Wow, Spyderco finally did it.

M

mike_mck2

Joined
May 19, 2005
Messages
301
Finally, I have actually found the perfect knife, the Paramilitary.
There is absolutely nothing at all I would change in any way.
The lock is 100% reliable, no loud clack when it snaps into place, the blade shape & steel are optimal, perfect size, all of it.
Even the clip is perfect on this one. Most clips look like an afterthought, tacked onto the side of the knife, but the pivot pin wraparound clips look like they actually belong on the knife.

The Paramilitary really is the knife I have been searching for since I started buying knives. It's hard to believe. I have 3 of them now, and only need the plain edge black blade to have every available variation.

I should have known if it could be done, it would come from Spyderco.
 
The best knife would sound like racking a shell into an 870 when it locks up. :p
 
Outlaw45 said:
Oh man.... if only they could make a knife sound like that! :cool:
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I wish knives and all equipment were like cell phones and you could load in custom sounds for all functions. The loading sound would definitely be cool for a knife, but how about a screwdriver that creaks when you turn it? Or doors with enhanced closing sounds? Or a flashlight with a really loud switching sound when you turn it on?
 
mike_mck2 said:
The Paramilitary really is the knife I have been searching for since I started buying knives. It's hard to believe. I have 3 of them now, and only need the plain edge black blade to have every available variation.
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I like mine a lot, too.
I have 2 of them, now. :D

BTW: are you the same Mike as in mikemck? :confused:
 
mike_mck2 said:
The Paramilitary really is the knife I have been searching for since I started buying knives. It's hard to believe. I have 3 of them now, and only need the plain edge black blade to have every available variation.
.
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So do you like it better with the black or regular blade?
 
Glad you found something you like. The Para is too right handed for my tastes, but from your post in General, I do realize that you are both far more adept at adapting to right handed tools and far more willing to do so than I am.

"The best knife would sound like racking a shell into an 870 when it locks up. :p"

Being a Winchester fan myself, I'd prefer the sound of a '97 :D
 
u812 said:
The best knife would sound like racking a shell into an 870 when it locks up. :p
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I have a 1300 Defender for that sound already, and it works great. :D
For the most part I am pretty low key, so I like the subdued sound of the Para lock snapping into place.

BTW: are you the same Mike as in mikemck?
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Yes, the same. After the last major upgrade my password would no longer work, so I created a new log-in ID, once I decided to stop lurking and post a bit again.

So do you like it better with the black or regular blade?
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Actually, I like the DLC coated blades better. That DLC is some very tough stuff indeed. I have used my DLC coated combo edge Para quite a bit, and the coating has held up great. I am also a bit obsessive compulsive about corrosion, but the DLC takes care of that as well.

Before the Para, the Calypso Jr. was as close as I had found to perfect for my tastes, and before that it was the Native. Neither of which were perfect, but very close.
The Paramilitary really is perfect, so once I have the last variation, I guess I really am done searching.
Although I will say the urge to buy even more Para's is tempting for some reason. Like a hoard mentality....
 
The Deacon said:
Glad you found something you like. The Para is too right handed for my tastes, but from your post in General, I do realize that you are both far more adept at adapting to right handed tools and far more willing to do so than I am.
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Well, I did have my doubts about the compression lock, but it's been no problem.
Adapting is just in my best interest, especially as far as knives are concerned, and I am luck enough to have no problems with it. I do understand now though that some do, unfortunately.
 
The Deacon said:
Glad you found something you like. The Para is too right handed for my tastes, but from your post in General, I do realize that you are both far more adept at adapting to right handed tools and far more willing to do so than I am.
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Deacon,
You interested in trying a tip up lefty PM? drop me a note if you're game.
Chris
 
Adapting is just in my best interest, especially as far as knives are concerned, and I am luck enough to have no problems with it. I do understand now though that some do, unfortunately.
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Well Mike, the older I get, the more I realize that adapting is counter-productive. It also becomes increasing difficult, and thus increasingly annoying. Manufacturers MAY still not produce LH versions even if we set up picket lines out side their factoryies. We are, after all, a fairly small "market share". But you can bet your boots they'll NEVER produce LH versions if we just quietly "make do" will ill fitting RH-centric devices.

Spyderco, as I've said before, has a darn good track record. I don't blame them for not making LH versions of everything, it would not make economic sense. But, on the other hand, I've already got several full ambi Spydercos in the same general size range as the Para and, if I really want a 4mm blade that much. I know that in another month or two the 80mm Manix, which will be full ambi and very close in all other respects to the ParaMilitary, will be hitting the shelves.

Chris, email sent!
 
But, on the other hand, I've already got several full ambi Spydercos in the same general size range as the Para and, if I really want a 4mm blade that much. I know that in another month or two the 80mm Manix, which will be full ambi and very close in all other respects to the ParaMilitary, will be hitting the shelves.
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Well, that is an interesting point.
When you say ambi, I think of models with the back lock design. Is that correct?

Now, I don't know how you close your back locks. Maybe you use two hands, maybe you use only one.

I close mine one handed by pushing the lock with my thumb and letting the blade close down on my index finger, flipping the knife upside down, and closing with my entire hand.
My point being, it's really just as easy for me to close a Spyderco back lock as it is to close the other "one handed" locks.
If that's you, never mind all this.

However, the feeling I get is that most don't find closing a Spyderco back lock as easy as closing "one handed" locks. This being the case, ambi is another way of saying "equally inconvenient to close with either hand", if you see what I mean.

