Spyderco Police 3 or Al Mar Eagle HD?

J

Jagrmaister

Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
55
After picking up a Dragonfly 2 in orange and backordering one of the new Delicas with Damascus laminated VG10 and Ti...I'm not quite done window shopping and I've rekindled the knife addiction. I want to pick up another blade or two, and have always eyed both the Police 3 and the Eagle HD from Al Mar. All things being equal, these are similar knives but the Spydie comes in a bit heftier and has a bit more reach on the blade. I'm familiar with Spyderco's quality, but not familiar with Al Mar. Anyone had both of these that can provide some input?
 
The Al Mar that I own, the SERE 2000, is awesome. Perfect F&F and great heat treat on the steel. Al Mar makes a quality knife for sure.
 
Specs don't tell the whole story on these two, and I have fondled both. The Police is a behemoth folder, with a lot of presence in the hand. It would certainly take what you give it and come back for more. The HD is a thin, svelte beauty feeling lighter than it is because the weight is spread out so far from tip to pommel. Did I mention it was thin? :D Psychologically, the only 'tool' quality this has is feeling like you have a large folding scalpel in your hand, LOL.

The Police is typical Spyder-smooth opening, but can be a little awkward depending on your hand, and where you hold the blade. The HD is not quite as slick, and I find the thumbstud to be a bit less easy to use. Hand-placement still matters. I think VG10 is well established, but Al Mar is known to do AUS-8 to the max of its capability.

One thing is for darn sure, you are going to KNOW you're toting that Police, whereas that HD is going to be effortless by comparison. The feel of the G10 is about the same on each one, but obviously the larger knife is more hand-filling. IF NKP are around, I think they'd wet themselves at the opening of the Spydie, and probably be fascinated by the "art knife" you are about to use in deploying an HD, hahaha.;)
 
Can't argue with any of VictorLouis's comments above.

I resisted getting a Police3 for several years. It just seemed like it would be too big.
Finally broke down and got one and it has become one of my favorite Spydies. The geometry is perfect for my fairly large hands.

If the P3 interests you, you might also want to look at the Spyderco Ulize. Inspired by the P3 and therefore quite similar. Slightly smaller (very slightly) with a different blade shape. Right now I still prefer the P3, but I just got the Ulize last week.
 
Well, guess the Police 3 is going to have to wait just a bit longer. Just ordered a Al Mar Eagle HD Orange G10 w/ ZDP-189. Love Spyderco, and it's still on the short list along with the Caly 3.5. The weight of the Eagle and orange scales swayed me for now...we'll see how it turns out as I do much prefer FFG blades and the Al Mar doesn't permit taking it apart. Guess there's always a compromise when choosing between two blades. I suppose if I love the Al Mar a true Ultralight with FFG would also be added to the list...but AUS8? It's a fine steel, but $100 seems steep for it. Either way, if any one else has any input on their comparison of the two I wouldn't mind hearing it. I'll give first impressions when the Eagle lands.
 
Al Mar does a great with their AUS8. I have two of the Ultralights, a SLB and an Osrey. They all are great knives. The Ultra lights are excellent slicers and are hardly noticeable in my pocket.

Ric
 
I find the Police 3 (along with its crazy cousin, the Ulize) to be very thin and unobtrusive in the pocket. So I would not characterize it as a behemoth as Mr. Louis did. But it is a very long blade, no doubt, but not any longer than that of the Benchmade 710. Its just seems longer because of the thin profile, I think.

I have the standard Al Mar Eagle Ultralite as well, but not the HD flavor. It is super light weight, and a fine knife though I think a little spendy for what you are getting. I considered buying an HD version, but have had a hard time pulling the trigger at that price point.

Nutnfancy has reviewed both the Police 3 and Eagle HD on youtube, if you care. I think you are golden with either choice.
 
I'd say the eagle, but my opinion in biased. I don't own a spyderco anymore but I own an osprey, a hawk, an SLB and a money clip. I love almar, and I like spyderco too, but Lamar's are the ones I've kept.
 
powernoodle said:
I find the Police 3 (along with its crazy cousin, the Ulize) to be very thin and unobtrusive in the pocket. So I would not characterize it as a behemoth as Mr. Louis did.
Click to expand...
Noodle has a point. It's similar to the HD in that the weight is spread out over a very large knife, LOL.
 
Just an update. Received the ZDP-189 Eagle HD. Maybe I've been spoiled by Spyderco, but found the Al Mar to be lacking for the $$$.

