SOG will forever be associated with the iconic Bowie knife used in the jungles of Vietnam as well as its flagship Flash series.

But instead of resting on its laurels and just coming out with variations of what’s worked in the past, SOG continues to move forward with interesting tools boasting inventive designs. The latest innovation is the newly released SOG Terminus XR.

The Terminus XR is a locking version of the Terminus — a relatively recent knife that was unique to the brand in itself because of its lack of lock.  To be honest, the design of the Terminus XR is not too similar to the nonlocking version. The XR has a 2.95-inch blade and G-10/carbon fiber handles.

But what makes the new knife stand out is the XR lock.

I’m not too sure about how it works yet but it looks like a cross between SOG’s Arc-Lock and Benchmade’s AXIS lock. You essentially manipulate a sliding button on both sides of the blade. The button controls an internal bar that locks the blade.

It is a simple ambidextrous locking mechanism that allows the user to engage the blade in a few ways. It can be opened via flipper, thumbstuds, or by swinging the blade open with force while holding the lock open.

Here’s a quick video:

The Terminus XR is just another in a line of positive directions from SOG, including the award-winning Baton series and a push for American knives. I’m looking forward to whatever other tricks the company might have up its sleeve.

I imagine this lock will come to a few other models in the future as well.