[Review] ThorFire TK05 1xAA/14500 eSwitch

Well Sofirn has every products Thorfire sells, with a different driver of course. Also just a few weeks ago Jaxman was whining about Thorfire copying their design in E3 thread if I believe correctly.

I’m hoping to do the LED swap within the next week. While I’ve got things taken apart for that, I’ll try popping the driver out and getting some pics.

Thank you for the review, I am a ThorFire fan and always had very positive experiences with their products. Since I can’t find a convoy AA yet I might want to pick this one up. e-switch is even better than expected.

First of all, nice review gchart :wink: Thanks for showing this Thorfire, never knew about it and it seems a very nice flashlight :wink:

I will not feed this discussion further, maybe I’ll try to clarify it for myself and other members, as well!
So, about what you said, I guess you are right, in some way.

The “in some way” part is due to the older version of the SP10A, that had a 3 modes + strobe driver (on 14500: 10lm > 89lm > 500lm). Different mode spacing and different rating lumens, for sure.

Currently, the SP10A version has 3 modes + High + strobe (on 14500: 2lm > 60lm > 224lm + 573 lm + strobe) & lockout .
The SP10A, in the new version, seems to be replacing the black SP10B, once the SP10B is now being sold in blue and red only (a AliExpress store).

So, what you say is right, there is no flashlight with that configuration from Sofirn, currently. But there was, before! :wink:
Also, the mode spacing of the Thofire is somehow similar to the Sofirn SF14 (5lm > 110lm > 600lm), but I guess this won’t be relevant as this is a tailclicky :wink:

Also, the LED tint apparently is very different among any of these models, once the Thorfire seems to be more “blueish” as you said, and the Sofirn’s have a more Neutral White tint, with some “yellowish” shifts here and there :wink:

Once again, thank you for this review :+1:

One thing I noticed on your review:

Is this because of the driver’s shape? Or due to the interior distance between tailcap spring and driver?
I’m just asking because - again - on the Sofirn lights, unprotected button top (of their brand, that are smaller than Sanyo UR14500P) and unprotected flat top Sanyo UR14500P fit nicely and work without rattling! On the contrary, due to the battery tube inner diameter, it may be hard to fit protected batteries, as they are thicker…

I was just curious about this! Sorry to post 2 times in a row :zipper_mouth_face:

The Sanyo UR14500P is the unprotected cell that I tried (my only unprotected 14500 that I have on hand). There didn’t seem to be any rattling, so I figured it wasn’t a length issue. While the driver side is a button, the tailcap has a pretty long spring that should accomodate a lot of cell sizes. I didn’t have any problems with the diameter of my protected Wuben-branded 14500 - it has room to spare.

Hum, maybe the button on the driver is more recessed, then! Or maybe there is no connection between the “safe” ring and the button!
Thanks for clarifying :wink:

Here’s a closer picture of that. I’d guess the button is recessed 1mm or so. I don’t have a DMM with me to measure continuity.


click for full size image

Thanks for the pic gchart! It is recessed, indeed, but not more than the drivers of the flashlights I mentioned. Strange that the flat tops don’t work on that and work on mine :expressionless:
I was seeing my drivers and perceived that at least the Sanyo UR14500P flat top fits that “ring” perfectly so it probably makes contact with the button. Others with the button top just make contact with the driver’s button, not the ring.

Thanks again and sorry for bothering with these questions :person_facepalming:

Hmm, I might have to double check. I do recall a slight indentation on the top of my Sanyo (likely caused by too much pressure from the Mi7 that it’s usually in). Perhaps thats enough to prevent it from making contact.

Ok, the modding post has been updated with the LED swap and driver info.