Knife came dull out of box...This is a major let down when I spend $150+ on a folder. I'll forgive shortcomings on $50 blades, but even $50 Spydercos I get razor sharp out of the box. The Eagle could not cut paper without catching...and I was being "forgiving" in my testing. It barely scrapes my thumb nail, and certainly does not cut when running a finger over the blade. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. Especially when considering ZDP is a bit of a chore to bring back once dull.

Moving on, the blade was pushing towards clip side, so blade centering gets a minus. The clip also came loose from factory.

These are maybe minor gripes (a lockback with a 4" blade may not be exactly centered when this thin...although, I think it should be...and the clip is an easy fix with some loc-tite), but I'm a bit more demanding when the knife I purchase gets to the $165 pricepoint. I've got a $35 Chinese Spyderco Tenacious that trumps this Al Mar in terms of out of the box Quality control...not to mention several others up to the $150 pricepoint that are more impressive.

What I do like about the Al-Mar is lockup, fit and finish of scales, weight, and thinness. The blade feels real nice in hand. Svelte as many of you use to describe it is absolutely the right adjective. A most elegant piece of craftsmanship if they get it right I have a feeling. Unfortunately, mine misses the mark, and as a result, it's probably going back. I just have to demand a bit more when we're at this price point. I may see if the dealer can offer a better example and if this one is just, perchance, a lemon.
 
Jagrmaister said:
Just an update. Received the ZDP-189 Eagle HD. Maybe I've been spoiled by Spyderco, but found the Al Mar to be lacking for the $$$.

Knife came dull out of box...This is a major let down when I spend $150+ on a folder. I'll forgive shortcomings on $50 blades, but even $50 Spydercos I get razor sharp out of the box. The Eagle could not cut paper without catching...and I was being "forgiving" in my testing. It barely scrapes my thumb nail, and certainly does not cut when running a finger over the blade. MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. Especially when considering ZDP is a bit of a chore to bring back once dull.

Moving on, the blade was pushing towards clip side, so blade centering gets a minus. The clip also came loose from factory.

These are maybe minor gripes (a lockback with a 4" blade may not be exactly centered when this thin...although, I think it should be...and the clip is an easy fix with some loc-tite), but I'm a bit more demanding when the knife I purchase gets to the $165 pricepoint. I've got a $35 Chinese Spyderco Tenacious that trumps this Al Mar in terms of out of the box Quality control...not to mention several others up to the $150 pricepoint that are more impressive.

What I do like about the Al-Mar is lockup, fit and finish of scales, weight, and thinness. The blade feels real nice in hand. Svelte as many of you use to describe it is absolutely the right adjective. A most elegant piece of craftsmanship if they get it right I have a feeling. Unfortunately, mine misses the mark, and as a result, it's probably going back. I just have to demand a bit more when we're at this price point. I may see if the dealer can offer a better example and if this one is just, perchance, a lemon.
Click to expand...

Sad to hear, all my Al Mar came hair popping sharp and there's no lack in F&F on mine.. I would send it back to Al Mar
 
Well, if it's the dealer-exclusive I'm thinking of, the dealer is a great one. You can always exchange it for the POLICE III now, in order to compare. :D
 
VictorLouis said:
Well, if it's the dealer-exclusive I'm thinking of, the dealer is a great one. You can always exchange it for the POLICE III now, in order to compare. :D
Click to expand...

If the dealer you meant was Jeff then yes, he is indeed awesome. Had a good conversation with him in regards and he said he'd be relaying the message to Al Mar. Ended up ordering a chaparral2 and a domino from him. Found a police 3 lnib on another forum and have that coming as well. Have a bit of a spydie addiction right now.
 
Jagrmaister said:
If the dealer you meant was Jeff then yes, he is indeed awesome. Had a good conversation with him in regards and he said he'd be relaying the message to Al Mar. Ended up ordering a chaparral2 and a domino from him. Found a police 3 lnib on another forum and have that coming as well. Have a bit of a spydie addiction right now.
Click to expand...

I just placed my order for the brown zdp eagle. Let's wait and see how it will turn out. Hopefully I am not getting the same knife you just returned...

I have owned 4 police models before. It's a really nice knife. The new P3 is a winnner...I love the well placed choil curve and the jimping. I may get one of these also. I just wish Spyderco will come up with a SS handled police 3 -- that solid, smooth, slim feeling of the stainless steel handle turn this knife into a piece of art instead of a tool. With a handle that big and the help of the choil and jimping, I would not worry too much about the SS being more slippery.
 
Last edited:
Another option is the Calypso if you can find one. It's a bit shorter than the police and more comparable in size to the Al Mar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top