The PM2 is perfect

KingMC said:
The PM2 is not perfect, if only for one very important detail: the compression lock is one of the worst locks when it comes to left-handed operation. As a left-hander I cannot unlock it with any ease or smoothness, and that's a big issue when I am operating my knife while having my other hand occupied.

It may be a well-designed knife that stands out as such for a majority of people, but it is by no means perfect. If any knife deserves that moniker, it's the Native 5; in my opinion there is not a single thing wrong with it.
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I disagree with the worst locks for left handed operation. I carry left handed and I find it easier than liner or frame locks all designed for a righty and put your entire hand at risk for one handed closing with the left hand. My left hand is not my dominant hand but the hand that I use my knife with the most. So even less coordinated than my right it closes smoothly without any risk.

Maybe I have just used it long enough that my left hand is used to it. I didn't find it any harder than ball locks or axis locks. I have wondered if I would like the left handed version but I am so used to the the using the right handed version in my left hand I dont think I need it.

I do agree that no knife is going to be perfect for everyone. But so far this knife suits me better than most. So in that sense I agree with the OP.
 
KingMC said:
The PM2 is not perfect, if only for one very important detail: the compression lock is one of the worst locks when it comes to left-handed operation. As a left-hander I cannot unlock it with any ease or smoothness, and that's a big issue when I am operating my knife while having my other hand occupied.

It may be a well-designed knife that stands out as such for a majority of people, but it is by no means perfect. If any knife deserves that moniker, it's the Native 5; in my opinion there is not a single thing wrong with it.
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I think that's why they have a little thing called the left handed Paramilitary 2...
 
This picture was the wallpaper on my phone for quite a while, but my wife thought I should let my daughter get some screen time too.

abbazaba said:
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KingMC said:
Ah, but that particular fact confirms the knife isn't perfect; a perfect knife wouldn't need separate versions of the design for different dominant hands.
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I guess that leaves Axis lock knives, since it's common knowledge that backlocks are certainly not the best. :D
 
halden.doerge said:
I guess that leaves Axis lock knives, since it's common knowledge that backlocks are certainly not the best. :D
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If the Spyderco Native had an AXIS lock, I think it would be Game Over for the knife world. At the moment, the Griptilian is probably the best AXIS-locked knife for the masses.
 
I can't say the PM2 is perfect ... I don't like carrying it much at all ... but I will say I do use one around home often ... theres one that stays in my desk drawer and another that stays on my workbench.

And I find the blade useful for alot of tasks but not as useful to me for some other knives. The handle fits my hand well because my hands are broad ... and I'll say the PM2 is a good knife ... my 2nd favorite Spyderco behind the Native 5 G10 ... but it's not perfect ... for me.
 
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Insipid Moniker said:
The PM2 is a weird one for me. I recommend it highly, it's a great knife for nearly anything, the price-to-performance is fantastic and I could probably carry it as my only folder for the rest of my life without complaint.

But for some reason I'm never very excited about it. I don't dislike it, but it's not one of the knives that make me grin whenever I take them out of my pocket. It's a bit silly, but with so many options out there I just never seem to grab my PM2.
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You just summed up my experience perfectly! I almost always grab something else.
 
Insipid Moniker said:
The PM2 is a weird one for me. I recommend it highly, it's a great knife for nearly anything, the price-to-performance is fantastic and I could probably carry it as my only folder for the rest of my life without complaint.

But for some reason I'm never very excited about it. I don't dislike it, but it's not one of the knives that make me grin whenever I take them out of my pocket. It's a bit silly, but with so many options out there I just never seem to grab my PM2.
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Mine makes me grin, maybe because it's big and blurple, but I still mostly carry a 940-1. Actually, my PM2 is maybe 5th ranked in the rotation. I like it a lot but I don't seem to carry it.
 
As a right hander, I think the compression lock is fairly easy to operate left handed. Maybe I ve just learned how with some practice.
But it did seem relatively simple the first time I tried it.:rolleyes:
 
Insipid Moniker said:
The PM2 is a weird one for me. I recommend it highly, it's a great knife for nearly anything, the price-to-performance is fantastic and I could probably carry it as my only folder for the rest of my life without complaint.

But for some reason I'm never very excited about it. I don't dislike it, but it's not one of the knives that make me grin whenever I take them out of my pocket. It's a bit silly, but with so many options out there I just never seem to grab my PM2.
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Same here. I love the PM2, and it will always be in my stable. I recently picked up PM3, and love that as well since I can drop it INTO my pocket, instead of clipping it on, and it rides in there comfortably. I like that for camping chores. The problem with all of the Spydie PMs, is that they are so light, that they feel cheap. They all use great steel, with a fantastic grind that slices better than anything on the market. However, they don't feel substantial enough to say, feather wood, or anything else that may require a bit more force than just slicing. If they could build them with the inside handle as stainless steel, the added weight, and perhaps strength, would make it for a far more expensive-feeling knife.

Both PMs are great knives, with great ergos (I choke up high on mine) and materials, they just need to feel more substantial, which of course, defies the very purpose of those tools. I did pimp out my PM2, but it really isn't a knife that "wows" anyone, regardless. It's no Olamic or Todd Begg...or even ZT for that matter, but it is a fantastic design.
 
If it had a standard liner lock I would agree. I do not like the compression lock, so I got rid of my PM2.

I want to get a Military and drill/tap it for tip up carry. That would be a nice one.
 
