SOG X-Ray Vision - Initial Impressions and Handle Flex Question

[Jared Karr]

I just got this knife and I do love it. The blade shape was intriguing to me, but I like tantos and "modified" tantos like this one, so it was a sure sell. I used to see SOG knives in the PX when I was in the Army, but always bought Gerber and Leatherman, so I figured I'd finally give SOG a try, and I'm not disappointed

Overall, fit and finish is good.

I won't use knives with liner locks, so the Arc Lock fits the bill here. It works pretty smoothly, but doesn't seem as smoothe as my Benchmade 710 with the Axis, but it seems just as strong.

I only have one concern about this knife compared to the others I own. My young, but growing collection constists of:

REKAT Carnivore
Benchmade 710s
Benchmade 722
Camillus Talonite Talon
Cold Steel Spike
Bokker Bud Nealy Specialist (Tanto)

All of these are built like tanks. They are either fixed blades, or high-quality locking folders with Axis Lock or Rolling Lock (and I do think the Arc Lock is just as good as these). Now, coming from the background of only having the above knives, I expect others to be similar. I'm not a big fan of Zytel, and think I should have gotten the vision in titanium or G-10 because when the knife is open and I squeeze the handle hard, the liners flex inward toward eachother. I'm not used to this kind of thing, given the solidity of my other knives, but I think it's only because of the light weight, flexible nature of Zytel, and not an engineering flaw--unless the liners are too thin, but they are recessed into the scales, which is kind of sexy.

Anyway, does anyone with a titanium or G-10 Vision have the same kind of flex in the handle when the knife is open?

On a side note,

Thumb stud - I, like many others, think the thumb stud is a bit too high and poessess edges that are irritating after all-day use.

Clip - As many others have stated, the clip makes the knife ride too high in the pocket, but I saw the Mini-Visions now have a "low carry" clip, which I'm assuming will become the norm, or at least an option on future models of all sizes. The fact that the knife sticks out a bit provides good purchase on the handle when I draw, which I like, but sometimes sheeple stare at the thing sticking out of my pocket, so maybe having both clip types could be an option

Overall, a good purchase. I got it from a vendor on the net selling really cheap and I think I got a good deal. I have confidence in this knife, even though it doesn't feel as solid as some of my others.

Thanks SOG (and fix that thumb stud before my thumb falls off!)

 

[medusaoblongata]

I have a G-10 Night Vision and there's no flex at all. As far as flexing and lateral force are concerned, I'd rate the Night Vision higher than my 710hs and Carny Cub. I think the X-Ray has abbreviated inset liners (is this right?), but the Night Vision has full length double SS liners and it's very sturdy.

 

[Ron Andersen]

Hi Jason,

You are very right; the steel liners on the X-Ray Vision are slightly abbreviated, but, they’re very strong. Knives (especially folders) are not intended for lateral applications. The degree of pressure required to make it fail laterally would be far in excess of any common use for any knife. I personally see all odd SOG knife failures. Of course Cliff did not send his X-Ray Vision back and I’ve not received even one of the Vision series knives back for anything more than simple issues (no broken handles or blades...period).

 

[Cliff Stamp]

I did not send the Vision back as I saw no reason to do so. It was clear from past interactions that no benefit was going to be achieved by the transaction, and it makes an interesting/amusing conversation piece if nothing else. However, if you had wanted to see it you could have let me know and I would have shipped it back with the Recondo. I still have parts of it around, if there was a specific bit you wanted to have a look at I will check to see if I still have it and drop it in the mail next week.

In regards to the handle, I could readily compress it, which is hardly surprising as the really thin liners were not hardened anywere near the maximum or were a low carbon steel given the ductility they showed, and the only other support was thin plastic. It was far weaker than other blades I have seen. For example I have seen an Endura from Spyderco take enough strain to snap the blade in half and the handle still be functional. The Buck/Strider folder was far more solid, considering I just wrist torqued on my Vision and failed it (far under maximum), see Micks posts on specifics if you want a lbs estimate for the Buck/Strider folder, of course that is a much heavier beast of a blade.

I would estimate about 100 +/- 50 in.lbs broke the handle on the one I had, a loose estimate yes, I would have been more precise but I didn't expect the failure as the blade didn't even bend significantly so I took no real means to measure it well. Note as well that I had quite probably weakened the handle due to the pounding when using it to split the wood and could have actually fractured the plastic grips. In retrospect I probably should have inspected it more closely at that point however after the lock exploded during the hammering I lost interest and actually only did the other things as someone asked me about lateral strength at the time because of the handle design. The desire for a robust analysis was not strong as the lock was my main interest in the first place so I was just getting a rough benchmark for future reference.

One note on when I torqued on the handle, I was using a tight grip as I recall which restricted the stress and basically this is pretty much the worse thing you can do. Becuase the handle could not flex to relieve the strain it was all concentrated at one point, just in front of my grip, which also happened to be a weak point because of various cutouts in the design. If for example I had gripped around the back 1/2 or even better 1/3 of the handle it would have been able to bend and thus take a much higher load before suffering damage.


-Cliff

 

[Jared Karr]

What do you mean "abbreviated" liners? They go from edge to edge and end to end of the handle, so do you just mean they aren't as thick as the Night Vision?

I guess Ron is right, it is a tough knife and the only way I could screw it up is to do something I shouldn't be doing.

Nonetheless, I would like to trade up to a Night Vision if I find a way to do so.

Thanks for the input.