Military

[Don Mega]

I'm sure this has been discussed numerous times but with the search function out, I would like to ask you guys(and girls) about the Spyderco Military. What I am really interested in is any annoyances or nuisances of the knife. I have heard that the 440-V steel is a pain in the arse to sharpen (probably the worst). I however would like to get a fully serrated model as a utility knife which needs sharpened less. I also have heard and experienced liner locks that can fail easily if hit in the back of the blade soundly. Has anyone put the liner lock to the TEST on their Spyderco Military? Could the people who have this knife tell me more about it and especially what you don't like about it? My usage is totally for utility purposes as an outdoor, wear resistant, rust resistant, tough SOB of a knife.

 

[glockman99]

If by chance you are left-handed, you might want to pass on the Military (or ANY liner-lock for that matter). I had one, and it was an excellent knife, but when I gripped the handle tightly, the blade would loosen due to my hand moving the liner-lock.

Also, I didn't have it long enough to have to sharpen it, so I can't help ya there...

 

[cpirtle]

440-v can be more difficult to sharpen but it is also way more difficult to dullen.... er.... dull.

Can't comment on the Milli because I don't do many liner locks but from a steel standpoint 440-v is one of my all time favorites, if you're even decent at sharpening you won't have a problem, just takes a little longer.

It should also hold an edge a good long time if you get full serrations.

 

[Don Mega]

Thanks guys. No I am not left handed Glockman. What I am really worried about is the liner lock failing if the back of the blade is struck hard enough. Also, why did you only have it for a short time period? Not satisfied with it? Did you return it? For what reason?

 

[BOK]

I have an SE Military and it has seen a lot of carry time since my AFCK is out of commision.

It's a large folder but is extremely light and it carries nicely in the pocket. Doesn't feel like that large of a folder in your pocket.

I prefer tip-up knives myself so it suffers in that department but this is just a personal thing.

With an SE version it's important that you touch it up regularly and not let the edge get too dull. I use my 204 regularly on it and it does a great job so long as I don't let the edge get too dull.

As for the liner I haven't done any spine whacking or any kind of tests on it but from what I can tell it's not about to fail on me anytime soon. There's no bladeplay in either direction.

 

[glockman99]

Originally posted by Don Mega
Thanks guys. No I am not left handed Glockman. What I am really worried about is the liner lock failing if the back of the blade is struck hard enough. Also, why did you only have it for a short time period? Not satisfied with it? Did you return it? For what reason?

I only had my Millie for a short time (4 days) due to the fact that I'm somewhat fond of my fingers, and I didn't want to lose any of them in-case the blade closed during use. (Remember...I'm left-handed, and the liner lock of the Military is set-up for a "right-hander".). I have since traded it for a NIB Spydie Police model (which is a lock-back, with the Boye dent, which is ALOT less likely to accidently release). Also, I didn't get around to doing a "spine wack" test on the Military, so I don't know if it will hold or not, although I suspect that it WILL hold as long as the liner-lock doesn't move.

 

[KBR]

Originally posted by Don Mega,
My usage is totally for utility purposes as an outdoor, wear resistant, rust resistant, tough SOB of a knife.

IMHO, the Military is the Spydie that you're looking for. My PE Military is my favorite and has NEVER let me down. It is my primary EDC, work and non-work....basically if I had to take only one knife, it would be this one.

One of your main concerns is the linerlock? Don't worry, the linerlock on the Millie is one of the best, if not THE best out on the market due to the nested liner. The CPM 440V steel holds an excellent edge but is easier to maintain with diamonds, the ergonomic G10 handle provides an awesome grip, and best of all...its' very slim and lightweight for a folder with a 4" blade.

Here are links to some reviews of the Military,

Fred Perrin review

jungle training review

KnifeCenter review

 

[Mitchell Knives]

I totally agree with KBR.

I've had a PE Military for a long while now, and it is by far the most used knife I own.

In my opinion, the Military is probably the best folder Spyderco makes period. It would be great if they would finially get around to making a compresson lock version. That would probably be the all around best production folder out there.

The liner lock is very strong, and I have never had any type of failure. The eccentric pivot is an excellent feature, and ensures that you will get a lot of use out of the knife.

I highly recommend the Military if you want a tough, reliable folder that really performs well.

 

[jjcoolay]

Great lwt big knife. You cannot go wrong. I have had mine for a month and it has not left my side for a day. Only problem is you have gotta keep on it with the touchups so you will not have uber problems in the future for sharpening. I have gone through many boxes, and branches and all it needs is a little tocuh up afterwards.


