Review Spyderco Paramilitary 3

Between my Sage 5 and Para 3, I carry the Sage more in the office since it's more of an office friendly shape. While smaller, the Para 3 just has more of a non-friendly office look to it. You offices may be different, but I work in pharma and a lot of my coworkers are definitely non knife people.
 
I am loving that clip on your Para 3. Mind sharing its identity?
don't mind at all,we are all learning hear at BF,this is made by casey lynch who once sold the clips on this forum,but as i understand now!they are sold though blade HQ,but they never seem to have any in stock!really wish he would come back hear and sell.
 
I too was under the impression that lock backs were the strongest (mostly due to videos like that one and others I've seen). The compression lock is plenty strong for my needs though. In any case, nice review overall, thanks for sharing.
 
Put a Titanium bead for my Para 3. I love it.

IMG_6812.jpg


IMG_6814.jpg
 
Question to those that own a Para 3. I just got one in black with satin blade. Where the compression lock meets the blade opening on the bottom, there's a small indent where the compression lock rests on it. The knife functions fine. This is not the case on my Paramilitary 2. Is the normal?
 
Question to those that own a Para 3. I just got one in black with satin blade. Where the compression lock meets the blade opening on the bottom, there's a small indent where the compression lock rests on it. The knife functions fine. This is not the case on my Paramilitary 2. Is the normal?

Yes it is normal. It is an inline change they've started. I believe it was introduced as a "fail safe" for the lock disengaging by an engineer at Spyderco. There was a post on the Spyderco FaceBook group about it from Mr. Janich (I think) a little while ago.
 
Question to those that own a Para 3. I just got one in black with satin blade. Where the compression lock meets the blade opening on the bottom, there's a small indent where the compression lock rests on it. The knife functions fine. This is not the case on my Paramilitary 2. Is the normal?

Can you post pics? If it's a small milled groove, then it's normal. It's a CQI done by Spyderco. There's a thread about this on the Spyderco forum with the information directly from Spyderco. https://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73272

Here's the information directly from Spyderco:

Thank you very much for your post. Your knife is not defective.

After I read your post this morning, I spoke to our manufacturing manager and chief engineer. They confirmed that the machined "step" was a purposeful in-line change in the design; however, both versions of the Para 3 shown in this thread are correct and both are completely functional and reliable.

The first production of the Para 3 featured the full-width lock ramp that has traditionally been used on all our Compression Locks. Our testing of that lock in the Para 3 confirmed that it is robust, reliable, and provides outstanding lock strength--just like the many thousands of other Compression Locks currently in service.

When extreme lock testing videos became popular on the Internet several years ago, some testers began using an "overstrike" test. In this test, the knife is gripped by the end of the handle and the forward portion of the "slot" side of the handle is struck against a hard surface to try to get the blade to close. While this test doesn't simulate any logical use of a knife as a tool, since it was a concern of some of our customers, we began incorporating it into our testing protocols.

In its original full-width-ramp configuration, the Para 3 performed just as well as our other Compression Lock knives on the overstrike test. When the lock finally failed, it did so because the impact of the strike allowed the liner to slide completely off the ramp. This gave one of our engineers an idea. In the spirit of Constant Quality Improvement (C.Q.I.), he machined a small "safety step" at the low end of the ramp. In overstrike tests, this step is designed to act as a shelf or step to "catch" the liner and act as a failsafe against lock release. Extensive testing of the concept with the Para 3 showed that the idea had merit, so we decided to implement it as a desirable change in the Para 3 design.

Based on the engagement point of the liner and the ramp, the safety step does not affect lock strength or its ease of operation. Again, it is a purposeful C.Q.I. change that we believe is an enhancement to the design. We plan to do additional testing with prototypes of other models to see if it's something that we might consider implementing in other designs, but for now, it's limited to current production of the Para 3. First-run production of the Para 3 with the full-width ramp are perfectly serviceable, first-quality knives and have been very well received by our customers. If you have one, it will serve you well.

As always, if you have any concerns about the performance or operation of an individual Spyderco knife, your best course of action is to send it to our warranty repair department so we can examine it. And, as always, we welcome feedback on your experiences with our knives and your thoughts on our continued efforts to make them better.

Thank you for your continued passion for Spyderco knives.

Stay safe,

Mike
 
Yes it is normal. It is an inline change they've started. I believe it was introduced as a "fail safe" for the lock disengaging by an engineer at Spyderco. There was a post on the Spyderco FaceBook group about it from Mr. Janich (I think) a little while ago.

Can you post pics? If it's a small milled groove, then it's normal. It's a CQI done by Spyderco. There's a thread about this on the Spyderco forum with the information directly from Spyderco. https://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=73272

Here's the information directly from Spyderco:

Thank you very much for your post. Your knife is not defective.

After I read your post this morning, I spoke to our manufacturing manager and chief engineer. They confirmed that the machined "step" was a purposeful in-line change in the design; however, both versions of the Para 3 shown in this thread are correct and both are completely functional and reliable.