I've amassed a pretty enviable collection of popular folders and since the beginning, one of the knives that I have consistently had the least interest in owning was the PM2. I think the only reason I ordered one was out of boredom when I had no anticipation for my next exciting acquisition. When it arrived I opened the box with apathy. I was totally expecting to be underwhelmed. I took it out of the plastic sleeve and the light weight was a surprise. I think I let out an audible "Hmm" of approval. Then I noticed the tip-down position of the pocket clip as the needle of my mental music slipped out of track. I immediately replaced it into its proper position.

I held it in my hand and it wasn't as ugly in my hand as I perceived it in pics. The dry scales grabbed the prints of my fingertips and the wrinkles in my palm. My thumb fell naturally into the spyder-hole and I think it flicked itself open, because I don't remember doing it. "THACK" it shouted as the blade glinted sunlight into my eye. My Index finger curled and pressed the compression lock and the blade fell as if being closed by some invisible force. I didn't know things could fall along a nearly horizontal vector. The blade had to be pivoting on a micron thick sheet of melted ice, was the only explanation I could conceive at the moment I witnessed it. Needless to say the PM2 has won my respect and I feel I must publicly apologize to all the PM2s I dismissed in the past.

Ultimately, if an analogy is needed to describe the PM2 against all other pocket knives I own, it would be like the Willys Jeep of the bunch. Its too lightly armored for combat, but nothing else in the motor pool is nearly as expedient and versatile. It is what ever you need it to be as long as you don't expect too much from it. 99.9% of the time anything else is overkill and frankly gaudy and wasteful.

One of these is the newer one....and it's probably not the one you think :)

37884231432_103d99ce4f_k.jpg


That's my less than a week old 52100 with an epically sick patina.

Here's my Main Battle Tank I reground to convex and rusted with multiple layers of the same recipe I used on the PM2.


24065239148_46ae971941_c.jpg
37207020214_3c28250c5d_c.jpg
 
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whp said:
I might be in the minority, but I ve never thought that the blade to handle ratio mattered much. My favorite blade lengths are 3.4 to 4.0 inches. My favorite handle lengths for comfortable use are 4.5 to5.0 inches.
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THIS. Entirely this. I don't understand the whole blade-handle ratio phenomenon that so many folks are seemingly phobic over, especially when considering the 50/50 choil eats a solid 1/4" of cutting edge at the expense of a lack-luster choil, in my hands. I'd absolutely love this knife if the handle design was a little less involved around that choil. That being said, the PM2 is arguably one of the best folders for your money, without question; it's just not the folder for me.

As for the fragility of the tip, I really think anyone would be hard pressed to actually break a tip doing any EDC task. I've stabbed the S30V standard model into wood multiple times (for no real cause really :eek::confused:) and didn't find not one deformation. For a knife that's hyped as being a solid, if-you-could-only-take-one-folder-into-oblivion folder, it should stand up to what at least 98.9% of anything that anyone is going to throw at it in EDC use and not bead a sweat... Now those sadistic types might just find a way :cool:.
 
Millie is highly recommended; if not only for the lock, also the better ergos, IMO. Don't fret on the tip-down only carry. The knife is so light it's practically inconspicuous in carry. Back right pocket is preferred, although there are many mods available for tip-up carry. One I recall seeing recently involving a Chris Reeve ti clip! Pretty cool.
 
silverds said:
I've amassed a pretty enviable collection of popular folders and since the beginning, one of the knives that I have consistently had the least interest in owning was the PM2. I think the only reason I ordered one was out of boredom when I had no anticipation for my next exciting acquisition. When it arrived I opened the box with apathy. I was totally expecting to be underwhelmed. I took it out of the plastic sleeve and the light weight was a surprise. I think I let out an audible "Hmm" of approval. Then I noticed the tip-down position of the pocket clip as the needle of my mental music slipped out of track. I immediately replaced it into its proper position.

I held it in my hand and it wasn't as ugly in my hand as I perceived it in pics. The dry scales grabbed the prints of my fingertips and the wrinkles in my palm. My thumb fell naturally into the spyder-hole and I think it flicked itself open, because I don't remember doing it. "THACK" it shouted as the blade glinted sunlight into my eye. My Index finger curled and pressed the compression lock and the blade fell as if being closed by some invisible force. I didn't know things could fall along a nearly horizontal vector. The blade had to be pivoting on a micron thick sheet of melted ice, was the only explanation I could conceive at the moment I witnessed it. Needless to say the PM2 has won my respect and I feel I must publicly apologize to all the PM2s I dismissed in the past.

Ultimately, if an analogy is needed to describe the PM2 against all other pocket knives I own, it would be like the Willys Jeep of the bunch. Its too lightly armored for combat, but nothing else in the motor pool is nearly as expedient and versatile. It is what ever you need it to be as long as you don't expect too much from it. 99.9% of the time anything else is overkill and frankly gaudy and wasteful.

One of these is the newer one....and it's probably not the one you think :)

37884231432_103d99ce4f_k.jpg


That's my less than a week old 52100 with an epically sick patina.

Here's my Main Battle Tank I reground to convex and rusted with multiple layers of the same recipe I used on the PM2.


24065239148_46ae971941_c.jpg
37207020214_3c28250c5d_c.jpg
Click to expand...
Your story was beautiful, sir. Bravo
 
I agree with much of what has already been said about how great the PM2 is. It's definitely one of my favorites, by far. I've got several in different configurations. The PM2 and Para 3 are basically the only knives I carry.
 
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