Southard or Sprint PM2?

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
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I realize that these are very different knives... buuuut...

If you could only have one... here's what you're going to do with it.

Play with it while watching Tv. Don't judge me! But yeah. I probably wouldn't use either much.

So then, for the fun of playing with, enjoying looking at and collecting, which would you choose? Which is more likely to be worth the price paid for it in years to come?
 
Well for me both are fun to play with, and for that purpose, you cant go wrong with either.
 
Sprint could go up in price before the Southard does. The Southard will be a standard production run until they discontinue it one day. Sprint Runs are harder to come by and can be sold for profit when they are in demand and no sprint is happening.
 
For looks and fun, I would go with the southard b/c it's a flipper and flippers are awesome. But for resale value, you can't beat a sprint run, especially a PM2.
 
For playing with and looking at and such, it'd be a orange or blue pm2 sprint. I don't really like the southard's looks and I have plenty of flippers I do like. Also the resale on the para would be much better.
 
Hrm ... the only flipper I've owned that wasn't assisted is a cheap S&W. I do find myself playing with it profusely which is kind of funny. The thing is a turd but fun.

Otoh I've never owned a comp. lock Spyderco. I do love the axis on BMs but I don't know if that translates to the CL at all... but I think I may enjoy the flipper more.

Jeez, what a middle class American problem. :rolleyes:

I REALLY wish I could handle both.

Oh then there's the BM 300SN. One question to those who may be reading this and have handled that knife. All of the vids I've seen have a little wrist flick when opening it. Is that necessary? Will it open easily with just the flipper? That's a deal breaker for me. At least until I've owned the other knives mentioned...
 
Strigamort said:
Hrm ... the only flipper I've owned that wasn't assisted is a cheap S&W. I do find myself playing with it profusely which is kind of funny. The thing is a turd but fun.

Otoh I've never owned a comp. lock Spyderco. I do love the axis on BMs but I don't know if that translates to the CL at all... but I think I may enjoy the flipper more.

Jeez, what a middle class American problem. :rolleyes:

I REALLY wish I could handle both.

Oh then there's the BM 300SN. One question to those who may be reading this and have handled that knife. All of the vids I've seen have a little wrist flick when opening it. Is that necessary? Will it open easily with just the flipper? That's a deal breaker for me. At least until I've owned the other knives mentioned...
Click to expand...


I have several para 2's one of them is a sprint and I just got the Southard today. I really do like the Para 2 but the Southard is just something else. My first flip with Southard was perfect, no wrist flick required , it then proceeded to cut me worse than any other knife :p (all by my fault) it came insanely sharp out of the box. CTS 204p is my new favorite steel (even surpassing CPM M4) it sharpens just a tad bit harder than S30v but takes an extremely keen edge and just retains it forever ( I cut up a bunch of boxes with it) and the steel is further complimented by the thin hollow grind. It is so much fun to play with, even more so than my brown para 2, and it is just a beautiful knife with the stonewashed Ti and the brown G10.

Just know that the Para 2 is a bit superior ergonomically with the finger choil, good gimping, longer handle and easier to disengage lock. But the Southard has a lot more cutting length (making the most out of the amazing steel) grippier G10 and a blade shape that allows more tip control. The Southard is a lot more sturdy and will not develop bladeplay with constant flicking unlike the Para 2. Both sit in the pocket well (there is nothing wrong with the Southard's clip). The Southards gimping only works where it contacts the frame and the scale and the handle doesn't feel cramped but is not as forgiving as the Para 2 .

Overall they are both wonderful knives both with advantages and disadvantages. The Southard is more fun to play with and has more consistent prices but will always have less re sale value. It also has kick a** steel that is better than most of the sprint para 2's (IMO better than S90v) and will probably still hold an edge better than the same steel on the para 2 because of the blade geometry. It slices a lot better than the Para 2 and has an amazing action and a beautiful. high performance design.

The Sprint Para 2 is superior ergonomically (thumb-ramp, choil, better gimping), FFG blade is better for some tasks, has a much sharper tip, comes in a variety of colors (including CF!) and has a godlike resale value in the production world and is still pretty freakin' fun to play with.

It's also important to know that you can buy a Southard brand new from a dealer for $225 where all current sprint Paramilitary 2's are pre-owned (not saying they can't be in great condition) and are priced anywhere from $220-$400+ and those will be the only ones availiable until the next edition of sprint runs come out (which won't happen until at least third quarter).

I hoped I helped, you can't go wrong with either.
 
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Strigamort said:
Oh then there's the BM 300SN. One question to those who may be reading this and have handled that knife. All of the vids I've seen have a little wrist flick when opening it. Is that necessary? Will it open easily with just the flipper? That's a deal breaker for me. At least until I've owned the other knives mentioned...
Click to expand...

The 300SN does not really need wrist action but rather a different kind of flip on the flipper. You need to build up pressure on the flipper then flip rather than just pulling the flipper, if that makes any sense. Over time I am now able to open the 300SN 95% of the time without wrist action.

In terms of playing with the 300SN vs the PM2, I prefer the PM2 by a fair margin but don't get me wrong, the 300SN is also fun to flip. Overall, the PM2 would be my preference as it is also easier to EDC even though it is longer as it is slimmer.
 
viper89 said:
The 300SN does not really need wrist action but rather a different kind of flip on the flipper. You need to build up pressure on the flipper then flip rather than just pulling the flipper, if that makes any sense. Over time I am now able to open the 300SN 95% of the time without wrist action.

In terms of playing with the 300SN vs the PM2, I prefer the PM2 by a fair margin but don't get me wrong, the 300SN is also fun to flip. Overall, the PM2 would be my preference as it is also easier to EDC even though it is longer as it is slimmer.
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Hmm... I think, based on this, that I'll have to pass on the 300SN until I can try it. I have a strong (right) index (weak left) and if it didn't flip every time I think that would bother me.

So far the pm2 is winning from a financial standpoint (and I've wanted one forEVER) but the hype and flipper are definitely keeping the Southard in the race. If I planned on using it a lot, for me it would be a no brainer. The pm2 just looks sooo slicy vrs the Southards layout which, while pretty sweet, is fairly thick.
 
All the talk about the Southard being "THICK". HMMM... When I use the knife, that is the furthest thing on my mind. I don't see it.. The ZT0550/0560 are much thicker and I don't see people complaining about that as much as the Southard.

The only issue I have is the Southard clip.. I think it was an after thought..

I love my Para 2's.. the Southard is put together like a sebbie.. IMHO.. it is the best out together Spydie I have ever seen..F&F is spot on..

I best describe the Southard as a Medium Sebbie ( which we all want) with a flipper and better steel. Imagine a Medium Sebbie, with the blade length of Military, and smaller handle than a Para2.

Simply, it is a knife with sooo much going for it..great steel, awesome ergo's, flipper, small (closed) body, world class f&F, smooth, great cutter, solid,with a lousy clip..

How many knives have all those things going for it? :)
 
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I'll second Abaker's over all impressions of these two knives. Back in December I already owned a black PM2 and had a blue PM2 on pre-order. I then ordered a Southard. The Southard arrived the same day as the blue PM2. I ended up selling both PM2's two weeks later. I don't believe I need to add anything else on which knife I preferred. The PM2 is a great knife but the Southard's in a totally different class and priced accordingly. After receiving the the Blue PM2 store exclusive and handling it I thought it was way overpriced. The prices these go for on the grey market is border line insane, I'm glad I sold it while it was hot.
 
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