Knife Review: ​SOG Flare Spring Assist Knife

The SOG Flare Spring Assist Knife

“SOG started some 25 years ago in my apartment with a simple mission: To create innovative products that stand apart from the pack. While SOG has grown, our commitment to that original mission has remained the same. Today, it's one of my greatest satisfactions to receive letters from SOG enthusiasts the world over, expressing the fact that our products have lived up to their highest standards. It inspires us to continue to build superior products that last... knives and tools that help you meet the challenges of a demanding world."

Born in 1955, Spencer Frazer was a creative kid with a great curiosity for how things worked. As he grew older, while in the Boy Scouts, he gained an affinity for knives and axes. But it wasn't until much later that this interest would be channeled into actually creating knives and tools.

After graduating from UCLA as a math and science major, Spencer started his own company in the professional audio industry, designing a whole new style of speaker system.

"I learned to work with many different materials as I built models and prototypes," he says.

Then Spencer went on to work in the aerospace defense industry - in the Top Secret Black Projects Division - as an R&D tool/die and model maker. He recalls, "I saw things there I still can't talk about."

At about that same time, while becoming involved in the modern art movement and meeting with top artists, Spencer learned a lot about scale and color. He went on to work in product development, creating toys and consumer products. All these life experiences converged the moment Spencer saw his first Vietnam SOG Bowie: "The knife was magical in how it looked and felt. You could see the history as well as the functional aspects of the knife." That single knife spawned the birth of SOG Specialty Knives & Tools, Inc. His one goal: to reproduce the mystical knife... the SOG Bowie.

"We started our company by having to sell a one-knife line at the very high price of $200 retail!" Today, SOG is a true innovator in the knife industry. Having won many industry awards, SOG was one of the first companies to be synonymous with a high-tech modern image. "SOG was the first company," says Spencer, "to produce a sculptural faceted folding knife. We called it the Tomcat. With the Paratool, SOG became the second company ever to produce a folding multi-tool. And we remain the only company that uses compound leverage in our multi-tools; the only company to have adjustable lock-on clips on our folding knives; the only company to employ one of the strongest locks in the industry with the Arc-Lock; the only company to use exotic BG-42 steel cost effectively in the production of our knives; and the first company in the world to offer an automatic opening multi-tool."

But those are just a few of the landmarks Spencer Frazer has helped SOG achieve. "I design each one of our products," he says, "to be functional and comfortable to use, as well as aesthetically pleasing. If I personally don't like them or wouldn't use them, they don't make it into production."

Today, SOG is distributed and sold throughout the world. Law enforcement specialists, military, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, industrial professionals, and everyday carry knife enthusiasts have come to rely on SOG in the most extreme conditions. "We don't settle for ordinary," says Spencer. "We never did, and we never will."

Today we will be discussing the Flare Spring Assisted knife.

The Blade:

The blade has been made out of 8Cr13MoV steel. This is a Chinese based steel that is from the Cr line of steels. The top of the line is the 9Cr formula, with 8Cr shortly behind. 9Cr steel is better than AUS-8, but 8Cr is about even with AUS-8, maybe even a little behind it. 8Cr13MoV steel is going to get the job done. It is resistant to corrosion, but not extremely resistant to corrosion. It isn’t hard and it isn’t soft. Really, it sits right in the middle of the spectrum. The biggest advantage that it boasts is its cost. This is a fantastic budget steel. It will get the job done and it isn’t going to raise the cost of the overall knife. It also isn’t going to compare to the newer steels or the super steels that you might encounter.

The blade has been finished satin. This is one of the most common blade finishes that you can find in the cutlery industry today. To create this finish, the manufacturer is going to repeatedly sand the steel in one direction with an increasing level of a fine abrasive. The fine abrasive that is normally used is sandpaper. This finish is used to showcase the bevels of the blade as well as show off the fine lines in the steel. It creates a very traditional look that helps the Flare look classy. With a satin finish, you know that your knife is never going to go out of style. The satin finish does help reduce reflections and glares slightly as well as increases the corrosion resistance of the blade slightly.

