- Joined
- Feb 28, 2007
- Messages
- 9,786
I acquired my first high end folder knife today through a trade with a fellow forum member. The trade involved a fixed blade that wasn't getting the love it deserved and to somebody who really had an eye for it from previous handling so all and all the trade was an example one of those great situations of why the community of blade forums works so well.
Anyhow, my acquired knife was a Spyderco military. I've had a couple of delica's that have been lost in the past. I also owned the delica's long before I really became interested in knives. This is my first step up to a full quality spyderco folder. It is a full serrated model which I wanted for my purposes. Basically, I wanted a stainless, serrated knife to throw in my boat bag and it will see a lot of rope cutting duty particularly with the nets we are using. My preference would probably be for a fixed one like the aqua-salt knives, but the folder works for the intended purpose and I was able to acquire it by trade instead of saving up cash. Plus, I was very curious about the higher end folders that spyderco is so famous for.
I should stress that I am not a folder guy. Other than a few SAKs and leatherman, and prior to being a knife nut who at one timed owned two delica's, I have resisted the urge to get into folders. I really still prefer fixed blades, but I am coming around to the fact that a folder has its place in the world also. So what you are getting is a fixed blade knife guy's impressions of a good and well respected folder. The spyderco military has been around for a while. There are a million different reviews available, so here goes my first impressions. Despite having researched this knife pretty thoroughly, it still held a few surprises for me so perhaps I can convey some of those impressions here.
The specs:
Blade: CPM VG10 (this version), 4", serrations about 3/4" up the knife. 1/8" thick at the spine, but aggressive tapering towards the tip. Full flat grind and chisel bevel. Handle: textured black G10. Very grippy!
The grip in the hand is quite comfy. I really want to take the clip off and might do so. I don't like the feel of the clip on the palm of my hand, but I will hold off and see how I like it. The clip is not reversible and is orientated to carry tip down. I tried wearing the knife with the clip in the pocket. It seems fine, but honestly, I don't know what the whole 'revolution of carrying a knife by clip' is all about. It does secure the blade for retrieval, but then, I don't like how the clip feels in the palm of my hand when holding the knife. I'm toying with the idea of getting a kydex sheath for it with Merc-harness and removing the clip but will see.
The textured jimping on the thumb ramp serves its purpose well. It provides a great deal of traction for the thumb. There is also textured jimping on the frame lock lever which helps hold your index finger in the finger notch. The ergos (aside from my clip quip above) are superb. Your hand just locks. The handle is very generous and the textured G10 super grippy.
The serrations are nice and aggressive. I had a serrated delica a while back before and liked how they work. Rope cutting will be a major use for this knife and the serrations will help tremendously here.
I knew going in that the tip on this blade is rather delicate. It thins out aggressively to an extremely pointy point. There simply isn't much metal behind the tip and it is no wonder so many folks have lost their tip doing inappropriate things with their knife.
You'll notice on the picture above showing the blade from the top of the spine the funny orientation of the tip. This is due to the chisel bevel. Looking at the flat face of the blade on each side you see that the bevel occurs on the left face of the blade and no bevel on the right. This was a surprise for me. I assumed it would come as a V-grind.
The blade is nicely sharp and easily push cuts paper on the plane portion near the tip. As much as I am a bit afraid of the delicate tip, I admire it for its extreme sharpness. A little prick that easily draws blood! If I were to become blood brothers with somebody (which one doesn't do in the hygenic age of aids), I'd like having the Military to poke my finger!
Here is a size comparison of the military and some fixed blades, the JK kephart (4.5" blade), RC-4 (4") and RC-6.
You can see that although the military has a 4" blade, there is much less metal on the triangle shaped blade compared to equivalent length fixed blades. As a result, the military is a much lighter weight and comparatively much lighter duty knife even though a quick look at the specs might falsely convince you otherwise.
While serrations aren't ideal for wood cutting, you can still get decent fuzzies from them. Admittedly though, the RC-4 produced better fuzzies and as expected is a better at carving.
No, I'm not going to baton the military. Lock is very solid though. I like the liner lock and how it engages. I like that I can disengage it one handed. I like how smooth the knife opens up and the solid and intuitive feel of opening the blade via the spyder-hole. There is no learning curve to this action. It just automatically happens. I never managed to get good results flicking knives with thumbstuds, but the spyderhole certainly works.
I've handled a spyderco manix in the past. The military is a much smaller knife compared to the heavier manix. Yet, in terms of a pocket folder, I like the attributes that the Military has to offer. I will be careful with and am conscious that this is a knife for cutting and slicing not for prying and carving. I have a lot of high hopes for this knife in the long run.
Last thing for the knife enthusiasts. The spine readily produces sparks off a firesteel!
Overall, the Spyderco Military appears to be a great blade and I can finally begin to appreciate what it is all about in terms of using a quality locking folder. I'm certainly not going to forgo my fixed blade knives anytime soon, but the miltary appears to be a pocket gem.
