Para2 or ZT 0566

I would keep the PM2 for a while longer and if you don't dig it sell it used here. Then go get a 566. I think the steel is an important factor. I am not crazy about S30V personally. It does hold the "working" edge for a long time, but loses the fine edge quickly. I like a knife that can hold the finer edge a little longer. It also has shown edge stability issues where other steels have not in my use. I only have one example of ELMAX in an 0801. It is horrible, chipped/rolled out in multiple places and went butter knife dull after ~30 ft of cardboard. I have never had a knife dull that quickly and gone that dull. I am keeping the knife and plan on putting my edge and hoping I get to "good" steel. You may or may not get one with "bad" steel at the edge, but you should at least be informed. Yes, several guys may have perfect heat treats or lack of burning on the edge from grinding and edge stability with good retention, but there have been enough guys saying otherwise to factor it into your decision making process. Three fine knives don't constitute nothing wrong with ZT's ELMAX just as three bad ones don't constitute a major problem. I would not let it deter me personally, but some may not want to try to put their own edge on it or send it in for warranty work. Another big factor for me is the reports that 566's do have a detent ball so you can de-assist them and have blade retention. I personally have been drawn more to the 0770 and obviously the 0801.
 
nccole said:
I would keep the PM2 for a while longer and if you don't dig it sell it used here. Then go get a 566. I think the steel is an important factor. I am not crazy about S30V personally. It does hold the "working" edge for a long time, but loses the fine edge quickly. I like a knife that can hold the finer edge a little longer. It also has shown edge stability issues where other steels have not in my use. I only have one example of ELMAX in an 0801. It is horrible, chipped/rolled out in multiple places and went butter knife dull after ~30 ft of cardboard. I have never had a knife dull that quickly and gone that dull. I am keeping the knife and plan on putting my edge and hoping I get to "good" steel. You may or may not get one with "bad" steel at the edge, but you should at least be informed. Yes, several guys may have perfect heat treats or lack of burning on the edge from grinding and edge stability with good retention, but there have been enough guys saying otherwise to factor it into your decision making process. Three fine knives don't constitute nothing wrong with ZT's ELMAX just as three bad ones don't constitute a major problem. I would not let it deter me personally, but some may not want to try to put their own edge on it or send it in for warranty work. Another big factor for me is the reports that 566's do have a detent ball so you can de-assist them and have blade retention. I personally have been drawn more to the 0770 and obviously the 0801.
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Which Spyderco blade or steel do you like over the S30V?
 
I personally like Spydercos much more than I do ZTs so for me I would keep the Para. Spydercos just cut better also I would take Spydercos S30V over ZTs Elmax.
 
speedydave said:
You received the PM2 as a gift, and it's a great knife, why not keep it? Why return a very nice and thoughtful gift?
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I have a Benchmade 755MPR that is a short, fat brick. It rips my pockets. I'll never carry it; I hate it. But it's a gift from my son; wouldn't think of selling it.

Yes, I love PM2's. I've had a ton of ZT's also. Good folders, but heavy and bulky compared to PM2.
 
I have both and prefer the Paramilitary 2 for these reasons: I like the compression lock better, more choices in blade steel, it rides in my pocket better, and it slices better. That is just my opinion. Since you have handled both, it will really be your choice. for EDC both blade steels will work fine.
 
I'm biased to the ZT because I own one and absolutely love it, the Elmax isn't really a problem contrary to popular belief. I've found that after you sharpen Elmax a few times that the edge holding seems to be better.

But I digress, it could just be the placebo effect :rolleyes:

Never handled a Para 2 but from what I've seen it is quite a nice knife.
 
I would cast my vote for the Para 2, but I have never held the 0566. It just does its job so well. Carry the PM2 for a while, if you don't like it, list it for sale when stock is out most places. Get some cash and pick up the ZT
 
sunandsteel said:
Which Spyderco blade or steel do you like over the S30V?
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Pretty much anything other than S30V. M4, 204P, CRUWEAR, VG-10, ZDP-189, Super Blue, K390, XHP. I basically just named every steel I have other than S30V. I truly do like VG-10 more, the others would probably get a fairly high consensus nod over S30V.
 
SirGeod said:
I'm biased to the ZT because I own one and absolutely love it, the Elmax isn't really a problem contrary to popular belief. I've found that after you sharpen Elmax a few times that the edge holding seems to be better.

But I digress, it could just be the placebo effect :rolleyes:

Never handled a Para 2 but from what I've seen it is quite a nice knife.
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I hope my 0801 does better after I remove quite a bit of steel. If it does, it should be easy to tell and not a placebo. My Tenacious with 8Cr13MoV would out cut cardboard my 0801 right now. If it improves, it should be right up there with S30V, XHP, and some others in edge retention.
 
They are both great. I have both. I recommend you keep the Para because it's a gift and save for a 566. Can't go wrong!
 
nccole said:
I hope my 0801 does better after I remove quite a bit of steel. If it does, it should be easy to tell and not a placebo. My Tenacious with 8Cr13MoV would out cut cardboard my 0801 right now. If it improves, it should be right up there with S30V, XHP, and some others in edge retention.
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In my experience I've cut about 20 10ftx1ftx1ft cardboard boxes in LxWxH format during a day at work and the edge has held quite well and would still slice printer paper when I got home. By cut I mean I broke it down and sliced it into semi thin strips as was asked by my manager. The edge stability has been quite good as well, there were a few rolls but it wasn't anything that wasn't fixed by some stropping and or a few swipes on my UF Stones. I'm loving the Elmax on my 0566 YMMV.
 
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I have both, and the PM2 is a much better slicer than the 566. I carry the 566 more but have noticed that I have to sharpen it every week. I prefer the s30v of the pm2 over the elmax in the 566. I like the design of the 566 and hope that KAI produces the 566 in some more blade steels. I did purchase some diamond stones to re-profile my 566 and hope this helps with edge retention of the 566.
 
I have both and find myself carrying and using the 0566 more. They're both great knives, but I find the 0566 is more comfortable to carry and easier to handle while wearing gloves. The 0566 has a smaller footprint in pocket, making it a bit less obstructive, and its deep carry clip offers a more discrete carry. The assisted-opening flipper is a little bit easier to work with and the frame lock is also easier to operate while wearing gloves (at least for me). The Para2 is lighter weight, and there are some ergonomic advantages (namely the large thumb ramp). The FFG on the Para2 also makes for a great slicer, although I've actually found the high flat grind on the 0566 to be very capable in that regard as well. ZT's Elmax and Spyderco's S30V have both held up great in all my uses.
 
Like a previous poster said...perhaps you might want to hang onto the Xmas gift. The PM2 is also my favorite folder of all time, and I have been through a flock of folders.
The 566 is rather new, but the Elmax is not new to ZT. Their early use of Elmax was controversial to some extent, but that was a long time ago. I would imagine that I'd trust ZT to do Elmax as well as anyone could, and it's a good steel. So is S30v.
 
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