Police 3 initial impressions. (pic heavy)

J

Joshua J.

Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
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The Police 3.

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Initial impressions on the Police 3 were kind of mixed. It's a large knife, no doubt about it, but it doesn't feel like it. The profile of the blade and handle makes it look much smaller than it actually is, even when it's sitting on my desk I look at it and think "oh, it's an ordinary Spyderco". If this were the only folder I'd ever held it would seem perfectly normal.
When you put it beside another knife, then you see the difference.
 
The handle and blade are both the same width as the Military, a knife which dwarfs most other folders, and stands up to even the beefiest of your plus sized high end folders. Not only does the disproportionate length of the Police 3 throw you off, but it's really thin to boot. Not only is the handle thin, but the blade is really thin. I can visibly flex the blade with my fingers. Where the distal taper on the Military starts at .156" thick, the Police 3 only starts at .125", and the blade is longer. As far as I can tell the actual tip is slightly thicker than the Military, though I've thinned mine out a bit so the Police would probably have the thinner tip if they were both new.
The thickness (or lack thereof) really confuses your perception of it when you hold it. It's kind of surreal. Your eyes say "big knife" but your hand says "not so big", and the handle is still wide enough to support a good grip.
Do I like the feel as much as the Military? No. It's not bad, but the Military puts everything in just the right places, where the Police 3 is a little more streamlined, and has a slightly different focus.
The Police 3 accomplishes most of what the Military does, in a tight, more user friendly package. You have the back lock, which is ambidextrous as opposed to the liner lock. Then there's the four way clip, servicing both the left handed crowd and the tip up people. The tip, while around the same thickness, is profiled differently (think of a miniaturized Endura tip) and shouldn't be quite so easy to snap off. The last complaint you usually hear about the Military is it's too wide. This is the only part you don't see any difference, as stated before the Police 3 is the same width as the Military. You won't hear me complain about that though.

All in all it's one slick knife. If there's just one thing or another keeping you away from the Military, I highly suggest checking out the Police 3.

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I think the new Police is a beautiful knife. If the Military had a different lock mechanism, I'd own one of those, but I don't like liner locks.
 
Nice side by side, I own a few millies but only the old stainless police. I really like the looks and the thin blade. I bet it cuts like a laser too. Great review.
 
I am a Spyderco Military Nut but since I got the Police 3 I love it just as much as I do the Military, so I trade them off in my EDC and i added the FFG Endura, thats another great knife from spyderco.

RickJ
 
Nice review and pics. I just got my Police 3 today and I really like it. While the Millie feels better in my hand, the Police is very thin, still feels good in my hand, and has a backlock which I greatly prefer over the liner lock. The four way clip mounting is nice, as I prefer tip up and can switch it to my left pocket when I am carrying a righty only knife at the same time (like the Millie). I don't like the reinforced tip, so I may have to send it to Tom Krein to flatten the spine to give me my beloved splinter picker tip, as I don't pry with my knives. I will get out my calipers soon, but the edge appears to be about .020" and around 15 degrees per side, which is a good thickness on a knife of this magnitude. I will probably thin it out to 8-9 degrees per side with a 15 per side microbevel, which is a profile that works pretty well for me on VG-10.

Mike
 
Nice review and pics, Joshua J.!

Makes me want a Police3 even though I'm stocked up on large, folding pocketknives. :thumbup:
 
I was never really wild about the older Police model but......WOW!!!!

I like that...
 
I've had one for little over a month or so now. Love it! But my new JD Smith is growing on me tremendously recently.

The Police 3 is a great knife that carries well for its length!

I really love the slightly more refined finish on the Japanese VG-10 blades from Spyderco as well.
 
Nice rev. and almost sprung for one when they came out but just don't like the little hump in back of the point. If it had the swedged police blade I'd be all over it. keepem sharp
 
Hi Joshua,

Thanx for the review and great pics.

I think a comparison beteen the Police3 and the Military would be difficult. Your analysis is interesting. It's kinda like comparing a Working horse to an Arabian or a pick-up truck to a sports car. Two different design functions.

There are similarities, but because of the design foocus, differences.