Anyhow, my acquired knife was a Spyderco military. I've had a couple of delica's that have been lost in the past. I also owned the delica's long before I really became interested in knives. This is my first step up to a full quality spyderco folder. It is a full serrated model which I wanted for my purposes. Basically, I wanted a stainless, serrated knife to throw in my boat bag and it will see a lot of rope cutting duty particularly with the nets we are using. My preference would probably be for a fixed one like the aqua-salt knives, but the folder works for the intended purpose and I was able to acquire it by trade instead of saving up cash. Plus, I was very curious about the higher end folders that spyderco is so famous for.
I should stress that I am not a folder guy. Other than a few SAKs and leatherman, and prior to being a knife nut who at one timed owned two delica's, I have resisted the urge to get into folders. I really still prefer fixed blades, but I am coming around to the fact that a folder has its place in the world also. So what you are getting is a fixed blade knife guy's impressions of a good and well respected folder. The spyderco military has been around for a while. There are a million different reviews available, so here goes my first impressions. Despite having researched this knife pretty thoroughly, it still held a few surprises for me so perhaps I can convey some of those impressions here.
The specs:
Blade: CPM VG10 (this version), 4", serrations about 3/4" up the knife. 1/8" thick at the spine, but aggressive tapering towards the tip. Full flat grind and chisel bevel. Handle: textured black G10. Very grippy!
The grip in the hand is quite comfy. I really want to take the clip off and might do so. I don't like the feel of the clip on the palm of my hand, but I will hold off and see how I like it. The clip is not reversible and is orientated to carry tip down. I tried wearing the knife with the clip in the pocket. It seems fine, but honestly, I don't know what the whole 'revolution of carrying a knife by clip' is all about. It does secure the blade for retrieval, but then, I don't like how the clip feels in the palm of my hand when holding the knife. I'm toying with the idea of getting a kydex sheath for it with Merc-harness and removing the clip but will see.
The textured jimping on the thumb ramp serves its purpose well. It provides a great deal of traction for the thumb. There is also textured jimping on the frame lock lever which helps hold your index finger in the finger notch. The ergos (aside from my clip quip above) are superb. Your hand just locks. The handle is very generous and the textured G10 super grippy.
The serrations are nice and aggressive. I had a serrated delica a while back before and liked how they work. Rope cutting will be a major use for this knife and the serrations will help tremendously here.
I knew going in that the tip on this blade is rather delicate. It thins out aggressively to an extremely pointy point. There simply isn't much metal behind the tip and it is no wonder so many folks have lost their tip doing inappropriate things with their knife.
You'll notice on the picture above showing the blade from the top of the spine the funny orientation of the tip. This is due to the chisel bevel. Looking at the flat face of the blade on each side you see that the bevel occurs on the left face of the blade and no bevel on the right. This was a surprise for me. I assumed it would come as a V-grind.
The blade is nicely sharp and easily push cuts paper on the plane portion near the tip. As much as I am a bit afraid of the delicate tip, I admire it for its extreme sharpness. A little prick that easily draws blood! If I were to become blood brothers with somebody (which one doesn't do in the hygenic age of aids), I'd like having the Military to poke my finger!
Here is a size comparison of the military and some fixed blades, the JK kephart (4.5" blade), RC-4 (4") and RC-6.
You can see that although the military has a 4" blade, there is much less metal on the triangle shaped blade compared to equivalent length fixed blades. As a result, the military is a much lighter weight and comparatively much lighter duty knife even though a quick look at the specs might falsely convince you otherwise.
While serrations aren't ideal for wood cutting, you can still get decent fuzzies from them. Admittedly though, the RC-4 produced better fuzzies and as expected is a better at carving.
No, I'm not going to baton the military. Lock is very solid though. I like the liner lock and how it engages. I like that I can disengage it one handed. I like how smooth the knife opens up and the solid and intuitive feel of opening the blade via the spyder-hole. There is no learning curve to this action. It just automatically happens. I never managed to get good results flicking knives with thumbstuds, but the spyderhole certainly works.
I've handled a spyderco manix in the past. The military is a much smaller knife compared to the heavier manix. Yet, in terms of a pocket folder, I like the attributes that the Military has to offer. I will be careful with and am conscious that this is a knife for cutting and slicing not for prying and carving. I have a lot of high hopes for this knife in the long run.
Last thing for the knife enthusiasts. The spine readily produces sparks off a firesteel!
Overall, the Spyderco Military appears to be a great blade and I can finally begin to appreciate what it is all about in terms of using a quality locking folder. I'm certainly not going to forgo my fixed blade knives anytime soon, but the miltary appears to be a pocket gem.
I started out with the fully serrated verision and now have a couple of the new versions, but with plain edges. In uniform, I carry two folders...left side (weak side) is my Military and strong side (right side) is usually an Emerson. I've found the Military and awesome slicer and good backup blade. Forgot to add that the handle is one of the most comfortable and you'd be amazed at how it handles with different chores...