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Also, I did an output/runtime graph with the original XP-G3 LED, the new LH351D, and the Klarus Mi7 for comparison. I just started using my light meter & tube, so I won’t claim to be accurate on lumen measurements, but the relative values should be fairly accurate. Some observations:

  • Out of the box, the TK05 seems to underperform, at least when compared to the Mi7. I suspect the 600 lumen claim is a bit elevated.
  • The TK05 runs in turbo for 3 minutes followed by a ~75% decrease whereas the Mi7 is considerably less conservative.
  • Due to the above, the Mi7 gets and stays hot while the TK05 does not.
  • Swapping the XP-G3 for a 5000K LH351D results in MUCH better tint. I hated the tint, but really like it now.
  • The LED swap also brought along a lot more lumens. About 50% more in turbo and 30% more in post-turbo stepdown.
  • Runtime is approximately the same before & after the LED swap.
  • Turbo on the TK05 with the LH351D nudges out turbo on the Mi7.
  • Big side note: the TK05 was tested with a Wuben-wrapped 600mah 14500. The Mi7 was using an Sanyo 800mah 14500. I want to see if I can get the TK05 to work with the Sanyo cell and retest it.

Now onto the graph… time scale is in minutes. Brightness scale is a a percentage based on the original TK05 brightness in turbo.

So, a sofirn driver in a thorfire host confirms we can refer to them as one company?

I’d say no, but I’d say it confirms they share a manufacturer/supplier.

The same manufacturer was given, since their line-up is almost identical, modes, switches. They being the same company I think is likely

+1!

BTW, I’ve seen Thorfire flashlights for a while before seeing Sofirn. BUT, indeed, they probably share some parts / suppliers!

And I don’t have any Thorfire, but I’ve read and seen some reviews - gchart’s included - and they really have pretty nice lights :blush:

Thanks for clarifying the timed drop on the TK05 and comparison with the Mi7.

Modded my TK05 last weekend.

  • Replaced the driver with a 17mm e-switch driver with D4 UI from Mountain Electronics
  • Replaced stock aluminum star with 16mm Copper Noctigon (filed down to 15mm so it would fit)
  • Replaced cool white XPG3 with 4000K XPL HI 5A2
  • Replaced stock momentary pushbutton with Radioshack 2.5 mm momentary tact switch.
  • Added aluminum ring around outside of metal button to greatly reduce chances of accidental activation during pocket EDC.

Overall a fairly straightforward mod with no serious issues.

The internals of the light look virtually identical to the Sofirn SP10A and 10B. The driver looks the same right down what appears to be identical layout of components. The inside of the switch button looks the same. I think the star and reflector are probably the same too. Only differences appear to be the external body design.

I wouldn’t be surprised if both Sofirn and Thorfire use the same factory.

Sounds like some good mods! LED replacement is a must, I feel like. I hesitate on the driver because I really like the option of throwing a AA in there if I need to. I’m not familiar with the momentary tact switch - what’s with that?

Like many of these small side-switch lights, the switch is built-in to the driver.

Replacement drivers from Mountain Electronics do not come with a switch… so if you want to do this mod you’ll need to add one.

I haven’t had any luck in my attempts to remove the switch from the stock driver, so instead I use a replacement switch. Any small momentary pushbutton switch will do. All you need to do is wire it up to the driver, then hold it in approximately the right position so the top of the new switch is at about the same point as on the stock driver.

Before gluing I recommend you test your driver outside the light to make sure the driver and switch works. I use a AA battery carrier with 14500 in it connected to the driver with alligator clips. I temporarily solder a star with an old LED to the driver wires. If the light works then it’s time to start gluing.

Once you have confirmed that it works and that the wires do not get in the way so that the switch can placed in approximately the right position it’s time to glue the switch on. For this glue job I started with some fiberfix glue . This is basically just superglue, but it cures instantly when you shine the little light on the other end of the dispenser on it. My goal with the fiberfix was just to provide a little temporary support so I didn’t use too much.

Then I used a much larger quantity of arctic alumina thermal epoxy around the sides of the switch and surrounding wires to anchor everything in place. I figured the epoxy would hold much better than the super glue once the driver got hot. So I used enough arctic alumina to hold even if all the super glue gave way.

After that, just wait 10-15 minutes for the epoxy to cure enough then insert the new driver into the light.

I ordered several different types of tactile switches from banggood for modifying these smaller lights.

I personal like the switches with a metal shell, the outer shell can be soldered on to help hold them in place if your careful.
I just modified a DQG tiny with a triple nichia using a BLF X6 FET + 1 7135 driver running NarsilM using this switch.

About the easiest switch mounting I have done with this setup.