The MSRP is 160 for the SOG Visionary 2 - NO you don't have to pay anywhere near that amount.
Let's begin with the lock. It uses the Arc lock - for those of you who are familiar with Benchmade knives, you've heard of the Axis lock. This is pretty much the same thing, just a knock off concept. The lock is made of a bar that is moved on a track via a perpendicular bar that goes through the steel reinforcements of the handle, and is held against the blade with two springs. This allows you to open the blade extremely fast by holding the lock back a bit, and also allows you to close the blade without putting your finger on the blade, or in it's swing path. The action is very smooth, and the lock itself has held 1000 pounds without failure. That's strong enough for me.
The blade is shaped off of the SOG Spec elite, which is clip point design, and utilizes VG10 for the blade steel. It takes an exceptional edge, and is drastically more wear and impact resistant than AUS 8. While some say it doesn't sharpen as easily, I disagree (that may also be because I maintain my edges daily). While it may take longer, the bur that exists does not fight you and continually flip sides. It's much easier to sharpen, but will take longer to do so if you neglect the knife. The serrations on the thumb ramp are pretty nice - aggressive enough to be useful, not so aggressive it tears up clothing and your hands in use. The length is 3.75 inches, while the SOG Visionary 1 uses a 3" blade.
The handles are zytle plastic clad steel, which houses a reversible clip for carry at the end. The knife carries point up, and is easily switchable from left to right and back. Construction is of torx screws throughout except for the clip, which is a phillip's screw. It is incredibly thin, but fits your hand pretty good (at least my size medium hands). The handle is based off the SOG XRay Vision series, and is fairly slip resistant (I haven't used oil or anything, so this is a dry-scale comparison).
All in all I really like the knife. While I really want a Benchmade 710 with D2 steel, this will definitely hold me over for a long time. It is NOT an assisted opener - but it can be opened just as fast with a flick of your wrist.
My camera's busted, so no pictures of it, but this youtube video should give you a general idea of the knife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_uWbbBiFGk
Let's begin with the lock. It uses the Arc lock - for those of you who are familiar with Benchmade knives, you've heard of the Axis lock. This is pretty much the same thing, just a knock off concept. The lock is made of a bar that is moved on a track via a perpendicular bar that goes through the steel reinforcements of the handle, and is held against the blade with two springs. This allows you to open the blade extremely fast by holding the lock back a bit, and also allows you to close the blade without putting your finger on the blade, or in it's swing path. The action is very smooth, and the lock itself has held 1000 pounds without failure. That's strong enough for me.
The blade is shaped off of the SOG Spec elite, which is clip point design, and utilizes VG10 for the blade steel. It takes an exceptional edge, and is drastically more wear and impact resistant than AUS 8. While some say it doesn't sharpen as easily, I disagree (that may also be because I maintain my edges daily). While it may take longer, the bur that exists does not fight you and continually flip sides. It's much easier to sharpen, but will take longer to do so if you neglect the knife. The serrations on the thumb ramp are pretty nice - aggressive enough to be useful, not so aggressive it tears up clothing and your hands in use. The length is 3.75 inches, while the SOG Visionary 1 uses a 3" blade.
The handles are zytle plastic clad steel, which houses a reversible clip for carry at the end. The knife carries point up, and is easily switchable from left to right and back. Construction is of torx screws throughout except for the clip, which is a phillip's screw. It is incredibly thin, but fits your hand pretty good (at least my size medium hands). The handle is based off the SOG XRay Vision series, and is fairly slip resistant (I haven't used oil or anything, so this is a dry-scale comparison).
All in all I really like the knife. While I really want a Benchmade 710 with D2 steel, this will definitely hold me over for a long time. It is NOT an assisted opener - but it can be opened just as fast with a flick of your wrist.
My camera's busted, so no pictures of it, but this youtube video should give you a general idea of the knife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_uWbbBiFGk
