Tenacious vs military ($100 diffirence?)

S

SOUTHSTAR

Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
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I have been looking into getting a new edc and it will probably be a spyderco.
My question is for people who have both of the knives mentioned (tenacious, military) . What's the $100 diffirence? I know one is made in china and I think it's diffirent blade steel .I have owned $6 knives that I have had for years and so where it's made and blade steel to me doesent seem to come up as a factor. I think my question is more about feel and use. Hence the request for owners of these knives.

Do they feel diffirent? Do they open diffirently?

If I held both in my hand would I feel a diffirence ? And what is it?

Sorry for being so long winded . Thanks in advance for any comments you might leave.
 
If you open a box with these knives, the box won't be able to tell whether it was cut with a Tenacious or a Military. They basically cut the same, you know?

But the Military is flatter, so it rides easier in the pocket. "Better" steel, but honestly I can't tell the difference. It has an aesthetic appeal, a strong following and so forth. Its one of my favorite knives - maybe the favorite - and I'm waiting now for my 4th and 5th Militaries to arrive from ebay (camo and orange).

Both open pretty dang smoothly. Not as smooth as the old Manix, or the Benchmade 710 (IMO), but still smooth.

So yeah, I dig my Militaries and thats whats in my pocket now.

But are they "better"? Thats a subjective analysis, which includes a consideration of the price points of each knife. The Military is "better" if the flatness, the feel, the steel and so forth are worth an extra $100. If not, a person can get by just fine in life with a Tenacious, and be very happy with it.
 
SouthStar,

I don't have the Milly but it is a very popular knife. I do own the Tenacious and a Endura IV that is close in size to the Milly. I posted some photos of my Tenacious, Endura, and new Persistance in a earlier thread. Take a look at the size difference between the Endura and Tenacious. Also think of the blade design on the Tenacious and the Milly. I think they are different animals but thats me. You may want to consider the Para-Military if the Milly is to big.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=664651

The steel on the Tenacious is a Chinese made SS that compare well to AUS-8. I find it to be a very good to excellent steel that holds it edge well. Personally, if cost is an issue don't hesitate to try the Tenacious. If you need a big pig sticker in S30V then the Millie is your knife.

I will say the Tenacious is a very good quality knife with excellent performance for everyday carry. I've been front pocket carrying the Persistance since I got it a week ago and just think its the bomb.
 
If you open a box with these knives, the box won't be able to tell whether it was cut with a Tenacious or a Military. They basically cut the same, you know?

But the Military is flatter, so it rides easier in the pocket. "Better" steel, but honestly I can't tell the difference. It has an aesthetic appeal, a strong following and so forth. Its one of my favorite knives - maybe the favorite - and I'm waiting now for my 4th and 5th Militaries to arrive from ebay (camo and orange).

Both open pretty dang smoothly. Not as smooth as the old Manix, or the Benchmade 710 (IMO), but still smooth.

So yeah, I dig my Militaries and thats whats in my pocket now.

But are they "better"? Thats a subjective analysis, which includes a consideration of the price points of each knife. The Military is "better" if the flatness, the feel, the steel and so forth are worth an extra $100. If not, a person can get by just fine in life with a Tenacious, and be very happy with it.
Click to expand...

Nice write up.
 
The Military is a bit thinner and is quite a bit lighter. It was designed to be as light as possible while maintaining good strength, and it was done well. The materials are higher quality, and even the worst steel ever used in the military (in my opinion) stands up better than the 8Cr13MoV of the Tenacious. But in case you've not read any of my posts, my useage is not typical. I use my knives hard enough to tell the difference between premium steels, and I carry a Military in S90V for that reason. The Tenacious is an excellent knife for its price point, just as the Military is an excellent knife for its price point, they are just in two different classes. If you have been happy with the performance of $6 knives up until now, go with the Tenacious. It will be like getting out of your Yugo and into Charger. The Military would be more like stepping up to a Ferrari. Unless you have a place to really run it and the skill and inclination to do so, much of the performance would go to waste.
 
Nice post Yab. :thumbup:

The Military is Golden made, out of S30V, with nested liners.

