Your Thoughts on the Military Spyderco

S

Seeking Trad Deer

Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
58
Looking for honest feedback on the +/- of the Spyderco Military S30V G-10 knives:confused: . Probably more interested in the black blade with partial serrations.
 
Pro's:

Very light for a big knife
Rock solid lock up
Killer ergonomics
Easy to clean

Con's

Too darn big to use in front of sheeple:eek: :eek: :grumpy:
 
I have had mine for about 2 months , love the knife and am pleased with its' quality. It takes a while to get used to how it rides in the pocket.It is my second Spyderco had a Delica for years and gave it to my Son.
 
The only real con on this knife is that it is a little large for use around sheeple as D3/SE said. Other than that, there are few flaws with this knife that I can find. There are minor things like the clip not being adjustable for tip up/tip down left/right carry but that doesn't bother me because I would carry it tip down right side anyway. I love the liner lock and the Mili has one of the best liner locks you will find on a production knife.

You can get killer deals on the used market right now. I picked up a PE satin and a CE satin for about $60 each. One on E-bay and one in the EE.
 
I have owned about two dozen Spyderco's, including two Military's. One is plain edge the other is fully serrated. I changed the clip on the serrated version for left hand carry. Up until I received my 3rd Generation Chinook, if I had to choose one folder, it would have been the Military. It does everything I ever expected of a folder and it does it with one of the best ergonomics I ever found in a folder. By the way, I'm not saying the Chinook is a better knife, but I train with and carry a Bowie and Jim Keating is my teachers teacher.

The lockup on the Military is amazing. On both models that I own the liner lock went directly to the center of the blade stop the first time I opened them and has never varied over the years. I have performed literally thousands of kinetic openings with both of them (snapping the knife open without using the thumbhole) and have never developed any blade play.

Several years ago I decided to test the penetration ability of about a dozen of the "tactical" knives I owned. I taped a telephone book to my free hanging 75 pound bag and beginning with very light thrusts, worked up into full power thrusts. I half expected to lose the point of my Military, I didn't. And the Military outperformed all the other folders and all but one of the fixed blades for depth of penetration. Lacking the rigidity of steel liners the Military had a "squirmy" feel to it as the body of the knife torqued under the impact of the thrust which was moving the bag about 10". But not once did the lockup ever vary from rock solid. And it didn't deform the knife or the lock either, everything came right back to center.

Spyderco is the leading innovator in folders, but sometimes we get caught up in the "flavor of the month" syndrome, you know, what's new and exciting and sexy on the cover of Tactical Knives this month? And in that we can loose sight of the value of a classical knife. In my opinion, the Military is one of those classical knives that defies being updated because it was so well done to begin with.

If you need or want a knife, I believe you can trust your life to, seriously consider the Military.
 
Thanks for the input...it is much appreciated! Being a green horn I have a couple questions about some of your comments and some of the other things I noticed. Here goes....

1.) What is sheeple?
2.) Why is the button to close the knife on the bottom as opposed to the top on my delica? Isn't this a safety hazard as I could easily grab the grip and engage the button and close the blade on my fingers?
3.) Somebody mentioned being able to just flick the knife open without using the thumb hole. Is this so? I prefer a knife that is harder to open so if my kids pick it up there is less chance of an accident.
4.) If anyone see's this knife in black with the PS blade on the second hand market please send me an email. It looks like Savson sells it new for about $105.

thanks all
 
I definatly want to get one of these. A good summary of the knife too, Tonie.

Won't be too big for me. I edc a BM 610 but want a Military cause I like Spydercos, like what the do with their g10. Plus I have yet to own a spyderco I didn't like. The 610 is a brick in the pocket and not sure about the lock on a knife that big.

Maybe they could start a program where you trade in your BM mistakes for spydies.
 
Seeking Trad Deer said:
Thanks for the input...it is much appreciated! Being a green horn I have a couple questions about some of your comments and some of the other things I noticed. Here goes....

1.) What is sheeple?
2.) Why is the button to close the knife on the bottom as opposed to the top on my delica? Isn't this a safety hazard as I could easily grab the grip and engage the button and close the blade on my fingers?
3.) Somebody mentioned being able to just flick the knife open without using the thumb hole. Is this so? I prefer a knife that is harder to open so if my kids pick it up there is less chance of an accident.
4.) If anyone see's this knife in black with the PS blade on the second hand market please send me an email. It looks like Savson sells it new for about $105.

thanks all
Click to expand...


Sheeple is just a term used to described people that are afraid of things and have no mind of their own. In this case, they are afraid of knives that are larger than a pen knife. It is a made up word that came from sheep and people being combined.

I don't understand the question on the Delica. Maybe you can describe it in a different way. All Delicas have the lock on the back of the handle.

You can flick open a Military if the pivot is loose enough. If you don't want it that loose, just tighten the pivot and it won't do that.

I'll keep an eye out for one for you but I see a lot more of the satin SS blades than the black ones so if you are open to the non coated blade, that would be easier to find. The blade is SS so it doesn't need the coating.
 
If you look at a picture of the Delica and the Military side by side...you will see metal blade release on the top of the Delica and on the bottom of the Military. This is what I was referring to about the knife release button being on the underside of the Military knife which I was thinking could be more dangerous to squeezing the release as your are holding the knife and thereby releasing the blade to close inward on the fingers. I hope this makes sense...best thing to do might be to look at a picture of the two knives side by side and look at the handles.
 
