Best Spyderco CPM 440V Knife?

Mitchell Knives

Mitchell Knives

Knifemaker
Moderator
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
May 21, 2000
Messages
6,261

Hi,

Well, I've finially decided that I want to get either a Spyderco Military, Starmate or Chinook. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Military with the Starmate as my second choice. Any comments on these two knives? I really love my Endura so I guess the Military will be even better. I suppose that the Military would be the better all around blade but, the Starmate looks pretty good too. Any suggestions?

------------------
Johnathan Mitchell
 
I prefer my StarMate to my Military, but it is a purely subjective matter for me and I cannot give you good, objective reasons for my doing so... I just recently bought a Chinook and I can say that I would choose either one over hte Chinook first unless I was looking for a Bowie-type blade in the first place. The Chinook is very heavy when compared to a Military or a StarMate, what with its full double liners and all, but it sure is strongly built, like a tank, and the blade curve would make a great skinner. But it is just too heave to carry every day as a pocket knife. I would suggest that you try the feel of all three before you buy one, or you can save up and eventually buy all three, as I and many others have. Interestingly enough, I use another CPM440V Spydie as my daily carry, the Gunting, but not for its self defense attributes, but for its utility value to one with arthritic hands. Think of it as you might one of those ergodynamic kitchen tools that you see in catalogues, albeit a very sharp one and one that requires a good deal of respect and care in its use.

------------------
Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
I haven't owned a Starmate yet, but the Military model is great. I own a plain edge version and I love it. The lockup is solid. If you like the Endura's blade shape, you won't be disappointed with the Military.
 
Well, I like the Military and the Starmate both...a hard call. Would like to get them both eventually...probably will. Hard to decide which one to get first though.

------------------
Johnathan Mitchell
 
Don't have a Chinook, but have the Starmate, Military and Native (BF blue version) and of the three, I like the look and feel of the Starmate, but use the Military more. Mostly food prep in camp. FWIW, I like the native, not aggressive looking and made it through the tough Japanese security scrutiny at Narita Airport.

------------------
copfish@aol.com
 
I own the Military (2 in fact one the inlay model) the Starmate and the Native in that steel.

Of all of them the Starmate is my EDC, but if I am honest, I prefer the Military deep down!
biggrin.gif


------------------
Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
Great...looks like I'll be buying both...
wink.gif


------------------
Johnathan Mitchell
 
Another vote for the Starmate, but then I also have a Military and I wouldn't part with any one of these two...
It seems that it is just a question of which one to get first!
 
Wow, looooooooong time no post!
wink.gif


I own the Starmate, Military, and Native in that steel. The Native is my favorite and is usually my EDC (every day carry, and a perfect combination of utility and tactical IMHO), but I'll discuss the other two since those are the ones you're leaning toward getting.

The Military is really a blade designed for utility purposes first. It has a long belly which makes it an excellent deep cutter and slasher. Its profile is more "angled", whereas the Starmate is a straight handle-blade configuration. So it really depends on what you intend to do with the knife.

The Starmate looks to be more of a tactical fighting folder knife. It is a beautiful knife and obviously more aesthetically pleasing than the Military. Both are quality knives, but the Starmate gives you the feeling of owning a custom, whereas the Military seems more like a workhorse despite its negligible weight (both knives are extremely light for their size, which is due mainly to their thin profile and single small-yet-tough inlayed scale).

Personally, I prefer the Starmate because I like to carry mine mostly for "if-backed-up- against-the-wall-and-cannot-run-then-defend- yourself" type situation. YMMV. It is more aesthetically pleasing to me, and is really my favorite Spyderco folder along with the Native (especially the inlayed and BF Native). However, if I needed to go camping or treking through "El Yunque" (a popular rainforest down here in Puerto Rico), which I unfortunately don't do quite as much as I would want, I would never bring the Starmate, and would instead bring a heavy-duty folder like the Military or the Al Mar SERE 2000.

Hope this helps!

-Flood
 
Yeah, I guess it's just a matter of which one to get first! Which knife would you consider to be more "hard use" oriented? Which one is tougher?

