think tank forum

http://sogknives.com/store/FSA-8.html

The Flash has got to be one of the coolest knives we've ever seen. Forget its wicked-quick blade access, that it handles like a race car on rails, or that it locks up like Alcatraz. It just looks and feels extraordinary. The Flash family of knives feature S.A.T. (SOG Assisted Technology™) which employs a powerful piston lock that is easily released with a sliding button. We also had the foresight to incorporate an additional safety lock that gives added security when the blade is closed. Note that when the safety shows red...YOU ARE READY TO GO!

I just bought this knife online for $51 shipped. I'll post a review later.

badass dp. I just picked up a KA-BAR Tanto in butte!


http://www.gearzoneproducts.com/index.asp?Pag … rodID=1750

speaking of knives... the swiss army's swiss army knives may be made in china thanks to wto rules. now, i am pretty économiquement libre, but come on now.

Oh yeah! I got it today, this thing is a bit bigger than I thought. I still like the size but it's a bit bigger than I wanted for carrying every day. It is very light though! I like the assisted opening, closing it is a bit difficult though. I don't think my fingers are grippy enough to push down the unlocking slider all the time. The grip is really neat, I totally like the feel. The locking mechanism for the blade to keep it shut is a bit better designed than I've seen before. Maybe I saw the Flash I version where the lock was placed more poorly.

Pretty sure a video is to come!

cool, dp. dropping lots of knife info on here.

I just picked up a KA-BAR Tanto in butte!

just a side note, but you know you need a permit to conceal a blade longer than 4", right?

yeah i know, thats why it sits in my room. the only time i've carried it in public was during evel knevel days when i bought it.

So get this. I'm eating cantaloupe with my SOG flash II and I notice on the blade it says the patent number on the blade. I went over to Google patents and punched in the number and here's the patent:

http://www.google.com/patents?id=P_oUAAAAEBAJ … 41661#PPP1 ,M1

it's so fresh having a thread about knives in "technology"

loose definition categorization!

Someone needs to make a life hack thread.

Ok it's been quite a while since the last post, and yes gatz, someone does need to make a lifehack thread :) I have some post material in the works.

--
I've been carrying my knife nearly every day. I've used it on a variety of occasions, coming up at random times. Here's a recap of the use this as far back as I can remember:

mail today, and earlier this week
remove tape from an eviction notice
remove tape to collapse box
open a sealed plastic jelly food snack thing
cut a tag off
open a bag of something
opened one of those theft-sealed plastic cases for electronics (bought a usb disk)
opened printer box
cut up some letters
reshape cardboard box opening for packing kitchenware
play with it, kinda habitually

It has been quite useful and entertaining. I like the ability to be prepared to use the knife for any random utility in a few seconds. Make sure to check your state and local knife laws. California is particularly lame for knives, but you can carry most folding knives. I might consider a small flat fixed blade that's held in a sheath if I lived in a state that allowed non-folding knives.

i'm reading about your knife in the library and i feel like i'm going to get reported by someone looking over my shoulder

cool though. where do you carry it, in your pocket? i don't have much room as i am a front walleter. i ought to go get a jimi, i have a slim wallet but it ain't slim enough. but hell, this isn't a wallet thread.

i would just use it for food all the time, and that wouldn't be good.

I think it would work fine for a food knife. I actually did use it for a few things, but mainly to open stuff. I don't know how well it would work without being able to clean it shortly after though. Recently I've been eating PBJ sammaches, so I doubt peanut butter would be nice to the knife without cleaning it. Sounds like I'm going to start trying to use it for making food when I'm not in the kitchen (but when is that?) :)

Yeah I feel a little strange looking at the forum I visit, edcforums.com while at school sometimes when there are people around, because there are some serious knife nuts with tons of gear!

oh append this to the use list:

remove pesky aluminum wine covers!

> where do you carry it, in your pocket?

yep, I clip it most of the time or put it in all the way, front right. I said earlier that it was bigger than I expected, but actually I like the size. I know its size is not for everyone but it narrows on the clip end and it seems subtle in the pocket.

> i don't have much room as i am a front walleter.

I've been switching to the front as well. I actually put my wallet in the same pocket as the knife. My right pocket is generally full, but it's flat, and subdued. I get tired of it on my butt pocket, especially on long drives. In the last year or so I bought a few new pairs of pants and some are more fitted than others, and I find that in those fitted ones the wallet is particularly annoying in the back pocket. Last reason for front pocket carry is that it's a lot harder to steal from the front pocket. I am assuming here that you don't mean like front shirt pocket :x

i'm really interested in getting a 3-4" straight-blade knife. i don't know how soon this will happen. i have a priority list for gear purchases--gloves and a balaclava are #1 and #2.

can you take some awesome pictures? of course you can! so go do it!

what other knives were you considering besides this one?


bp> i don't have much room as i am a front walleter.

FUCK YES! such a superior carrying method, and so rare!

bp> i ought to go get a jimi, i have a slim wallet but it ain't slim enough. but hell, this isn't a wallet thread.

maybe i'll take a picture of my wallet and post it. it's pretty perfect.

dp> sammaches

you mean "sammiches?"

> what other knives were you considering besides this one?

Benchmade Mini Griptilian:
http://www.thinktankforums.com/thread.php?thr … #post-8182

I prefer the non-serrated for the ability to resharpen on my own. If money was not of any concern, I would get the Doug Ritter version of the mini griptilian: http://www.equipped.org/rsk_mk1.htm

The mini griptilian seems to be loved by quite a range of people on forums that I've seen, although it's possible to erroneously disengage the the knife. There was one story about a dude making it open in his pocket and him cutting his finger. I don't think this is a real big concern though.

