Tell me about Spyderco military series??

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wet whiskers

Joined
Nov 29, 2007
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How are these knives? I assume the ones made in china for 40 or 50 bucks are not too great. The military series are about $150. How do these compare with some of the Benchmades? Thanks. BILL
 
The Spyderco Military compares very favorable against Benchmade for the price and sheer awesomeness it possesses. IMHO the Military beats most if not all Benchmades in the same price range and category. My personal favorites from Spyderco are the Military, Paramilitary 2 and the Gayle Bradley and would buy any of those again over a Benchmade. BTW I am not knocking Benchmade, they have very good products, and I have had many great experiences with their knives, but Spyderco is supreme.
 
wet whiskers said:
How are these knives? I assume the ones made in china for 40 or 50 bucks are not too great. The military series are about $150. How do these compare with some of the Benchmades? Thanks. BILL
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I have two Spyderco Militaries...great knives...you'd be happy with one of them.

But one thing, you can find them at lower prices than $150...I purchased a digicam, black coated blade for $108 shipped. I can't say where as it would be deal spotting, but they are out there...
 
I'd say its comparable to a BM 710, I have both a 710 and Military, the military's handle is still bigger, so it works better if you have bigger hands or are using gloves, it has a slightly wider blade and FFG so its a better slicer but not as strong of a tip, no recurve either, which I prefer. The G10 is grippier as well on the Military compared to the 710. The Military has an S30V blade while the 710 has a D2 blade, s30v will be more stainless, they will both have similar edge retention. Both are great knives overall.
 
Superb ergonomics
Premium steel
Highly versatile blade shape
Grippy G-10 handle
Light for its size
Tough as nails
 
Don't discount the Chinese made tenacious/persistence/perserverance line. They have great bang for your buck value.
 
jay2pointoh said:
Superb ergonomics
Tough as nails
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We may have different definitions of tough. I think the military is a great knife, a superb slicer, and has great ergos, but I would never consider it a "tough" knife.

Its a very thin, slicing blade with a very fine/thin tip.
 
wet whiskers said:
How are these knives? I assume the ones made in china for 40 or 50 bucks are not too great. The military series are about $150. How do these compare with some of the Benchmades? Thanks. BILL
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anything you buy from spyderco will be good, some will be great. between spyderco and benchmade it pretty much comes down to design (both are very good knife makers). i am a spyderco fan, the ergo's fit me well and the spydy hole is awesome. if you are new to the world of knives, there are some great bang-for-the-buck models to get your feet wet with.

i don't think anyone has ever not loved there military.

p.s. for me, i prefer the slightly smaller paramilitary 2.
 
Post this question in the Spyderco sub-forum or use the search function & get comfortable. The knife has a following, to put it lightly. I owned the first generation model way back & will be getting another soon. Great ergonomics, great blade shape & geometry, carries well, light for it's size. Handle one if you can. I recommend it if you like folders in that size range.
 
I like the military, you can probably tell from this pic.

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I only have 3 spydercos: a Tenacious, a Delica and a Bug. They're all completely different knives, at different prices. From a 6€ Bug to a 65€ Delica the quality is the same! I can even tell you the fit and finish of my Tenacious is better than the Delica... So why is the Para2 3 or 4 times more expensive than a Delica? Is that much better? Is the quality control much better? I can't tell, but I'm just "angry" that I don't have budget to buy it right now :D
 
I have a military and a paramilitary. Love both. You will too.

This business about the "hard use folder" is a topic with no right answer and nothing even close to concensus as to the criteria. I avoid the whole subject by owning an ESEE 5 which if your are familiar...well, I needn't say more. Now that's a hard use knife...but it is a fixed blade...not a coincidence.

So no, I don't think a Military would be a good choice to pry open ammo crates, punch holes in steel drums, or baton firewood. But it is a very tough knife that would serve you well in some pretty rough conditions and probably last long enough to pass down to you grandchildren.

I love the Spyderco Military (and the Paramilitaries too).
 
I'm finally sending my leftie military back.... Blade literally shakes and rattles,back and forth not side to side while in locked position ( and no the pivot is quite tight in fact I tightend intentionally to the point where blade was hard to close)..Obviously a tolerance issue with QC I hope!!! Also it's tip down only, so if your used to tip up this could be a muscle or motor memory issue for quick access and deploy.... I love the blade shape, handle , weight and feel of this knife however.
 
singularity35 said:
I like the military, you can probably tell from this pic.

millies.jpg
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Great collection there:thumbup:

I just got an orange handel one but I'm not impressed, the blade is fine but it's not centered when closed, almost rubbing with the G10 scale, and I also found the opening and closing not very smooth, actually not smooth at all. I think I'll disassemble the knife and see if I can fix it by myself :) Other than that, I think it's the best looking spyderco knife ever made.
 
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Built like a tank but what weigh on your pants staying up, excellent quality!
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My favorite hard users!
 
J
230grains said:
We may have different definitions of tough. I think the military is a great knife, a superb slicer, and has great ergos, but I would never consider it a "tough" knife.

Its a very thin, slicing blade with a very fine/thin tip.
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I understand your view. It is a good slicer. Thin it is not though. Thicker than the manix in both blade and g10. You might try pushing yours a bit harder. I havent met anything it could not cut through. Even metal seals and copper wire. Still I think both of our statements can be true. Thats what I love about the my Millie. It fills alot of roles for me.
 
dongbeiren said:
Great collection there:thumbup:

I just got an orange handel one but I'm not impressed, the blade is fine but it's not centered when closed, almost rubbing with the G10 scale, and I also found the opening and closing not very smooth, actually not smooth at all. I think I'll disassemble the knife and see if I can fix it by myself :) Other than that, I think it's the most good looking spyderco knife ever made.
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There's a quick fix for uncentered blades on a millie. Leave a visitor message for me if you want me to send it to you. Most militaries are a little rough opening when new. That's the detent breaking in. Just use it or cycle it while watching TV. It'll soon smoothen up.
 
They're okay I guess.

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:D

It isn't an axe, or a crowbar, or a screwdriver. If you want those things, the Military is not what you are looking for. In my opinion, no knife, no matter what claims are made for it, should be substituted for any of those tools. But if you want a fair-sized cutting tool that won't drag your pants down, you can do a lot worse. I still have my S90V/CF drywall knife/demolition cutter in my back pocket after three years of use that make most people cringe to hear about.

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