Visionary II

M2HSSR-910SBK

M2HSSR-910SBK

Joined
May 1, 2007
Messages
534
Has anyone held one of these yet? I have never seen one and have only owned one SOG before. I am a loyal Benchmade axis-lock user and would like to try one of these arc-locks out. Are they quality built as compared to the BM axis-lock? I heard they are just as smooth as the axis but have no first hand experience. Thanks in advance.
 
I haven't seen one in person yet. As much as I like the Arc lock, the visionary is not on my 'to buy' list. I don't like coated blades and I'm not a huge fan of the plastic that SOG uses on some of their knives. I wish they would use full liners on their plastic handled Arc lock knives. I feel their Zytel is weaker than Spyderco's FRN or the plastic used on BM's grips.

I would recommend the mini-Vulcan. It, unfortunately, has the plastic handles as well. Other than that, I really like this knife. Flipper with the Arc lock, what more could you want (other than G10 scales)?

I have found that my Arc locks operate about as smooth as my Benchmades (I post on BM forums as well and have most of the Axis lock models). The locks seem to be of equal quality, but I would put the fit and finish of the cheaper SOGs a little below the cheaper BMs. My Tomcat 3.0 is perfect and I would put it up against equal priced (if not higher priced BMs).

My advice would be to try out the Vulcan (mini or regular) or the smaller of the Spec Elites (think of it as SOGs answer to the grip/mini grip).
 
Regarding SOG's liners anyone knows if the Pentagon Elite II or Spec Elite II has full liners?

Thinking of getting the Spec II and Pentagon II. Not too sure if it's a good design as not much info available on it. More concerned with the fact that the folders have not too many screws securing the folder together as well as the lack of information regarding the liners.

The visionary that I saw in the EBay is not too bad looking. So far I have not heard anything negative about SOG's Arc lock and it's generally considered to be smooth and easy to use.
 
I have the Vulcan & the BM710.I don't know who came out with that locking system first,but the sog is noticably smoother.
 
Glad that the SOG Arc lock is smoother like what is being mentioned in BF. I own a few Recons and AK47 (folder) by Cold Steel and their Ultra lock (Axis lock with special arrangement with Benchmade) is not so smooth for their newer models.

The old models (axis) had fully cylindrical pins that move to lock and unlock in the little hole thingy. The newer ones have a larger pin but with a flattened bottom section (assuming viewed being gripped plam side down). This makes for a larger shearing area hence stronger lock but there is a problem. The flat smooth section of the pin (in mine so far) results in courser and sometimes flat out inability to unlock with one hand. Apparently the edges between the interface between the flat and cylindrical surfaces cause a much less smooth unlocking.

Long winded but I would write less if I have the ability :) Basically guys I would advice for you all to be careful and try out the CS Recons and AK47 folders before you buy them. No idea about Benchmades Axis though. Thats why I"m buying SOG's folders from now on.
 
I don't know how good the Visonary is or if it has full liners. Personally, I like & have a SOG Night Vision. It's basically like the X-Ray Vision (Mine has an ATS-34 CE tanto blade), but with G-10 scales, & it has full SS lines. The only thing I wish it had, is the bayonet style pocket clip like on the mini X-Rays. As for the arc-lock, it's as smooth as any B/M axis-lock that I've tried &/or have owned. It's that good & the G-10 makes it much nicer. I don't care for zytel, personally.

As for the Visionary, I like the blade shape, but I also wished it wasn't coated. Oh well, but it does look like a nice knife.
 
All of the Arc-Lock knives have full/nested stainless steel liners. This includes the Visionary, X-Ray Vision, Spec Elite, Pentagon Elite, Vulcan, and more.
 
Next question on these. Do the visionary II have the Bayonet pocket clips or are they like the regular vision\x-ray vision?
 
IIRC, the smaller (Visionary I) has the "bayonet clip" while the larger (II) has the side-mounted clip.


From my experience with the Flash II vs. X-Ray Vision, the "bayonet clip" makes a huge difference in concealing the handle of the knife.
 
Actually all of the Vision series including the Vision, X-Ray Vision, Mini X-Ray Vision and Visionary I and II have the bayonet clip now. We just changed the Vision and X-Ray and they are just beginning to ship. If they are not in stores yet they should be arriving shortly.
 
Chris, do you have any pictures of the Vision with the bayonet clip? Thanks.
 
I don't have one of the Vision yet as they have not begun shipping. I was mistaken on that one. It will be a couple months before that change happens. I would guess by sometime this summer it will be changed over. If you want to you can check out the X-Ray Vision pictures to get an idea of what it will look like.

http://sogknives.com/store/XV71.html
 
I got a visionary 1 on the way...ill post pics and some thoughts when it arrives. I have owned a mini x-ray i am expecting it to be very similar with a little more versatility due to the new blade shape.
 
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