The Police model is a large (often above local legal limits) urban folder. Thin, large blade / handle ratio, easily carried, more of a stealth piece. "Sometimes I just like to carry a big knife", attitude, but with urban dress in mind, and out of sight. Something an undercover cop can carry discretely

The Military was designed to be a large, light, heavy duty folder that a soldier would take along because it offers so much performance in such a light package. Stealth was not a consideration, nor was an urban environment. Just portable high cutting power.

I carry a Millie regularly when I'm home up on the mountain, but I rarely carry one in town. It appears to be a very large knife. Hard to cut with in public without attracting attention.

Vivi,

We appreciate your ability to be so anal. It's good information for all of us to think of. ;)

sal
 
longbow said:
Nice rev. and almost sprung for one when they came out but just don't like the little hump in back of the point. If it had the swedged police blade I'd be all over it. keepem sharp
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My Police 3 is off to Tom Krein right now getting the tip flattened out to a fine point and new swedges put back on it after the spine is flattened. It will be nice and pointy then, and Tom charges minimal money to do this. If the blade is over .020" at the edge I might have Tom regrind it thinner, as well. The Police 3 is such a great design you shouldn't let an easily changed item like the tip stop you from getting it.

Vivi, nice work keeping it sharp. Aside from hard to find CPM D2 and harder to sharpen (at least on ceramics) ZDP 189, VG 10 is my favorite folder steel. It is easy to sharpen to a crisp edge and and has good edge retention, and it has been very consistent for me. All of my VG-10 folders that I had tested were at RC 59, and none have had any significant burring issues or other problems. It doesn't hurt that some of my favorite folders are made in VG-10.

Thom, just because you have a lot of large folders already doesn't mean you shouldn't get the Police 3. Having too many Gyutos wouldn't hold you back from getting another, would it?
 
Thanks for the explanation, Sal, it was enlightening. It is pretty evident when handling and pocketing the Military and Police that you met your design ideals. I bought the Police thinking I would probably replace the Military's almost permanent place in my pocket with it, but after handling them you can see how each has it's own place. The Police 3 pockets very easy and inspite of it's length it really doesn't look so scary to sheeple. The Military gets attention every time I pull it out and takes up more room in the pocket, but feels great in the hand whether it is gloved or not, and it can definately cut. Both are great designs, and I am glad I have both. Ideally I would be able to carry both at once, but even for me carrying 2 knives with blades over 4" might be a bit much. After hearing your explanation and reflecting on each knife I will probably end up carrying the Police more as I am usually in more urban settings that don't require the tougher cutting the thicker blade of the Military can do, but I will always carry the Military if there is a chance I need to do any tougher cutting chores.

I think a comparison of both is natural for most people, though, as someone shopping for a large folder will see them as 4" or more folders, and for most the specific design roles for each may not even cross their minds. Maybe that is because not as many companies put as much thought as Spyderco does into designing a knife for a specific pupose. It really is nice to see knives with so much thought put into their specific role rather than just throwing out a design based on looks. As someone that usually carries at least 2 knives at once so I can use each for an appropriate task it is nice to see such specific thought put into each design.





Sal Glesser said:
Hi Joshua,

Thanx for the review and great pics.

I think a comparison beteen the Police3 and the Military would be difficult. Your analysis is interesting. It's kinda like comparing a Working horse to an Arabian or a pick-up truck to a sports car. Two different design functions.

There are similarities, but because of the design foocus, differences.

The Police model is a large (often above local legal limits) urban folder. Thin, large blade / handle ratio, easily carried, more of a stealth piece. "Sometimes I just like to carry a big knife", attitude, but with urban dress in mind, and out of sight. Something an undercover cop can carry discretely

The Military was designed to be a large, light, heavy duty folder that a soldier would take along because it offers so much performance in such a light package. Stealth was not a consideration, nor was an urban environment. Just portable high cutting power.

I carry a Millie regularly when I'm home up on the mountain, but I rarely carry one in town. It appears to be a very large knife. Hard to cut with in public without attracting attention.

Vivi,

We appreciate your ability to be so anal. It's good information for all of us to think of. ;)

sal
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