The first production of the Para 3 featured the full-width lock ramp that has traditionally been used on all our Compression Locks. Our testing of that lock in the Para 3 confirmed that it is robust, reliable, and provides outstanding lock strength--just like the many thousands of other Compression Locks currently in service.

When extreme lock testing videos became popular on the Internet several years ago, some testers began using an "overstrike" test. In this test, the knife is gripped by the end of the handle and the forward portion of the "slot" side of the handle is struck against a hard surface to try to get the blade to close. While this test doesn't simulate any logical use of a knife as a tool, since it was a concern of some of our customers, we began incorporating it into our testing protocols.

In its original full-width-ramp configuration, the Para 3 performed just as well as our other Compression Lock knives on the overstrike test. When the lock finally failed, it did so because the impact of the strike allowed the liner to slide completely off the ramp. This gave one of our engineers an idea. In the spirit of Constant Quality Improvement (C.Q.I.), he machined a small "safety step" at the low end of the ramp. In overstrike tests, this step is designed to act as a shelf or step to "catch" the liner and act as a failsafe against lock release. Extensive testing of the concept with the Para 3 showed that the idea had merit, so we decided to implement it as a desirable change in the Para 3 design.

Based on the engagement point of the liner and the ramp, the safety step does not affect lock strength or its ease of operation. Again, it is a purposeful C.Q.I. change that we believe is an enhancement to the design. We plan to do additional testing with prototypes of other models to see if it's something that we might consider implementing in other designs, but for now, it's limited to current production of the Para 3. First-run production of the Para 3 with the full-width ramp are perfectly serviceable, first-quality knives and have been very well received by our customers. If you have one, it will serve you well.

As always, if you have any concerns about the performance or operation of an individual Spyderco knife, your best course of action is to send it to our warranty repair department so we can examine it. And, as always, we welcome feedback on your experiences with our knives and your thoughts on our continued efforts to make them better.

Thank you for your continued passion for Spyderco knives.

Stay safe,

Mike

Thank you both for the quick response. Mine is not as exaggerated as the one shown in the Spyderco Forum post but, similar.

As for posting a pic, I believe you have to use a third-party site to attach pics which I do not use. Thanks for the offer to look at it though.
 
Yup, it's a small milled groove. From the detailed pic on the Spyderco Forum, it appeared to be a deeper groove so I initially thought mine was not a Gen 2. Lo and behold, got home, looked at with a magnifier glass and mine looks just like it. Used a plastic pick and could feel the straight edge all the way through. Good that. Thanks again for the direction.
 
I was on the fence about getting a para3 and this post pushed me to pull the trigger. Just picked one up from exchange
 
I just received one off the exchange as well and really like the design. The only thing I don't like is how high it rides in my pocket. I ordered a new pocket clip that should arrive any day. I have a feeling it will be my new favorite if the pocket clip works as I expect.
 
I was on the fence about getting a para3 and this post pushed me to pull the trigger. Just picked one up from exchange

You won't be disappointed, it's an excellent knife. My first Spyderco was a Paramilitary 2, just an excellent all around knife. I find the size of the Para 3 to be a bit more accommodating overall. I don't have an issue with it riding high in my pocket. Most times my shirt is out covering it anyway. If not, I'm not concerned that it's visible as the clip is on the outside of the pocket so it's not a mystery that I have a knife in my pocket.
 
Hello TruthBalance,

This Image from the Internet captures it good.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/36376254695_b842f0e4dc_k.jpg

For me it is more on the blue side, but also dependent on the light fall.
Its called blurple for a reason.

here you see the it also, that on the top part the Color is lighter, because the light is going through.
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C223GDBL/Para-3-G-10-Midnight-Blue-CPM-S110V/1066

EDIT:
good overview of different colored spydies:
https://i.imgur.com/61ZiKEH.jpg

bye ric
 
Last edited:
Hello TruthBalance,

This Image from the Internet captures it good.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4368/36376254695_b842f0e4dc_k.jpg

For me it is more on the blue side, but also dependent on the light fall.
Its called blurple for a reason.

here you see the it also, that on the top part the Color is lighter, because the light is going through.
https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details/C223GDBL/Para-3-G-10-Midnight-Blue-CPM-S110V/1066

EDIT:
good overview of different colored spydies:
https://i.imgur.com/61ZiKEH.jpg

bye ric

ric, Thanks for the response and pics, that helps. Since Spyderco is calling it "Midnight Blue" I thought the color was different for the other Spyderco "blue" models.
 
Nice review. I appreciate your time for posting your opinions and observations.

As much as I love my PM2 I was really looking forward to trying the more office friendly sized Para 3. While the size does not raise as many eyebrows as my PM2 when I cut an apple in the lunch room, I just didn't like the smaller feel in my hand when deploying the blade. I generally use a thumb flick on a PM2 and my fingers instinctively know where to go to deploy the blade reliably in a swift fluid motion. With the smaller grip of the Para 3 I could not achieve the same swift fluid opening without a lot of minor grip adjustments. Maybe I need more practice with it or I did not give it enough time, but it did not catch on with me like I thought it would. I am still glad I have it in my collection / rotation but I don't reach for it very often at all.
 
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