If that's you, I'm not sure I see your point.

Any lock can be closed with two hands, obviously. So what if right handers can close it with one, but it takes you two hands. If the alternative is a back lock that also takes two hands, why get upset and not buy a right handed knife, just because it has a right handed lock?
See what I mean?
Yes, I can see how it might be the principle of the thing. Maybe that's it.

I did get curious about dexterity though, and even though my wife is right handed, I asked her to try to close the Paramilitary.
I explained how it was a right handed lock, but that I thought it was an arbitrary designation.
I thought she would have equal trouble with either hand, being that she does not normally use any knife locks at all. The main point being, equal trouble with either hand.
She used two hands though, no matter which hand manipulated the compression lock.
She's never found a requirement for closing a knife one handed.
Got me to thinking that although I always do close them with one hand, most of the time I could just as easily use two hands if I had to. Not always, but most of the time.

So, if a knife being ambi means everyone having to use two hands to close it, why not just forget about right and left handed locks and use either one or two hands, depending on your capability?
 
I am not ambidextrous by any means (mmmh....I should take one home with me over x-mas, my father is actually fully and utterly ambi and has always been cause for my great envy and annoyance :) ), but I am not too clumsy with my left hand either, but I have to agree with the Decon, I find that the current compression lock favors the right hand.

The funny thing is though that the earlier compression models (like the Gunting) actually had the compression lock on the other side even though they were right handed models. So I would figure that it shouldn't be too hard to get used to one being on the "wrong" side.
 
When I say full ambi, I mean a knife that:

1. Can be opened with equal ease by both left and right handed users. Knives with a single sided, non switchable thumbstud or other single sided "projecting" opening device fail that test. So do thumbhole knives where one side of the hole is occluded by the handle more than the other. Almost all liner and frame locks, and even some front locks fail on this, notably the Renegade and BlackHawk.

2. Can be closed with equal ease and equal safety by both left and right handed users. To me this rules out "handed" locks - liner locks, compression locks, and "framelock" variants of both are the obvious Spyderco examples, but there are other types as well.

3. Assuming the knife has a pocket clip, the clip must be able to be attached to both sides. I am not a fan of clipped carry myself, remove them from my EDC knives, but will still favor a knife that other left handed users can carry properly over one they cannot.

All tests assume two users who are equal in all respects except handedness.

I would wholeheartedly agree that, nine times out of ten both one handed opening and one handed closing are not really "necessary", or even particularly more convenient than two handed would be. Those times, however, are great practice for the rare occasion when one handed opening and/or closing are important. Trust me when I say that if you have a rope in one hand with half a ton of stupid at the other end and a open knife in the other, you either close the knife one handed, or ditch it.

I think full ambi has another advantage over dedicated single hand. In an emergency, you may not always have the ability to use the "proper" hand, you might just have to settle for the one that's available.

I can close "most" front locks one handed, the ones I feel most comfortable doing so with are models with a 50/50 choil that allows the blade to safely contact my finger. All the knives I carry regularly are like that - Native, Calypso Jr., Schempp Persian, Kiwi, and Stretch.

The Gunting is no longer manufactured, one complaint many RH users had was the "wrong sided" lock. That tends to prove, rather than disprove my contention that it is a handed lock.

As for the ball lock, it is ambi, but, except for the one on the Poliwog, too difficult for my arthritic hands to close easily. Have to put rubber gloves on to close my WTC knives.
 
The "ambi" aspects aren't a concern to me...I'm right-handed, mostly, but often carry clipit Spydies on my left side - depends on what I'm wearing.

As for the Paramilitary being the perfect knife, I tend to agree. The Manix that I had for a month or so was absolutely wonderful, except that it seemed too big sometimes (blade-wise). The Paramilitary has a similarly large handle, a shorter (but plenty long enough!) blade, and weighs noticeably less.

On the other hand, the CPM-S30V steel is not my favorite - it has chipped a couple times; I haven't yet tried to completely resharpen those chips out (based on how I've read 'round here what a b$tch it can be to resharpen). If only it were VG-10...

Clarification: Yes, I have resharpened the S30V, and got almost the entire knife sharp afterwards, but the chips remain, and I still am of the opinion that S30V is noticably more difficult to sharpen than VG-10. I definately prefer VG-10. So, Sal, can you make a Para w/ VG-10 ? :D
 
Hi Mike, thanx doe the kind comments.

The Para is the first generation of the design. Ultimatel, we'd like to refine the design to include the "left brainers" like Paul. Making a 4 way clip is difficult on this design.

The Compression lock is also in its infancy. As we learn more about the lock, we refine it. Locks are an interesting fascination for us. The integral titanium compression lock has a lot of merit and we have future plans for it as well.

sal
 
When I got my Paramil about half a year ago i was disappointed a bit. The knife had a little side to side blade play(which I hate with a passion, even the slightest :barf: ). Furthermore I noticed those funny tube like pins at the pivot. I didn't know they were actually screws. Since I saw no way of correcting the blade play, I just put it in my display. However recently, I read the knife is adjustable, so I adjusted the pivot last saturday and now the knife is exactly the way I want it; nice stiff and no blade play. The more I handled the knife from then on, the more I'm beginning to like it. So after 6 months the knife finally gets it's deserved pocket time :D .
I still like it's bigger brother more though :thumbup:
 
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