You will not be disappointed

 

[tortoise]

I had to weigh in heavily in favor of the Military. I have both a PE and a SE. I find I prefer the PE 99% of the time. I'm a pain in the neck when it comes to my equipment, rarely happy or satisfied. Even when I have something that works, it doesn't take much to get my eye wandering to replacements that might, maybe, somehow be better. This has not occurred with the Military.

Sharpening has been no problem, I use a Sharpmaker 203. I've sharpened it many times, because I like it to cut like (read with a Dr. Evil voice) a "laser". It does, and I'm no sharpening wiz.

I mostly carry it inside the waistband, on duty and off. That's about 14 hours a day, sweating on it in the summer, getting rained and snowed on, you name it, for I don't even know how long, the past two or three years. It's hard to remember a time without it. I just got home from work and it's clipped to my sweatpants right now. Features like nested liners and an over sized opening hole to name but two, make the Military a really high-speed piece. There's a lot longer list than that, they're just two of my favorites.

The lock has been absolutely reliable. Yes I've done things with it that I shouldn't have, that placed undue stress on the lock (don't tell Sal ) -Never had even a hint of trouble.

I'd love to tell you what I don't like about this knife, but there isn't a single thing. Not one. I use it for food prep. I open my mail with it. I carry it at work, as I said. It has saved a life. It's cut dynamite, C4, Detcord, Detasheet and ANFO. It's cut miles of string, acres of cardboard and enough newsprint to run The Times for a month. It is a masterpiece of design. When Sal came up with this one, he really hit it out of the park.

 

[Celery]

I read the reviews and must say that I'm impressed! The Military could just be the next Spydie for me. But I'm still a little confused about it's size, and therefore my next question is :
Does anyone have a picture of a Military and e.g. a Endura, so i could have someting to compare with...
I have newer seen the Military "live", and if I'll get one I will order it from some online-store! In case someone got a picture as I described, please e-mail it to me, mtbt28@hotmail.com Thank's!

 

[Celery]

Jeff/1911 : Thank you for the pictures!

 

[mnblade]

>"With an SE version it's important that you touch it up regularly and not let the edge get too dull."

>"Only problem is you have gotta keep on it with the touchups so you will not have uber problems in the future for sharpening."

==================================

Just a friendly reminder, lads, you can always return your Spydie to Spyderco's corporate headquarters for complimentary sharpening by the experts.

Spyderco Inc.
Attn: Warranty and Repair
820 Spyderco Way
Golden, CO 80403-8053


One question: Weren't there plans to come out with a smaller size Military? The "Paramilitary," I believe? Anyone have an update?

 

[Grover_Cephas]

>It's cut dynamite, C4, Detcord, Detasheet and ANFO.


Mind clearing something up for me?

The only time I've ever heard the acronym "ANFO" (ammonium nitrate-fuel oil, right?) is when referring to homemade fertilizer bombs. Do you also find it in a solid form that you'd have to "cut"?

Thanks

 

[John Watson]

Don, I just tried the spine wack test on my mouse pad several times very hard and it held without a problem. I can only echo what everyone else said about the Military. I have a PE and it along with my full size Calypso PE are my two most favorite Spyderco knives. I use them around the house and the kitchen all the time. The V-grind blades of these two knives really cut.

As far as sharpening, I used a trick I heard about here. I rubberband a course Lansky diamond stone to one of the Sharpmaker stones and use it to cut the bevel and get a good wire edge. Then I knock off the wire edge with the flat side of the dark Sharpmaker stones. Didn't have any problem getting it to shave that way. You just have to be a bit careful to stay in the middle of the top and bottom rubber bands that hold the Lansky to the Sharpmaker. Tape would do as well.

You won't be disappointed with the Military.

 

[tortoise]

Originally posted by Grover_Cephas
>It's cut dynamite, C4, Detcord, Detasheet and ANFO.


Mind clearing something up for me?

The only time I've ever heard the acronym "ANFO" (ammonium nitrate-fuel oil, right?) is when referring to homemade fertilizer bombs. Do you also find it in a solid form that you'd have to "cut"?

Thanks

I sent you an e-mail and a pic of what I'm talking about. It went to the hotmail address, so let me know if it comes through. I know sometimes hotmail can be a PITA with pics.

 

[tortoise]

Grover

I just got a delivery failure notice from hotmail. If you've got another addy, let me know.

Short version: there are powdered forms.

