Best Assisted Opening Knife- SOG Flash II Review

SOG Flash II Assisted Opening EDC Pocket Knife

The SOG Flash II (SOG Flash 2) is one of the best EDC pocket knives you can buy and I will tell you why. This is the knife I carry every single day and have been for at least 15 years. I think this is the best assisted opening knife you can buy. Here is a picture of my first SOG Flash 2 that I still carry every day.

What is a SOG Flash 2 Assisted Opening Pocket Knife?

Below you will find my SOG Flash II review, but first, here is a quick overview of the knife:

The SOG Flash II is a spring assisted pocket knife with a drop point blade that is one of the coolest looking knives on the market. It opens with a spring assist that is super fast and locks securely into place thanks to the SOG Assisted Technology (S.A.T.) This design uses a very strong piston lock to keep the blade locked open until you slide the button to release it to fold the knife back up.

The knife includes an easily reversible bayonet style clip that allows the knife to be clipped in your pocket completely out of sight whether you are left or right handed.

The SOG Flash II is suitable for most every day cutting needs, as it’s 3 1/2 inch blade is half serrated making it suitable for cutting cardboard, rope, small branches and anything else in between.

The beauty of a spring assisted knife is that you can pull it out and open it with one hand in less than two seconds as well as close it one-handed and return it to the pocket.

The overall length of this knife when it is open is 8 inches, and only 4 1/2 inches closed. Coming in at a weight of 3.1 ounces with a blade length of 3.5 inches.

SOG Flash II Review

I have carried this same knife in my pocket literally every day for over 8 years. My review is based on a long period of real world use.

I carry a few things with me at all times (every day carry) and one of them is this knife.

I also carry a flashlight religiously. See Best Tactical LED Flashlight Review.

The only time I do not have my SOG Flash II on my person is when I’m working out or in bed. Just ask my wife! She is always asking me to open a food item or an Amazon box that just arrived or to cut the tags off of a new clothing item because she knows my knife is always at my fingertips.

My previous job required me to install medical devices in hospitals and that required opening a lot of boxes. I seem to be using it constantly when I am working outside around the house. My SOG has seen a lot of use.

Here are some of the reasons I really like the SOG Flash II:

The first reason why I like this knife is because the assisted opening feature works really well. Unlike a lot of other knife brands, it is designed in such a way that you do not have to place your finger in front of the blade in order to close it. It uses a side-mounted release button to allow the locking mechanism to close the blade.

The second reason I like this knife is that it has an actual safety switch on it so it cannot open up in your pocket. I don’t believe it would open up anyway, but it provides some peace of mind and it is always better to be safe than sorry.

The third reason I love this knife is because of the way the clip is constructed. The clip is attached to the very end of the knife which means that you can slip it into your pocket all the way and it cannot be seen that it is a knife. This also makes it much harder for it to accidentally fall out of your pocket and get lost. I have a couple other knives where the clip is bolted to the back of the knife and when you clip it to the outside edge of your pocket a large portion of the knife is visible. The clip is reversable by removing one Allen screw.

The fourth reason is the price. Sure, there are a lot of $10 knives out there, and this one ranges (depending on model) from $40-$60 at Amazon. If you shop the name brand knife market, you will see that this is really on the lower end. I am a big fan of products that are high quality, yet still do what I want them to do. This SOG Flash II is not only a nice looking knife, but it is a real work horse for relatively little money.

Here are a few more  pictures of my 8 year old SOG. You can see how well it holds up:

Pros and Cons of the SOG Flash II

Pros

To sum up the pros of this knife, here are the reasons this is a great knife:

• Reasonable Price
• Extremely Durable
• Safer Design for opening and closing
• Well designed pocket clip
• Spring Assisted
• Looks so cool!

Cons

I was not able to come up with any cons for this knife. I think value for the money is second to none.

Who Would Want to Buy a SOG Flash II Assisted Opening Pocket Knife

This is a great looking, durable, quality knife suitable for everyday use. Anyone that desires to carry a cutting tool that can handle most jobs should consider this excellent pocket knife.

This is also a fantastic gift for any outdoorsman, outdoorswoman or just anyone who likes to be prepared. I have given these as gifts to both of my nephews and my son-in-law and they all carry them to this day. I have also given one of these to my wife, but she preferred the SOG Flash I, which is the same knife, but smaller and has a 2.5″ blade.

Here are some of the features of the SOG Flash II Assisted Opening  Pocket Knife

The Flash family of knives feature SOG Assisted Technology™(S.A.T.),this design uses a powerful piston lock that you release with a sliding button on the side of the knife.

Drop Point Blade

The Drop Point pattern is used often on hunting blades and many other utility type knives. The tip is lowered (dropped) via a convex arc from the blade’s spine so that the tip can be ground thicker. This convex shape differentiates it from the clip point.

Blade Steel Properties

AUS-8 is a high-grade chromium Japanese steel that possesses a good balance of toughness, strength, edge holding ability, corrosion resistance, and cost. This steel holds its edge very well and is corrosion resistant. The typical hardness is 56-58 on the Rockwell Scale.

Blade Coating

The blade on this model is TiNi coated. I love the way this looks on the blade.

TiNi is an abbreviation for Titanium Nitride. This is a coating that is applied to the sleel blade using a process called plasma deposition that occurs in a vacuum. This creates a durable and scratch resistant black coating that will not peel off. This is one of the best coatings available for a steel blade. I can vouch for its durability as my blade is still completely coated except of course where the blade has been sharpened over the years.

Handle Materials

Glass Reinforced Nylon, abbreviated GRN, is a material from the nylon family, but is impact resistant, abrasion resistant as well as high strength. It is made from a thermoplastic polyamide formula that is reinforced with various amounts of fiberglass. This handle material is resistant to motor oil, methanol, transmission fluid and other common chemicals. It also resists thermal expansion. Mine has held up extremely well over the years.

Specifications

Here are the specs for the Flash II with a Black Half Serrated :

• Overall length: 8″
• Closed Length: 4.5″
• Blade Length: 3.5″
• Blade Thickness: .13″
• Weight: 3.10 oz

Popular Models

SOG Flash II Assisted Opening Folding Pocket Knife is Available in the following popular Models:

Buy a SOG Flash II Assisted Opening Knife

Having used the SOG Flash II Knife for many, many years, I have every confidence in the SOG brand and will buy another without hesitation. I actually own 3 different versions of the Flash II, and my wife has a Flash I, which is a smaller version that is exactly the same. I have given this particular knife as gifts to many guys in my family and they all carry them now and they get a lot of use.

Especially knowing there is a Lifetime Warranty on SOG products, I recommend buying a SOG Flash II for your everyday carry needs.

About SOG

SOG Specialty Knives was established in 1986 in Santa Monica, CA as they marketed a knife based on the original SOG knife that was made in Seki City, Japan. The company soon developed a full line of innovative tools and gear.

SOG now sells knives, multi-tools, axes and other gear.

The Original SOG Knife was a special design that was created for personnel in the Studies and Observations Group (S.O.G.), a covert group operating during the Vietnam War. The knife was made to be untraceable to the country it was made in to allow plausible deniability if the operators were killed or captured.

The company, also known as SOG, has this mission statement,”Our goal is to be the number one situation ready gear brand for Professionals, Everyday Users and Outdoor Adventurers!”