The Tenacious is made in China (which province? :D ), out of 8Cr13MoV (AUS-8), with full liners.

The extra cost goes toward the extra material and work that goes into creating a larger, much better, knife.

Coming from $6 knives, I would go with the Tenacious. It is an amazing knife at its price point, easily worth full MSRP.
 
I'm not saying all I use is $6 knives. I am currently using the sog aegis for my edc. But when it comes to blade steel on a knife this small I can't tell the diffirence. It's not like a survival knife that is being thrashed on to the point of possible failure, at least the way I use an edc isn't that brutal.

I'm just looking at the tenacious and it seems to be really great. Trying to find out where the $100 diffirence is . To me that's a lot of diffirence for a knofe this size. Were not talking about a lot of material here. I don't mind spending the extra money if it's really justified.


I guess I should just list what's important to me and you all can recomend a spyderco that fits the bill.

- I like a smooth fast deployment.
- good pocket retention from the clip but not to tight that drives me crazy . I hate a super tight clip. The sog is kinda that way. I don't like big old car .
scratching clips.
-thin,thin,thin. I Cary mostly front pocket and I like the overall knofe to be thin. I don't mind if it's tall so you still get a good hand filling grip but the thinner the better
- nothing crazy heavy. I'm not a total freak over ounces but I don't like really heavy knives pulling my pants down.
- I prefer full flat grind but I'm not totaly against variations. Deffinately no serrations though.

What do you guys think best suits me.
 
SOUTHSTAR said:
I'm not saying all I use is $6 knives. I am currently using the sog aegis for my edc. But when it comes to blade steel on a knife this small I can't tell the diffirence. It's not like a survival knife that is being thrashed on to the point of possible failure, at least the way I use an edc isn't that brutal.

I'm just looking at the tenacious and it seems to be really great. Trying to find out where the $100 diffirence is . To me that's a lot of diffirence for a knofe this size. Were not talking about a lot of material here. I don't mind spending the extra money if it's really justified.


I guess I should just list what's important to me and you all can recomend a spyderco that fits the bill.

- I like a smooth fast deployment.
- good pocket retention from the clip but not to tight that drives me crazy . I hate a super tight clip. The sog is kinda that way. I don't like big old car .
scratching clips.
-thin,thin,thin. I Cary mostly front pocket and I like the overall knofe to be thin. I don't mind if it's tall so you still get a good hand filling grip but the thinner the better
- nothing crazy heavy. I'm not a total freak over ounces but I don't like really heavy knives pulling my pants down.
- I prefer full flat grind but I'm not totaly against variations. Deffinately no serrations though.

What do you guys think best suits me.
Click to expand...

I believe the military is thinner then the Tenacious, but I would have to check. The Military and the Tenacious have the same listed weight (4oz), so they are pretty light.

The cost difference is mainly country of origin and the nested liners. Nesting the liners involves double milling the liners (outside and inside), so more labor, more time, etc. It's no secret that USA made stuff costs more then China made stuff.

I would try the Tenacious first, and if you like it but find yourself wanting something bigger, I would go get a Military.

Tom Berry (Spydercovt.com) is having a special on the Tenacious and the Military right now.
 
I'd pick up a Tenacious for now. Later in the year they're coming out with a Titanium frame lock Military. Pick that one up later. If you want a knife that won't be around very long, look into the limited edition S90V Manix 2 but don't wait long.
 
SOUTHSTAR said:
- I like a smooth fast deployment.
- good pocket retention from the clip but not to tight that drives me crazy . I hate a super tight clip. The sog is kinda that way. I don't like big old car .
scratching clips.
-thin,thin,thin. I Cary mostly front pocket and I like the overall knofe to be thin. I don't mind if it's tall so you still get a good hand filling grip but the thinner the better
- nothing crazy heavy. I'm not a total freak over ounces but I don't like really heavy knives pulling my pants down.
- I prefer full flat grind but I'm not totaly against variations. Deffinately no serrations though.

What do you guys think best suits me.
Click to expand...

Well if you're going by this criteria I would highly suggest the FRN Stretch. You're pretty much describing it.
 
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