Passaround: Smith & Wesson FL2

TheBadGuy

TheBadGuy

Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
5,868
Ok folks, I recieved the knife today. I will put it to work throughout the week, Then I will mail it off Friday to next in line and post my review. Thanks guys :D
 
I know its a little soon, but what are your initial impressions?
 
Ok, All I will say this early using it is that I absolutely love the blade style. And it’s also responsible for a very large bare patch on my arm. That’s all I can say for now. I haven't really had many chances today to use it. I can also say that the handle is the perfect size for my hands. That’s all for now and only because you asked :D
 
This is just a quick update on the knife before I put up the full review tomorrow. This morning the S&W was left behind as my EDC, The 3 screws in the frame are very loose and on the verge of falling out. I need to go tonight and buy a set of star allen wrenches to tighten it before I pass it on. Ok, Just wanted to give you guys an update. I will post my full review and mail it on to the next person on the list tomorrow. Thanks
 
If you don't find any, check out the Benchmade Blue Box. Pretty cheap, good selection of bits.
Matt
 
Originally posted by TheBadGuy
The 3 screws in the frame are very loose and on the verge of falling out.
Click to expand...

I hate to here that. I have been carrying mine often and it is still tight. Maybe some loctite is in order?
 
S&W PASSAROUND REVIEW

Ok, I will start from the top. When I first received the knife on Monday afternoon, my initial impressions were as follows:

-I loved the blade style, I am not familiar with the name of this style, but I would love to have more folders with this style.

-The handle was large enough to accommodate my large hands, a must for any EDC of mine, and this is also the main reason I have traded many of the knives I have.

-The, I guess what would be called modified liner lock, which is part of the scale, was a little bit stiff, but that could be expected from a Brand New knife

-The knife as a whole felt real solid and felt like it could take a real beating.

-SHARP, VERY SHARP

What I did with it
Well from day one, I started using this as my EDC, Unfortunately, I was unable to put it to as much use as I would have liked, But I did the following:

-Whittled- Again, I normally don’t wittle, But I see most people on here do it from time to time, So what the hell?, I took a large branch and turned it into a tent stake in a matter of minutes.(OK so it took over an hour)

-Even though this isn’t really meant for kitchen use, I used it to trim a few steaks, Cut some potatoes, as well as vegetables. Did all three superbly.

-One thing I did do this week was package allot of stuff for shipping, and unpack allot of new goodies. This knife consistently went threw cardboard like a hot knife threw butter, with impressive cutting power. Only downfall was, when I used the knife to cut tape off of the roll when packing boxes, It got some gunk build up, Normally no problem, I took some Break Free on a rag to it, Problem being, the knife is so sharp I kept accidentally cutting threw the rag.

-Cutting plastic, My wife comes to me with a 2 liter that’s cap is too tight, I gave it a whirl and nothing, So being that it was low on soda and I was upset at my twisting results, the S&W took the top off, No Problems.

-Besides that, maybe a string here or a small piece of rope there, just everyday little tasks, which it preformed well with.


This is a large knife, But I think do to its classic Stainless look, it would get less criticism from non-knife people. Overall I really liked the knife and went online to check price, I ran into a problem there. With a short search for the internet using google, I was unable to locate this model and have no idea what kind of price point we are talking about here and would appreciate it if someone posted a link to where is could be purchased.

Also I had to retire the knife Thursday Morning, When I woke up and grabbed the knife, I noticed the handle screws were loose and ready to fall out. Upon further examination it looks like you need a star wrench to tighten them, I was afraid that I would loose the screws due to the fact that I do not own the proper tool to tighten them. I was going to buy one and really wanted to get a BM kit as mentioned above, But My area is lacking a real knife stores, So I contacted the next person on the list to receive it and verified that they have the proper tool, So as much as I hate to do it, I am going to have to pass it on with somewhat loose screws.

The edge held up well, but I touched it up on the Sharpmaker before I packaged it up and its waiting to be dropped off at the post office first thing tomorrow morning. Overall I think dependant on price, I will buy one, what I would really like to see is a knife with this blade configuration and some carbon fiber handles. Not that fond of the all stainless look or feel myself,. Thanks guys for letting me get in on this one. I appreciate it.

By the way, the S&W left me a nice cut on my left ring finger to remember her by, It occurred when I was cleaning the tape gunk of the edge of the blade.
 
I hope I'm not intruding on the topic, but I bought a S&W HRT "flipper" type, with a magnesium handle... does that sound right? Well, to the point- Brand new, after a few days of EDC, the three torx screws holding the clip to the frame somehow loosened themselves!! I was very dismayed and wonder what causes this?

Also, :o What is the best S&W knife site?:o thanx!
 
Thanks for the review! I just picked up an FL2 from a fellow forumite myself. I will check those screws. It's a shame they loosen so easily, but it's not a big deal to loc-tite them if necessary.

I like the thinness of the handle. It doesn't bulge at all in my pocket. I find the profile of the knife when closed is similar to the Emerson Commander, it's that wide, and has the opening disk, too. No Wave, though! :)

The blade shape reminds me of the old folding Mamba. I think Blackjack put that one out. It is a recurve drop point. The companion FL1 is a clip point.

The lock is an integral lock, a kind of naked liner lock. It was developed by Chris Reeve for his Sebenza, but it's pretty widely used now.

Darrell Ralph does a great job with integral locks, which he calls framelocks, and this FL2 is a design of his. Basically, the FL2 is a version of his EDC like the Camillus EDC (click on CUDA) and the Outdoor Edge Paragee.

For the price, a knife this size with this design, is a real bargain. Now let's see how it holds up under pressure.
 
Good to here that this knife is getting a thorough workout, and is performing relatively well.
 
I just sent it out today. I tightend up the screws and carryied it around for a week and I like it. It locks up tight and doesnt have any blade play. I didnt get to cut much except a few snack bags and some duct tape but it worked really well. I'm going to order one from Bayou Lafourche in a couple of days. Wish I had more to tell you but I didnt really use it that much.
 
I had an interesting problem with the FL2 a couple of days ago. I was walking down a dirt trail lined with weeds, mostly flimsy ragweed, and I was slashing away at them. When I went to close the knife to put it back in my pocket, I found the lock was stuck. I couldn't get it to disengage. I took a piece of metal and tapped on the locking bar, and it popped free pretty easily then.

Naturally, I was worried. It's not always good to be walking along with a knife that sharp that you can't close and don't need passers-by staring at !! :D So I got serious slashing at more weeds, small branches, and a few thick vines.

No problem! It only happened once, and closes just fine now. Not slippery, it won't close unless I thumb the locking bar over, but it hasn't jammed again. What I think happened is that the metal-to-metal rubbing was harsh at first, the first time there was real pressure on the lock, but after that tap, it smoothed the matching surfaces.
 
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