------------------
Johnathan Mitchell
 
I´d go with the Military mostly, thanks to the flat ground blade. This single fact makes it IMO a far more versatile tool than the Starmate. Some pros and cons:

<font color="#FF0000">MILITARY:</font>
+ Flat ground
+ Nested linerlock, thin profile
+ Lightweight
+ Big "Spydie Hole", ambidextrous
+ The size itself
+ Ergonomics
- Rides high in the pocket
- The tip is too thin and delicate
- Linerlock (I feel that a knife like this should feature a sturdy lock back)
- The laynard hole diameter is too small

<font color="#FF0000">STARMATE:</font>
+ Strong tip
+ Rides relatively low in the pocket
+ Eccentric pivot pin
+ Compact
+ Thin
+ Tough
- Hollow ground, not as good a slicer as the Mil
- Not as good ergonomics (IMHO) as the Mil sports
- A smaller "Spydie Hole"
- Shorter blade

Those are my most personal points of view
smoke.gif
.

Regards!

 
A buddy of mine has a military and I went out and got the starmate. I have to admit that of the two, I prefer the speartip swedge on the starmate way more than the flat grind on the military. Lets face it, a big folder isn't a cardboard cutter and it isn't made to slash the plastic binds on boxes of copy paper.
EDC's have to be presonal preference. You're the one who has to deal with it. try both of them out. because the two are so different, one set of features will appeal to you more. the military is more utilitarian, the starmate has better options from a tactical perspective. your choice.

toast

------------------
"One must practice ceaselessly." -Miyamoto Musashi
 
I might add that comments on the Gunting in the Spyderco Forum say that I am not alone in using the Gunting as a utility folder. Nemo, in Paris, apparently does so as well, and there are others who have posted saying that they do, so I am not alone in this strange use.

------------------
Walk in the Light,
Hugh Fuller
 
The starmate hands down... It just feels better to me all around. Fits my hand better, is easier to carry in the pocket.

If I was going to carry a spydie every day, and needed something large, it would be the Starmate. I own two (plain and combo) and carry one once in a great while.
 
I have a Starmate. Great knife. The Military
is nice but the wedge shape is too pronounced for my taste. In wedge-shaped blades I prefer the shape of the Endura to the Military, but the Endura isn't 440V and G-10.
The tip of the Military is rather thin and narrow compared to the Starmate and looks sort of fragile. Also, the Starmate has a slimmer profile, open and closed.
I like the Starmate because it's basically a narrow drop-point, even if the Spyderco catalogue calls it a "modified clip-point",
The handle is pretty good, too.
As to the Chinook, it seems to be rather specialized in design, and heavy.
 

I've officially decided to get both since each offers their own unique strengths...As to which one to get first, I'm leaning towards the Starmate as I'm looking for a little tougher knife right now.

------------------
Johnathan Mitchell
 
I carry the Starmate more frequently in urban environment because it is more compact and easy to carry. With straight blade-handle positioning it could be better self-defense tool if the bad fortune would force...

But I like the Military more for its flat ground blade and as result - unmatched cutting ability. It is hands down my favorite knife for around household carry and also for outdoors carry (of course if I consider the situation adequate to use the folder). Unluckily it is a bit too large for urban concealed carry (for me at least).

In fact I do not need the knife for defensive tool's role so I'm waiting impatiently the compact version of Military more suitable for urban carry.

Johnathan, I'm afraid you have no another choice than to buy both
biggrin.gif

For the first run choose the knife according its intended use, as usually at least
wink.gif

 
I had a Starmate a while ago and I was surprised at how unbalanced it was. Very light at the butt and heavy tipped. I got rid of it. I really would like a Military in 440V but they weren't available when I was looking. Now the funds aren't available.

------------------
A knife is by default a tool, it's only a weapon when a human chooses to make it so.
 
Well, I have had all those models mentioned, still have a Military & Chinook. I can't say anything bad about the Military, but the Chinook is just such a tough knife that I think, right this minute anyway, that it's worth carrying it's weight. The Starmate just wasn't "all that" for me. I was just didn't feel it was up to the same standard as the Military/Chinook. Another knife in the same steel not mentioned is the Gunting, which I recently acquired. While a strange knife, I like it, but need to get one of those kydex sheaths for it, as pocket carry is just too weird,
wink.gif
. While the blade is not as large as any of the others, it seems very capable of most any task, utility or defense.
YMMV, IMHO etc etc.


------------------
Buck Collectors Club Member # 572
Dedicated ELU
Knifeknut(just ask my wife)
Sebenzanista

[This message has been edited by Brian Lavin (edited 06-19-2001).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top