain blade version as I prefer a full edge on all my knives. First the picture of the knife is out of date. The knife I received has the SOG Arc Lock. Which is very nice and seems to be an improvement over the older version. Two of the serrated versions are pictured with this new Arc Lock models STGFSA-98 and SGFSA-98.The video of this knife also shows the rounded release knob. According to some videos I have seen the older style was more difficult to actuate the release to close the knife. So I am pleased to get the new version. Kicking the knife open with my thumb and closing it are both easy and without any excessive force required.The knife arrived with a decent edge. I was able to pop some hairs off my arm easily. However it is not ridiculously sharp so don't think you can shave yourself with the factory edge. It feels pretty good in my smaller hands except the cutout where the middle finger is supposed to rest is a bit deep for me so my middle finger floats above it if I grip the handle firmly. Still feels nice and secure though.Not sure about the safety feature though as it slides very easy and I could see it activating or deactivating with normal in and out of pocket use. I may use some superglue on it to keep it unlocked which I have read about as a simple solution. I don't see how the knife could possibly open in my jeans pocket. Roughly eyeballing the assisted opening it requires an inch or two of travel before the assist kicks in so I seriously doubt it could kick open in pocket.Besides the safety switch I am happy with this purchase. I wish they offered a plain blade version with the TiNi black coating and possibly aluminum handle. They have all kinds of options for the serrated combo edge but only one plain blade offering. Perhaps I am in the minority in preferring plain blades.As far as Amazon is concerned the packaging on this knife was poor. When I opened the box the SOG box was open on one end and the knife was literally outside the box and sliding around in the Amazon box partially out of the plastic baggie the knife was in. They need to package a bit better.

This Knife is very high quality and workmanship! For the price it was a steal. The blade has held up remarkable.It is very lightweight,I can hardly feel it in my pocket. The handle has great ergonomics--it has an exceptional feel