Got bitten by the Spydie bug

H

Hornady

Joined
Nov 6, 2008
Messages
320
Hello,

I'm looking for a new knife and I think it will become a Spyderco.:)
Allready have a Tenacious, for it's price pretty good, and have owned a Manix 2 G10, sold it because of the Hollow Grind.

What do I look for?

I need a knife that is not to big, I want to EDC it in my jeans pockets.
Something around the Tenacious size.
A strong and most important a real QUALITY folder.
Like I said, like my Tenacious, but opening is kinda hard and squeeky, blade centering sucks(blade is all the way on the non linerlock side.
And, as a last demand, I'd love to have a Spyderco with Carbon Fibre.
Looks great and I think it's quite sheeple friendly.
But contrary, I'm trying to get in to Law Enforcement, so I need a stout knife which will hide easy but still have plenty of reach.

So, I looked at the ParaMilitary.
Liked the knife etc, but then I saw a review of Bluntruth4you on youtube, who looks like a guy with knowledge on knives, that the paramilitary has 2 major flaws.
1: the strange bulging point at the end of the handle which doesn't allow your hand to completely grab it.
2: the compression lock is in a real stupid place which, according to him, hurts or irritates your hand during hard use.

Also, I looked at the Gayle Bradley.
Love the Carbon Fibre, nice blade shape and good steel.
Major downfall, no fingerguard.
Maybe to big??

Spyderco Military,
No obtrusive compression lock,
Maybe to long and big?

At last, I looked at the blue Manix 2, mostly because it has blue scales, they totally rock!

Long story but I'd really appreciate if you help me on this one!
Thanks in advance :D

Kindest regards,
 
I've only heard good things about the Sage. The first model, Sage I, has very nice carbon fiber scales (they are actually kind of grippy), a deep-carrying wire clip, a nice finger choil and a full flat grind S30V blade.

Check out Bluntruth4u's review of the Sage. He praises it.
 
Of the models listed I only have the Military. I have two of those. It is a big knife that disappears in your hand or pocket. I love the knife and if I could only have one knife it would be it. The handle is large but you find many comfortable ways to hold the knife depending on the task at hand. I carry the knife clipped in my front right jeans pocket. It stays there and is very comfortable. So much so that you could forget that it is there until you need it.

So it would be my choice. But I do plan on getting the Bradley soon as well as the Paramilitary.
 
Hornady said:
Hello,

I'm looking for a new knife and I think it will become a Spyderco.:)
Allready have a Tenacious, for it's price pretty good, and have owned a Manix 2 G10, sold it because of the Hollow Grind.

What do I look for?

I need a knife that is not to big, I want to EDC it in my jeans pockets.
Something around the Tenacious size.
A strong and most important a real QUALITY folder.
Like I said, like my Tenacious, but opening is kinda hard and squeeky, blade centering sucks(blade is all the way on the non linerlock side.
And, as a last demand, I'd love to have a Spyderco with Carbon Fibre.
Looks great and I think it's quite sheeple friendly.
But contrary, I'm trying to get in to Law Enforcement, so I need a stout knife which will hide easy but still have plenty of reach.

So, I looked at the ParaMilitary.
Liked the knife etc, but then I saw a review of Bluntruth4you on youtube, who looks like a guy with knowledge on knives, that the paramilitary has 2 major flaws.
1: the strange bulging point at the end of the handle which doesn't allow your hand to completely grab it.
2: the compression lock is in a real stupid place which, according to him, hurts or irritates your hand during hard use.

Also, I looked at the Gayle Bradley.
Love the Carbon Fibre, nice blade shape and good steel.
Major downfall, no fingerguard.
Maybe to big??

Spyderco Military,
No obtrusive compression lock,
Maybe to long and big?

At last, I looked at the blue Manix 2, mostly because it has blue scales, they totally rock!

Long story but I'd really appreciate if you help me on this one!
Thanks in advance :D

Kindest regards,
Click to expand...

I think that the Manix 2 is a solid knife and a steal at the street price of about $85.

Let's elaborate a bit more on these points. The Paramilitary has a odd bulge? I never noticed. Compression lock is in a bad place? Not for me. If anything it's comfortable and very ambidextrous.