The blade on this knife has been carved into a clip point blade shape. The clip point blade shape is known for being a great all-purpose blade shape. It is also one of the most popular blade shapes that is in use today because of how versatile it is. The blade shape is made by a spine that runs straight from the handle before it stops at roughly the halfway mark. At this point, it turns and continues to the point of the knife in a dramatic curve. This curved area is known as the clip, which is where the knife got its name from. The clip got its name because it looks as if this section of the blade has been clipped out. The clip creates a lowered point, which is going to give you more control when you are using the knife. This will allow you to perform fine detail work with the Flare. Clip points excel at stabbing, because the tip is controllable, sharper, and thinner at the spine, it is going to have less drag during insertion and withdrawal. Of course, because the tip is narrow, it is also going to be prone to breaking if you are suing this knife to stab into hard targets. One of the last reasons that the clip point is so versatile is because of the large belly that is great for slicing. As a key, the larger the belly, the better the knife is going to be at slicing.

The blade has been carved into a plain edge. This is the more common edge. This is because it equips you to take on a wider variety of tasks. It also is easier to sharpen and you can get a finer edge on it.

The Handle:

The handle on this knife is made out of GFN, or glass reinforced nylon. This is a thermoplastic material. GFN is crazy strong, resistant to both bending and abrasion, and is almost indestructible. It is also a cheap material. This is cheap because it can be injection molded into any desired shape and texture in a multitude of ways in the production process which means that they can produce high volume at one time which is the low cost. This is almost indestructible because the nylon fibers re arranged haphazardly throughout the material which results in it being strong in almost any directions as opposed to G-10, Carbon Fiber, and Micarta, which have the fiberglass strands aligned in a single direction. The other materials are similar, but they do suffer from being brittle. This is because as soon as the material is stressed in a direction other than the single direction, it will start to break apart. With GFN, it can be stressed in almost any direction without actually breaking apart. Some people did not warm up to this material because it does offer less grip than G10 and it sometimes feels cheap or hollow.

The handle is pretty simple. The spine is mostly straight, but it does taper toward the butt. Near the blade, there is a small row of jimping, which will give you more control over the knife while you are using it. The butt of the knife is squared off and flattened. The belly is a little bit more unique. There is a finger guard that will protect your fingers in case you accidentally slip. Then, there is a finger groove that elongates as it goes toward the butt. There is a slight bulge that will let you more comfortably hold it. Near the butt, there is a row of jimping, which will give you more grip as you use the knife. The face of the handle has been texturized so that you can feel more secure throughout your tasks.

The Pocket Clip:

The pocket clip is a deep carry clip that is statically designed for tip up carry only on the traditional side of the handle. This does mean that it is not going to be ambidextrous friendly. The deep carry aspect of it is going to ensure that you can move about your day to day tasks without worrying about it falling out of your pocket. It will also allow the knife to sit deeper in your pocket, which means that it will be a better concealed.

The clip is silver, which contrasts with the black handle. It has been slightly skeletonized so that “SOG” has been carved out of it.

The Mechanism:

This is a folding knife that has been equipped with the SOG Assisted Technology and a built-in safety. The knife has been equipped with a thumb stud, to assist you in opening the knife.

An assisted opening knife is a type of folding knife which uses an internal mechanism to finish the opening of the blade once the user has partially opened it using a flipper or thumb stud attached to the blade.

SOG assisted technology works through the balance of opposing high-tension coil springs. As you initiate the opening action, the force propelling your blade open becomes greater than the force keeping it closed. The result is a blade that springs open instantly once it is engaged, seemingly on its own.

The thumb stud is arguably the most common one-handed opening mechanism. It is a small barrel that sits on the blade near where the handle ends and the blade begins. When the knife is closed, the thumb stud extends off the blade. This is so that you can hold the knife and use your thumb to push the blade open where it will lock into place. The thumb stud is easy to use and easy to get the hang of. Unfortunately, the thumb stud does put your fingers directly into the blades path when you are opening it. This does make it a less safe mechanism to use.

The Specs:

The blade measures in at 3.5 inches long with a handle that measures in at 4.6 inches long. This means that when the blade is deployed, the overall length of the knife is going to come in at 8.1 inches long. The Flare weighs in at 3.1 ounces.

Conclusion:

This is one of the latest partners to the acclaimed and classic Trident spring assisted series. Still featuring their patented SOG Assisted Technology, or S.A.T. for short, each model boasts a slim profile that will ride easy in the pocket and is a great choice packed with features at an even better price point. This model features a black GRN (Glass Reinforced Nylon) handle, a clip point style blade in a satin finish and the deep carry pocket clip is statically designed for tip up carry only on the traditional side of the handle.

This SOG is currently I stock at BladeOps. To get yours, click here.