Since then I have seen many very classy knives, but they are all out of my price range (~<$100). I would like to have gotten some sort of gentleman's knife, but they are all expensive mainly for their appearance/scales.

This SOG Twitch II, is nice and simple:
http://sogknives.com/store/TWI-8.html it runs about $70.

I don't really like spyderco knives, just because they seem like they're for kids kindof. They are designed to look fancy in a strange way. Just take a look and you might see what I mean. One of the ones I did actually look at though was this cheap little guy:
http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=168

I decided against it because I don't think I like their overall knife designs. My opinion should be taken lightly though because I haven't experienced them in person. I have not heard too much about deployment of the blades for spyderco folders, or anything really about their locking mechanism.

> you mean "sammiches?"

thanks

> can you take some awesome pictures? of course you can! so go do it!

ok I need to get my battery from the other house though. I will be doing some edc style shots as well as gear shots. I owe gatzby a phone photo.

I also really like the look of chris reeves classic sebenza, but the prices are outrageous @>$400

http://www.chrisreeve.com/sebenza.htm

this knife is pretty hot too:
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/pkdms … -Front.jpg
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/pkdms … h-Back.jpg
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/pkdms … l-Lock.jpg
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s145/pkdms … -Angle.jpg

but it's a custom knife, and probably not available for purchase.

another custom: dizos strider
http://dizos.com/miscellaneous/smf_mc.jpg
http://dizos.com/miscellaneous/smf_mc.jpg

here's some matching every day carry stuff that you might like:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/x01011000x/DSC01298.jpg

there's also a yellow one somewhere, I couldn't find it though. make your own!

oops, here's the second strider image I meant to link:
http://dizos.com/miscellaneous/pair.jpg

i like that zippo

in the spirit of backpacking, i'd like to minimize the weight of the knife to a certain extent. granted it's only a matter of ounces, but every ounce matters on expeditions like the pct.

i don't like those spiderco knives' looks either, plus they weigh about twice as much as the sog models you're loving.

i like the flash ii because it offers 3.5" at 3oz, which seems pretty good. i prefer the straight-edge as well.

so i'm checking out sog and benchmade--any other recommended manufacturers?

kershaw has some knives that I sorta like

here's a light okay one after a quick browse:
http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=41

I heard good things about this one, but it's a bit pricier at $70ish:
http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=3

i like the look of that orange knife!

if i make some decent $ this summer i might look into a purchase

go for it nestor! actually the benchmade mini grip has some bright color models too!

which orange one?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/x01011000x/DSC01298.jpg

in canada all automatics and spring knives are banned

SOG flash II is an assisted opening knife, not automatic. It does have a spring mechanism though.

after playing with dp's fsa-8, i think i'll buy one sometime soon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IXC7IW/

even target sells it! :o

i just got on amazon.com to buy it, and it's no longer available. :(

this reminds me of when i went to order batteries from bh on saturday and they were out of stock. :(

it's back up on their amazing website. i bought it.

only $42 on amazon! (link)

Heh my friend keeps one of these on him most of the time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G42T8U/

But he's a crazy physical security research guy.

i still rock my SOG FLASH II.

also, daggers are illegal here.

It's funny, because it's actually listed as a letter opener on the manufacturers website.

"letter-and/or-body-ripper-opener"

Letter opener, gut opener. Let's not argue semantics.

I've opened far more letters than people.

I KERRY KNIFES

> here's a light okay one after a quick browse:
> http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=41

my friend's girlfriend has this one, and i can't stop flicking it open whenever i'm at their house. lovin' it. the blade is a bit too short, though.

i know dp mentioned the sog twitch ii; any perspective on the twitch versus the flash?

I'm on the hunt for a new knife ... my reliable Gerber is having trouble holding an edge for more than a few days. It's becoming frustrating. So, I'm upgrading to a Kershaw most likely. Looking at this one specifically: http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=89

Comments? Suggestions?

http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.p … nd=kershaw

<3

phi, did you ever buy that leek? i am wondering if that's a good choice (might buy one soon)

I haven't bought it yet, but I've used a few. I love them, my only complaint is that they can be pretty thin. So big hands might want not like 'em too much.

big hands?

YUM

phi, how do you feel about kershaw's shallot knife? it's longer than the leek (i kind of wanted a 3.5 instead of a 3 in. blade... maybe you could correct me if that's a silly thing to want), but loses a bit of the simplicity

I have no experience with the Shallot, but overall it reminds me of my Gerber aside from being half an inch longer.

It does seem to be less simple than the Leek, but it looks sturdier. You could probably get away with a lot more from the Shallot than the Leek. (I really only need a light-duty knife for day to day stuff, hence looking at the Leek. I use a S&W tactical knife for camping/heavy-duty work.)

So ... I would say if you're gonna be adventurous, give the Shallot a try.

any thoughts on optimal length? i intend to use whatever i get as a day-to-day stuff/camping/utility knife

Anywhere between 3" - 4" blade length would be ideal, IMO. Shorter than that you might as well go for a heavy-duty utility knife, longer and it can become bulky in the pocket as well as unwieldy for smaller projects (imagine using a 6" kitchen knife day-to-day).

Unfortunately, handle size/shape/etc. is what I feel is more important in the long run, but you just have to try a bunch out and find out for yourself.

Broke the tip on my Gerber today! D:

So, after about 5 years I'm finally--actually--getting a new knife.

I kinda like the idea of this Gerber multitool.