Today I thought I'd compare three commonly-available EDCs that pack a lot of nice features for their size. These are all small (under 3.5" closed) folders that are comfortable enough to use every day without breaking the bank. I'm talking about the Spyderco Dragonfly (model C28BK), the SOG Flash I (model FSA-7), and the Kershaw Scallion (model 1620). While there are more expensive and fancier versions of each model, I'll only cover the base (least expensive) version of each model. Instead of my typical handle / blade details format, I'll be breaking down the features to help the newer users better understand the pros and cons of each knife. So, here we go...
Price: I figured I'd get this out of the way first. They're all under $40, with the Dragonfly being $37, the Flash I being $34, and the Scallion being $29 all from the same source. Any of these prices is very good for the knife you're getting, and I wouldn't hesitate to pay the highest price ($37) for any of these.
Country of Origin: I know this is a big deal for a lot of people. The Dragonfly is made in Seki City, Japan. The Flash I and Scallion are both made in America.
Handle Length and Fit: Like I said, all of these are small knives with a handle under 3.5" long. The Dragonfly is 3-7/32" closed, while the Flash I is 3-1/4" closed and the Scallion is 3-1/2" closed. They're all three-finger knives for me, and that's okay. I prefer the Scallion due to its "meatier" handle. By this, I mean the handle is thick enough to get a good, secure hold on and it has enough hump in the butt-end to lock into your hand. The Dragonfly is nice as well because it has a cut-out that can be used as a choil if you want to choke up on the blade for more control. The Flash I also has a mild choil, but the pocket clip abrades my hand when I'm using the knife. Weight-wise, the Dragonfly is the lightest at 1.2 ounces, followed by the Flash I at 1.3 ounces. The Scallion weighs 2.3 ounces. All are light enough that you won't notice them in your pocket until you need them. You get a lanyard hole with the Dragonfly and Scallion, but not the Flash I.
Handle Materials: What's it made of? Good question. The Dragonfly's handle is made of black FRN (hard fiberglass-reinforced plastic). The Flash I is made of Zytel (again, fiberglass-reinforced plastic), while the Scallion has dual stainless steel liners and black polyimide (another plastic; laptops are made heavily of polyimide). The handles of all three are nicely textured for a good grip. The Dragonfly's handle is riveted together, so disassembly will be nearly impossible. The Flash I and Scallion are held together with Torx screws, so you can disassemble them if you want to.
Locking Mechanisms: How does each one lock open? Well, they're all different. The Dragonfly uses a standard lockback design, and it has the David Boye notch. The Flash I uses a piston lock, which is quite easy to disengage. The Scallion uses a liner lock. All three lock up tight, although my Flash I had some blade play side-to-side when locked open. Tightening the pivot pin didn't remedy this. I prefer the liner lock on the Scallion, although the Dragonfly's lockback is nice and tight, yet easily releasable.
Pocket Clips: Well, they're all good. The Dragonfly's clip is molded directly to the handle, so it's not removable. It's right-hand tip-up, and it actually rides a bit high for me. Tension is sufficient; I've never had the Dragonfly come out of my pocket accidentally. The Scallion has a removable clip, but it's for right-hand tip-down only. It's stainless steel and has nice tension. Carry is about ideal for me; it's not too high that the knife is falling out, and it's not too low that I can't get a good grip on the handle to withdraw. The Flash I is the only one of the three knives to have a reversible pocket clip. It's designed for tip-up carry, and rides deeper in the pocket than the other two. It too is stainless steel.
Blade Material and Length: Yeah, now we get to the cutting part. With a small handle comes a small blade. The Dragonfly's blade is made of VG-10 and is 2-5/16" long, while the Flash I's blade is made of AUS-8 and is 2-1/2" long. The Scallion has a 420HC blade that's 2-1/4" long. The Dragonfly has superior blade materials, hence the higher price. It came very sharp and will hold that edge for quite some time. The Flash I came pretty sharp as well, but my experience with AUS-8 tells me that it will need a touch-up before the VG-10 will. The 420HC that Kershaw uses on their blades is almost on par with Buck's 420HC. It's surely not horrible, and it will take and keep a nice edge for a while, but it's just too soft for anything harder than cardboard. Then again, we're talking a 2-1/4" blade here.
