The first Military?

G

gomipile

Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
1,343
When was the original Military released? What handle, blade, and liner materials did it use? What pocket clip positions was ti tapped for as it came from the factory?

Pictures would be great.
 
Tactical Knives magazine had it on the cover of the Spring 1996 issue as an exclusive first look. G-10 handle, 440V blade. I don't know about clip tapper but the article states they were using production prototypes for their field test.
 
Blade steel was 440V (S60V), handles were black G-10, clip was held on with 2 screws, right hand tip down. Single liner on the lock side, stainless steel. Released in 1996.
 
The first runs were both ATS-34 and 440V and used a 2 screw clip design.The Military as always been tip down and a steel liner lock.
 
From what Sal has posted in other discussions, the initial release was 440V with Crucible's suggested heat treat. It proved too hard, with reports of chipping from customers. They shifted to ATS-34 while they worked out the problem. During the ATS-34 era, they changed from a two-screw clip to the three screw unit still used. When the 440V chipping issue had been resolved, they went back to that steel with the new clip.

DSCF0441.jpg
 
Thanks for the suggestion of www.spydiewiki.com. I'm not sure why this is the first I've heard of it. :D

Looking at the number of variations and improvements to the Military, I'm confused as to why it has never been tapped for tip up carry. I have a 12 year old Endura that has tip-up as an option, so I know this feature has been on Spyderco's "possible improvement radar" for quite some time.


On a related note, was the C22 Michael Walker the first liner lock from Spyderco?
 
Hi Gomipile,

The curved clip of the Military, which is important in the comfortable carry, does not work well tip up. The C15 Bob Terzuola was our first Linerlock.

sal
 
Also, the liner does not extend all the way to the end of the handle, so it would require a lot of redesigning to move the clip to the other end. It would probably add weight without adding useful strength, which some of us are opposed to.
 
yablanowitz said:
Also, the liner does not extend all the way to the end of the handle, so it would require a lot of redesigning to move the clip to the other end. It would probably add weight without adding useful strength, which some of us are opposed to.
Click to expand...

Or they could just put threaded inserts into the G10, like Benchmade does on a few models (e.g., 710), Hogue does on the EX01, etc.
 
kreole said:
Or they could just put threaded inserts into the G10, like Benchmade does on a few models (e.g., 710), Hogue does on the EX01, etc.
Click to expand...

Sal did say they've been experimenting with that, but haven't yet achieved acceptable results. Personally, I'll take RHTD only over the swiss cheese look of the dozen extra clip screw holes any day.
 
Sal Glesser said:
Hi Gomipile,

The curved clip of the Military, which is important in the comfortable carry, does not work well tip up. The C15 Bob Terzuola was our first Linerlock.

sal
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I suppose you'd have to ship it with a spare clip designed specifically for tip up.

yablanowitz said:
Also, the liner does not extend all the way to the end of the handle, so it would require a lot of redesigning to move the clip to the other end. It would probably add weight without adding useful strength, which some of us are opposed to.
Click to expand...

The Millie is an amazingly light knife compared to others in its class.

I do feel a tad bit boorish asking about changes to it. This feels like asking an artisan chef to modify a perfect recipe. The Military is certainly a perfect tip down liner lock as it is. I find myself wishing I'd had the sense to buy one fifteen years ago. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top