 

[Don Mega]

Thanks so much for all the help on advice with the Military. Alot of people would see a thread in the Spyderco forum asking for bad things about a Spyderco and just don't reply. Everyone can go look at reviews and hear all the good things about a knife but you never hear the constructive critisism required to make an intelligent purchase. You guys have been a big help, especially John Watson who actually performed a spine wack test for me on his precious Military!!! I think I am going to get one after weighing all the options. I'm still going to stick with the fully serrated model though because my EDC is a PE Emerson Commander. The reason I want to add to my EDC is because I want to keep the Emerson nice and sharp if I ever need it. Hence I need a knife that will take pretty much of the bulk use and bull work that goes on while my Commander lies dormant until needed. Thanks again guys!!!

 

[Sergiusz Mitin]

Here are a lot of praises about Military what I second by all means. Plain edged Military is my around household everyday carry knife for close to 3 years and see a lot of use, so I probably have had some opportunities to know is closer.
However the original question was formulated about drawbacks and, say, shadow points of this design. Do they present? Of course, no one knife is ideal. Thus I’ll try to share my experience possibly looking for different sides.

Is CPM 440V harder to sharpen than, say, ATS-34? Yes, it is. The most difficulties you probably could have getting rid of the so-called wire edge. It tends to move from one side of the edge to another when you are changing sharpening side and still stay at its place. Solution – to clean sharpening stone (or rods) exactly before final burr removing and to use very light alternating strokes. At this point fine diamond sharpeners work better than ceramic ones.

Some people have complaints about difficulty to get scary sharp edge on CPM 440V blade. My Military grabs hair being moved above forearm skin without touching it. The secret is to do not overpolish the edge. I tend to finish it on fine (red) DMT sharpening surface. Another way to obtain good results is to finish on SPYDERCO Sharpmaker fine (white) rods and then to make microserration using alternating strokes with really-close-to-zero pressure on additional diamond rods.

I would advise to go with plain edge because it is easier to sharpen (first) and you always can sharpen it the way causing performance close to serrated one (second). Plain edge IMO is far more versatile for daily cutting tasks although serrated one sometimes cuts more efficiently.

The thin edge created with fully flat grind cut circles around very most of knives I own and use but it is relatively week for the same reasons. The same is valid in relation to pointy tip. So you should really know how to use this knife safely and efficiently not trying to turn it into chopper, prybar, screwdriver, can opener etc, etc. Greatly probably you would find it being the most expensive and the least efficient tool in such roles you could obtain.

The slim, flat handle has its opposite side also. This is the narrow contact area with the fingers, especially in forefinger placement area, what sometimes can bite the fingers on especially tight grip or/and particularly heavy cutting. I would like the cutout in forefinger placement area to be equal on both scales, probably somewhat deeper than on clip-side scale but shallower than on opposite one. In my opinion this could improve handling comfort significantly.

The same change probably could make the liner lock much more resistant against unintentional release when twisting handle into counterclockwise direction (holding knife with tip directed forwards).

Military liner lock as itself is extremely well made (IMO one of the very best ever made). It passed all my stability tests and displayed the highest safety and performance imaginable for this lock format (naturally taking into consideration previous concern). Close to 3 years of normal daily knife use (I don’t like the term hard use because usually it covers some applications a knife is not intended for) didn’t cause any noticeable wear in mechanism nor in appearance. Of course omitting some minor scratches on the blade and hand scales, also some minor wear out of the clip coating on the edges. No blade play appeared so far. I know, eccentric pivot allows adjusting itself to recompense wear out but so far I do not have any need to do it.

However I never forget that each lock is a mechanical device only and each one can fail in certain conditions. So the common sense is much better solution to keep your fingers in complete than all locking devices together. Lock is intended to keep your safety on unintentional load only, don’t load it intentionally. Cut with edge!

Reasumming: Military advantages are quite important for me. Its drawbacks are far less important (relatively week edge and tip) or I can deal with them successfully (relatively difficult sharpening) or I can simply ignore them (relatively uncomfortable cutout in forefinger placement area). All this together make Military one of my very favorite knives and I use it the most frequently. If I would be forced to choose only one knife to keep greatly probably it could be the Military.

Wow, what the long post! Initially I didn’t have any intention to bore anyone deadly but today is Sunday and I have some free time...
Please feel free to ask if I have missed something what could be interesting for you.

 

[Full Tang Clan]

Originally posted by Sergiusz Mitin

Wow, what the long post! Initially I didn’t have any intention to bore anyone deadly but today is Sunday and I have some free time...
Please feel free to ask if I have missed something what could be interesting for you.

Sergiusz,

I think it's safe to say that your knowledgeable and insightful reviews and comments on knives are NEVER boring. We all look forward to them and learn something new.