The Dragonfly has a leaf-shaped blade, and the tip is good for controlled penetration. The Flash I has a modified drop point shape and is pretty nice for slicing. The Scallion has a modified recurve shape to it, with a good tip for light thrusting if needed. I believe all three have flat ground blades. I don't have a measure with me, but the order of blade thickness from thickest to thinnest is: Scallion, Dragonfly, Flash I. All three are relatively thin and will slice pretty much anything you'd use a small folder for.
Opening Them: The Dragonfly has Spyderco's SpyderHole, which is a hole cut out of the blade. Stick your thumb in it and rotate the blade into the open position. There are no bushings on the Dragonfly, but it doesn't need them; the Dragonfly opens very smoothly as it comes from the factory. The Flash I uses SOG's S.A.T. assisted-opening mechanism, which is a coil spring located in the tang / handle junction of the knife. Dual thumb studs make the blade easy to open with either hand, and it opens very fast. There's a small switch that you can toggle on or off as a safety, but I've never found it necessary. It's there if you want it. The Scallion uses Kershaw's SpeedSafe mechanism, which is a heat-treated torsion bar that resides in the handle, joining the blade tang and the recess in the back side of the handle. It's a tad bit faster than the Flash I. The Scallion also has dual thumb studs, or you can use the index finger protrusion (like a flipper) to open the blade. There's also a safety which can be toggled on or off, and it blocks the tip from coming out of the handle. It's there if you want it.
Cutting Ability: In short, they'll all perform very nicely at EDC tasks for quite a while. The VG-10 in the Dragonfly makes it a nice slicer while keeping mandatory touch-ups to a minimum. The Flash I is probably the best slicer out of all three due to its blade being the thinnest. Its AUS-8's edge retention is good, but not great. The Scallion's 420HC actually surprised me after using it. It cut almost as well as the Flash I, but kept the edge way longer. I'm not sure if it's the heat treat or what, but that 420HC kept its edge for a while.
Summary: You've got choices when it comes to small EDC folders, and it doesn't stop at just these three. For the money, price, and quality of materials, you're getting a good knife no matter which you choose. All three manufacturers (Spyderco, SOG, and Kershaw) have fantastic customer service, and they don't care if you bought a $30 or a $100 knife; they'll all do their best to make sure you're satisfied.
Here are direct links to the manufacturer's sites on these models...
The Spyderco Dragonfly FRN... http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=15
The SOG Flash I... http://sogknives.com/store/FSA-7.html
The Kershaw Scallion... http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=2&brand=kershaw
Price: I figured I'd get this out of the way first. They're all under $40, with the Dragonfly being $37, the Flash I being $34, and the Scallion being $29 all from the same source. Any of these prices is very good for the knife you're getting, and I wouldn't hesitate to pay the highest price ($37) for any of these.
Country of Origin: I know this is a big deal for a lot of people. The Dragonfly is made in Seki City, Japan. The Flash I and Scallion are both made in America.
Handle Length and Fit: Like I said, all of these are small knives with a handle under 3.5" long. The Dragonfly is 3-7/32" closed, while the Flash I is 3-1/4" closed and the Scallion is 3-1/2" closed. They're all three-finger knives for me, and that's okay. I prefer the Scallion due to its "meatier" handle. By this, I mean the handle is thick enough to get a good, secure hold on and it has enough hump in the butt-end to lock into your hand. The Dragonfly is nice as well because it has a cut-out that can be used as a choil if you want to choke up on the blade for more control. The Flash I also has a mild choil, but the pocket clip abrades my hand when I'm using the knife. Weight-wise, the Dragonfly is the lightest at 1.2 ounces, followed by the Flash I at 1.3 ounces. The Scallion weighs 2.3 ounces. All are light enough that you won't notice them in your pocket until you need them. You get a lanyard hole with the Dragonfly and Scallion, but not the Flash I.
Handle Materials: What's it made of? Good question. The Dragonfly's handle is made of black FRN (hard fiberglass-reinforced plastic). The Flash I is made of Zytel (again, fiberglass-reinforced plastic), while the Scallion has dual stainless steel liners and black polyimide (another plastic; laptops are made heavily of polyimide). The handles of all three are nicely textured for a good grip. The Dragonfly's handle is riveted together, so disassembly will be nearly impossible. The Flash I and Scallion are held together with Torx screws, so you can disassemble them if you want to.