It is still IMHO the best knife Spyderco has ever made.
 
Hi,

the reason for this difference ist that these two knives have a different locking system. The Delica has a Back Lock (in this case a Front Lock) and the Military has a Liner Lock.

Here you can see the different Locking systems in an exploded view.


AFAIK, the Liner Lock isn't easily released by squeezing the handle...at least if you're not a lefty :-) though some people still prefer the back lock over the liner lock for being more solid. But from what we've read here, I would say the lock on the Military is more than adequate.




Dennis
 
Seeking Trad Deer said:
If you look at a picture of the Delica and the Military side by side...you will see metal blade release on the top of the Delica and on the bottom of the Military. This is what I was referring to about the knife release button being on the underside of the Military knife which I was thinking could be more dangerous to squeezing the release as your are holding the knife and thereby releasing the blade to close inward on the fingers. I hope this makes sense...best thing to do might be to look at a picture of the two knives side by side and look at the handles.
Click to expand...

I see what you are talking about. The two locks are different. The one on the Delica is alock back which you depress in order to release. The Military uses a liner lock which you push to the side not up. It needs to be pushed towards the right side of the frame far enough to release the lock. It is not easy to do this by accident so I wouldn't worry about that at all. In fact, I have had a Delica release on me when I was gripping it hard but never a liner lock like what is on the Military.

If you are not worried about carrying a large folder, you can't do much better than the Military.
 
I have gotten the vibe a few times that perhaps there is some worry about carrying and using a large folder. Maybe I am reading this wrong. Can someone fill me in on why there would be a concern or worry (other than a state blade length limit which I am not aware of) in carrying a LARGE folding knife?
 
u812 said:
It is still IMHO the best knife Spyderco has ever made.
Click to expand...

Ditto, i carry this knife more than ANY of my customs and or productions. I carry this knife in conjunction with them but it ALWAYS finds its way into my pocket. Not too big for me and if I have scared anyone I dont know about it. I havent had the liner fail and have never not trusted it. Its a fantastic knife and I whole heartedly trust it.
 
I am thinking it would be a nice knife to carry when I would feel a little better having something but don't want to carry one of my Beretta Semi-Auto's concelled. Kinda like when you are worried about a dog attack which I think is a very real possibility. Also, I imagine althogh not as practical it could still be used for all the things I am using my Delica 4 PS for which I just got and have been surprised to find how much I am using it. Still want to understand what people are meaining about concerns about carrying a large folder. I think there is something or some reasons that maybe I have not thought of and should be considering. If anyone doesn't want to post them publically please send me a private message on the forum.
 
Not knowing where you guys are from it's kinda hard to tell you what laws would affect you. I would suggest doing your own research on line for whatever jurisdictions you may live in or go down to your local law libraries.
 
Hi Deer,

three concerns about carrying a large folder:

1. too big in the pocket and therefore inconvenient (the Military is just huge!)

2. frightening sheeple and raising eyebrows when used in front of N(on)K(nife)P(eople) -> causing bad image or just inappropriate i.e. at work

3. being illegal in some aeras because of the length of the blade.

Did I forget something?
 
Murdoc370 said:
Hi Deer,

three concerns about carrying a large folder:

1. too big in the pocket and therefore inconvenient (the Military is just huge!)

2. frightening sheeple and raising eyebrows when used in front of N(on)K(nife)P(eople) -> causing bad image or just inappropriate i.e. at work

3. being illegal in some aeras because of the length of the blade.

Did I forget something?
Click to expand...

Deer, take special note of number 3, since some places have a "no weapons policy" or similar, where you're restricted to sub 3", 2", or none at all. It could be legal in your state, city and municipality, but if the company policy says otherwise, tough luck.

Also, if you get dragged to court for whatever reasons (hopefully you never will), I can just imagine the prosecutor waving around this all-black tactical knife named the Military.
 
Seeking Trad Deer said:
Looking for honest feedback on the +/- of the Spyderco Military S30V G-10 knives:confused: . Probably more interested in the black blade with partial serrations.
Click to expand...

I think it is the best Spydie design out there, and if it wasn't for the Delica and Endura, would be their flagship model. My only complaint has to be the tip down carry clip, I prefer tip up carry clip, but I am gradually foregoing using the clip on my knives. Spyderco has the most comfortable G10 I've ever felt, and the design of the Military belies its durability. While not as beefy as the Manix, I feel it is just as strong. People say that this knife is built like a tank. It definitely is. If it wasn't for the size, it would be my EDC. I work in an office where sharp tings are a no-no, and live in zee great Republik of Maryland ;). To me, someone with no knife self defense knowledge, it looks like it would be suited for not only utility, but also SD. I have the model with serrations, and black blade. I wish I would have gotten the satin PE model, I don't see any use for the serrations other than cutting rope, and I only do that on the boat.

For that matter, I had the model with ATS55 steel, CE, and it was a great performer too, although the pivot screw would loosen up after a couple opening cycles. Simple solution, send it in to Spyderco. Some models I have been less than pleased with, but whoever designed this one should be commended, and gets my thanks.
 
Nice big flat knife with a lovely blade but personally, the Military doesn't work for me because of the size of my hands. If I hold it in anything other than a sabre grip, my fingers partially release the liner lock allowing the blade to wiggle some. I have tried three Militarys with the same problem. I sent one back to Spyderco and was told nothing was wrong with the knife, and this is the only liner lock that I have ever had this problem with, so I guess that they are just not for me.
 
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