Military and its design

B

Belly

Gold Member
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May 21, 2000
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199
Please do not take this the wrong way, but I would like to get everyone's opinion on the Military.

I love almost everything about my Military - the blade shape, the oversized hole, the solid lock-up, the size, the grind type, its nice thin profile.

But,

Each time I use it, it is extremely easy to unlock it just by tightening my grip a litte bit. Let me explain. When gripping the knife, the meat of my forefinger presses against the linerlock. With just the slightest tightening of my grip , the blade closes with ease. Obviously, this is due to the oversized cutout in the G-10 scale.

I can understand why so many people love it, but it really is (IMO) dangerous to use for any task that requires a strong grip.

Do others feel this way or notice this behavior?
 
I just tried to unlock my old and new style Militarys via the method you described with no success. Regardless of how hard or in what position I gripped the knife, I could not get the lock to budge. Maybe you should send you knife back to Spyderco and let them check it out.
 
Belly

I can't get the liner lock in my Military to move unless I twist the handle counter-clockwise. Even then it's not enough to unlock it. (Maybe if I twisted it REAL hard...but I haven't). I certainly haven't seen many (if any) reports of Military locks failures in use so I wouldn't classify mine as dangerous at all.

If you're that concerned, send it in to Spyderco Warranty and Repair and have Mike check it out!
 
I have carried a Military for 2 months and have had no problem with the blade wanting to unlock. I have tried to intentionally do this and cannot with a normal grip.

Tom
 
if you're a lefty, your finger sits RIGHT on the lock...

if you use the full handle(I have large hands so it's easy), the middle finger rides over the lock. any twisting releases it.
 
I can not get it to unlock.I can with my left hand but I have to really try.If you are holding it with your finger in the choil it shouldn't close even if it unlocks.
 
I'm a "lefty". I had a Mili for a SHORT time. I traded it off because it would want to close on me when tightly gripped. Bummer, as otherwise I really liked the knife. I'd LOVE to see the Mili with the same lock as my Police model.
 
Actually, I am somewhat ambidextrous. I write left handed, but I use knives(and many other things) in my right hand.

I am surprised to hear that not many people have this problem. Maybe it has to do with an odd combination of hand size and handle size. My hands are slightly big, with long fingers.

For the most comforable grip, all four of my fingers fit between the bulbous end and the rounded front tang/pivot pin area. In this location, my forefinger (the area between the 1st and 2nd knuckles) rests directly on the linerlock. If I just gently squeeze, the linerlock moves the short distance towards the unlocked postion. If the G-10 scale did not have a cut out, then this could never happen. Maybe the cutout for the Spyderco hole is too big. Are the dimensions of the older Military (with notched choil)any different from the newer Military (with smooth choil)?

Don't get me wrong, I love Spyderco and their knives. I just want to love my Military, but I am leary of it.
 
It's an unfortunate fact of life, the quality control on human hands is very poor. Size is inconsistent, length, thickness, and even the shape of parts varies widely. Some have "fit and finish" issues, many, I suspect, have seen enough abuse to affect operation. Now, couple that with the desire most of us have that our knives not only lock, but are capable of being unlocked with one hand. Tough enough, but wait, it gets better. We also demand they be immune to accidental release (some of us even demand immunity from the slightest hint of blade play), no matter what grip we choose to use. What you wind up with must be a manufacturers nightmare. Should we make the lock large and easily accessible to make one hand closing possible with gloved bear paws and risk complaints of accidental slippage or release, or protect it well and risk complaints of difficultly closing the knife? If Dr. Lecter were not just a fictional character, would his extra digit have created any special problems in this regard?

Back to the real world. I tend to avoid liner locks, due to my left handedness, but do have a couple, a Herbst and a Shabaria. I can induce lock failure on both if I hold them in certain grips, most notably one where the edge is up and my thumb lands on the bottom of the frame. On the bright side, my most likely uses of any knife held that way would be either an upward slicing motion or an upward stabbing motion, either of which would place pressure on the edge and tend to force the blade to the open, rather than the closed, position. I can also get the blade to wobble, but not release on the Herbst if I hold it in my right hand a certain way with the blade forward and down. Note however that the key word in the above was INDUCE, none of the positions are ones that MY hand would fall into naturally, but, given the nature of hands, I can't say that would hold true for everyone.

On the other hand, the problem might be with the knife, especially if the lock, for example, just barely engages, so 4 s ter's suggestion to send it back to Mike is worth consideration.
 
The only way I can dislodge the locking bar while gripping the handle in my right hand is to make a very concerted effort to do so . I have to twist my hand and really work the meat of my index finger to push the locking bar over. It's not easy, but I can do it if I'm intent on closing the knife this way. I can close all liner locking folders this way. Otherwise, I've never had a Military disengage on me and I've had 3 variants.

The latest models have a recessed locking bar that helps prevent accidental lock release. Can't remember if the CPM440V had this feature.

I would suggest sending the knife back for examination to determine if it's a lemon.
 
I've had multiple short-term relationships with the Military. I've had a Military about 6 times now and after just a short time I end up selling it to fund the purchase of something else. I've never had a complaint with the knife itself, I just end up wanting something different at the time. This time I tell myself that I'm keeping it and it's stayed in my pocket since I got it in the mail.

I personally prefer something like the old AFCK with no cutout for the lock. I never found it terribly difficult or inconvenient to unlock one. On the other hand, I've never had any other liner lock close on me. But then again, when I'm cutting, the pressure is in a downward direction and not twisting off to the side. I use my knives for cutting...period. I guess I just don't understand why knives are always being twisted in daily usage. How do you end up twisting the knife in your hand when you're cutting something? Prying, scraping, bending...yes. Cutting? Not in my years of experience.
 
That's something I haven't done actually. I always have a U.S. P-38 can opener on my key chain that works far better and does so in a far safer manner than I can imagine doing with a Military or any other knife.

I like to use the proper tool for the job, though a good knife could do it no doubt.
 
Last week I forgot my can opener at home twice... first day I used my millie, 2nd time I used my lum tanto fixed. Lum did better work on it, easier to punch in to start. Did more damage to my lum edge though(2 cans, 2 spots I had to strop out). Didn't even touch the s60v on my military.
 
I agree with leroy, I much prefer something like the AFCK, where there is no cutout for the liner, and the liner is flush with, or lower than the handles and liners. That being said though, I've had no problems with my Military lock slipping, or coming unlocked now that I've finally got it adjusted.


Chris
 
S60V is the former CPM 440V. I guess he reffers to the older style Millie (which I preffer, BTW, it has thinner G-10 handles).
 
yep, s60v = cpm440v... got an 02 model. Probably doesn't hurt that I convexed the edge at one point. Even though it's been put back to a v-grind it still has some of the strength.
 
aaaah! okay! Thanks for the info Alex! :D Got to get me one of them spanking new millie in S-30V to make a comparison.. ;)

Sam
 
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