SOG Flare Folding and Pocket Knife Assisted Opening Tech Knife w/ 3.5 Inch Stainless Straight Edge Blade & Tactical Knife GRN Grip (FLA1001-CP), Black

I’ve been using the SOG Flare folding pocket knife, and it has been exactly what I expected from SOG: solid, well made, and dependable. The assisted opening is very smooth, and the overall feel is sturdy without seeming overpriced. What I Liked The build quality is the first thing that stands out. SOG usually makes solid products, and this one feels well put together in the hand. The assisted opening works extremely smoothly and makes the knife easy to open when needed. The blade and handle both feel practical, and for the price, it feels like a strong value. What Could Be Improved I honestly do not have any real complaints so far. Nothing about it feels cheap or poorly designed based on my experience. As with any folding knife, buyers should just make sure the size, blade style, and assisted-opening design fit what they are looking for. Final Verdict I would recommend this knife to anyone looking for a solid, affordable everyday folding knife from a reliable brand. It is best for someone who wants a well-made pocket knife with smooth assisted opening and good value for the price.

It's such a simple knife, elegant knife for the price. Other reviewers state it's stiff out of the box and they are correct. However, my has broken in within a week. The threshold for the assist to kick in leaves a little to be desired in ease, but I don't have any issue cracking it open with the palm of my thumb. Out of the box it is SHARP. I didn't realize just how sharp until I accidentally took a chunk out of the tip to my ring finger. It passed the sharpness test hands down. The locking mechanism that you can engage to stop it from popping in your pocket is solid and, with it off, I haven't had any issues where it unfolded in-pocket. I did drop it once on concrete and the blade flew open, but that was gravity's doing. Overall, another fantastic SOG knife. This will be my EDC for the foreseeable future.

I bought this when I lost my first one. I figured that was the best way for me to find the missing first one. It took two weeks, but my method worked and now I have the old one for backup for when I lose this one. As mentioned in the title, the lock sucks. It loves to turn itself on when it's in your pocket. Sometimes you'll look before you try to open it, and it looks like it's off, but it's on. You go to pull out your knife and get to work... but the lock is on and you're standing there fumbling with your knife. I probably need to push it into the unlocked position and drop some glue in there, but I'm afraid to break it. I guess I could try that on my older one. Based on my observations on this one and the old knife, the problem will get worse with time. My guess is I'll get around to taking the 10 minutes to defeat the lock after stewing over it for a few more years. Now... that said, the knife is actually pretty great. For the money. I comes with a nice edge. It will take and hold a nice edge if you dull it up using it to cut just about anything you want (sealed amazon boxes, steaks, rope, salami, fuel lines, hard cheese.... hmm... maybe it could use a cleaning here and there too). I like the action on the assisted opening. It has a audible snap when it opens and there is no doubt about it being fully open. It doesn't open unless you want it to (assuming you checked the lock and turned it off even though it didn't look like it was on). Seriously though, I've never had it open when I didn't try to open it. Put your thumb on the stub, a quick little push, and it opens in a flash. All my complaining about the lock aside, if I lost this one (and the old one), I'd order a new one the same day. Heck, then in a couple weeks I could have THREE of them. I'll note that I bought the first one to replace a Flash II that I carried for many years. The Flash II was discontinued for some reason, but this knife is very similar and about half the price... though I never had "lock" issues with that Flash II. In case you were wondering, buying this knife will not help you find your old Flash II.

I had an early Trident, where this design started. This one is a little smaller. I really like the knife primarily for the price point. I do make some minor modifications, I glue the "safety" into fire position, then I put a shallower grind on the blade. It's not high end but it's easy one handed and I can abuse it and not care. I keep 4 of them stashed around so there is always one at hand. I kind of consider it the bic lighter of edc, not fancy, not junk, super light weight. It's mass produced SOG so it's not the product line for indestructible but if I break it I buy another one.

The SOG Flare is okay but I would not choose it for EDC. It is a spring assisted knife with a drop point blade and an axis lock. The glass reinforced nylon handle is very light, so much that balance tips toward the blade when open. It has a small guard on the blade side and ribbing on the back of the handle. Very light but there is enough surface on the handle to help keep a grip. Out of the box it was very stiff, so much so that I wasn't sure it was spring assisted. I had to work it manually several times and add a tiny drop of oil before it could be opened with one hand. This suggests that quality control at the factory isn't what it could be. Another review said the one they received was too loose but this one was the opposite. Unlike that review, I felt no give between the blade and handle. It feels solid when open. The clip is reversible for right or left handed carry and keeps the knife, tip up, in your pocket with the folded blade towards the seam of the pocket, the safest way to carry. That way when you reach into a tight pocked your hand rubs against the closed side of the handle rather than the blade. The knife has a safety which is unnecessary and could cause a problem if you accidentally engaged it while drawing the knife from a pocket. The spring assist requires some pressure to activate and the tip is covered when closed so the safety adds little beyond a possible point of failure. This knife can easily be opened with one hand (once the initial stiffness was overcome) but the access lock makes it difficult to close one handed. With practice it can be done but, as with a lock back knife, it's safer to use two hands. Altogether not a bad knife but I would have given it more stars if it didn't take work to make it function usefully out of the box.

I saw enough semi-negative reviews to doubt this knife but I like sog and the price was right so.... Ive had it for a week and used right away. I have had know problems with the safety, blade deployment, or folding. Its pretty lightweight but sturdy, the blade was sharp and I like the size. Pocket clip work fine. Very happy with it.

Let's just say I have too many knives and I wanted to try the SOG brand. The features on this one with the button release and assisted opening seemed like they would be novel and handy. Big MISTAKE. This is a poorly executed cheap piece of JUNK. The fit and finish is just what you would expect from the $3 knives one used to find at trade shows. Grind marks on all metal surfaces, rough. The lock mechanism is TERRIBLE. Yes it pops out and locks, then it takes an incredible amount of Force to close the blade past the release point, even when pushing the release with great pressure. The release button is a tiny sharp PAINFUL, little rascal which soon causes a sore spot on the thumb. Just closing the knife against the incredible force is a great way to slip and cut yourself badly -- I mean if it was SHARP at all. LOL. So I oiled it up. Finally I had to take a punch and hammer so that I could beat the release button down far enough to get it to actually FUNCTION. It works now. I sharpened it. But Still I HATE the ugly contrary damn thing. Wish I still had a brother in law to gift it to. I like Camilus. I own many of them, and Buck, Schrade, Kershaw, Western, Gerber, etc. But this SOG Dog is not for me. Just my experience -- for what it's worth. I could have gotten the only bad one this year. Don't know. May the Force be with you.

I've had this over a year now. I've had no complaints about the knife. I carry it in my pocket every day with the carry clip removed. It sharpens well and holds an edge for a long time. I have a large hand and it is easy to get a real good grip on the knife. Depends on what your doing or how your carrying your knife, the extra lock on the handle is great at keeping it from opening and getting cut. If you want a good all around knife to carry, this is a good one. If you want a knife for something special, you might want to look for a knife designed for that. I don't think this is too heavy. It's a bigger knife and there should be a little weight to it, or the materials might thinner and not as sturdy.