Paramilitary2 one handed closing?

T

Tom Frost

Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
9
Hello everyone!

Long time reader, first time poster. :)

I've been a satisfied Spyderco fan and owner for many years. A Native lightweight that my children got me for Christmas has been my edc for (literally) years now with no complaints. It is still going strong


I was lucky enough to pick up a Para2 recently, and love it so far, but I am not finding a method for one handed closing that isn't extremely awkward.

I would love to hear what everyone else is using for a technique. Thanks.
 
I place my index finger on the lock and thumb on the opposite scale and pinch while holding the knife upward.
Gravity does the rest, maybe a little flick to help things along.
 
OK. That makes sense, mine is stiff as a board when I apply that technique, perhaps it just needs some breaking in?
 
Some Para 2s are not a free moving as others. I have one that I have to swipe the back of the blade on my pants to close because it doesn't swing freely. Try a bit of oil, it might just need some lubrication motivation.
 
I stay away from the fast closing because it seems to cause blood loss.

I hold my right hand out, palm up. Knife is pointing away, sharp edge up. Push the lock with second finger, pushing the other way with my thumb, push the blade up with my first finger, then close the blade the rest of the way with my thumb.
 
I have a PM2 that easily glides and it's really fun to flip it around while holding the compression lock, and working on my timing to close it.
But I just got a new PM2 black DLC manufactured in April that is much much stiffer. Here is my standard method to close the knife:

Holding the knife in my right hand, my thumb is on the left scale near the front. My pinky and ring finger are on the right scale near the rear securing it. I use my middle finger to squeeze the compression lock and my forefinger to move the blade down until it is low enough for my thumb to finish closing it and lock it in place.
 
Last edited:
Tom Frost said:
OK. That makes sense, mine is stiff as a board when I apply that technique, perhaps it just needs some breaking in?
Click to expand...

I just got my second Para 2 yesterday. It is very stiff also.
I've opened and closed it several hundred times and it is wearing in nicely, yours should do the same.
 
Excellent news! I was kind of hoping someone would chime in with some encouragement in that direction.
 
Make sure you oil it. Mine was a little stiff but two drops of oil made it very smooth. Night and day difference.
 
2 out of 3 of my pm2s don't swing freely. Ive oiled them but still nothing. No big deal tho
 
dericdesmond, My satin PM2 operates the exact same way. It's a little loose but I really like it.
As I said earlier, my DLC coated PM2 is much stiffer. I've taken the whole thing apart and put it back together a number of times and just can't get it to flow that freely without adding a significant amount of blade play. I'm guessing it's still within Spyderco's acceptable tolerances, so I'm not planning on getting it serviced. I'm just a little disappointed that it isn't as slick as yours/my first one.
 
Here is a photo to illustrate my method. The blade on this knife operates very freely. Point this one up in the air, punch the lock, and that blade swings like a guillotine.

DSC_6687b.jpg
 
A lot of times I operate the compression lock on the PM2 like I would a mid lock spyderco. With a little flick the blade swings down but the coil catches your finger perfectly then you can just thumb it closed. I've noticed non-knife people who have used my para 2 tend to also use their thumb to operate the lock, guess its intuitive.
 
dericdesmond, thanks for the video. Wow, my para2 isn't anywhere near that loose!!

bdmicarta, that is the technique I've been working on, and it's starting to feel a little more natural

Knifebro, i use exactly the method you're describong for my back locks, but can't seem to make it work for the compression lock. However, i think if the compression lock access were reversed from it's current position it would be ideal for use with that method.
 
I just got a brand new Para2, and it is definitly too stiff to do that swinging stuff. I've liberally oiled the knife, yet I can hold it horizontally and disenage the lock and the blade still stays in place until I push it closed with my other hand.
Is there anything I can do to get my blade to swing freely like the one in dericdesmond's video? Will it break in over time? Should I losen the pivot screw?
 
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