What do you mean "finger guard" on the Bradley folder?
 
First, thanks for those quick responses, very helpfull!

@ Josh K., on this link, at 5.05 and 6.27 you will see what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnO19_1mziw
Not saying I think this is true, but Bluntruth4u does, and I must say, it sounded quite logical, so I'd like to know, do you notice those things 2?
Obviousily, you don't ;)

With fingerguard I mean the last piece of the handle, blocking your indexfinger from the blade if you slide towards it.
I'm Dutch so excuse if my English sucks sometimes ;)
 
Hornady said:
First, thanks for those quick responses, very helpfull!

@ Josh K., on this link, at 5.05 and 6.27 you will see what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnO19_1mziw
Not saying I think this is true, but Bluntruth4u does, and I must say, it sounded quite logical, so I'd like to know, do you notice those things 2?
Obviousily, you don't ;)

With fingerguard I mean the last piece of the handle, blocking your indexfinger from the blade if you slide towards it.
I'm Dutch so excuse if my English sucks sometimes ;)
Click to expand...

Notes:

CPM is not a company it's a process of making the metal. Crucible Particle Metallurgy.

Brush finished top of the blade? :confused:

Spydie tricks? :confused:

That hump at the end isn't there to hide the tip. This is not a "major major flaw" in the knife.

When I take a lower grip I set the last finger outside of that. (6:50)

What is he "really using the knife hard" on?

I can't say I'm a fan of his videos.
 
Josh K said:
Notes:

CPM is not a company it's a process of making the metal. Crucible Particle Metallurgy.

Brush finished top of the blade? :confused:

Spydie tricks? :confused:

That hump at the end isn't there to hide the tip. This is not a "major major flaw" in the knife.

When I take a lower grip I set the last finger outside of that. (6:50)

What is he "really using the knife hard" on?

I can't say I'm a fan of his videos.
Click to expand...


Hey Josh,

Thanks for clearing those things up.
Can't say I'm an expert on Spyderco so this really helps!

So as far as you are concerned the Paramilitary is just fine? :)
Damn, almost didn't buy this knife because of that vid, glad you put me on the right track! :p
 
Hornady said:
Hey Josh,

Thanks for clearing those things up.
Can't say I'm an expert on Spyderco so this really helps!

So as far as you are concerned the Paramilitary is just fine? :)
Damn, almost didn't buy this knife because of that vid, glad you put me on the right track! :p
Click to expand...

Take into account that 90% of the videos are of the persons own personal opinion. His hands might be bigger, smaller, your tastes run different. You might prefer tip up carry to tip down, or want something a little more budget friendly.

I think the Para is a great buy, but I love the handle, the blade, and the disproportionate ratio is sports. Some people don't like those things.

I would advise trying to find a way to handle one in person before you purchase, or purchase from someone with a good return policy in case you find yourself not liking it.
 
If the only thing you disliked about the Manix 2 was he grind, and you like blue, I'd say go with the blue Manix 2. If you want a compact, well built knife with a handle which positions your hand solidly and CF scales, the CF Stretch II would be worth a look.

manix2_compare_07.jpg

Paul
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My Personal Website ---- Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting ---- Kiwimania ---- Spydiewiki
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I love Bluntruth. He is my favorite reviewer and I respect his opinions. Just make note that he has pretty mammoth size hands. I have average sized hands and the para feel great to me. I haven't used my para for any hard use like whittling a heat treated log but I don't think the comp lock will gouge your hands that much if at all. Do you see how hard he's pushing on it? As hard as he can, which in such case, he/you should probably be using a glove. Also note that despite these "flaws" he commented that it was one of his favorite knives.
 
I respect bluntruth, he makes some great points...with that being said, i have a para and i dissagree with the "flaws" of the paramilitary...granted i have smaller hands, but the comp lock IN NO WAY irritates my hands, the clip is just fine(wish it didnt make the knife carry so high but its not a big deal) and neither does the point at the back...i think it would be a great choice for you!
 
I just picked up a para D2 green g10 and is now my favorite EDC. Nice size even for large hands. Very happy with my latest purchase no regrets.

