The Paramilitary experience.

[Chiba]

Soooo I purchased a Spyderco Paramilitary.. I'm incredibly impressed with it so far and thought I would share some thoughts.

Spyder Hole:
Its a bit bigger than the one on my Delica - Opening it with gloves isn't much of a problem.




Size:
It's small enough to throw in a pocket and forget about. Actually in the pictures I've seen it looks much bigger than in person. once the blade is extended it seems nicely substantial imo. Heres a shot to give you an idea.



Weight:
For a larger knife it's not so heavy @ all - only 3.75 Ounces. My iPhone is 4.8 ounces to give you an idea. This is suitable to have on your person for EDC.

Handle:
The handle is tops. I have read that some people with large hands dislike the way that it bumps out towards the pinky finger. I have larger hands but my 4 fingers fit perfectly and it feels perfectly secure. Actually the grip I can get on this knife feels more established and natural than what I can get on the delica.



You can also rest your index finger on the lower choil if you prefer.

Jimping: both the thumb and index finger get jimping. A bit thicker and less sharp than the jimping on my Delica.



Blade:
A beautiful shape that I seem to be attracted to. This is a full flat ground s30v steel blade. It supposedly holds it's edge for longer periods of time then other metals. The downside is that it takes longer to sharpen. I'll let you know more once I buy a sharpening kit and see myself..



I can assure you my friend, this is tack sharp from the factory.



Lock:
The compression lock is an incredible feature in my opinion. Its out of the way and wont get activated accidentally. It allows you to QUICKLY flick open and close the blade with only one hand. This feels sophisticated and opens very quick and smoothly. Ohhh I'll just come out and say it feels cool. Very cool



Once the blade is tucked away, it stays put and wont jiggle out of the handle to bight you.

G10 Material:
Love it - Provides a nice grip surface. I looked this up and G-10 is glass woven fabric impregnated with an epoxy resin binder. This stuff dosent get effected by hot or cold weather. It kind of reminds me of carbon fibre when I see it through my macro lens..



Birth Place:
If i should ever get involved in space travel or somehow get picked up by Dr Who, It's good to know I'll be representing our humanoid planet!



"Gimee back my knife Klingon, it's from My Earth and I want it back!"

Clip:
Even in black and white this thing clips!

[Chiba]

Finish:
As you can see, this knife is a beauty. Everything is so solidly put together it screams quality. I'm a fan of the digi camo



It's all about the little details and well thought contours..





Opulent.




My Spyderco Delica4 with g10 handle and my Paramilitary for comparison



East meets West.





I think that’s all I have to say. Thanks for checking this out.
Now go buy one :)

Chiba

[Pete2s]

Incredible pictures. The Paramilitary is one sweet knife.

[hickster]

Great pictures, good review!
I have a Para in D2. I have handled a "normal" Para. Something about the D2 version is magic. Sort of like the diffenence in the S90V/CF Millie and the S30V/G10 Millie (got/had several). No "better" overall, but just silky smooth and somehow ...different, in a good way :confused: . And of course, D2 is a great steel- buttery smooth, yet tough.
Snap one up, if you can.
hickster

[JaM]

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing.

Now I feel the urge to get one... :confused: Thanks... :D

[asfaltpiloot]

Nice pictures.
Well done.
I love the big(ger) knives from Spyderco.

[skatenut]

thanx for sharing, excellent pics!

[enduraguy]

I dunno, there's just something about that handle to blade ratio I didn't like with mine. Same with the Military. If they (Spyderco) could take those blades and put them in a different handle...I'd love it. I guess it was the handle length combined with the thickness of the handle slabs.

[Chiba]

I dunno, there's just something about that handle to blade ratio I didn't like with mine. Same with the Military. If they (Spyderco) could take those blades and put them in a different handle...I'd love it. I guess it was the handle length combined with the thickness of the handle slabs.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I didn't even go to the store with the intent of picking one up. When i held it I was like "yessssssssss - perfect fit" It didn't even have to cut me this time. :p

[Chiba]

Great pictures, good review!
I have a Para in D2. I have handled a "normal" Para. Something about the D2 version is magic. Sort of like the diffenence in the S90V/CF Millie and the S30V/G10 Millie (got/had several). No "better" overall, but just silky smooth and somehow ...different, in a good way :confused: . And of course, D2 is a great steel- buttery smooth, yet tough.
Snap one up, if you can.
hickster

Thanks Hickster,
I looked up the D2 steel and feel that the s30v better suits my needs. The next spyderco I want to get is a Warrior.. I haven't seen it in person yet but I'm drooling over the pictures. My birthday is coming up so if you guys would all like to chip in... :P

[enduraguy]

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I didn't even go to the store with the intent of picking one up. When i held it I was like "yessssssssss - perfect fit" It didn't even have to cut me this time. :p

True. I love my new Police 3 for example.

[exParrot]

Outstanding pictures.

The Para was my first full flat ground Spyderco and it remains one of my favorites.

I would strongly recommend taking a look at the Military. I think it is even better than the Para.

[Reeper22]

Great pics. I have the exact same Para-Satin blade/digi camo g10. I love mine. Congrats.

[Chiba]

I'll definitely check out the military when I see one but the next one I want to see is the Warrior!! I think I'm hooked..

Thanks for all your compliments!
It was a lot of fun taking those pictures :)

[Mr.Sparkitle]

I own two militaries and two d2 para's. The mili is a great knife and gets a lot of pocket time, but my para is more often than not my edc. Its got a great blade length and the handle fits my hand amazingly. If you pick up a mili is has the magical ability to shrink on you from being freaking huge to not so bad after a few carries. Great pictures BTW.

[ChapmanPreferred]

Nice pair you have there.

[2cha]

Extraordinary photographs!! Willing to share any hints about photographing knives? I've tried and your photographs are so much better that its not even fair to call what I do photography. And nice pitch--para just moved to 1st place on my next list.

[Chiba]

Extraordinary photographs!! Willing to share any hints about photographing knives? I've tried and your photographs are so much better that its not even fair to call what I do photography. And nice pitch--para just moved to 1st place on my next list.

Thanks for the compliment :)

I'm a photographer by trade so I have quite a bit of experience at this :) This was not a serious shoot mind you, just having fun and appreciating an awesome product!

One thing I was taught early on was the word photography actually translates from Greek to "Light writing"
Photo = Light, graphy = writing

Thats something to actually keep in mind when you take a picture. Where is your light source, how can you manipulate the light to paint the type of image your after?

You should also consider how much you want in focus.

It's a lot of fun and I'm glad my images/ review made an impact! I know very little about knives but I'm learning as much as I can. It's fun!

Chiba

[Water Bug]

Great pictures! When I was looking at them it was evident you knew what you were doing, epecially the fine details in the close-up images. What kind of camera and lenses are you using? Thanks for sharing these!

Yes, the Spyderco Para-Military is very nice! I initially paid no attention to it until I finally got one. As I held it in my hand and tried out the compression lock, I wondered, "What took me so long?"

[dbcad]

Fantastic pictures!! You must be a photographer. I don't have a Para or Mili but you are getting me thinking....... :) The Para looks beautiful. But then it's a Spyderco...........

Charlie