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Spyderco Para military 2 cons

A

Armenate

Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
672
Hi all,

Since becoming interested in knives around 4 months ago I have come to realize that the para military 2 is one of the most popular and hard to find knives right now. When going through reviews and forums I have seen very few negative comments about them. I have yet to purchase one of these knives but want to start a thread to see if there is anything against this knife. So, if anyone out there has some cons about this knife they would like everyone to know, fire away. And please, everyone respect each others opinions, I know most of these cons will be personal preferences.
 
My only negatives are that mine didn't come particularly sharp, and that the G10 is a little slick in my hand. Likely not the case for most.
 
Not much to dislike about this knife. It is small and nimble enough for EDC, but big and fast enough (in theory) to alter someone's behavior. So its a nice combo of EDC and "get off me". Flicks open as fast as any auto or spring-assisted knife. I wish it came with a deep carry clip, but aftermarket versions are available.

 
Handles are a bit short for me. I prefer the military for that reason.
Otherwise the pm2 is a great knife and totally worth the money.

They aren't really too hard to find. Just keep an eye on the exchange here and/or sign up for alerts from knife dealers and you'll be able to find one in a few weeks or so.
 
I'm left handed, prefer knives with relatively thin blades packed into the shortest handle possible. So, for me, the ParaMilitary 2 starts off with a wrong handed lock and pairs it an overly thick blade mounted in a handle that's overly long due to a severe case of bubble butt. Plus, almost all of them have been one flavor or another of peel-ply G-10, my absolute least favorite handle material. If that weren't enough the lanyard hole is huge and the name's kind of a turn off.
 
I had blade play on the first one I got, but I bought that one used. The next two have been great. I think the price is a little inflated because of the popularity, but it's popular for a reason.
 
For non knife nuts, the standard steel can be too hard to sharpen. My friend loved his para 2, but has zero sharpening skills so it's basically just a butter knife to him now. He gave up carrying it and switched to a softer steel knife. Such a shame because he wouldn't put the damn thing down while it was still razor sharp...

I'll admit I tried too, and just couldn't get the damn thing sharp. Sure, we should probably practice more/invest in better sharpeners maybe, but I'm just giving my experience and $0.02 for what it's worth
 
Depending on the shape of your hands and how you hold the knife, the lock bar can pinch you when opening. It has only gotten me a couple of times and it was really minor when it did. Still love it overall.

I guess another con is that there are so many fakes out there :thumbdn: I'd stick with reputable dealers on this one especially, even if it means waiting. Lots of dealers with them in stock lately though.
 
One of the very best production knives for the money. Excellent compromise in terms of size and strength. Terrific ergonomics. Great steel. Easy to use left handed.
Very strong lock. The only down side is availability, and this isn t too bad right now.
 
The grip is just a touch to small. Two of my fingers feel like they are squeezing out of the grip area. I would go somewhere to handle the Para and the Military to judge for yourself.
 
Beautiful knife, but the steel can be slightly prone to chipping, I hear. I haven't used mine hard enough to have that happen, so no problems, just a superb knife. However I would add that apparently you will get the best performance from this steel if it is sharpened to 35 degrees, inclusive, ie 17.5 degrees each side. If you can't sharpen it to that angle, like I can't, then you might as well get a cheaper knife, because it will cut just as well. In other words you aren't getting maximum performance from the knife at other angles. As if that ever stopped us buying a new knife though....
 
No serious con really stands out to me. I own three PM2's, two in S30v and the S35vn Sprint and are all frequent carries in my rotation.

I'd like to get the M390 version once it becomes available again as well.
 
I have 3, S30V, S35VN, Elmax. Wouldn't part with them, they are just too good an EDC tool.

Cons?
Something about the pivot setup, I find it difficult to get it adjusted just right without a bit of side to side play when open. And when I do, the slight play eventually creeps back over time as I use it.

I'm a righty and love the compression lock. Can't help wondering why there isn't a lefty version though, like there was with the Military. My bro is a lefty so I got him an ambidextrous Manix 2, which is awesome, but I would love to give him a mirror image Para2.

But by far and away the biggest con of the Para 2 to me is I can't buy one with S90V blade steel, 'cos they are only available on the 2nd hand market and the prices are outright insane.
Please Mr. Glesser, a production model Para 2 with S90V or S110V. If the Manix Lightweight can have it...
 
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