Spyderco pm 2 or Zt 0801

Better to compare the 801 and the Domino (both frame locks, both bearing flippers). My Domino flips a little better with the blade pointing up when opened, but if the blade weight can assist the 801 rockets open like an auto. The 801 also came with a shaving edge already on it, whereas the Domino needed work (I normally sharpen everything, but an hour of work would not be worth a 10% sharpness increase).

If you do decide on a Domino instead of the 801, you won't be disappointed. They are both best in their class frame lock flippers.
 
The PM2 is must have knife, if you don't have one already, get one. You'll find you will use it more than most knives because it is well suited for the cutting tasks you encounter every day. I like thinner knives, they carry better. I have a ZT 0551 and its almost to thick, I really like it, but must say I never use it and rarely carry it due to its thickness, and its no where near as good a slicer as the PM2. May end up getting rid of it to fund another purchase.
 
IMHO every person who is undecided wether they should get a PM2 they should just get it because eventually you will get one . They are to many people who like them and you won't know if you do until you have one . I have had 7 of them , now I don't have one but I do love the PM2 . I just like trying other knives and if I can trade for something I never had and I want to try it out I just trade a PM2 . Worst that can happen you trade the PM2 for something else . That being said I have a 801 coming to me sometime this week . I love the way it looks . Im going to try the 801 out and in three month you just might see it at the exchange looking for something new to try out .
 
Just to add, you can get a PM2 just to try it, and if you choose to resell it, you can do so without any loss and many times make a few bucks. They are popular. Popular enough to have it's own "hate on it because I hate anything too hype" counterculture LMAO. The 801 has good resale value also, so... get both hehe. I'm looking forward to that 801CF.
 
Fanglekai said:
The 801 is ugly and heavy. It isn't optimized for cutting. Pass.
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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the ZT 801 looks very pretty to me. So does the PM2 with carbon-finer scales.

They can't all have waifer-thin fully hardened DIN 1.2519 blades - that'd stop science from happening. ;)

To the OP,

Both knives look spectacular and I don't think you can go wrong with either if the gentlemen/tactical knife is what you like.
 
thombrogan said:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the ZT 801 looks very pretty to me. So does the PM2 with carbon-finer scales.

They can't all have waifer-thin fully hardened DIN 1.2519 blades - that'd stop science from happening. ;)

To the OP,

Both knives look spectacular and I don't think you can go wrong with either if the gentlemen/tactical knife is what you like.
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I wouldn't call either knife a gent's knife. The PM has a little too much of an aggressive tactical styling, and the 801 is too bloody big to be a gent's knife. If the PM had a slightly less pointy blade and a Kore neutral handle color, and if the 801 was scaled down to about a 3.25" blade, both could easily be nice gent's folders. Just my thoughts on the topic.
 
Para 2 all the way. Will actually hold an edge, and the compression lock doesn't slip all over the place.
 
Strong-Dog said:
Para 2 all the way. Will actually hold an edge, and the compression lock doesn't slip all over the place.
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I would love to see some evidence to back up this claim. I have had a few knives in Elmax from Kershaw (ZT) and they were all bears to sharpen and held their edges better than S30V. Only one ZT I have had didn't have a dead solid lock, and that was a blem that rattled a little but was still 100% solid.

There are plenty of reasons to not like the ZT framelocks. They are mostly clunky, fat, have poor cutting geometry from the factory, a lot of people don't like the looks. They also did have some issues in early production of the 560, with wrong lock geometry and ruined blade temper, but those issues were sorted out decently fast.
 
dkb45 said:
I would love to see some evidence to back up this claim. I have had a few knives in Elmax from Kershaw (ZT) and they were all bears to sharpen and held their edges better than S30V. Only one ZT I have had didn't have a dead solid lock, and that was a blem that rattled a little but was still 100% solid.

There are plenty of reasons to not like the ZT framelocks. They are mostly clunky, fat, have poor cutting geometry from the factory, a lot of people don't like the looks. They also did have some issues in early production of the 560, with wrong lock geometry and ruined blade temper, but those issues were sorted out decently fast.
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I've owned a 0561 at least, and I could push the lock to 100% lockup with my pinky. I never tested it, but I'm sure it could have slipped the other way too. I never used it for cutting because I didn't trust the lock, but I've heard enough stories about Elmax (specifically ZT's Elmax) from people well respected in the community to form an opinion on it. Maybe they did fix it, but I was under the impression that it wasn't as simple as changing something in their heat-treat, because it was more of a grinding issue.
 
Strong-Dog said:
I've owned a 0561 at least, and I could push the lock to 100% lockup with my pinky. I never tested it, but I'm sure it could have slipped the other way too. I never used it for cutting because I didn't trust the lock, but I've heard enough stories about Elmax (specifically ZT's Elmax) from people well respected in the community to form an opinion on it. Maybe they did fix it, but I was under the impression that it wasn't as simple as changing something in their heat-treat, because it was more of a grinding issue.
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The lock is a definite issue, but is in no way indicative of all models. I had a Mini Grip that was basically 100% perfect, but those are known for issues. One outlier does not a general statistic make.

For the temper, I saw a quote from a well known sharpener here that said one or two sharpenings will get the bad steel off. I haven't seen a single ruined temper yet, and have heard a lot of praise about Kershaw's Elmax from people with good sharpening skills.

Lemons do exist, and bad knives do sometimes pass QC. Don't let an obvious defect sour you on an entire brand.
 
My 0801 does the weird thing where you can push the lock bar all the way over. Don't really see how it is a problem, but kind of odd that it locks up pretty early after a hard opening, but can be pushed over all the way with not much force at all. I don't carry the 0801 often, but the odd lockup is not the reason why.
 
I don't like metal handled knives personally. This being that half of the year its very cold here and even with gloves on, that cold metal makes your hands cold. If I lived in a warmer climate, I would probably like Ti knives better. Both are great knives, though I think the Gayle Bradley may be your best solution, as mentioned previously. M4, strong liner lock, beefier than the pm2. I have a manix 2 in XHP and it is really nice too. If you can find one of those, it might also be something to consider.
 
Romet said:
Does anyone know, how spyderco paramilitary2 holds up after few years?
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I got one of the second batch of para2's when they first came out. I carried it for around 6 months and gave it to a friend. He has carried it and used it since. The G10 has worn down to being almost smooth. There is slight vertical and horizontal play. The blade has been sharpened a lot but still looks ok. A body screw had fallen out. He loves it.
 
Both are nice but I prefer the Para2. I handled the 0801 and it is a very nice solid knife that I may get later but I'm not a big fan of flippers.
 
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