MV
 
I mostly agree with Blunt's video and sold my para because of the bad ergonomics (before i saw the video though).
The hump thing towards the bottom of the handle is horrible when you aren't using the choil. It's smack bang in the middle of your little finger. It seems like they just wanted to shrink the Millie handle for the Para because it's supposed to be its little brother but you can't really do that and expect to keep the same ergonomics.
I agree with the lock position as well, rough bare metal on the webbing between thumb and fore finger gets extremely uncomfortable.
 
I just got a Para Military today, and while I havn't really gotten to EDC it for long at all, it has already blown me away. I was using a mix of the Spyderco Tenacious and Persistence as my EDC's, and the step up to the Para Military is huge imo.

I find if I use the thumb ramp (which I usually do on all my Spyderco's), my hand doesn't touch the comp lock at all, and even when I don't, it doesn't get into the space between my thumb and forefinger. As far as the hump on the back goes, my large hands to touch it, but its so smooth it doesn't really bother me at all. This thing is extremely comfortable to use so far, but then again, I havn't sat there and cut anything for hours on end with it either.

All in all, its a no brainer so far to replace the Tenacious with my Para Military, and the only reason I would carry the Persistence now is if I needed something smaller. Persistence and Tenacious are great knives, but the Para Millie is a cut above.
 
Reeper22 said:
I love Bluntruth. He is my favorite reviewer and I respect his opinions. Just make note that he has pretty mammoth size hands. I have average sized hands and the para feel great to me. I haven't used my para for any hard use like whittling a heat treated log but I don't think the comp lock will gouge your hands that much if at all. Do you see how hard he's pushing on it? As hard as he can, which in such case, he/you should probably be using a glove. Also note that despite these "flaws" he commented that it was one of his favorite knives.
Click to expand...

Based on the video, his hands look average to me. That is teh size my paras look to fit in my hand. The choil grip did not seem to be something he liked. Although, properly executed the index finger on the choil pretty much locks your hand completely into the knife. He prefered to grip the G-10.
If that is the holding method of choice, then the Mmilitary would have been the better option. Also, I was under the impression that the lower "bump" was for a non lethal impact tool. Probably another point he missed?
 
Impact tool? It's supposed to be there to stop the hand sliding backwards i believe, but it just gets in the way when you don't want to use the choil grip.
 
In general, I try to give online reviewers some slack but I find that their opinions are just that, opinions. They may bring up things that I may look for when I first hold and try out a knife but if I don't agree, then that's it. The knife that doesn't work for one person may work for me.

I like that Bluntruth4u tries to simulate some hard use on his videos but I do disagree on some of his points. It's like watching a car review by some one that has a wife and 4 children and basing my decisions solely on his opinions for my family of 3. And I don't plan on carving hardened logs with my folding EDC knives. :)

As far as ergonomics, I haven't found a single Spyderco knife that wasn't well sorted and fit my hand well. I don't have a Para-Millie so I can't offer my opinions on that, but I have folders with the compression lock, and I don't find that it gets in the way. I tend to use the finger choil and the thumb-ramp when I hold a knife so it may have to do with your particular grip. If I was using a forehand grip and really bearing down on something, any folding knife with open construction would get uncomfortable with prolonged use.

It's a shame you didn't like the Manix2. It's probably the most comparable sized knife to the Tenacious. Unless you can locate a Sprint run Manix, you're not going to get FFG. I like the Sage series a lot, but you're going to lose around 1cm in both blade length and handle length. I also agree with many people on the thread about the Stretch. It's a great EDC knife and the only reason I carry something different is for fear of losing my most treasured Spydie.

Have you considered the G-10 Eundura? It's still available at many places for a terrific price. No one ever complained about the ergonomics of the Endura and the combination of G-10 and long FFG blade seems perfect. Also, the combination of G-10 and exposed steel liners give it more rigidity than the FRN counterpart. Give it some thought.

Lastly, about your Tenacious, you might want to try taking it apart and cleaning it. It may fix the squeaky opening. And when you put it back together, center the blade while you tighten the screws. This often fixes blade centering problems. Just remember to use some blue loc-tite.
 
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