Locking Mechanisms: How does each one lock open? Well, they're all different. The Dragonfly uses a standard lockback design, and it has the David Boye notch. The Flash I uses a piston lock, which is quite easy to disengage. The Scallion uses a liner lock. All three lock up tight, although my Flash I had some blade play side-to-side when locked open. Tightening the pivot pin didn't remedy this. I prefer the liner lock on the Scallion, although the Dragonfly's lockback is nice and tight, yet easily releasable.
Pocket Clips: Well, they're all good. The Dragonfly's clip is molded directly to the handle, so it's not removable. It's right-hand tip-up, and it actually rides a bit high for me. Tension is sufficient; I've never had the Dragonfly come out of my pocket accidentally. The Scallion has a removable clip, but it's for right-hand tip-down only. It's stainless steel and has nice tension. Carry is about ideal for me; it's not too high that the knife is falling out, and it's not too low that I can't get a good grip on the handle to withdraw. The Flash I is the only one of the three knives to have a reversible pocket clip. It's designed for tip-up carry, and rides deeper in the pocket than the other two. It too is stainless steel.
Blade Material and Length: Yeah, now we get to the cutting part. With a small handle comes a small blade. The Dragonfly's blade is made of VG-10 and is 2-5/16" long, while the Flash I's blade is made of AUS-8 and is 2-1/2" long. The Scallion has a 420HC blade that's 2-1/4" long. The Dragonfly has superior blade materials, hence the higher price. It came very sharp and will hold that edge for quite some time. The Flash I came pretty sharp as well, but my experience with AUS-8 tells me that it will need a touch-up before the VG-10 will. The 420HC that Kershaw uses on their blades is almost on par with Buck's 420HC. It's surely not horrible, and it will take and keep a nice edge for a while, but it's just too soft for anything harder than cardboard. Then again, we're talking a 2-1/4" blade here.
The Dragonfly has a leaf-shaped blade, and the tip is good for controlled penetration. The Flash I has a modified drop point shape and is pretty nice for slicing. The Scallion has a modified recurve shape to it, with a good tip for light thrusting if needed. I believe all three have flat ground blades. I don't have a measure with me, but the order of blade thickness from thickest to thinnest is: Scallion, Dragonfly, Flash I. All three are relatively thin and will slice pretty much anything you'd use a small folder for.
Opening Them: The Dragonfly has Spyderco's SpyderHole, which is a hole cut out of the blade. Stick your thumb in it and rotate the blade into the open position. There are no bushings on the Dragonfly, but it doesn't need them; the Dragonfly opens very smoothly as it comes from the factory. The Flash I uses SOG's S.A.T. assisted-opening mechanism, which is a coil spring located in the tang / handle junction of the knife. Dual thumb studs make the blade easy to open with either hand, and it opens very fast. There's a small switch that you can toggle on or off as a safety, but I've never found it necessary. It's there if you want it. The Scallion uses Kershaw's SpeedSafe mechanism, which is a heat-treated torsion bar that resides in the handle, joining the blade tang and the recess in the back side of the handle. It's a tad bit faster than the Flash I. The Scallion also has dual thumb studs, or you can use the index finger protrusion (like a flipper) to open the blade. There's also a safety which can be toggled on or off, and it blocks the tip from coming out of the handle. It's there if you want it.
Cutting Ability: In short, they'll all perform very nicely at EDC tasks for quite a while. The VG-10 in the Dragonfly makes it a nice slicer while keeping mandatory touch-ups to a minimum. The Flash I is probably the best slicer out of all three due to its blade being the thinnest. Its AUS-8's edge retention is good, but not great. The Scallion's 420HC actually surprised me after using it. It cut almost as well as the Flash I, but kept the edge way longer. I'm not sure if it's the heat treat or what, but that 420HC kept its edge for a while.
Summary: You've got choices when it comes to small EDC folders, and it doesn't stop at just these three. For the money, price, and quality of materials, you're getting a good knife no matter which you choose. All three manufacturers (Spyderco, SOG, and Kershaw) have fantastic customer service, and they don't care if you bought a $30 or a $100 knife; they'll all do their best to make sure you're satisfied.
Here are direct links to the manufacturer's sites on these models...
The Spyderco Dragonfly FRN... http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=15
The SOG Flash I... http://sogknives.com/store/FSA-7.html
The Kershaw Scallion... http://www.kershawknives.com/productdetails.php?id=2&brand=kershaw
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